For To Fly or Float, cinematographer Ben Saffer set out to create a 1970s period look built on layered images and interesting contrast ratios, with something bright in the frame to anchor the shadows.
We planned around the Ursa Cine 17K 65’s full sensor coverage, using the camera’s 55.91mm image circle and open gate 8K capture to give us a 65mm 5 perf equivalent canvas"
Working closely with director Charlotte Peters, he chose the Blackmagic Ursa Cine 17K 65 digital film camera to translate the emotional closeness of handheld 16mm into the sculptural space of 65mm, keeping the audience inside the moment rather than looking at it.
Producer-writer Olivia Maiden rooted the film in the lived experience of childhood grief, with Saffer drawing on visual references including Kes, Ratcatcher and Fish Tank to inform the collaboration.
“From our first conversations, Charlotte, Olivia and I aligned on tone and texture,” said Saffer. “Those references shaped everything, from the locations we pursued and the production design palette to how we planned lighting and lensing.”
Saffer breaks down the format choice, how it shaped intimacy and distance, and the practical on-set decisions that carried through to post production.
What drew you to the Ursa Cine 17K 65?
I have always loved the look of film, so I wanted a camera with which I could just use my instincts in terms of exposure. For me, that means something that is naturalistic in the way the color filters work within the sensor and a setup that lets me focus on the important details in a scene.
On To Fly or Float, Charlotte and I chose the Blackmagic Ursa Cine 17K 65 and built a package around it that helped us achieve layered images with depth, interesting contrast ratios and an emotional closeness that still carries scale.
What visual language were you chasing and how did the 70s setting shape it?
The look we were going for was really layered with interesting contrast ratios. There was almost always something bright in the shot that anchored the shadows, which I think really helps. Because the film was period-set in the 1970s, we wanted a format that helped with finding layers of depth all the time.
We wanted a camera and lens setup that carried the emotional closeness of handheld 16mm but translated into the sculptural space of the 65mm format, something that felt like being inside the moment rather than looking at it.
What convinced you that 65mm could work for interiors as well as landscapes?
When I first started thinking about shooting on 65mm, the producers agreed it was the perfect format for epic outdoor-type landscape cinematography but wondered how well it would work for small indoor spaces.
I understood that instinct. But I also think cinematographer Bob Richardson proved what is possible with 65mm for interiors, and it helped clarify my thinking about using the format in a story like this.
How did you build the lens plan and coverage for open gate 8K?
We planned around the Ursa Cine 17K 65’s full sensor coverage, using the camera’s 55.91mm image circle and open gate 8K capture to give us a 65mm 5 perf equivalent canvas.
That meant we could commit to large format framing and depth from the outset, then build the lens package to suit: two Cooke Panchro 65/i focal lengths (40mm and 75mm) with GeckoCam Opias on either end to go wider and tighter.
How did the Ursa Cine 17K 65 system feel in practice?
One thing that stood out in practice is how straightforward the Ursa Cine system felt to use. I have now shot narrative films on both the Blackmagic Ursa Cine 12K LF and the Blackmagic Ursa Cine 17K 65, and I think they make for a great A and B camera combination.
Our Steadicam operator was using both cameras, and, because the setup was so similar to use, she kept forgetting which camera she was on. I can definitely see myself shooting a feature or a television show with both Ursa Cine cameras given both weigh pretty much the same and the accessories are interchangeable.
How did 65mm affect your exterior framing and sense of space?
What I am always chasing is a format and lens combination that gives me options without pushing the audience out of the story. With 65mm, you get another creative option that sits somewhere different to how I would normally approach a scene on anamorphic.
If I had shot wider on a smaller format sensor, I would have lost all the compression of the background, and that would have made it feel more distant"
In an exterior, like our canal sequence, we wanted a canal in Birmingham during the '70s. This was shot using daylight only, so having trees to one side and reflections off the water on the other side gave us a bit of everything we wanted.
To get a sense of geography and space, I would normally shoot anamorphic on a 50mm or 60mm lens. But the larger 65mm format allows you to step back while still getting that same level of compression.
Shooting with the Ursa Cine 17K 65 meant I could use the spherical 75mm Cooke Panchro 65/i, which is quite a long lens, while retaining a sense of being right there in the moment.
How do you protect intimacy without feeling intrusive or distant?
That balance matters. With an intimate scene, you do not want to be right in their face because it feels like you are interrupting something. But I also did not want to be on a long zoom, either, as that feels more voyeuristic or even journalistic.
Format is really key here. If I had shot wider on a smaller format sensor, I would have lost all the compression of the background, and that would have made it feel more distant. The 65mm format gives me another creative option to shooting anamorphic.
What told you the camera would hold up on skin tones?
The Ursa Cine 17K 65 is very clean in the bottom part of the skin tones. You do not mind some luminance noise because it can feel like film grain, but you definitely do not want chroma noise. For me, the sign of a good camera is being able to get the best out of the tonal curve of the sensor without having to do too much.
Walk us through a scene where all those choices came together.
One example of how all of this came together for us was the kitchen scene. We were in fairly tight spaces with most of this film, so I tried to keep the light as soft as I could. I wanted it to feel single source, naturalistic but still fairly big.
For the kitchen, I used a Vortex8 with a big 8x8 silk with the light source bouncing down into the silk, almost like a book light, but made very simply. Then we had this hard light coming through the window behind the Uncle. The look we were able to achieve was a combination of the way we lit, the color pipeline and some of the production design choices.
But it is also something that comes from shooting in the 65mm format. This is an intimate story about a young girl, but I still wanted to give it a sense of scale because in her life experiences, these were the biggest things that had ever happened. And 65mm certainly gives you that sense of importance.
Head over to the Ursa Cine 17K 65 gallery page to learn more about Saffer’s work on To Fly or Float, including downloadable Blackmagic RAW files from the short.
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