The Vaughn Brothers

Text: Björn Vaughn
Video: watch below

We’ve been working on the promotional film for the Rungan Sari Resort & Meeting Center ever since we came to Central Kalimantan in December 2009. And we might just continue working on it forever.

The resort film is unlike any of our other promo film productions. It was the film that helped tickle the imagination of our main investor and spark off the foundation of Borneo Productions International. It was also the film that, because it was never completed yet openly displayed as our resort film showpiece on the Internet, may have contributed toward scaring off a potential client with a sizable budget.

In the meantime we have continued to work on it.

Our company is based within the resort & meeting center depicted in the film. This gives us the unique opportunity to test out new equipment – dollies, cranes, BPI coffee mugs… – and improve the resort film over time.

The latest cut includes more scenes and improved graphics. It also features our first-ever, studio-recorded narration and more actors than in any of our other films. It is vastly improved, yet it may continue to evolve as we evolve as a company and find new toys to play with.

Bring in the chopper, baby!

Camera: Björn Vaughn
Post Production: Pierce Vaughn

Special thank you to Harris Smart for wonderful narration!

Text: Björn Vaughn
Video: Watch below

We were asked to make a promotional film for an eco resort on a tropical island not far from Jakarta. The first part of the job involved us traveling out to the island to get a feel for the place and loosely capture some footage with the Canon 7D, L-series lens and tripod. No stress involved.

Several months later we would return to the island to complete the shoot. We expanded our equipment by a small dolly system, large silver/gold reflector and wireless microphone and attempted to cover the “Tiger Island Experience” within three and a half days, dragging our no-name camera slider system along the various faces of accommodation, environment and community.

The large reflector, one of our most basic yet invaluable investments to date, helped reflect the light into some of the island’s darker nooks and crannies. The three-foot camera slider gave us a smooth horizontal camera movement, resulting in the layered, three-dimensional pan effect seen in the film. The Canon 7D chugged along reliably.

Some of the scenes were a real challenge. To capture the passengers getting off the boat I had no other option than to secure the tripod in the sandy salt water, cutting my heel on a piece of jagged coral in the process. Other scenes were, well, let’s just say “reason enough to make you want to quit your job.”

With a massive smile I remember the scene that saw the three of us – Immanuel, Pierce and Bjorn – facing a tropical island beach with our legs knee-deep in sparkly turquoise water, camera slider balanced between two wooden bar stools that had been rammed into the sand. Pierce would be reflecting the light onto our actor sitting on a lonely deckchair with a beer on his lap, Immanuel would be overseeing the shoot, arranging assistants and lending a hand wherever necessary, and I would be sliding the camera along the track with a rubber boat strung to my ankle and tropical fish nibbling at my hairy legs.

Here in Indonesia, life’s not all mangoes and sunshine. But this was the moment a dream became a reality. This was BPI at its best.

Enjoy the film!

Director: Pierce Vaughn
Camera: Björn Vaughn
Post Production: Pierce Vaughn
Producer: Immanuel Bryson-Haynes

Text: Björn Vaughn
Video: Watch below

Lensamanual.net is an Indonesian photography club based in Jakarta. Using special adapters they have discovered a way to mount traditional manual-focus lenses of different makes on modern DSLR camera bodies. It is this manual-lens-only philosophy that sets lensamanual apart from most other photographic societies.

Pak Aryono Huboyo Djati, or Pak AHD, is a well-known Indonesian photographer and a central figure within the community of lensamanual. He has kindly invited me to attend the association’s first anniversary on the 56th floor of the Grand Indonesia mega shopping mall in downtown Jakarta. To me this is a welcome little opportunity to make a video.

I accompany my friend with a Canon 7D, Tamron 17–50 mm f/2.8 zoom lens, Rode shotgun microphone and mono pod. I also bring along a back-up tripod and Canon L-series 28-300 mm zoom lens.

With the 7D set to Full-HD video, I begin to film the passing cityscape from within the taxi as we head toward the party venue in the city center. At the base of the Grand Indonesia, arguably one of the most colossal shopping malls in Southeast Asia, Pak AHD pushes his Leica M a la Carte and accessory bag past security and speed-walks to the rooftop-bound “VIP elevator” at the remote opposite end of the building. I know enough to keep the lens pointed at my friend and the people he is about to introduce me to.

Pak AHD pulls the curtain onto an amazing view. We’re in a large, dusty concrete hall high above the clouds. Robert Tang, one of the founders of lensamanual.net, surrounded by a crowd of community members, is cutting into the birthday cake. It’s a celebration of all that is photography. There is camera talk, exchanging of contact details and lots of shooting. The event climaxes with beautiful models posing in front of the Jakarta skyline – a field day for all photographers present.

I’ve come for the videography. I’m holding members at shotgun mic point, asking questions while focusing on faces, hands and gadgets. The Tamron set to f/2.8 yields a shallow depth of field. The DSLR has a way of mimicking, quite impressively, the look and feel of 35 mm motion film.

I decide to keep the mono pod mounted due to the Tamron’s lack of image stabilizer. I don’t want to shoot without support only to end up with gigabytes of jittery footage. While I’m gaining a smoother picture that way, I’m also cramping my ability to swiftly adapt to the situation. As a result, the compositions feel a little rigid at times.

Today, I would go about it differently. I would shoot most of the action wide angle and hand-held. Then I would calmly shoot close-ups with the camera mounted on the tripod and the lens zoomed in all the way.

The Canon 7D overheats when running for longer periods at a time – this is particularly the case in tropical countries such as Indonesia. That the anniversary was held in an environment hotter than a lizard’s terrarium didn’t help, either. The solution is to switch off the camera whenever you’re not shooting. If the red warning symbol starts to blink, give it a minute or two to cool down. With this approach Pierce and I have been able to overcome most challenges brought on by intensive camera use in the sweltering heat.

The DSLR performed reliably throughout the day. It turned heads and gave new, videographic incentives to many interested photographers. All that’s left now is for us to equip our Canon 7D with a custom-made adapter and then … a Leica R manual lens, perhaps?

Camera: Björn Vaughn
Post Production: Pierce Vaughn

By Björn Vaughn

Pierce and I first came to Central Kalimantan in early December 2009. We had heard about a little school somewhere out in the Jungle that was “waiting to be filmed.” Keen to test our new Canon 7D for its video capabilities, we made arrangements with the school and immediately got to work. Pierce produced a shooting script along with a list of questions we would be asking the principals, teachers, students and others involved in the school. We conducted interviews, filmed classes, accumulated b-roll and went from knowing very little about the school – or education in general! – to discovering its place within a much bigger picture.

Bina Cita Utama means “to nurture ideals, dreams, hopes and ambitions of noble or of the highest standing”. The BCU school is Central Kalimantan’s first National Plus School where subjects are taught in English and student-centered learning methodologies are applied. The school is spearheading a paradigm shift in education in Indonesia.

As the story unfolded, the Canon 7D helped us piece it all together.

There are undeniable downsides to shooting video with a camera designed primarily for photography. The Canon 7D will respond less intuitively than a video camera. It lacks a movable display, doesn’t grip as comfortably as a camcorder or offer the support of a shoulder mount. The Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8 lens lacks an optical image stabilizer, cramping our ability to shoot hand-held when zoomed in. Finally, in the heat of Central Kalimantan, the Canon 7D is destined to overheat and force you to take short breaks to allow the chip to cool down.

Fortunately, there is a pro for every con.

A photo camera such as the Canon 7D will naturally steer you toward creating video with a composed, photographic look. As a photographer I enjoy controlling the parameters that shape the image – aperture, shutter speed, ISO/Gain – the photographic way. The narrow depth of field, born from the large camera sensor and high speed lens, will, when focused properly, deliver a striking cinematographic look.

A photo camera opens us up to a vast selection of quality lenses made by Canon and other exotic brands (using adapters; see lensamanual article).

The Canon 7D is far more discrete than a large broadcasting camera. It requires you to rethink the way you make films. It’s a work-around solution with inherent advantages and shortcomings. We expect to see a lot of advances in this sector in the years to come.

During our three-week visit in late December 2009 we were able to gather sufficient footage to create a documentary trailer. It is largely thanks to this trailer, filmed with the Canon 7D, that we find ourselves back in Kalimantan working on a feature-length and preparing for further film productions.

Text: Pierce Vaughn
Video: Watch below

We came to Central Kalimantan to visit some friends who were involved in various social and commercial projects in the region. One of these friends was Gaye Thavisin whom Bjorn had known for some years. After having run a successful restaurant business in Tasmania, where she is originally from, she decided to come to Borneo and try herself in Eco Tourism. The result was a traditional river boat… Anaconda style. It took X years to build the boat and get the business up and running.

We didn’t really have a plan. All we had was our Velbon tripod, Rode Video Shotgun and a Canon 7D.

In addition we took the Macbook to transfer the files to hard drive since we only had one 16 GB SanDisk Extreme3 30MB/s CF card. At this point we had already encountered the camera’s overheating issues. I was particularly worried seeing that we were now in one of the hottest places on Earth. Bjorn was confident it would be fine.

Gaye organized a 3-day, 2-night trip for us with an American family living in Jakarta who had taken a break from the busy and smoky city life. They came with their two kids.

The boat was beautiful and the staff was great. We basically started shooting from the moment we got on the boat, pointed the camera everywhere. We were quickly confronted with our first problem. The heavy motor of the boat created a lot of vibration. So any time we shot with a long focal length we would get a bit of a jello wobble in the image. We were able to reduce this by placing one of the couch cushions beneath the tripod.

This problem, however, was not the worst. We finally arrived at one of the highlights of this trip. The orangutans. Everyone on the boat whipped out their cameras when we came past our first orangutang family. This was our moment of truth. All we had was a shitty 200 mm Tamron lens. Worse, it had no image stabilizer and the boat was rocking and every movement on board could be seen in our shots. We literally had to ask everyone (including the kitchen staff downstairs) to not move a muscle. The result where 2-3 shots we could use and include in the final film.

After an amazing and unforgettable trip on the boat, I had a lot of footage for post production.

Special thanks go to Dirk Cambell for contributing some amazing music for the soundtrack!

Director: Pierce Vaughn
Camera: Björn Vaughn
Post Production: Pierce Vaughn

By Björn Vaughn

My brother Pierce had just finished working as an editor for a film and television company in Berlin. I was done working in photographic publishing and ready to learn about motion film. The two of us had talked about working together one day. Our paths would have to converge sooner or later.

That opportunity came to us in October 2009. We set off for Asia, Australia and New Zealand with no plans of return. We would enjoy traveling and look at the prospect of making films together.

In Bangkok we tried new foods every day. We explored its alleyways, rivers and super malls. In Pai, north Thailand, we breezed through the countryside, relaxed in hot springs, felt the jungle pulsating beneath our feet, read poetry and made music with fellow traveleres.

Bubbling with new incentives we purchased the Canon 7D we had been eying for nearly a month. Our plan was to explore its video potential in conjunction with high-speed photo lenses.

Following a brief stopover on the Pi Pi Islands and two weeks in Penang, Malaysia, we flew to Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, Indonesia. Responding to an invitation to make films we began practicing with our equipment as well as trying ourselves as film-making partners.

In three weeks we created a corporate short film for a resort and a hotel boat. We also began working on a documentary film about a special little school in Central Kalimantan. We created a trailer in time for a conference in New Zealand. We promoted our work and looked for potential sponsorship, eventually returning to Jakarta to set up a film production company – Borneo Productions International (BPI) – with young entrepreneur Immanuel Bryson-Haynes. Our office is now based in Central Kalimantan. We’re ready for action.

So what’s next?

Central Kalimantan is a goldmine for filmmakers. It is rich in wildlife, culture and opportunity. We are currently making documentary and corporate films, providing film services and looking forward to getting into fiction.

This blog reports from the tropical remoteness of Borneo, Indonesia. It is for all of those who share our passion for film, technology and adventure. We hope you enjoy our films (go to www.bpi-pt.com to see our portfolio) and look forward to your feedback. Please check back regularly as we are constantly updating our websites.

Terimakasi!