In recent years, we’ve come to rely on iPhone’s as a readily available source of information, and this goes for on-set reference tools as much as any other area of life. iPhone apps have been developed for nearly every aspect of production, and now there are apps designed for those working in the Grip and Electric departments.

theGripApp (Enlightened Shenanigans, $4.99) is designed specifically as a reference manual for those working as grips, describing itself as 25% dictionary, 25% equipment stats, 25% descriptions of equipment, and 25% practical applications. A wide variety of equipment is presented, from dollies to flags to cranes, all with detailed specs and images directly from the manufacturer. In fact, the app is helpfully organized into four categories (Dolly, Cranes, Hardware, Rigging) to make it easier to find exactly the information you’re looking for.

Enlightened Shenanigans also makes another app, setLighting ($9.99) that presents a wealth of information, in this case on lighting equipment. It is organized (similarly to theGripApp) into four categories: Lights, Power, Bulbs, and Useful. The app provides a guide to the most common lighting units in the production world, including images, specs, available accessories, and bulb options. An especially helpful feature is the power distribution cheat sheets, such as the amperage usage chart and the maximum ampacity chart. setLighting is a great reference guide for anyone working with fixed lighting.

Ever since Mitch’s original iPhone app blog, we’ve been discovering more and more apps that we think our clients will find useful. Check out our iPhone Apps for Modern Cinematographers resource for a list of apps, organized into categories such as FOV calculators, timecode, filters, etc. Don’t forget to bookmark the page, as we will be continually updating and adding more to our list.

In addition to being accessible on YouTube and Vimeo, the great majority of the videos on our website and blog are now iOS friendly. This means you can keep up with latest video posts from our AbelCine experts on your iPhone, iPad or other mobile device from the set, or anywhere you have internet access.

Visit blog.abelcine.com/tag/video on your iOS device today.

Last year on this blog we discussed a number of feature films that were currently in production using the Aaton Penelope 2-perf / 3-perf switchable 35mm camera. Now, with several of these high-profile projects about to be released, here’s a recap of a few of Penelope’s credits.

The Fighter, directed by David O’Russell, is a film inspired by the life of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward. The production considered shooting on digital, 16mm and 3-perf with various cameras but ultimately decided to use Penelope because of the 2-perf cost savings and the easy handheld capability. Renting two cameras through Abel Cine Tech, the production worked fast, averaging 36 set-ups per day. Camera Assistant Gregory Irwin pointed out that the “Penelope camera is smaller and lighter than any other studio package,” allowing the production to get almost every shot hand-held or with a Steadicam – no need for tripods or dollies. For his part, DP Hoyte van Hoytema praised the camera’s “thoughtful design” and “human touch.” The Fighter will be in theaters this December and stars Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams and Christian Bale. Watch the official trailer.

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the winner of the Grand Prix, the second highest prize awarded, was a French film called Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men). Directed by Xavier Beauvois, with Caroline Champetier as DP, it tells the story of a group of monks trapped in the mountains of Algeria. About shooting with the Penelope, Champetier had only positive words: “It allowed me to have real stability…The camera allowed me a subtle and sensitive accompaniment of movement.” The film will be shown at the 2010 New York Film Festival. Click here for screening times, or watch the official trailer.

Also screened at Cannes was the horror film Mother’s Day, directed by Darren-Lynn Bousman. Wanting a dark, dramatic look, Bousman and DP Joseph White decided that 2-perf 35mm was the way to go. On this project, Penelope was used alongside a Panavision camera, also shooting in 2-perf. White heaped praise on the Penelope: “It really is an impressive camera. Gorgeous video tap, very quiet, a dream on Steadicam…A camera with a real design sensibility – it has so many uses.” Mother’s Day stars Deborah Ann Woll and Alexa Vega; the film’s official site is here.

Another high-profile feature to utilize the Penelope is Paul Haggis’s The Next Three Days. A dramatic thriller that stars Russell Crowe as a man determined to break his wife out of prison, it was shot on 3-perf with Penelope serving as B camera alongside two ARRICAM Lite systems rented out of ARRI CSC NY. The film is due for release in November, and the official trailer is available now.

On The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, Director of Photography Newton Thomas Sigel, a longtime Aaton user, requested the Penelope for handheld work. It performed so well that the production kept the camera on for more days than originally planned. The Conspirator recently had its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival and is slated for theatrical release in April 2011.

Another film recently shot with the Penelope is The Innkeepers, directed by Ti West and produced by Larry Fessenden.

With its unique 2-perf/3-perf switchability and ergonomic design, the Penelope will continue to be popular with those who want a reliable, lightweight and versatile solution for their 35mm needs.

Sony recently announced the SRW-5800/2, an HDCAM SR studio recorder that builds on the quality and flexibility of the original SRW-5800 VTR. The SRW-5800/2 uses the latest version of the HDCAM SR MPEG4 Simple Studio Profile codec ASIC, which provides support for higher sampling resolutions, including 2K. Support for RGB 4:4:4 SQ comes standard, meaning the additional HKSR-5803SQ board is no longer necessary.

Other features include:

– MXF SStP file transfer
– SR-Lite MXF file support
– Double speed record & playback for 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 SQ modes
– RGB 3D record & playback for 4:4:4 SQ mode
– Real-time 2K formats: (2048×1080 RGB 10 bit, 2048×1080 XYZ 12 bit)
– Support for 96 KHz audio sampling

An optional upgrade kit (HKSR-58UK) will be available so that the SRW-5800/1 can be made into a 5800/2. Older SRW-5800 decks that have not been upgraded to /1 can also use the HKSR-58UK, but will require an additional HIF-56 board.

– Correction of a problem where Disc writing fails when the USB connection performance is low or unstable
– Correction of a problem that causes some applications not to launch after installing XDCAM Drive Software 2.2.1
– Support for handling “component directory” and related files through voice-over editing with a PDW-HR1 v1.6
– Support for metadata added from PDW-F800

You can download the PDW-U1 Drive Software v2.30 update directly from Sony’s site.

When the opportunity arose to travel to the South Pacific and document the Amelia Earhart Expedition’s archeological research, picking which camera to bring was an easy choice for award-winning DP Mark Smith. “The ability of the HPX370 to shoot full raster HD and record in AVC-Intra…coupled with the flexibility of the camcorder for either handheld or tripod-style shooting, made my choice of a main camera easy,” explained Smith, an Abel client.

He continued, “The HPX370 also affords very low power consumption, which translates into a two-pound battery powering most of a day’s shooting…The camcorder, with lens and battery, is sized and weighted ideally for this onerous assignment.” Additionally, Smith took the HPX170 along as a “B” camera. Rounding out his workflow were the HPG20 P2 portable recorder, HPG10 P2 Gear viewer/recorder, and the PCD2 single-slot memory card drive. He shot AVC-Intra at 1080/30pN on the HPX370 and DVCPRO HD 1080/30p on the HPX170.

As part of a 16-member team, Smith journeyed to Nikumaroro, a remote island in the Pacific formerly known as Gardner Island, in order to detail the Expedition’s findings. The expedition, which is lead by The Institute for Aviation History (TIGHAR), seeks to prove that Earhart landed, and eventually died, on the the island. Proving this theory would solve the decades-long mystery surrounding her disappearance. For more information on the Amelia Earhart Expedition, visit Smith’s website or The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery’s website. Check out the full Panasonic press release here.

For some dramatic shots of the car idling on a tarmac then peeling out onto the track, the production shot with the Phantom HD. However, for interior shots, Panasonic’s HPX3700 VariCam was the camera of choice. “While we needed an ultra high-speed camera for exteriors, the VariCam 3700 integrated beautifully into our specialized workflow…shooting with the HPX3700 at full-raster 1920×1080 resolution in AVC-Intra 100, we achieved images that fully convey the passenger luxury inside the car,” explained Long. In addition, the production deployed the HPX170 to get even more detail in smaller interior spaces.

Rounding out their workflow were Panasonic’s HMR10 compact field recorder/player, the HPG20 P2 HD recorder for real-time back-up, and the HCK10 POVCam for use on car-mounts. Says Long of the ultra-compact camera, “Considering its minute size and weight – a little more than ½ a pound – the POVCam is a big performer. We shot in the highest-quality PH mode, using a long lens, and recorded 1080/30p to the HMR10. The car mounts were all about singling out detail, and we got a really nice looking defocused background with the HCK10.”

To watch the full video which premiered at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, click here.

Among the winners at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was Xavier Beauvois’ Of Gods And Men (Des hommes et des dieux), based on a true story and shot on the Aaton Penelope. Revolving around a group of Cisternian monks facing threats from Islamic fundamentalists in the mountains of Algeria, the film brought home the Grand Prix, the second highest prize awarded at the festival.

For a film in which the landscape played such an important part, it was important for Beauvois to work with a Director of Photography that understood his vision – enter Caroline Champetier. “The first question we asked ourselves, Xavier and me, was that of format,” she says. They decided to use the Penelope and shoot in 2-perf in order to preserve the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Champetier praised the camera’s design and comfort: “It allowed me to have real stability…it’s long and its center of gravity is very low, the sight is clear and bright. This camera allowed me a subtle and sensitive accompaniment of movement…” She concludes that “it was particularly reassuring, intoxicating even, to realize that we had the perfect tool to translate exactly what we wanted onto film.”

The filmmakers also chose Aaton’s Cantar Digital Audio Recorder for its flexibility and ease-of-use. Read an in-depth interview with Champetier about her experiences shooting Of Gods And Men here (French).

At NAB last month, Zeiss introduced an updated version of their popular Arri/Zeiss LWZ-1 zoom. The new LWZ.2 is a 15.5-45mm zoom that features outstanding image quality and is available in multiple, interchangeable mounts (PL, EF, F). Perfect for use with HDSLR cameras such as the Canon 7D, as well as more traditional cine cameras, the lens covers the full Super-35 frame and weighs only about 4.4 pounds (2 kg). Read Zeiss’s full press release on the LWZ.2 lightweight zoom here.

Mitch got a chance to get some hands-on time with the LWZ.2 at Zeiss’s booth – check out his video on Vimeo or YouTube.

Check out the full video here and a great making-of video here.