I am Julien Lambert, a French Belgium-based cinematographer. I work on different projects such as documentaries, movies and commercials. I was lucky enough to work on Marjorie Cauwel’s new documentary entitled 'Le poids de l’Antarctique' (The weight of Antarctica) for two months in December 2018 and January 2019.
This film is about a small group of people who form a small society in Antarctica, whose common project is to advance science. We try to identify the strength, beauty and fragility of the commitment of these men and women from the end of the world.
I spent almost two months in East Antarctica and it was a very challenging experience. Technically, I used light equipment: a Sony PXW-FS7 Mark II with 3 lenses on the main camera. The temperature was not so bad, usually between -10°C and - 5°C. For that reason, I often used the camRade wetSuit PXW-FS7 Mark II to keep the warmth of the camera body, it was really useful and I never had any problem.
Image by Julien Lambert
Even if I had some experience in the deep cold (Kamtchatka and Canada), I had been warned about wind blown snow and katabatic winds. For that reason, I took a polar cover which allowed me to shoot when the weather was bad but beautiful (150km/h wind, -30°C experienced temperature)! Despite the polar cover, the rec trigger froze a couple of times.
Julien's Favorite Gear List:
Sony PXW-FS7 Mark II Camera
Hawkwood BP-98UX batteries + charger
Sony Dual charger
Sony 256Go XQD + 1x XQD card reader
Vocas base plate with 15mm rods
Alphatron ProPull follow focus for 15mm rods
16-35mm II Canon L f2,8
24-70mm II Canon L f2,8
70-200mm Canon L f2,8
Metabone NON speedbooster adapter for Sony E and Canon EF lenses.
Tiffen ND filter 1,8 circulaire 82mm
Sigma polarizing filter 77mm
Sigma polarizing filter circulaire 82mm
Sony Alpha7S II + 7 batteries
Sachtler S15 speedlock carbon fiber tripod
Polar cover
camRade wetSuit PXW-FS7 Mark II
Mac book pro + 3x 4To Hard drive
'Le poids de l’Antarctique' will be broadcasted on French TV (France Television and TV5Monde) in the second half of 2019.
Director: Marjorie Cauwel
Production: Antipode
DOP: julien-lambert.com
