Burbank California (December, 2011): Although the blockbuster hit Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol was shot primarily with the IMAX camera system, there were several complicated sequences that relied on the HD cameras and technical systems from the innovative people at Loyal Studios and Pro HD Rentals.
Director Brad Bird comes from an animation background, and is noted for meticulously story-boarding every shot in the Movie–sometimes going through several revisions before achieving his vision of how the final sequence is to be shot. “Our teams worked with SkyDance Productions and Bad Robot to develop POV (point of view) cameras which were used extensively throughout the picture,” said Bob Bekian of Loyal Studios. “We were very excited and honored to work with Tom Cruise, Brad, and their teams on this project to help to bring the story to life.” Many of these camera systems were used to pre-visualize the scenes and make adjustments to the action and lighting before the actual take was recorded on the IMAX system. This strategy helped to develop the complicated, expensive action sequences into what the viewer sees on the screen.
The movie was shot in Budapest, Moscow, Dubai and Vancouver which was made to look like Bangalore.
One of the most exciting sequences involves Tom Cruise scaling the tallest building in the world known as the Berj Khalifa in Dubai. “We provided specialized cameras and lenses that were used to capture some of this amazing footage, and Tom was very respected by the crew in his willingness and ability to do many of the complicated stunts himself,” Bekian added.
Another challenge was to capture the action sequence involving the BMW supercar known as the “Vision.” Obtaining this epic shot caused Bird and his crew to think creatively in order to overcome a number of issues. Many types of cameras were used throughout the car sequences, including the workhorse Canon 5D DSLR Camera system.
For more on Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, visit the Mission Impossible home page.
For more about Loyal Studios, visit loyalstudios.tv
About Bob Bekian, visit bobbekian.com