A few weeks ago at NAB 2015 Canon debuted two short films, Trick Shot and Battle of the Ages, shot on the company’s two new 4K camcorders, the EOS C300 Mark II and XC10. If you want to watch them – in 4K, even, if you have the means to play and view the ultra-high-definition resolution – Canon has now made them available on online.
Trick Shot, directed by Evan Kaufmann with Gale Tattersall as cinematographer, was filmed in Nevada using both the EOS C300 Mark II and XC10 cameras. The story in this 15-minute video is about a former pool hustler father and his daughter traveling to ransom his son, who has gotten into some trouble with the local crime element. It plays out a bit like heist a la Ocean’s 11. A behind-the-scenes feature includes background on the cast and crew, as well as the cameras – which are the star of this film. However, Canon has only uploaded the Full HD versions (the videos are also available via Vimeo).
Battle of the Ages is a shorter, faster-paced three-minute film that shows off “parkour” skills, made by filmmaker Scott Winn. His ScottDW channel on YouTube has a dedicated following, and this film has a fun element that we won’t spoil. Battle of the Ages was shot using the Canon XC10 camcorder mounted on a Movi Freefly M-VI M5. You can watch this video up to 4K (2160p). The XC10 is ideal for creating YouTube videos like this, since it’s an affordable camera designed for enthusiasts and indie filmmakers.
Canon is not the first company to produce short films to demonstrate the capabilities of 4K cameras. Previously, Panasonic commissioned Forever Young and Samsung put out a film directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The purpose of these films is to show off the cameras’ 4K capabilities in recording both 4K and Full HD, and what you can experience if you own a 4K TV; you will appreciate the videos much more if you can watch them on a UHD display, however you will still enjoy the quick storytelling even if you don’t.
