Filmed on the Panasonic AG AF100
Let's begin Camcorder Cinema month with a bang!
One of the most significant advancements made in cinema with the advent of higher quality digital cameras is the democratization of filmmaking. Sure, independent Cinema was still around well before the digital age, but it wasn't quite as active as it wanted to be. Even if you wanted to make a movie outside of the traditional Hollywood system, you still needed to secure sufficient funding for Studio use, lighting equipment, and cameras. Not to mention what has always been the most expensive part of a movie, the film stock. Robert Rodriguez, the director of El Mariachi (his first film shot on Super 16mm), confessed that the vast majority of his $8,000 budget was spent on the film stock. Also, to this day, Robert is convinced that if he had been able to shoot his first film on a digital camera, he could have either used the money he would have saved for other aspects of the film or even made the whole film for just $500 instead.
Now, despite the distinct financial advantage of shooting a movie on digital (depending on the brand of camera you intend to use), shooting digital is not and should not be a license to excuse incompetence. Unless you at least have an understanding of basic techniques, a story worth telling, a protagonist worth rooting for, and an overarching theme worth investing, then no amount of technological advancements will make your movie even remotely worth anyone's time. Fortunately, the makes of today's film, Down and Dangerous, are not only competent filmmakers and storytellers but are also confident in their style. They know what they are, what they're making, and show nothing but pride for it all. This is, quite possibly, the best "Home Made" feature film I have ever been fortunate enough to see, and I mean that in the best possible way.
The story follows a drug smuggler named Paul Boxer (John T. Woods) who is not only the best in the business but is also the most inventive. Using his intelligence and cunning Paul has never needed to resort to violence or aggression to carry out his work. As a result, his reputation proceeds him as a confident and trustworthy contractor, albeit a criminal one. However, his convictions are put to the test when someone tries to murder his friends and colleagues. Right around the same time that Paul is planning a deal with a local drug dealer who happens to be dating Paul's old flame Olivia (Paulie Rojas Redding). Now, Paul must find those responsible and take them down, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the feds. All the while planning a new and ambitious score which may not be all that it appears to be.
When I labeled this movie as "Home Made," I meant that exactly. The film was put together by The SABI Company, an independent film group that prides itself in producing entirely original content. Financing was achieved through crowdfunding via Kickstarter campaign with donations mostly coming from friends and family. Further solidifying the movies "Home Made" status is their choice of camera, which was the Panasonic AG AF100 (more on that in a moment), a consumer level video camera built for independent cinema. Also, they used Nikon photography lenses as opposed to traditional cinema glass. Making this film a genuinely enjoyable experience on a technological level.
In terms of compelling narrative, the film is surprisingly good. The film can best be described as a character-driven thriller. While this movie can give the impression that it's just a cheap High School project made by a Senior student trying to be cool, the story proper never feels like it. Sure, it's a classic and maybe overused tale of life in the criminal world centering around a protagonist who's smarter than everyone else, but it still manages to be a good version of that. The main reason for this is, arguably, the protagonist. As a character, Paul Boxer is sympathetic and fun to be around. Despite his dark profession he never comes off as evil or intimidating. Because he works so hard to maintain a violence-free workflow, and because his motivations involve seeking justice for a friend, Paul becomes more relatable than you might think. Also, as portrayed by John T. Woods, he has a strange and enduring charm that can only be attributed to the actor's enthusiasm and conviction.
The cinematography, most notably the lighting, is what truly sets this movie apart. The film utilizes striking and bold colors that clearly identifies individual scenes and locations. Using high levels of Blue, Yellow, and sometimes White that gives the movie its New-Noir feel. It's almost surreal how the various bold colors create a sense of otherworldliness to the story. Making the experience a little more unique than you might think.
As mentioned earlier, this film was shot on the Panasonic AG AF100, a consumer level Camcorder that was explicitly built for Cinema production. This camera was released at a time when DSLRs, as in digital photography cameras that could also shoot video, had just started becoming popular alternatives for cinematic capture. With their larger sensors and interchangeable lens options, these cameras slowly became the dominant choice for indie films. However, part of the trade-off with using DSLRs at the time was the fact that they weren't built with video in mind in the first place but instead included video as a kind of bonus feature. As such, though DSLRs still produced decent looking footage, the technology that was used to create the footage was not up to snuff with filmmakers. The footage from DSLRs had many issues. The most prominent one being Moire, which is a kind of fuzziness that appears out of nowhere, especially within fine lines on brick walls and the like.
The Panasonic AG AF100 was one of the first cameras to combine the best of both worlds. It provided the larger sensor and interchangeable lens options of a DSLR while also prodominantly functioning as a video camera with professional level features and, best of all, none of the ugly Moire or tradeoffs associated with shooting on a DSLR. Proving itself to be a digital filmmakers dream camera especially at the time and even still to this day. While some of the more modern and more advanced cameras may overshadow the AF100, no one can deny how well it still holds up as a viable option for digital cinema. As evidenced by this feature film as well as a handful of others, all equally well made.
It is worth mentioning that the filmmakers opted to capture the film using the AF100's internal AVCHD video codec. For those of you who don't know, AVCHD is a video format which most consumer camcorders have. It was designed by SONY and Panasonic as a video codec that would retain high image quality while still utilizing compression technology to maximize storage space. AVCHD has become, at least in my opinion, horribly underrated as a capture format in recent years, purely because of the compression. But as I have already mentioned in my previous article regarding compression, it is just one of the many aspects of digital video that makes it look more like film than you might otherwise think. So if you're looking for proof as to whether or not AVCHD can hold up as an excellent quality capture option for cinema, look no further than this film.
Down and Dangerous is a fun, well crafted, occasionally goofy, and highly admirable film. It has a charm about it that is, in all honesty, very rare in independent Cinema even today. At the moment, this film is available for purchase and for rent on just about any VOD (Video On Demand) service including but not limited to iTunes, Amazon, and Hulu. Whatever service you may have, I would highly recommend you check out this film. It is a rare experience to be sure.
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