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Earth Ritual with the GFX-100 II, One Year On

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This time last year I was preparing to shoot the amazing “Earth Ritual” performance by the Of The Wild Ecological Circus Collective. I have been incredibly fortunate over the last few years to have been involved with various circus acts and performers, from Glastonbury to traditional travelling circus. I filmed this performance using the then new Fujifim GFX-100 II. The GFX-100 is a large format camera with a 102 megapixel sensor that has an area around 1.7x greater than a full frame sensor (approx 1.3x wider/taller). This sensor can be used in many different ways, for example using it’s full width to shoot 4K or shooting at 8K with a frame size just fractionally smaller than Full Frame. For Earth Ritual I used the large format 4K mode with the large format Fujifilm GF 55mm f1.7 lens for an extremely shallow depth of field. 
I really like the way this camera looks, I shot using F-Log but it also has a number of different film emulations built in. Since I shot the film there have also been firmware updates to improve it’s autofocus. There is a more in depth write up about the shoot here.

Fujifilm Eterna digital cinema camera

But also since I shot this Fujifilm have announced that this year they will be releasing a large format cinema camera based on the GFX100 II.  The Fujifilm GFX Eterna looks like it will be a really interesting camera, especially if you are interested in larger than Full Frame formats. You can find more information about the Eterna here.

I used Nanlite and Nanlux lights to light this. Mostly utilising the Forza 720B with a projector lens and gobo as well as a number of Nanlite Pavotube lights for the background.

One thing about all of the circus people I know is that they are passionate about what they do and put a huge amount of effort into delivering entertaining performances. Yet circus is often seen as something seedy or second rate – I can assure you that most contemporary circus is hugely entertaining. Whether that’s a beautifully artistic performance, a funny comedy sketch or a show just for grown ups. So, next time a circus comes to your town, go and see a show. And I hope to bring you more circus later in the year. 

FX6, shoots

Circus shot with the Sony FR7 PTZ camera

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A while back I got the opportunity to shoot a circus with the Sony FR7. The circus is a traditional travelling circus based in the South West of the UK called “Funtasia”. They put on both family shows and adult shows (Cirque du Vulgar) touring during the summer months as well as a Christmas show. 


Filming a traditional circus during a live show is difficult as there is no raised stage as you would find in a theatre. So it is very difficult to use a camera on a tripod without obstructing the audiences view unless you shoot from the back and this isn’t ideal either. The FR7 however allows you to place the camera on the floor, on a stand or to hang it from the the venues structure and then operate it remotely. It is also very small, so won’t obstruct someones view in the same way that a large camera would. 

It can be controlled from a laptop or tablet or with Sony’s RM-IP500 controller (many other PTZ camera controllers can also control it). It can be connected to wirelessly but this adds some latency to the monitoring images that are sent from the camera over the network and for something fast moving like circus this isn’t helpful. So, for this I ran a single ethernet cable from the camera to a basic router and then connected my laptop to the router. I did also have the Sony RM-IP500 remote control panel, but it was easier just to do everything via my laptop.

Operating the FR7 from my laptop



I filmed 4 shows. Two from low down at the front of the performance area and 2 with the FR7 hanging from one of the support trusses of the big top tent. The high shots would not have been possible any other way and they give a unique perspective, especially of some of the aerial acts.

FR7 up on one of the tent supports.


The FR7 is part of Sony’s Cinema Line and is basically a Sony FX6 digital cinema camera in a Pan, Tilt and Zoom housing. It has the same very high image quality as the FX6 as well as all the same recording codecs (plus some extra streaming codecs). And just like the FX6 it can record 4K at up to 120fps. For this shoot I used the Sony 28-135mm power zoom lens with a little bit of Clear Image zoom every now and again to further extend the zoom range.

For more on the FR7 click here. https://www.sony.co.uk/interchangeable-lens-cameras/products/ilme-fr7

For more about Circus Funtasia click here: https://www.circusfuntasia.co.uk/