From large-scale blockbusters to indie short films, Sony strives to bring every director’s vision to reality. Our Cinema Line professional cameras celebrate the daring aspirations of filmmakers everywhere with cinematographic technology that takes ideas off a page to a screen. No matter the genre, Cinema Line cameras allow filmmakers to navigate and explore unchartered realms. This quarter, we will take a closer look into the creative process behind the Thai sci-fi blockbuster URANUS2324 and the Singaporean indie short film A Witch Trial and find out how Cinema Line cameras have aided these productions.

Spotlight #1 | URANUS2324

Directed by James Thanadol of VelCurve Studio, URANUS2324 is an ambitious Thai science-fiction fantasy romantic film that blends elements of space exploration, parallel universes, and love across time and dimensions. The movie follows the journey of Lin, an astronaut played by ‘Freen’ Sarocha Chankimha and Kath, a free diver played by Rebecca ‘Becky’ Patricia Armstrong, as they defy time and space to find their way back to one another. 

To dive deeper into the production process, we speak to executive producer, Keetawat Chinnakote, and director of photography, Arnon Chunprasert from VelCurve Studio to glean into the makings of URANUS2324, which was shot with the VENICE 2 and BURANO.

What was a challenging aspect of the film that you and your crew overcame?

It has to be the outer space scenes. We’re not worried about the underwater scenes as we’re already familiar with and skilled at them. Space is something we’ve never dealt with before. We had to figure out our working methods. It’s not just about the screenplay. The film involves specialised equipment and visual effects. The bulk of the story is conveyed through visuals.

Another tricky issue was keeping up with high-action sequences. Due to the dynamic nature of this production, we needed to get up close with the actors in the middle of an action-packed sequence to immerse the audience in the movie fully. Lucky for us, the VENICE Extension System 2 allowed us to capture these close-ups effortlessly. All you have to do is wear the camera body on your back like a backpack with cables running to the lens. It made shooting so much more flexible as we could follow the action closely as the actors were moving about.

How did Cinema Line cameras support your production? 

We considered the high intensity of the URANUS2324’s production intricacies before shortlisting the VENICE 2 and BURANO as the cameras we would use on set. Cinema Line cameras are ideal for films with a heavy emphasis on visual effects as they feature a high dynamic range for low-light scenes and multi-cam compatibility for seamless colour grading. 

We chose the VENICE 2 as our main camera for underwater and space visual effects scenes as it has an X-OCN XT codec with 16-bit RAW, a maximum bit rate that allows more flexibility in post-production. For our B cam, we chose the BURANO for its low-light performance and portability, which allowed us to gather footage from various angles. Moreover, the BURANO’s X-OCN LT codec is also 16-bit RAW, making it seamless to colour match with footage filmed with the VENICE 2 in post. 

As VelCurve Studio also specialises in post-production, we’re quite particular about choosing camera files. Cinema Line cameras ease the workload in all aspects, allowing us to colour-grade strongly backlit scenes shot at the beach and indoor scenes seamlessly. We’ve also managed to capture footage with a low noise floor. 

We’re glad we chose Cinema Line cameras as they allowed our crew to take a step back from the nitty-gritty technical aspects and focus all of our effort on telling a good story through visuals. 

Spotlight #2 | A Witch Trial 

Directed, written and produced by Sarah-Tabea Sammel, A Witch Trial is a dramatic psychological horror film that follows Raaka, a competent yet self-doubting entrepreneur who faces betrayal by her business partner in a stuck cargo lift, spiralling into a panic attack as she doubts her leadership capabilities. 

Noticing the parallels between the historical stigmatisation of women accused of witchcraft and the modern-day scrutiny women endure in the business world, Sarah-Tabea crafted a poignant short film that shows how women can fight their oppressors to reclaim what’s theirs. We speak to Sarah-Tabea to learn more about the conceptualisation and production of this film. 

What inspired you to film, direct and produce A Witch Trial?

While researching, I discovered that many women, including myself, feel pressured to label themselves pre-emptively to protect themselves from external judgment that reinforces gender unfairness and divides. This self-censorship and the erosion of confidence leads many women into a downward spiral, questioning their value, limiting their growth, and obstructing their ability to practice self-kindness. My inquiry into the construction of female self-image and the deep-seated biases is what fuelled my passion for this project. Using the metaphor of a cargo lift, I created a clear visual for how women confine themselves physically and psychologically by literally boxing my protagonist inside a trapped lift. 

What was a challenging aspect of the film that you and your crew overcame?

Like any independent short film, we faced space, time and budget constraints. My vision was to film inside a real cargo lift, creating an authentic experience as the protagonist endures an intense panic attack, which was a complex and time-consuming scene to shoot. The extreme low-light conditions and physical constraints of working within the reflective confines of the lift posed a real challenge. Rather than deterring us, we launched into problem-solving mode. We knew we needed the right equipment to get the job done and developed ideas for the audio-visual language that embraced our limitations as the basis for our creative choices. 

How did Cinema Line cameras support your production?

A Witch Trial was shot with a dual-camera setup, with the BURANO as our main camera and the FX3 as our second. Not only did this combination create a visually satisfying cinematic experience, but it also facilitated unique visual representations of reality during pivotal moments, such as Raaka’s panic attack. At my DOP’s suggestion, we filmed her panic attack with lens-whacking (detaching the camera body from the lens) to generate an abstract visual narrative. This added an authentic layer to the performance, ensuring each shot was distinct and organically crafted. 

Our DOP felt the BURANO gave him excellent control of the image, allowing him to create tonal depth through the way it captures light, without the extensive use of modifiers, which was critical in the space constraints we had for the film. The FX3 gave him flexibility in handheld work, coupled with the lens whacking technique while preserving the original intention of colour and tone. With our colourist based in the UK, our team couldn't gather around a single monitor for feedback. However, Cinema Line cameras delivered such a high-quality and consistent visual performance that we knew we were colour-grading and reviewing the same short film. 

All in all, Sony Cinema Line cameras serve as an incredibly flexible camera system. As an independent filmmaker, my team and I constantly seek equipment that suits our highly constrained workflows. What strikes me most is the meticulous attention given by the Sony team to meet the needs of independent filmmakers. They actively respond to community feedback, eagerly seeking to understand how they can support our work. This level of engagement has been invaluable throughout our filmmaking process.

That’s a wrap for this quarter’s Cinema Line Spotlight. Stay tuned for the next one!