DP Mitchell Baxter and Jon Joffin, ASC, Explore Undiscovered Compositions With the VENICE Extension System Mini

Filmmaker Interview: Crafting False Prophet by Pillars of a Twisted City

To capture this music video, Baxter and Joffin worked together as cinematographers, with Joffin directing. Their very similar sensibilities often allow them to work in silence, able to rely on each other’s creative choices/

“Jon and I have always been great collaborators since we started working together,” Baxter said. “We have very similar sensibilities when it comes to lighting and camera movement.”
 
“It’s a great collaboration,” Joffin added. “Often, we don’t even need to talk; we just do things that the other likes.”

False Prophet by Pillars of a Twisted City was shot entirely on the VENICE Extension System Mini in two locations. With a small crew, Baxter and Joffin relied heavily on their dynamic and the camera’s capabilities, using only available light except for the occasional use of a flashlight to flare the lens. 

“We had some rotating camera assistants to help fill in the dates, but it was mostly Mitch, myself, the artist, and one other helper,” Joffin explained. “Using the small camera and keeping it in a backpack made us incredibly nimble.”

To build complexity with such limited resources, Baxter and Joffin blended story elements with the freedom of movement they experienced with the VENICE Extension System Mini. Each location was lensed in opposing ways, building upon themes of lost innocence and joy. 

“The music video is about a man who’s lost touch with nature and the joy of his youth,” Joffin said. “He’s reminiscing about how carefree and innocent he was. So, for the beach scenes, we wanted them to be completely free and loose, as if we were a child just running around on the beach with no restrictions.”
 
“[For the urban setting], the idea was to give the city a more regimented, stoic feel. Many shots in the city were more static and locked off, with stronger compositions,” Baxter explained. “When we transitioned to the beach, the feeling was exactly the opposite—free, innocent, almost like a dream. This was achievable with the RIALTO Mini.”

Filmmaker Interview: How Baxter and Joffin Utilized the VENICE Extension System Mini

To achieve this freedom of movement and creative storytelling, Joffin and Baxter built the VENICE 2 and VENICE Extension System Mini rig to be portable throughout the project.

“We rigged it with these incredibly small E-mount lenses, the Thypoch Simeras and the Zeiss Nano Primes, using a combination of both,” Baxter said. “We were able to mount these lenses onto the Ronin RS 4 with the backpack rig, and utilizing just a single motor for focus.”

This setup allowed Baxter to run with his subject, rotate 360 degrees around them, almost scraping the ground with his lens, and transitioning from feet to face without additional rigging gear. He described this feeling as ethereal. However, it was the combination of form factor and image quality that surprised him the most.

“I’ve worked with the FX3, and I was astounded by how small the RIALTO Mini is,” Baxter said. “I still remember the first day, walking into Keslow Camera, and being completely blown away. It’s about two-thirds the size of an FX3, yet it boasts the image quality of a VENICE.”

“From an operating perspective, when you’re carrying a camera that weighs 15 to 25 pounds, it can be tiring over the course of the day, affecting your stamina,” Baxter continued. “I was shocked that the entire package with the Ronin, including the RIALTO Mini, weighed only 10 or 11 pounds.”

“As a result, I found myself less fatigued and able to maintain my focus until perfected the shot. This allowed for a significantly better end product.”
 
For Joffin, the surprise came in moments of collaboration. With the small camera and minimal crew required, sharing ideas and compositions felt conversational.

“Because it’s so small, it’s essentially like a director’s viewfinder,” Joffin explained. “And since we were collaborating and shooting together, it was incredibly easy for me to view Mitch’s work on my monitor. It felt like he had a director’s viewfinder, but it was also the camera, and we could just roll once we both were happy. That, to me, made it feel like we were flowing together.”

Creating Emotions and Feeling Through Technology

False Prophet by Pillars of a Twisted City was an opportunity for Baxter and Joffin to test a new camera system for the VENICE 2. Yet what they discovered was a creative flow that thrived in the way they collaborated. The technology wasn't doing the work for them, it was allowing their creativity to flow through it.

"I love the idea that technology can be used to create emotions and feelings," Joffin said. "And this light, tiny camera gives us that feeling of freedom. Because I really feel it when I see the boy running on the beach. I personally feel like I'm there and I'm with him. So to me, technology that's able to do that is game-changing."

“Significantly more possibilities are now available,” Baxter remarked. “There are shots on this project that would have required way more gear, personnel, resources, and money in the past. Moving forward, I view this as an incredible tool that enables us to access high-production techniques at a fraction of the cost. It opens up an incredible amount of possibilities.”

"Filmmaking keeps changing with all this new technology, in terms of how much available light you can shoot and what you can do, and I think it gets better and better," Joffin concluded. "When technology is used to create emotion or to tell a story, that's what really excites me."
 
To learn more about the VENICE Extension System Mini and other cameras in the Sony Cinema Line, visit our Camera Comparison Chart.