Award-winning cinematographer Theo Van de Sande, ASC recently concluded shooting Bad Santa 2, the follow-up to the raucous comedy hit Bad Santa, with the Panasonic VariCam 35 cinema camera/recorder. He also used the new compact 4K VariCam LT cinema camcorder on select scenes.
“The VariCam 35 has become my first and only choice for 4K digital cinema and UHD, even if the studio or network requests HD or 2K only. At this moment, it is the best and most future-proof camera out there. I again was fortunate to be among the first to use the VariCam LT, which I employed for some action scenes in Bad Santa 2, which I never could have shot with my larger VariCam 35. The LT fitted perfect into our existing 4K workflow without any correction, and with the ability to use the same lenses and accessories.”
– Theo Van de Sande, Cinematographer, Bad Santa 2
Bad Santa 2, directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday), stars Billy Bob Thornton (television series “Fargo,” Sling Blade, Simple Plan, Bandits), who reprises his signature Golden Globe-nominated role as Willie Soke, and Golden Globe and Emmy winner Kathy Bates (Misery, Titanic, Dolores Claiborne), who plays Willie’s foul-mouthed, tough-as-nails mom Sunny. Miramax and Broad Green Pictures have partnered to co-finance and co-produce the film with Broad Green handling U.S. theatrical distribution, which is set for November 23, 2016.
Van de Sande has the distinction of being the first cinematographer to have shot a narrative project with the VariCam 35, and to date has used it on four television pilots and a feature film. Shortly after finishing principal photography on Bad Santa 2, he assumed the Director of Photography role in the ABC Freeform series “Guilt,” again shooting with the VariCam 35.
“Apart from a tremendous dynamic range of 14-15 stops, 4:4:4 colour space, an incredible native, almost noiseless 5000 ASA setting, real film-like colour representation and skin tones, I discovered during our recent Bad Santa 2 shoot in Montreal that our uncovered VariCam 35 withstood more than 18 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (8 degrees below zero Celsius) while shooting exterior night scenes: most equipment fails under those circumstances. The VariCam 35 has the right combination of tools for the modern DP: easy interface, rugged sports/ENG heritage, extremely efficient data/memory handling with Panasonic’s AVC-ULTRA codec, two native ISO settings 800/5000, ergonomic design, in-camera post-production ready (dual 4K /2K recording) and a timesaving ND wheel (3x2stops).”
– Theo Van de Sande, Cinematographer, Bad Santa 2
Cinematographer Theo Van de Sande, ASC (pictured) shot the film with three VariCam 35 bodies, using mainly Cooke S4 primes (photo by Jan Thijs)
Since he was shooting in relatively controlled environments, Van de Sande captured most of Bad Santa 2 at native 800 ISO, although there were around a half a dozen shots he captured at native 5,000 (photo by Jan Thijs)
The crew captured 4K AVC-Intra 444 files in V-LOG to P2 express cards (photo by Jan Thijs)
Panasonic VariCam 35 Cinema Camera
Featuring an innovative modular design, the VariCam has a 35mm 4K unit (AU-V35C1) that is separate to the recording module unit (AU-VREC1), allowing interchange with Panasonic’s High Speed 2/3” camera module unit (AU-V23HS1). The recorder and camera head can be split apart using an extension cable of up to 20 meters, making the VariCam suitable for use in helicopters, cranes and cars.
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