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In 2021, Sony released a new digital cinema camera, the Sony FX3. The FX3 is a full-frame camera designed for cinematic use. While its affordable pricing and lightweight model compare to recreational products on the market, the FX3 is unique in that it also boasts a robust system of professional features. It has general appeal with aspects like a customizable user interface and support for numerous audio outputs, but its fast and accurate autofocus system and 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor for high-res capture rival the features of expensive Hollywood favorites.
In promoting the FX3, Sony has shined a spotlight on independent short films and high-budget projects alike. Below are five incredible projects that show the quality and versatility of the Sony FX3.
Dopesick is a fictional Hulu miniseries that tells the story of America’s epidemic of opioid addiction. It won a number of awards for its production and cinematography, including Primetime Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography.
When Peruvian cinematographer Checco Varese began filming on Dopesick, he was using the professional cinema camera Sony VENICE. Halfway through shooting, however, the FX3 became available for testing, and Varese was intrigued. He tried out the prosumer camera and, impressed with the results, quickly incorporated it into his process.
“For me,” he told Sony Cine, “[the FX3] is another tool in my paint set. It’s a small brush, very handy, and allows a filmmaker to be emotionally attached. You can walk behind an actor in a crowd and they don’t see it.” In one scene, Varese even switched back and forth between the VENICE and the FX3. “It’s a seamless shot,” he said. “You will be really challenged to see that it’s a different camera.”
The horror short film Get Away, shot by French Canadian director Michael Gabriele, was a collaboration with Sony’s cinematic line, Sony Cine. Its meta storyline traps its subjects inside of a ‘70s horror film. The combination of film styles and the moody color grading exemplify the versatility that the FX3 offers.
“I’ll be completely honest – I was afraid at first,” Gabriele told YMCinema back in September. “Even 10 years ago, the amount of money that you would have to spend to get something that looked half this decent would be unattainable. With the technology that exists in a camera like the FX3, you can have your idea and just go out and do it.”
True Love is an upcoming feature film from the American Emmy- and Oscar-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser and his frequent collaborator, British visual effects artist Gareth Edwards. The two previously worked together on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and other projects in the legendary Star Wars franchise.
Fraser disclosed his plans to use the Sony FX3 for True Love in a podcast interview last January, in which he described the FX3 as an “amazing prosumer camera.” He praised the FX3’s compact size and high ISO. He added, “Camera companies should look at [the FX3], and say, ‘Well, if Sony's doing that with an FX3, surely we can do that with our cameras.’”
This independent short film was made in tandem with Sony by 27-year old French director of photography Salomé Rapinat. Rapinat is a member of Femmes à la caméra (Women Behind the Camera), a collective of female filmmakers, film techs, and photographers. Bloom is a celebration of the “incredible magic” of love amongst women and an homage to Rapinat’s own experiences in female adolescence.
About working with the FX3, Rapinat echoed Varese’s comments about fostering emotional involvement: “An important aspect of this camera is its operability and the fact that it is lightweight. You can get really close to your characters handheld [sic], creating intimacy which is a style of filming I particularly appreciate.”
Another project sponsored by Sony in promotion of its FX3 is German director of photography Dennis Schmelz’s WALDEN. WALDEN is a short film showcasing the natural beauty of Schemlz’s home in Germany. The FX3’s CMOS sensor allowed him to create stunning visuals in the dim, moody lighting of the Thuringian Forest.
Schmelz spoke with Sony Cine about his project and how the camera guided his creative vision. “The Sony FX 3,” he said, “inspired me to create a low-light and cinematic short film in the snowy deep forest… I wanted to take advantage of the camera’s new features and make a story that only it could help me tell.”
