Digital Bolex Commercials

For these videos I need to set the scene a little, take you back in time. Back to 2012, when the Digital Bolex launched, DSLRs had just started to become main stream, the Canon 5D MKII had just come out, and was the first DSLR that allowed you to shoot video. RAW format video was still a very new thing, and the only cameras that could offer a true cinematic look were ARRI and RED and both were far out of the price range of most independent filmmakers. Along came the D16 at a $3500 price point, with a true 12 bit raw file, and a lens format that was more fitting for independent filmmakers.

Digital Bolex needed a commercial that conveyed the idea that no matter what you shot on the D16, the quality would be high enough you could project it in a movie theater and have it look and feel like a movie. This is what we came up with…

For Digital Bolex’s second commercial we wanted to re-create the look and feel of the spaghetti westerns of the 60’s. The bright daylight and harsh backlights are a huge problem for most lower cost digital cameras, but always looked amazing on film. So we wanted to show the cameras ability to recreate that look.

For Digital Bolex’s third commercial we wanted to show how the shape of cars, wheels, backgrounds all looked correct. The Digital Bolex has a global shutter, most modern digital cameras have a rolling shutter. The Rolling shutter distorts the shape of backgrounds when the camera is moving quickly and distorts the look and shape of wheels. That hub cap spinning backwards effect is something you get on film, but not on most digital cameras.

Digital Bolex was also a sponsor of the 2015 and 2016 Slamdance Film Festival. This trailer, that played before all of the Slamdance screenings those years, includes some of the submission pieces and some things I shot.