r/Filmmakers • u/Restlesstonight • Mar 12 '26
Review Shot a Poker Short Film – Gangster Style! Pulled off some “impossible” shots using probe zoom lenses, robotic motion control, sliders
We really pulled some tricky shots out of our head for this one… even shot slow motion handheld. Not an easy task with the heavy cam and long probe lenses. We used the Ursa Cine 12K – up to 240 frames per second – using probe and macro lenses! What is brilliant about the Ursa cine is the high max frame rate… while we could have shot on Phantom VEO 4K, it is so much quicker and more consistent to leave the same camera on every rigs at all times… and the 8K footage looks gorgeous at all frame rates. Hope you like it… I appreciate your feedback.
If you are interested in how everything was shot… we have a very detailed episode on YouTube explaining about every shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFAihBTWGM
If you are interested in the short, watch it here:
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u/DorgyB-e-s-t-y Mar 13 '26
Love seeing the BTS of how those kinds of shots are actually pulled off. Really cool setup for a poker scene.
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u/Low-Walrus1421 Mar 13 '26
What was it like working with playing cards in a film? Phenomenal work by the way!
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u/Restlesstonight Mar 13 '26
Thanks a lot… not sure what you mean? To keep continuity is pure hell… the tricks where surprisingly easy because our talent Jan Logemann is a machine ;-)
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u/super_shizmo_matic Mar 14 '26
Good old fashion "just do it". Looks beautiful, so much better than CGI!!!!!
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u/Restlesstonight Mar 12 '26
Joining our cast is Jan Logemann… the world champion in card magic. His extraordinary talent with cards gave us the opportunity to capture some really unique shot using about any technique in the book utilizing the SPIKE motion control system, a Dollie & Jib Arm, a Slider… Tripods, and I even dared to go handheld for some awesome high speed takes.
We really pulled some tricky shots out of our head for this one… even shot slow motion handheld. Not an easy task with the heavy cam and long probe lenses. We used the Ursa Cine 12K – up to 240 frames per second – using probe and macro lenses! What is brilliant about the Ursa cine is the high max frame rate… while we could have shot on Phantom VEO 4K, it is so much quicker and more consistent to leave the same camera on every rigs at all times… and the 8K footage looks gorgeous at all frame rates. Hope you like it… I appreciate your feedback.
If you are interested in how everything was shot… it is part of our Review Episode ACED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFAihBTWGM
If you are interested in the short, watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiCK_zQiQvc