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Virtual reality has opened up a wide range of opportunities for innovation and storytelling, both for manufacturers and for the early adopters that are rewriting the book on how to use this new toolset. One of these early adopters is cinematographer Andrew Shulkind, one of the driving forces behind Headcase, which is the name both of a collaboration between filmmakers and a camera. As well as being a successful DP, Shulkind has always enjoyed experimenting with new and unique movie-making technologies, whether it’s lighting, cameras, lenses or workflows. Codex is one of the partners in Headcase and made this interview possible.

Two-time Oscar nominee John Mathieson BSC (Gladiator, The Phantom of the Opera, Robin Hood, 47 Ronin) recently completed work on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., an update of the stylish 1960s television series of the same name. Mathieson says that he would have preferred to shoot film, but that the demise of some of the major film laboratories in the U.K. made it impossible. He did shoot a little bit of 16mm film on a wind-up Bolex (processed at Bucks Laboratories) for the opening of the film, to bridge some archival footage from the period with the main storyline. In some ways, the colors and textures of the period production design lent themselves to digital, he says.

If you grew up in the ‘80s it’s likely that at one time or another you found yourself inside a video arcade playing video games for hours on end at just 25 cents a pop. It was during this time period that a farm boy named Tim McVey from Ottumwa, Iowa—the Dodge City of video games— became the champion of Nibbler, the first arcade game with a scoring threshold of one billion points. It took McVey more than forty hours—and only cost him one quarter—to hit this milestone.

The Colonie showcased the full range of its editorial, visual effects and post-production services in a McDonald’s spot that creates a fun, carnival ride mood to generate excitement about its new touch-screen Kiosk ordering system, introduced in select locations across the country. Cut by editor and partner, Bob Ackerman, “Taste The Excitement,” a :30 spot via Burrell Communications/Chicago, delivers a highly stylized, slightly surreal McDonald’s environment where customers can skip the counter and order a customized meal from a kiosks with a tablet-like screen offering a wide range of options.