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Macs in surprising places: Slumdog Millionaire was filmed with a camera containing a Mac Mini

It looks rather like a steampunk version of a traditional 16mm cinema camera, and that was indeed the inspiration behind the SI-2K Black Betty, a camera aimed at independent film-makers and used as a secondary camera in the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

It combines a Silicon Imaging 2K camera head, with its film-like 2/3″ CMOS Imager, with an SSD-equipped Mac Mini inside running Silicon Imaging SiliconDVR software. A 7-inch touchscreen monitor completes the package. The result is a self-contained camera that allows the film-maker to shoot, edit and upload.

As the name suggests, it’s capable of shooting 2K video at 30fps. If you know your videography, it shoots CineForm compressed RAW files with up to 11-stops of dynamic range at up to 500ISO. If you don’t, well, let’s just say it’s a very capable camera.

The Mac Mini was likely chosen because it offers the capability of a desktop machine in something with very low energy requirements: the complete system uses only 40 watts.

The Black Betty has only two physical buttons: on/off and start/stop: everything else is controlled via the touchscreen.

Sadly for Mac fans, the Mini isn’t running OSX: the SiliconDVR software is Windows-based, so that’s what the machine runs – but that’s one of the beauties of a Mac, you can run OSX, Windows or both.

The camera isn’t available to purchase, but you can rent one via Rule Boston Camera.

Via Engadget

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Comments

  1. Why is this surprising? Almost every major movie production is made with Macs. For instance, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Star Wars, Narnia, and I can go on.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 11 years ago

      The ‘inside a camera’ was the surprising part (to me, at least …) for a desktop Mac

  2. Andreas Neukoetter - 11 years ago

    The BlackBetty uses an SI-2K plus a MacMini.
    Slumdog was (partially) filmed using an SI-2K.

    The Slumdog-Cam might have used a MacMini, but I doubt it.

    (Oh, the Betty runs Windows ;) )

  3. melorama - 11 years ago

    No. This was NOT used on Slumdog Millionaire! This is just one person’s hacking together of an existing SI2K Mini camera head and a Mac Mini. I suggest you change your headline, because it’s completely inaccurate.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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