MASTERING THE ARRI SXT
A technical breakdown of my journey learning to rig a cinema industry standard camera.Â
Technical Workflow
RIGGING THE ARRI SXT
01. Preperation
Before assembling the camera, the first step is to lay out all the components needed in a horseshoe shape. This makes the rigging process more organised and allows the equipment to be easily accessed. It also helps ensure that no important components are missed during the assembly.
02. Assembly
 With the help and guidance from tutor Pete, we began the rigging process. Having experience rigging the Sony FX6 last year, I felt more confident identifying the equipment and assembling the rig. This allowed me to develop my skills of rigging.
03. Settings
With the camera ready for shooting, there are a few settings that need to be checked or changed depending on the DP’s visual intentions. These include the frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and recording format. Checking these settings before filming helps ensure the camera is set up correctly for the scene and matches the DP’s desired look.
04. Testing
After the camera was fully set up and running, we began experimenting with some of its features, one of which was the grab button. This allowed us to explore how the camera could be operated more efficiently and helped me become more familiar with its controls.
Hidden Feature
When rigging the camera, I noticed that there was a lens on the camera operator’s eyepiece. After doing some further research, I identified this as a diopter. I learnt that the diopter is used to adjust the viewfinder to the operator’s eyesight, making the image and information on the viewfinder clearer and easier to see.
EXPERIMENTATION
During this experiment, we used the grab button for the first time and tested how it could be used to make matching eyelines between different camera setups easier. By capturing the original framing as a reference, we could use it when setting up the second camera, creating a more accurate and efficient process.
Results
01. Subject
With the subject in frame, we used the grab button to capture the shot and then used it as a reference for the next camera setup. In the future, this lets us find the correct eyeline faster than trial and error and makes matching the eyeline between the two setups more efficient.
02. Grab Button
After selecting the grab button, we could access the camera’s settings and load the saved image back onto the screen. This gave us a visual reference that we could use when setting up the next camera angle and matching the subject’s eyeline.
03. Matching Eye Lines
With the image overlaid onto the screen with a green opacity, we could direct the subject to match the position of the reference image. This allowed us to accurately align their eyeline with the previous camera setup, making the process of matching eyelines quicker and more efficient.