The action on-screen in Paramount Pictures' new Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension may be scary, but the production behind the scenes was anything but horrific. For this sixth installment in the supernatural horror film franchise, director of photography John W. Rutland and his team set out to create a new type of look while maintaining the series' familiar feel audiences have come to expect. Rutland used a combination of three Sony camera models the professional PMW-200 and the NEX-FS700, plus the 7S full-frame interchangeable lens camera to achieve a first-person home movie perspective with a level of quality that held up to the big screen.
Each camera was chosen for different reasons, but all shared common traits: portability, ease of use and low-light performance, since many scenes take place at night or in dark interiors.
There are so many factors that go into choosing a camera, he says. It was great having this flexibility with different looks and sizes. It made the movie turn out exactly the way we hoped.
To remain consistent with the Paranormal Activity franchise's use of first-person perspective, Rutland wanted to give the actors a camera that was small and simple enough to use, as if they were shooting a home movie.
Having the actors actually operate the cameras really gives a much more realistic feel, he says. Where I might operate the camera my way, and it will look too clean, they might shoot it in a sloppy' way, but it's perfect for the story. It had to have a raw look, not too clean or polished but still high quality. Since we were doing a lot of shooting at night, in low light, and lighting with practicals instead of using traditional movie lighting, the cameras needed to do well in low light.
The home movie camera the actors used was the PMW-200.
That was easy enough for the actors to use, it had a good look, and the images held up well when blown up on a big screen, Rutland says. It had the right look but an actor could easily use it in autofocus mode with auto exposure, plus it was small and handheld.
The camera did really well in lowlight, he adds. We pushed it up to 9db gain in some cases. Six dB was preferred, but at 9, as long as we shot it a little brighter, to darken back down in post, it worked.
Rutland also took advantage of the PMW-200's optical image stabilization feature to remove extraneous camera shake without losing the handheld feel.
A main part of the storyline is when the actors find an old camera with footage on it that is central to the plot. For this, Rutland needed a camera that could resemble a traditional ENG-style shoulder-mount camera.
We wanted a camera that was very different from a home video camera you hold at chest level in your hand, Rutland says.
That specialty camera was the FS700, built-out to look like a shoulder-mount ENG camera and outfitted with a Cabrio Fuji 19-90 lens. In addition to being a set piece in the movie, the FS700 was also used by Rutland to shoot specific scenes.
I would operate that camera because it was heavier and a little too advanced for the actors, he says. Also that camera played a lot at night. We shot with the FS700 at 6400 ISO at night and 3200 in the daytime, and when we watched it on a big screen, it was amazingly clean, with just the right amount of intentional' noise for the movie. I would shoot it a little bright and then bring it down in post, which would help take the noise down even more.
The FS700 was the go-to camera for the main set pieces and the nighttime big scares in the movie.
I'd have it on my shoulder and we'd be able to shoot at 6400 ISO, so the lowlight capability was great, Rutland says. With its super 35mm sensor, there was a visual difference between the FS700 and the PMW-200. That was important to the story because you want to see subtle differences when the family has their little home movie camera and when they are looking at this special camera they've found. We enhanced the differences even more in post by adding scan lines and other weird video artifacts to the footage found in the FS700.
The FS700's high-frame rate capabilities also proved useful.
There is a scene where a character vomits right at the camera, and when you see it - hopefully in 3D - it's pretty crazy, he says. We shot that as a composite of different elements. The actress did her take with nothing in her mouth, faking it. Then we shot a plate of an effects tube blowing this black sludge at the camera. We shot it at a much higher frame rate, so you really feel it coming right at you.
If we had shot that at 24fps, it wouldn't have had nearly the impact it does in the final result, he added.
While Rutland shot with all three Sony cameras, the actors only used the PMW-200.
They used it in Auto Focus mode and that worked well, but we also hooked up a single-channel follow focus to the camera's iris, he says. That way I could pull iris from the wireless monitor. For example, they might point the camera at a big bright window where a character is standing and they'll expose for the character rather than create a silhouette and expose for the window. By hooking up this follow focus, I was able to pull iris throughout a take and be able to pick and choose what the exposure should be.
The production used two PMW-200 cameras: one was always stripped down, the other was built-out with a shoulder rig, monitor and the wireless follow-focus. Having the two always ready was important because we moved really fast on this shoot and shot a ton of footage, he says. Having everything built out and ready was key for us so we could grab and go.
The third camera used was the A7S, a full-frame interchangeable lens camera in a compact body. This was the movie's security camera, used to lend a surv
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
The action on-screen in Paramount Pictures' new Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension may be scary, but the production behind the scenes was anything but horrific. For this sixth installment in the supernatural horror film franchise, director of photography John W. Rutland and his team set out to create a new type of look while maintaining the series' familiar feel audiences have come to expect. Rutland used a combination of three Sony camera models the professional PMW-200 and the NEX-FS700, plus the 7S full-frame interchangeable lens camera to achieve a first-person home movie perspective with a level of quality that held up to the big screen.
