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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Will Be Shot On Advanced 8K Cameras

Guardians of the Galaxy was a great looking movie, but the sequel will be taking that to the next level as it has been announced today that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first movie in history to shoot on RED’s 8K WEAPON Vista Vision/full-frame 35mm camera.

Taking a relative unknown property like Guardians of the Galaxy (which is, admittedly, a bit out there), and giving it to a director who had never before handled a big blockbuster, was a risky move indeed. So, imagine how surprised myself, along with almost every other film critic was, when Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be one of 2014's finest efforts. A stunning achievement in every sense of the word, the film made a star out of leading man Chris Pratt, gave us some of the most loveable characters of the year, showed off the creative genius of director James Gunn and had us begging for more at the end.

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Guardians of the Galaxy was a great looking movie, but the sequel will be taking that to the next level as it has been announced today that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first movie in history to shoot on RED’s 8K WEAPON Vista Vision/full-frame 35mm camera.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release with details on the camera’s capabilities and comments from members of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 crew:

“We are all hugely excited to be shooting the next Guardians of the Galaxy on the new WEAPON 8K. This is my third collaboration with RED, having previously shot with the RED EPIC® on Prometheus and the EPIC DRAGON on Tarzan,” says Nik Korda, Executive Producer. “The large sensor size and super high resolution offered by the new WEAPON 8K, combined with its lightweight and compact size open up a whole range of new creative possibilities.”

WEAPON 8K captures 8K at 75 frames per second (fps), 6K at 100 fps, or 4K at 150 fps with REDCODE® RAW; and its wide dynamic range produces cinema-quality images rich with natural color. Additionally, WEAPON 8K features interchangeable lens mounts, an intelligent OLPF system, and in-camera 3D-LUT outputs.

“RED’s 8K WEAPON is the little big camera. Perfectly counterintuitive. And perfect for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2,” says Henry Braham, BSC, Director of Photography.

Regardless of how much of those technical specifications you understand, it’s pretty obvious that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is going to look incredible. While cinemas are only capable of showing movies in 4K, the benefits of the decision to shoot with these cameras will ensure that the sequel looks even sharper and more colourful than anything we’ve ever seen on the big screen.

Just how much of this we’ll actually notice remains to be seen, but we’ll find out for sure when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is released on May 5th, next year.