Film and television industry professional recently attended Canon’s Content Creators event at the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. Directors, producers, cinematographers and digital content gurus mingled and drank traditional sake out of a barrel, and, more importantly, they got to play with Canon’s latest technology, including the company’s entire Cinema EOS line. “It’s great to see Canon entering the 4K space and seeing their cameras evolve,” said It's Not You It's Me Director/Co-Writer Matt Spicer. “I’ve used the 5D and 7D extensively, and it was getting to the point where I’ve been wondering what was next from them. I would definitely consider using the [4K] C500 on my next shoot.” 

Over 40 films screening at SXSW 2013 used Canon equipment during production, and the company’s revolutionary DSLR technology has played a key role in what independent filmmaking has become today. “Canon has sought involvement with film festivals since we introduced 24-frame capabilities into our professional video camcorders almost a decade ago,” says Len Musmeci, the marketing manager for Canon’s professional client relations department. “This involvement has escalated with the inception of our Cinema EOS product line in November of 2011.” Canon has certainly been busy over the last couple of years, as it has since introduced the C300 and 5D Mark III, the successor to the popular 5D Mark II. And the company’s 1D C essentially put 4K in the palms of filmmakers’ hands before the release of two new cinema cameras: the C100 and 4K C500.

“We are continually looking for new and exciting ways to get involved in festivals,” reports Musmeci, “not only to educate the audience on our continually evolving product lineup, but to show our support for the artisans and professionals who participate and attend. The indie world was very much in our thinking for two reasons: One, on a worldwide basis it is a huge constituency that continually feeds an enormous number of film festivals, and, two, many of these independent filmmakers will emerge as significant producers, directors and cinematographers in the ensuing decades. We must also recognize that the independent filmmakers of the world played a significant role in the acceptance of Canon and the original EOS 5D Mark II into this market, which ultimately helped us spawn the Cinema EOS system.”