StormStock founder wins ‘Best Cinematography’ for 16K film ‘Prairie Wind’

Prairie Pictures cinematographer and StormStock founder Martin Lisius was awarded ‘Best Cinematography’ honors at this month’s International Innovation Film Festival in Bern, Switzerland. The award was presented for his short film “Prairie Wind,” which he shot and produced on 16K video. The film features storms he captured over a three-month period in America’s ‘Tornado Alley’ region of the Great Plains. “Storms offer us a glimpse of what our world once was, and inspires us to protect and preserve what remains," Lisius said.  “I wanted to create a medium as large as the sky. 16K offers the tremendous resolution depth needed to pull that off."

Lisius shot the production utilizing a 16K camera system and workflow he developed. During post-production, 12,000 stills were stitched together to create one 15,985 x 5792-pixel image using a Mac Pro workstation. Each shot required 5 days to prepare, with the computer running around the clock.

Elements from “Prairie Wind” are available for license exclusively through StormStock, and can be delivered to clients on 16K, 8K, 4K or HD. Watch “Prairie Wind” and download 16K preview clips here.

The International Innovation Film Festival is a creative program dedicated to highlighting innovations that redefine how stories are told. Combining expert presentations about leading-edge technologies, the festival presents thought-provoking films from around the world.

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Since 1993, their team has filmed hurricanes, tornadoes, storm clouds, blizzards and flooding on premium formats. View footage from all StormStock categories.