Traveling the world to shoot a film is likely on the to-do list of every professional cinematographer. Grabbing a camera and venturing off with a production crew to explore a bounty of location possibilities is one of the perks of being a DP, even if your travels take you to places where nature’s extreme elements may test your physical endurance.

For Cinematographer Eben Bolter, the world is a cinematic playground. With 10 feature films and over 50 shorts on his resume, he has traveled extensively for work, including to France, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic, and he knows what to expect when shooting far from home. Based in London, England, Bolter attended university with an interest in media marketing before realizing that it wasn’t for him. “Initially it was quite uninspiring desk work, but an opportunity arose to create corporate videos, which I jumped on,” he recalls. “I was sent to do camera and editing training and then spent the next year making endless corporate videos, something I enjoyed at the time, but never imagined it would be my future career.”

After graduating from the university, Bolter traveled for a year and ended up in Tokyo where he again worked in a business environment. “After a couple of years there I was having a lot of fun, but I didn’t feel any sense of achievement career-wise,” says Bolter. “So I moved back to London with the ambition to work in the film industry.” He soon took on a job with The Location Guide, a film location company that gave him great insight and industry contacts. Bolter also attended film school classes given by the Raindance Film Festival, where he met a group of filmmakers gearing up to make short films. “As a Canon DSLR owner, I ended up taking on the camera side of things, and I was lucky to have a couple of shorts accepted into festivals,” he says. “From there it just snowballed really, and I’ve been working solidly since.”

After years of globetrotting for various projects, Bolter lists California and Nevada as two of his favorite places to shoot. He recently visited both states to shoot his latest project Bruno & Earlene Go to Vegas. Directed by Simon Savory, the low-budget dramatic feature also shot in Paris, France. “We had 22 days to shoot a 120-page script, which took us on a road trip from L.A. to Gold Point Ghost Town in Nevada, then back again via Vegas,” the DP explains. “With a limited budget, we had to be a small and agile crew. Shooting on the [Canon] 5D Mark III, I had my regular [assistant cameraman] Alex John Golesworthy working closely with me to cover all the AC/grip/gaffer duties.”

The Canon 5D Mark III was Bolter’s camera of choice from the beginning, based on its form factor, speed of use, affordable cost and simplicity of data management. During the shoot, Bolter manipulated available light as much as possible and used battery-powered LED light panels, which were assembled and positioned quickly and easily. “This was very much guerrilla-style filmmaking, but we were aiming for a look that wouldn't feel like it,” Bolter notes. “The light quality and locations in the desert were an absolute joy to capture, and Gold Point in particular was a truly 360-degree macro film set. We could put the camera almost anywhere and get great images, and the sunsets were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. We just had to be there to grab them. [For] one scene in particular, which took place around dusk, we actually shot three times, exploiting three different sunsets which kept getting better [each day].”

When the production moved to remote desert locations, a few practical problems arose. Bolter encountered issues with charging batteries, backing up data, and hydrating the crew while the possibility of malfunctioning equipment loomed over the shoot. “If we’d had any serious technical problems in the desert, we were a good 500 miles from a solution,” says Bolter. “We also had to be wary of the camera overheating in paces like Death Valley, where temperatures were over 108 degrees Fahrenheit. [As a precaution] we would rest the camera in the air-conditioned cars between setups.” Fortunately, the positives aspects of the shoot more than made up for any desert setbacks. “[We saw] outrageously beautiful landscapes, light quality and visual opportunities everywhere [we shot],” says Bolter. “It was great working with a director and crew who were so open to improvisation, and Simon would constantly run off looking for new shots, which I loved.”

After this shoot experience, Bolter has some advice for filmmakers intending to film in extreme conditions. “For me, I think it’s all about [finding] the right tool for the right job,” he offers. “It’s always worth researching how the equipment you’ll be using will cope with extreme conditions, and how the various pros and cons will practically affect the shoot. I love shooting on the [ARRI] ALEXA or a RED [camera] for the right project. But for this film the potential over-heating, data-management issues and lack of [available] crew would have slowed us down and cost us [more] overall.”

To learn more about Cinematographer Eben Bolter, visit www.ebenbolter.com