Why The Creator Will Change Indie Filmmaking Forever 

I saw the movie over the weekend. Edwards is a magician. It many ways, the film looks better than a lot of films with much bigger budgets.

They actually did a podcast talking about how many they had on set. I think it was eight or nine. Oren wanted to make sure that Gareth could just pick up the rig (since he was operating most of the time except for the crane) and go. So they made several small packages with the least amount of equipment as possible. Oren was also talking about how nice it was just to have these small packages because they were able to do so many different setups if they wanted and not really follow the shotlist. It was a great podcast.

I was lucky enough to have a small acting role in this film, and the time I was on set all of the cameras I saw were Sony. We shot inside for my scenes, they had a cart with several different camera configuration on it, and as far as I could tell they were all Sony cameras. I have been on set for some B movies that had much bigger crews and setups. When I finally got to see the movie, I was blown away by what the end result was. A few of my friends who were involved in some of the outdoor scenes down in southern Thailand confirmed to me that the minimal crew we see in the BTS were also down there for the beach shoots.

In the early days, I felt defined by the camera I used, now it's merely a tool. Modern day filmmaking is kicked wide open for everyone! The tools we have today to create visual stories is unreal. Cheers Luc, always advice in your weekly uploads ☺️🎥🎬

I shot my first verite documentary for the BBC 25 years ago, having spent the previous seven years shooting big budget commercials with Arri 35mm cameras, full crew and a big lighting truck. My producer at the BBC handed me a huge Digibeta camera and a small crew but this was just at the time when mini DV cameras were becoming viable. The Sony PD-150 was the equivalent then of what the FX3 is now, prosumer and tiny form factor. The big difference was that its relative image quality was poor. Poor but just about good enough for broadcast. Just about. I insisted on solo shooting the whole doc with the PD-150 despite this big sacrifice in IQ because it was vastly outweighed by the advantage of a small form factor. You have a different relationship with the subject when you put a camera on your shoulder to when you hold it in the palm of your hand. I shot the film over the course of a year and very quickly you just become part of the furniture in a way that you don’t with a huge camera perched on your shoulder. When the police burst in to arrest your subject, for example, you get an unfiltered reaction as if you’re just a drunk uncle recording lunch on Christmas day. Scorcese has for years filmed his rehearsals on a small camcorder and has noted wistfully that he can never get *quite* get the same level of performance when it comes to a take in front of the whole crew and the full rig. The advantages of portability are obvious. Not just to a film crew flying all over the world but also to the solo doc shooter. When your subject is trying to give you the slip to go have that awkward meeting with the bank manager, you can just leap into the back of the taxi with him and get the shot. In verite documetary film making, getting the shot is everything. The big game changer now with the FX3 is that you don’t have to make the sacrifice in image quality to get it. Any competent DP can get just as good looking results with a FX3 as they can with an Amira. I would have killed to have had that option when I first started shooting docs and this is an incredibly exciting time to be a film maker.

I saw it a couple times now... it's not just that it competes with other films, it's that they got everything they wanted and it looks more real and grounded for being shot on location. It's like Blomkamp, but one notch further. I can't wait to see what directors like him will do once they know they can work with smaller budgets and faster gear. Maybe we'll get to see the uncompromising movies these kinds of directors really want to make, with much less studio interference, and lower ROI risk for sequels.

I think this is less about the camera but the cinematographer and crew that figured out how to get the best out of it.

It’s not about the tool you have it’s the knowledge and talent you have that is the most important. Back in the day they didnt have the tech we do now yet with the limited tools they were able to achieve incredible results.

We've been over this before with the 5DmkII and the original Blackmagic Pocket. Consumer cameras' image quality haven't been holding back indie filmmakers for a good long while now.

Camera never mattered. Lighting. Location / set & set detail. Story. Framing. Acting. All more important.

I think it finally dawned on me why they used the Ronin in so many of these rigs. In a very real sense, almost every shot they made had to become a VFX plate, and though the Ronin wouldn’t do anything to dampen z-axis movement, it would keep the camera level throughout each shot. At the same time, looking at these behind the scenes clips, the camera ops are having to contort their bodies in ways that a more traditional shoulder and/or handheld rig (even one built out of an FX3) would not require. I tend to doubt I would ever need such a setup, but then again…who knows (famous last words and all that). As for the output, I believe they were filming in RAW (not 4:2:2) to a recorder via the HDMI port. Obviously they made it work, but seems real clunky from my point of view. HDMI isn’t the worst connector in the world, but it’s not particularly robust. I would much rather have a camera capable of internal RAW but for the “Creator” crew, so much depended on shooting at ISO 12800 for the low-light work, and that really limited their options.

It didn’t look like a $4k camera the movie was breathtakingly beautiful

Although this movie and camera means a lot for the indie filmmaker/cinematographer, you also have to take into account what it does to professional film technicians like myself. People on the money side of filmmaking who don't understand the importance of experience, lighting, and glass only see dollar signs with the Creator. They see smaller crews, cheaper cameras, and less money to achieve blockbuster looks. This results in less pay, less budget, and less jobs for the technicians who make these movies look the way that they do. So yes, The Creator is fantastic for the prosumer and indie world but pretty detrimental to the professional one.

GREAT VIDEO LUC. I am a huge SCi-Fi geek and how this slipped by me I have no idea. I am gearing up for my own Sci-Fi feature in May of 24 and my DP and I (she will be shooting on the FX9) just threw out the whole steady cam department and i will be purchasing the FX3 for all our B Cam stuff with the Ronin. I already have most of the small rig build out from my Canon EOS R6. just need the cage for the FX3. I even have the Atomos Ninja V which i love as an onboard monitor. Thanks so much for this "Lightbulb" moment and what clearly will be a game changer in our industry.

Atomos is a great choice. I have 3. I have bought and returned many other monitors. They match the LCD screen perfectly. To me that is most important. Settings in camera and monitor for accurate framing. I only use the FC once in a while on the Atomos. I'm really diggin' the location in the woods shots. The audio is working out for ya there too. Thanks for these.

So true. While it helps to have at least a good quality consumer camera, it is more important to know your gear inside out and make the most of what you have. As long as you have an engaging story, good actors and good AUDIO, there is no excuse to at least tell a simple story.

This message is for anyone obsessing over which brand camera is used for a successful production: Who cares what camera something is shot on? It's the writing, the directing, the acting, the music, the editing, the sound design, the set locations, the art direction, the lighting etc., that make a movie/show/doc GOOD. Not a camera.

- this film was made in the most perfect way possible, w/ the filmmakers vision..(every shot in this film was filmed with love and passion for film..) 10/10

Love how the excuses to noy make and create is only as big as the lies we tell ourselves. Thanks for making great content!

I watched the film last Friday in the Cine x room. I absolutely loved it ..... I am not surprised that the fx3 did so well, but great to see that someone has made a film with it . defo worth seeing on the big screen!

Atomos makes great monitors/recorders. I have been using a Shogun for years. Super bright, quite rugged, easy menus, all the features your could possibly want.

There is the famous 10 Fx3,s in the basket stills shot, when early BTS ,were leaking out . And one of the AC,s said it was so they could rig up cameras in various modes in advance . So really $40K of cameras but 10 instead of 1 .

Great video! Stay warm! As for The Creator, I seen it a liked it a lot. The entire crew did a awesome job on achieving a great artistic performance!! I was worried that the making of, and FX-3 Sony would overshadow the movie itself, it did not. There was still a story there, some would say several stories all rolled up into one! The performances were great by all the actors, the story was easy to follow and never deviated from the script itself, the cinematography was simply spectacular!! Top notch! As filmmakers out here it’s nice to come across stories like this, but we can all bet that this isn’t the first movie shot with the FX-3, we just seem to be hearing about this one! I love how the production was able to downsize the production for the sake of getting the movie done in a timely manner! The locations were really conducive within the story itself and became a character itself! I’m a sci-fi person so this was really up my alley on a number of levels! I think you’ll like it in the end, but that’ll be a testament to the director, DP, actors, and crew!! Take care!

Saw this movie today…. Man was it a well rounded well written movie. Never in a million years would you have guessed it was shot on a fx3

A camera is a box with a whole. Great creative and glass makes magic.

Yeah, I saw the movie and pretty much everything you said was on the mark. It really does have a nice film look to it and I think you know it goes back to the whole issue that you can’t compare one camera to another and say one is better it’s just they do things differently And this camera and this movie kind of proved that as far as making great art cameras have pretty much all come to a point where it’s not the camera that’s making the art it’s the artist and that’s exactly where it should be. Don’t you think there was a lot of effects in the creator, but the basic foundation of the movie and the shots that I look really closely a to see the quality and if someone told me it was Film, you could almost… almost believe that it was shot on Film, which is pretty amazing and certainly speaks well of how much camera technology has come along enjoy the FX three it’s an amazing camera and we are blessed at this time in place to be filmmakers

the creato was really a great movie, i really enjoyed it, the story with some hints of akira was really original a landscape of the same marvel or dc films

EXACTLY! It's the SOFTWARE(concept, ideas) first and the HARDWARE(camera, equipment) that comes second that matters the most - James D. Watkins, artistic director of PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS.

If you've watched Monsters, using a producer cam for Creator makes total complete sense. Gareth Edwards DNA 🧬 right there.

Good flick, bit underwelming. Not sure what I was expecting but more wouldn't have hurt. As mention by Chris Stuckman, it kind of flounders it's way through the third act.

Love these on the scenes videos man, especially as someone who also works in the arctic. It's pretty incredible what affordable filmmaking gear can do with the knowledge of how to use it. The creator just proves all the haters in my comment section wrong lol

only a minute in and haven't finished yet, but like.... lenses matter way more than bodies and that's what i'm more curious about in regard to the making of The Creator. edit: update after viewing whole video: wow i'm impressed with the setup. proof that diminishing returns really are diminishing lol. also i loved the movie it's great and i'm sad i missed it in theaters (mean old life getting in the way)

This is one of the channels that gave me the courage to start my RU-vid channel 8 months ago about self development. Now I have 942 subs and > 800 hours of watch time. I know it’s not comparable with others but I’m still proud I started because I’ve been learning so many lessons that I could haven’t learned without getting started in the 1st place.

I own an A7c and I started to rig it out and adjust the rig for my needs. Maybe some day I will upgrade to an FX3, but for now I really want to stick to the idea to make the best possible content with the gear I have / can afford. That in mind: I can recommend the Portkeys PT6 Monitor. It's light weight, has many assisst features and with 600 Nit it's the best one I could find for my budget of 200€.

I agree with you Luc! I never imagined a world that I could make a movie with the equipment I already have. I'm so happy I enrolled in your course. You are continuous source of inspiration.

it's a beautifully realized movie. a lot of the themes are derivative and they never fully hit the right heady marks. but it's an emotional journey nonetheless and i'll definitely be enjoying it again. i hope there's an extended cut at some point because i enjoy spending time in the world they designed

It was one of the best films I’ve seen all year personally. I have always been a big singularity believer and this was a fun vision on one potential scenario!

informative video particularly about Sony FX3. Thanks Luc.

"Hollow Excuses" I like that. 100% agree

I saw the movie, in fact I bought it because I loved the story, the acting of the characters and the quality of the scenes and the special effects. Impressed with the equipment that was used to shoot the movie simply Wao! Hopefully those people with desire and vision will be encouraged to make and tell new stories. Personally I recommend the movie and I am sure that a second part will come.

Glad, I found your channel. Keep it up.

Thanks for breakdown, I'm really surprised because THE CREATOR was one of the best sci fi movies that Ive seen in last years! Damm

I have been able to put together an URSA mini 12K package (8 tb worth of SSD storage, monitor, handles, follow focus, batteries) with a full set of vintage Zeiss lenses and the whole package ran me just shy of 10,000$ and I have virtually no need to go in debt for a 100,000$+ RED with Cooke S4 unless production is paying to rent one )

“Not focusing on Plot or Acting” While this film got incredible plot and acting as well, i love it so much

I bought this camera because of creator. The movie is probably the best ad ever for a camera.

Thanks for the effort you put in to still make videos on the go! It's inspiring. Cameras really are becoming more affordable with more to offer, like the Fujifilm X-T5 can do ProRes & BRAW in 6.2k and the camera is only like $1500. Probably using some of that "black magic" to pack such a punch in such a little camera. 😂

Awesome Video as always... I saw The Creator the 2nd day it was out. I thought it was amazing... The Storyline in my opinion was very well thought out. A couple things were predictable but the overall movie was a 8.5 out of 10... Possibly got that rating because I knew what it was filmed on.... Long story short.... WATCH IT!!!

Totally agree, this movie is going to change how a lot of us see movies and how we approach our projects. I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't let the gear stand in the way of you making your film and now this film will help back up that argument. LOL.

The camera body really doesn’t matter that much nowadays. It’s never been the most important thing. You can get a fantastic looking image out of a Canon 70D if you strap a $20000 anamorphic lens to it. Won’t be movie theater quality, but the image will still look good. Add to that a world class colorist who knows how to work with lower bitrate/DR footage, and you could shoot your film on almost anything. The Creator might’ve used a cheap body, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves into thinking they were using a low budget setup.

I was in Awe hearing you speak until you mentioned Graig Fraiser then it became clear how that was possible, he is simply the best photography director available.

Believe they had 6-10 rigs for different scenes, jibs, cranes are in use too so plenty big time equipment but amazing use of a full frame Sony mirrorless FX3 in 2023 vs arri Alexa is wild

The film felt like an homage to the sci-fi genre. The emotional high points don't quite land, but otherwise it's a pretty interesting film. I plan on buying a physical copy once it releases.

This movie surprised me, its so good.

My simple observation, the biggest obstacle are the obscene budgets. When you think $80 million is "average," then you essentially double it for a breakeven point $160 million post COVID-19 is a difficult swallow. There's too many of these movies that are ending up in the red to offset the tiny few in the black. AI is going to revolutionize movie making over the next several years or decades, but until then, I think big budget movies are going to be few and far between.

You are so right. I felt so empowered after watching this movie especially for that reason.

I watched the film, it was really good although the natural lighting approach made things a bit hard to see at times. Traditional lighting should still be the go to....

Shinobi is basically Ninja without record functions , I use it on the fx3 , its HDMI only , but also not much of a battery eater , and if you lose / drop / break , its not the end of the world . Samllrig do a nice cage for it too , more mounting points .

I would be really interested in a test case of this camera with use in Unreal 5! -Like perhaps in a virtual production kind of arrangement!

Next fx3 gonna come with 6k 120 with global shutter.

Don't forget whatever camera you are using, those films are heavily processed in VFX and comp.

Every one can make cinema movies with 2,5K camera now a days. A BMD Pocket 4K is more than enough. When I went to film school I was dreaming about a digital camera that could have made videos that out smartphones can now produce 😅

Still shooting on a 5d Mark II. No school like Old School.

Cameras are only tools. It was a smart choice for Gareth to use such a small camera with great low light and image quality but thats the furthest it can go. Since films have been done on IPhone, cam corders, blackmagics it's important people know that a camera alone won't make anything look great BUT its inspiration for others to try!

Just me or its rare seeing this sfx or CG blends well with the greenery environment

FX3 used to film 80 million dollar hollywood movie. Also as a webcam and to record my b footage. lol

FX3 also has S35 mode... only difference is resolution is higher on the FX9. But using FF camera to shoot S35 kind of doesn't make sense.

With their rig, you can lock the gimbal motors and have hand held at any moment.

Ive shot a feature as Bcam with a little sony. Truth was the HDMI was so bad that the few shots we did with my C200 were faster easier and therefore cheaper. Certain lesson is if you gonna use these little cams you need many copies because the rig is going to need to be made very robust if you lose picture all the time it just wastes set time. So sure use this camera one in shoulder build another in ronin build with that HDMI glued and nailed in pace. If you cant afford 2 (or 10) then of these boxes then a more robust camera .. c200 or zcam or kimodo might be faster and therefore cheaper.

Thank You!

I enjoyed the movie very much. Awesome looking movie

I haven't found any big budget cinema using the Canon R5C vs Sony FX3 probably because of the log capture.

I think what this movie is doing, beyond anything else in Hollywood, is PROVE to EXECUTIVES that the tools and crew size are not a once-size-fits-all. When they greenlight a production, it's fully expected to have a crew of 70, and using Panavision / Arri big builds, Maxi-Brute lights, etc. The, "This is a REAL movie productions, kids!" viewpoint. I see this as a useful push-back to executives' current expectations.

Funny the name of the movie is titled The Creator, now we will have many new filmmakers because of the backstory FX3 hype, beautiful imagery and abilities in low light, luts, cheap anamorphic lenses etc. all at a fraction of the cost. I jumped on this bandwagon as well. time to be the Creator.

In reality, this does not mean a lot. People think it’s a game changer, but the reality is that it’s way more about “who is behind the camera” rather than the camera itself.

Awesome sir!

Love your videos we also run the exact same Fx9 setup up lol!

Awesome video. Luc. By the way which brand winter gloves are those ? . 😉👍🏾

I had no idea this film was indie, low budget, i felt like this was on par with other sci fi's that spent 2-4x more money.

Didn't know the Star Wars Rogue One director was an indie filmmaker.

I wonder what the lighting package for this film was like

Hi Luc, how do you keep the fuzzy on the mic on the stock FX3 audio mount out of the frame? Do you just avoid 24mm, where I can see the edge of a Rycote on mine? Thx!

It's worth a watch.

I watched the movie. It is one of the best sci-fi movie there is. But I missed that part that it was shot on FX3. WOW! Thanks for sharing.

I wish the fx3 was 8k capable. I was looking at the a1 for 8k shots. Will a new version bring 8k?

Hey luc! Great video. This topic definitely makes this an interesting time. By the way.. what audio rig do you run on your FX3? I don’t see it in the description details. Cheers!

I always tell people. Good artists are more important than gear.

Well, the camera might be very affordable to most, it's not in my budget because this is a hobby for me. I have the Canon 70D and it shoots at 1080. If I need 4K, I use software to upscale and it looks amazing. The thing is that I also have to worry about storage. 4K takes up a lot of space. I also have a GoPro Hero 10 and that does shoot 4K. Unknowing, I found out that my iPhone SE also can shoot in 4K. So I have all the equipment that I need for now. What I would like to do is go back to college (I am already a petrochemical engineer and 59 years old) to advance my skills as a hobby. Having said that, do you know of a good online program that would work? Thanks for the video and wow does that Sony Fx3 do a good job.

Interesting. Did they make this movie in only 10 bits???? I'm colorizing a clip from this camera right now. The cameraman did not use the LOG mode on this camera. And for me, 10 bit is not enough to achieve the result I want. So for me it is much better to work with my Pocket4K camera, which shoots in RAW, 12 bit. The material is much more flexible.

I just got the R5C. Would you say the FX3 is a better choice? If so, why?

Honestly, in recent years, Indie movies typically have a better replay value than the big hollywood productions. Story lines are more raw.

the movie looked amazing

It could be shot on VHS for all I care but, please, give me a great story. I fell asleep during the Creator. His first film was great!

Very insightful, thanks a lot! May I ask whant kind of belt you use at 8:45? Thanks a lot! :)

קולנוע עצמאי ב80 מיליון דולר. אנשים פשוט בדיחה

Very few people talk about the lenses that were used in conjunction with the camera.

Client mad im not using Matte Box My response: "THIS IS THE SAME MOVIE THEY SHOT THE CREATOR ON!" lol

Interesting to know that in low light FX3 is better than Fx9 🎉

With 80million dollars budget with the industry best gaffers, and professional crews and professional colorists. With a budget and professional crew, colorists etc would make any camera look great. Give or take it has a decent dynamic range. It’s funny so many people will get this camera and think that their project will look like this film and will be sadly mistaken. 😂

Hi thank you letting me know, I hope down the road I will be able to do the same.

This movie is the equivalent of a Lamborghini without an engine. It could be visually and technically impressive but the characters and the story don't work, something that surprises me coming from the director of Monsters