Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WORK ON THUS FAR?
I actually don’t have a favourite, there have been so many films that have meant so much to me on both a personal and professional level.
Matrix was probably the film that defined me as a photographer and 20 years later it’s epic to still see those images pop up on a weekly basis. The Bourne Supremacy introduced me to two of my long time friends and collaborators Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, and of course I met my wife Maria on a Bourne film. Recently I have been working on Disney and Marvel films, and I love being part of that family. Shooting Thor was an absolute highlight and working with Chris and Taika was a dream come true.
Then of course Aquaman for DC with the Big Dog Jason Momoa and director James Wan, both amazing artists that give me incredible access.
I guess if I had to pin anything down though, it would of course be Mad Max Fury Road which was absolutely the hardest film I have ever worked on. I had to fight daily for every frame and I think it showed with what I was able to produce. Then there’s the three Bond films I have shot the stunts for, Live and Let Die was the first Bond film I saw with my buddies when I was a kid, and I’m convinced it’s why I work on action films. To shoot one Bond is amazing, but to be asked back three times is an absolute honour.
Q: YOU MUST BE AWAY FROM HOME A LOT…
As much and I am away a lot, I am actually home a lot too. I can be away on 2-3 films a year. I have been known to fly home from Europe to watch my son play hockey and be on a flight to Asia for another film two days later. Other times, especially over the holidays, I’ll get up to 6 weeks off, and every few years I can have 6 months off just being a hockey dad.
This year I am in Sydney for the whole year but I go home every weekend, and between the films I have a month off. I miss my little family and up until a few years ago, they traveled with me everywhere, but then of course they found interests. Hockey and acting for my son, and being a yoga instructor for my wife. I see how happy it makes them and there’s no way I want to take them away from that. Having a kid play hockey in traveling teams is super expensive, so I have to work anyhow, ha ha…
Q: WHERE DO YOU CALL HOME?
Well our house is on the Gold Coast in Queensland, but my wife was born in Berlin, so we have those two places, but we would all be happier to move to BC. Hockey for my son, cold for my wife, and mountains for me.
Q: WHAT WAS THE HARDEST SHOOT YOU’VE EVER DONE?
Mad Max and Everest
Q: WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO LENS DURING MOST SHOOTS?
Outside 24-120 F4, and inside 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8
Q: WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR GEAR BAG?
Ha, how much space do we have?
Well my general onset studio unit kit consists of 3 Nikon Z mirrorless cameras so I can shoot silent on sensitive scenes, clipped to my custom BLACKRAPID straps.
I have Z35mm f1.8, Z50mm f1.8, Z24-70 f 2.8, Z85mm 1.8 and 70-200 f2.8 in one bag, and then for action scenes or super low light I have 2 D5’s in Aquatech sound blimps with 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f 2.8. Plus six Hoodman steel CF express cards running all my Nikon Z cameras. I’m amazed at how much faster they are than the XQD.
I also have fast Nikon primes 24mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 58mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 when needed for ultra low light or portrait work. When needed I will also run a 200mm f2, 200-400mm f4 and 400mm f2.8.
Then in my action kit, which is what I use for mounting on vehicles or anywhere I can stuff a camera really, I use 2 x D4s’s, 1 D850 and 1 D750 and various lenses like 35mm f2 and 17-35mm f2.8 and a 24-120 f4. All of them I expect may get taken out at some point. On Spectre an airplane wheel knocked one over, and on another film a car hit one. Lots of bumps for my Nikons, but they just keep on going.
The key is when you are in an impact zone, you need to allow your camera to move or in fact fall over. When you are mounted to a vehicle, the important thing is they don’t move at all due to safety for the drivers, cast and crew.
As well as all my rig mounts, I also travel with a lot of safety gear, harnesses, helmets, ear protection, anything you can think of really. My traveling kit is around 100kg so I never fly with it, everything gets shipped ahead. Currently, the kit I have with me on this film hasn’t been home for nearly 2 years.
Q: WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO GO TO FOLLOW YOU?
You know, when I first was told by Nikon I should be doing Instagram, I laughed and said, “I’m not having an app tell me how to frame my shots.” I thought it would never catch on. Of course, I was wrong. If I had bothered to mask myself or use a Instacrop app, I’d be a lot further down the track with my Instagram than I am today.
My last 5 or 6 new clients all only looked at my Insta page. It’s great for staying relevant and I try to be on point with only film posts. I frequently pick themes and just do images from one film for a week, or what’s in the news.
I find most new followers only really look back 10 or so images, so I think it is important to go through the back catalogue and repost from time to time, otherwise those images get lost and you may have well just left them on the hard drive.
Another observation I had early on was I felt like people were just going to Insta to experience other peoples lives, and for quite a while that was true. But at some point it changed, and it encouraged people to get outside and experience life for themselves. It’s helped nurture peoples creativity and in my eyes that’s a fabulous thing.
Hi, I’m Jasin Boland, a motion picture still photographer based in Queensland, Australia.
Come visit my Instagram @jasinboland. I haven’t updated my web page since forever.
BLACKRAPID Guest Post by Rui Bandeira | Rui Bandeira Fotografia
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