OCONNOR – L’heure bleue: In the blue blaze of twilight with the OConnor 2575

Maura Morales chooses OConnor for French short film

L’heure bleue: In the blue blaze of twilight with the OConnor 2575

Burbank, California, December 4, 2013 — In the blue hour, the sky shines deep indigo, producing an almost magical atmosphere. Any cinematographers who want to capture the special light in this limited time frame must be able to quickly and dependably work with their equipment. That is why Italian cinematographer Maura Morales Bergmann depended on the versatile 2575 fluid head by OConnor, a part of Vitec Videcom, a Vitec Group company, to shoot the French short film last year L’heure bleue by director Annarita Zambarano.

“Filming L’heure bleue was a great challenge for me, as we only had about two hours per day to film,” says Morales Bergmann, describing the conditions on the set in France. “We filmed two scenes directly in front of a picturesque twilight — a gorgeous, yet brief background. To take advantage of every moment during filming, we tried out different settings in the afternoon. With the OConnor 2575, we were then able to reproduce the nine camera settings we had previously selected within only one and a half hours.” The 2575 fluid head by OConnor provides exactly reproducible counterbalance settings, which are enabled by the combination of the numerical display and the patented sinusoidal counterbalance system and set with the help of a handy crank knob. This allows for every configuration to be quickly repeated, which is especially useful when there is little time for tedious adjustments.”

“I have worked with OConnor equipment for a long time. The fluid heads are just perfect for me,” explains Morales Bergmann. “I love the extremely smooth pans with my 2575. They enabled me to capture important light reflexes and lighting conditions for the short film without being pressed for time.” The 2575 fluid head by OConnor proved to be the right choice, as its stepless, ultra-smooth pan-and-tilt damping enables steady, fluid camera movements at every tilt setting from +90 to -90 degrees. Even for heavier configurations of up to about 88 pounds (40 kg ), the OConnor 2575 offers natural movements with unlimited stability and dependability.”

L’heure bleue is about Charlotte (13) and Marc (16), who spend the summer with their parents at a campsite at Contis-Plage in France. During the blue hour, both of them have their own, very personal experiences with love. The short film was one of the seven works chosen for broadcast in the “Nuit Aquitaines” series, a project supported by the Aquitaine region in France and organized by TV7. Morales Bergmann sums up her experience: “With the OConnor 2575 and the ARRI Alexa, I was able to precisely realize everything I had imagined. The 2575 is one of the best fluid heads I have ever used.”

For further information on OConnor products, visit www.ocon.com, email [email protected], become a fan on Facebook, follow the company on Twitter; or contact OConnor, 2701 N. Ontario St, Burbank, CA 91504, Phone: 818-847-8666, Fax: 818-847-1205.

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About OConnor
OConnor has been the choice of professional cinematographers since the invention of the fluid head 60 years ago by founder Chad O’Connor. OConnor’s award-winning fluid heads are known for their smooth feel, fluid movement and intuitive control. Designed for film-style shooting, each facilitates seamless transition when changing payloads and offers stepless, ultra-smooth pan & tilt fluid drag for maximum control. In addition to fluid heads and tripods, OConnor offers a growing line of camera and lens accessories engineered to fill the needs of today’s fast-paced camera work. The line includes the CFF-1 and new O-Focus DM follow focus systems for cine and still photo lenses, the award-winning O-Box WM mattebox, innovative O-Grip handgrip system and the Universal Baseplate. OConnor products are respected and trusted by individual users and rental houses worldwide for their reliability, longevity and toughness.

Along with other leading brands in the broadcast industry, OConnor is part of the Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company.  For more information on OConnor, visit www.ocon.com

About Vitec Videocom
Vitec Videocom brings together some of the most respected, most innovative and most sought-after brands in the industry. It acts as an endorsing brand for these market-leading broadcast, film and pro video products, encouraging multi-brand system sales and simplifying the way that customers worldwide do business.

Vitec Videocom is an operating division within the Vitec Group, an international business serving customers in the broadcast, photographic and military aerospace and government markets. Vitec is based on strong, well known, premium brands on which its customers rely on worldwide.

Vitec Videocom – innovative products around the camera.

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