ALEXA Mini

Ultimately, for me owning an ALEXA Mini wasn't a money-making decision but it was about investing in myself and my career. It was definitely a big investment for me but it is worth it as it gives me access to, in my opinion, the best image out there.

DP Michael Latham (Known for: Strange Colours, Ukraine is not a Brothel, Island of the Hungry Ghosts and many more)

As soon as I talked to the director about the look and the technical side of the TVC, it was clear that we had to use the ALEXA Mini. We had to switch through multiple setups along the shooting days from handheld to quick and subtle tracks on the Movi PRO and Movi XL on the tracking vehicle. Since the Mini is so versatile and easy to rig it was the perfect fit allowing us to shoot more and wait less.

DP Žiga Zupačič (Known for: Biological Clock, What About the Baby, In the French Style and many more)

We used ALEXA Mini for aerial shots and gimbal work and the rest of film was shot on ALEXA SXT. Since the ALEXA cameras have the same type of sensor and we used the same lenses, the style was uniform, even though we used two different camera types. We shot the film in the remote city of Haikou which meant it would have been very hard to get another camera body if anything went wrong. The reliability of ARRI cameras was outstanding and indeed a relief.

DP Max Wang (Known for: The Girl from the Naked Eye, Animal World, Fist of the Warrior and many more)

The ALEXA Mini was very nice in regard to size and weight, very comfortable. The feeling that we wanted to get for the film was documentary style, kind of run-and-gun, and for that we needed a very light camera. The size of the ALEXA Mini gave us the freedom to move around easier. With handheld you can move around with the actor and let him be free. It changes the entire attitude of filmmaking, and it gives the actors more of a natural feeling of being in the scene.

DP César Charlone ABC (Known for: Cidade de Deus, Die Stadt der Blinden, The Constant Gardener and many more)

The size of ALEXA Mini is a big bonus, it allowed us to shoot lighter and faster. We had a lot of shoulder-mounted shots and there were caves that only allowed two people to squat in; this would have been very hard for a big camera. We used two ALEXA Minis also for the scenes where we were climbing mountains and also for the multicam shots of the action scenes. The camera really shined when we shot the exterior scenes. There were a lot of narrow places, including the shots in the forest, and ALEXA Mini was perfect for the job. I also think the overall stability of ARRI is superb, there’s no problem using an ALEXA mini as an A cam.

DP He Shan (Known for: Nirvana, Wrath of Silence, Deep in the Heart and many more)