Technical workflow at Blackstone Film Company
The technical department at BlackstoneFilmCompany is an important pillar for the production service workflow we offer for each and all of the 7 Canary Islands. Technical service for us at Blackstone means supplying equipment for a complete film production with our in-house equipment. By doing so we guarantee we can operate independently and meet our customer’s demands with flexibility.
Normally we receive „provisional equipment short-lists“ only a couple of days before the shoot. This makes it sometimes a challenge to meet the DoP´s exact wishes. Most aspects of those short-lists can briefly be summarized to: Camera model, lenses, crane and Dolly and lighting power.
Of course our cameras, whether ARRI Alexa or RED Epic, they need their own power supply, recording cards, bridge plate, on-board monitor and probably a shoulder set too. Ok, done and dusted.
And for sure we will need to add to the chosen lenses all kind of supplementary parts, such as matte box, filter rings, different type filters and effects. Maybe a particular lens support with long support rods too. Ok, done and dusted.
There are a whole bunch of set up options for cranes, such as long/short cranes, on track wheels/tires, with/without operator, therefore our crane sets all include extension elements, tracks, platforms, balloon tires or extensions for low/high rig. Maybe you need a 2- or 3-axe remote head too. Ok, done and dusted.
And actually because of the high number of sun hours in the Canary Islands, one needs need lighting for the shoot. Depending on each scene the DoP´s either goes for Tungsten, daylight (HMI), fluorescent or LED lighting technology. No matter what kind of lights are requested, all our lighting equipment comes with tripods, weights and extension cables. Would you like a specific lighting foil or textile, too? Ok, done and dusted.
Our mission? To adapt all our technical departments to the customers needs to offer the requested equipment directly off the shelf out of our warehouse.
Our strengths? We are able to complete these “provisional equipment short-lists “ into a detailed and ready-to-shoot equipment list, based on the long international experience of e.g. our 1st camera assistant, gaffer and key grip.
And if our perfect weather conditions need to be “tuned up“ we simply use our own wind, rain and smoke machines.
Many times we use our complete company infrastructure to achieve just-in-time special needs, such as building and adjusting special rigs or even converting a special vehicle model into a fully functioning camera car as the customer´s demands.
Needless to say, in our “little workshop” we can build nearly everything for your set, from a dog-sled to a spaceship, all these requests are handled by our efficient construction team, but that´s a different department.
