By: Nic
Over the past few years, director Phil Holland has been focusing on high-resolution cinematic aerial filming. Recently, he used a special camera system composed of three RED Weapon Monstro 8K VV cameras to capture the urban landscape of New York from the skies, producing a breathtaking 12K ultra-high-definition short film.
The short film, titled “Above NYC,” costs US$79,500 (approximately HK$624,000) just for the three RED Weapon Monstro 8K VV cameras alone, while the total production cost reached US$238,500 (around HK$1.87 million)!
Phil Holland mounted the camera system onto a six-axis gyro-stabilized platform, the Shotover K1 Hammerhead, which was fixed to a helicopter, contributing to the high production cost.
Since the three cameras shoot simultaneously but point in different directions, the footage requires careful adjustment, and the post-production editing process is equally challenging—overlapping sections must be precisely aligned and stitched together.
Each frame of the combined footage is equivalent to a 1-megapixel photograph, with a sensor size comparable to that of 645 medium-format film, resulting in a 12K resolution image that is 48.5 times that of 1080p. However, due to YouTube limitations, the video is only available in 8K—but viewers can still experience the visual impact.
Source: PetaPixel