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MillimeterPunch POV
Apr 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Michael Goldman
Veteran stunt coordinator-turned-director Jimmy Nickerson's desire to capture more realistic POVs for boxing scenes goes back to his days working stunts on two Rocky pictures. When he signed on last year to direct Cinamour Entertainment's upcoming independent film, From Mexico With Love, Nickerson was still searching for ways to emotionally translate the direct impact of a punch in a fight sequence to the brains of viewers. He explained his vision to designers Ian Love and Tom Boelens at Clairmont Camera, and the result was the JC Cam camera mount for an Arri3 35mm camera system.
The JC Cam consists of a piece of clear Lexan — Plexiglass-like material — mounted on a spring-and-rod controlled track over the Arri camera's 32mm anamorphic lens in such a way that an actor can strike it and have the impact translate visually onto film.
“The Lexan compresses back toward the camera as the actor strikes it, while protecting the camera at the same time, and then retracts back to its normal position,” Nickerson explains. “It lets the operator get a unique shot in terms of the effect of the glove striking the face.”
DP George Mooradian (pictured below with the JC Cam) adds this tool will permit filmmakers to get “more than just action and reaction, where they cut away to the reaction in a fight scene. This lets us film a much longer sequence without cutting, and it can be a more subjective POV. This system lets you get the visceral impact, but still continue the shot without cutting away.”
