
Director and Producer Alicia Brauns recently had a very personal story to tell about her fathers journey from holocaust survivor to well-known surgeon. To depict that journey and Dr. Jack Brauns positive outlook on life, she turned to her favorite cinematographer, Rodney Charters, ASC. The two knew they would be covering an extensive amount of ground, from inside the infamous camps to the journey through Germany and beyond in a short shooting time. They had to build their shooting package carefully so they chose Canon C300s supported by a fluid head and legs from Sachtler, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company.
Easy to transport with every set-up
We chose three Canon C300s to CF cards at 4:2:2 with either Angenieux 15 to 40mm, or 45 to 120mm lenses on A and B camera, explains Charters. For C-camera we used various EOS Canon lenses, 8 to 15, 24 to 105, and 70 to 300. We chose not to add anything additional because we wanted to be able to move quickly. Each camera package weighed in at about eight pounds.
When Rodney came to us with this project, it sounded exciting, says Tobias Keuthen, Marketing Manager for Sachtler. We wanted to do all we could to help him tell this story. It was important to him to have a solid documentary-friendly tripod and head, since he knew that they would be on their own in remote locations. We decided the Video 18 S1 was the perfect choice, allowing him to handle the lightweight camera package with ease, and move as quickly as he needed to move.
I remembered the Video 18 from my 16SR days coupled with a set of carbon fiber legs and integrated spreader, says Charters. It has a handle and when folded, it is easily carried in one hand, allowing the other hand to carry camera and lens. Or, it can be elegantly shouldered with the camera and tripod. It turned out to be the perfect match, just enough strength to support the longer lenses. And with its good viscosity, it could also easily handle lens heights from the ground up to six feet.
Reliable under pressure of time
The Sachtler Video 18 S1s were perfect for shooting The Mosaic of Life on location in Germany because they were compact and easy to transport, Brauns agrees. They did not drag or weigh us down. We had to move through locations quickly. The clock was always ticking.
It was that ability to pick up and move that helped Charters and Brauns get the amount of material they needed in the time allowed. Often times they would pull up to a location, pull their package out of their transportation, grab a few shots and move on quickly. In Kaufering, Germany, for example, we saw a great opportunity for visual content in the train tracks not far off the road, Brauns says. The Sachtlers ball-head mount made it very fast and easy to level the camera on a steep hillside right next to the tracks. We could not do it without the Sachtler Video 18 S1 because we had to get everything out of the way if a train approached.
It is the Video 18s unique counterbalance system that became one of the key factors in choosing Sachtler for this project. It allows for optimal alignment in no time at all. This way Charters could pick up and move to another angle or location, set his equipment down for the shot, and be ready to capture what Brauns needed immediately. The modern and lightweight fabrication makes this medium weight support extremely stable and functional. While Charters package weighed in at about eight pounds, the Video 18 S1 could have handled payloads up to forty pounds, should he have needed to add anything to his camera.
A encouragement to live: The Mosaic of Life
The Mosaic of Life is an inspirational documentary depicting the life and positive philosophy of Dr. Jack Brauns, surgeon and Holocaust survivor, who reveals how even the worst circumstances can still allow lifes colors to shine and illuminate even the most hopeless among us. Unlike other Holocaust films, this documentary is an empowering film encouraging light, redemption and restoration. The project will be completed by 2014.
For more information, go to www.sachtler.com.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...
17/07/2025
GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...