There’s a bit of a buzz going around Hollywood about this new “teen romance” that is being filmed with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IIs – and planet5D has been given early access to information about the movie! It is called “Moon Ring” and I was able to talk with the Director Scott Loye and the DP Bruce Dorn on the phone the other day. planet5D has also been invited to be on set for a few days and we’re pretty darn excited!

While this isn’t starting out to be on the budget level of something like “Twilight”, it seems that many in Hollywood are keeping an eye on this lower budget film mainly because they are going to be shooting completely on the Canon HDSLRs as well as being the first movie to have access to the complete new line of Zeiss Compact Prime Cinema lenses. Hollywood wants to see how well the 5D2s work in a full 2 hour feature.

The Director of Photography is one of the Canon Explorers of Light, Bruce Dorn. Bruce has been a director and still photographer for over 30 years. From his biography at the Canon site: “In the motion picture industry, Dorn is known for his expertise in state-of-the-art visual effects and beautiful cinematography. An active member of the Directors Guild of America since 1984, Bruce has earned Gold from the Mobius Awards, the New York Film and Video Festivals, the Clio Awards and a Bronze Lion from the Cannes Commercial Film Festival.”

The story was written by Scott Loye and is a teen romance with a paranormal twist (but it isn’t vampires). “Moon Ring is a new Teen Movie to begin shooting this spring/summer in Hot Springs, AR! Our movie is a contemporary romance set within the mystery of two parallel love stories. One exists in the world of the living, the other in the world of the dead.”

Scott is excited about directing the movie and thinks that it is gaining so much interest in Hollywood because they’re able to have 31 speaking parts, a great DP, 3 camera teams, grips, gaffers, assistant directors, editors etc. because the cameras allow them to have a smaller staff. And, without producing much promotional material early, the movie is already gaining hold on social sites like facebook (the Moon Ring facebook page) because of the young actors as well as the indie soundtrack that has already been selected.

You can also see a bit more about the production at the Moon Ring movie site.

I’m very excited to be included in early goings of this film and can’t wait to go down to watch them do some moviemaking. I’ll be bringing more behind the scenes stuff to you in the next few weeks.

(Photo credit: snap from the movie site)

Here at planet5D, we’re pleased to bring you new and exciting media being created with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Today, we’re really excited to show you something brand new and different… something old and something new combined. We have seen the new fusion of stills + video done for weddings and engagements and families, why not with high school “senior portraits”? This is the first time we’ve seen this – and it is masterfully done with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. When we first saw the video below, we had to find out more and Joe Simon agreed to help us show you this great new fusion business segment.

Have a hot 5D mk ii tip, a video, or a 5D2 product to announce? Give us a shout

Here’s Joe:
“At Joe Simon Wedding Films and Joe Simon Films we create all types of visual media. Based in Austin Texas, joesimonweddingfilms.com creates HD wedding videos and super 8mm/16mm wedding films. At joesimonfilms.com I work as Director of Photography on commercials, shorts, features and music videos. We also do full production on documentaries and extreme sports films. You can see some of that work at mutinybikes.com

This particular project was brought to life by studio563.com, they are a photography studio based in Austin Texas. Eric Von at Studio 563 who has been shooting seniors for a few years had the idea to take photos and video to create a rock star style video for graduating high school seniors.

We brainstormed ideas and “Senior Sessions” was born!

All the video (except for the wide interview shots) was shot on the Canon 5D MKII. I felt this was the best tool for the job to really get the look I wanted. I used a mix of lenses – 16-35mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 70-200mm f/2.8. My favorite lens to use is the 70-200, the bokeh is gorgeous and the IS stabilizer really helps to keep your image steady.

The filming was done with a mix of tripod and Glidecam 4000HD Pro shots. The Glidecam also works as a great hip brace for shooting handheld shots. The still photos were taken using a Nikon D300.

Audio was recorded via a Canon XHA1 which was used for the 2nd angle during the interview session. We used a Audio Technique 4073a shotgun mic on a boom pole to make sure we got great sound.

Eric picked his favorite shots from the shoot and sent them over to me. From there I took everything into Final Cut Pro for editing. All effects and edits were done in FCP.

We’re super stoked on this new venture and can’t wait to see what the future holds for “Senior Sessions”. For more info you can contact us at joe or eric

Pretty cool stuff eh? Just imagine adding fusion senior portraits to your current business!

Haven’t found the 5D mk ii in stock yet? Check out our buyer’s guide now

oh, and thanks Joe and Eric!

(Photo credit: snap from the video)