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This is a montage of footage a few friends and I shot for a Documentary during the summer/fall of 2009.

The documentary was shot entirely on the canon 5D MKll in and around Cairo and Beirut. Big ups to Magic Lanterns Firmware update, as well as the Kessler Pocket Dolly for being a huge help in making this happen.

Music: Nikos - Secret Love

Editing/ Color Grading- Khalid Mohtaseb

If you have any questions/ comments feel free to post them or email me at khalid@nextlevelpictures.com

Credits

Set credits

1,402 Likes

  • Dmitry Yun 2 months ago
    Beautiful piece, so filmic. Which lenses did you use for this shoot? Thank you for sharing.
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  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 2 months ago
    Thanks Dmitry. We used the Canon 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm f2.8 (all L-series). We also used Nikon Primes 50mm f1.4 and the 85 1.8

    Ive attached some behind the scenes stills on Cinema5d.com

    check them out
    cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6205&p=43411#p43411
  • iamkalaniprince plus 1 month ago
    Wow, your color grading is S P O T on ! Well done Khalid, very beautiful, perfect choice of music, I WANT MORE !! This would be a perfect intro to a documentary about Egypt.. The shot with the camel walking around the corner, so emotive..

    This is my kind of work. Perfect.
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  • jsendicott plus 2 months ago
    Some of the best 5D footage I've seen. Very cinematic!
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  • Nathan Bloch 2 months ago
    That was, in one word, unbelievable. Really incredible. Just goes to show it's not the frame rate that makes something look film like, it's the competence and talent of the person behind the camera. Excellent work.
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  • Shramm 2 months ago
    Great!
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  • Carl Olson plus 2 months ago
    Beautiful imagery, graceful camera moves, and compelling people and places.
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  • Murray Mile 2 months ago
    There's no explosions. Why? j/k. Even though I told you over the phone, I'll say it again. I'm very impress with the Framing/Selection of Shots/Grading. Two Thumbs Up!
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  • Extremely beautiful work, Khalid!
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  • Gary Rosado 2 months ago
    Awesome video!! the colors are amazing!!! I got this camera and would like sometime in the near future to be able to get at least something similar to this clip!!!
    Thanks for sharing! really enjoy it!
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  • MG plus 2 months ago
    Incredible!
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  • Superman plus 2 months ago
    WOW! Incredible! I went to Egypt about 10 years ago. I wish I had a camera like that to shoot back then! Thanks for bringing back for another visit, without having to fly again!
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  • Brad McGiveron plus 2 months ago
    wonderful work !!!
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  • Ian C plus 2 months ago
    Amazing
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  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 2 months ago
    Thanks again to all!
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  • Kristijan Matas 2 months ago
    Shoots, color, music, scenes, everything is amazing.
    Congratulations. Truly inspiring.
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  • ocfilmsdotcom plus 2 months ago
    Incredible work Khalid!! One of the best 5DM2 footages I've seen...
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  • Golo Production 2 months ago
    how do you deal with the people you shoot ? do you ask permission ? what is the peoples reaction ?

    and how is the pocket dolly doing ? is it really smooth ? why do you use a fourth leg on the extremity ?
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  • Впечатлило!
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  • Paula DiSante 2 months ago
    Wow!!!
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  • ALI STUDIO HD plus 2 months ago
    super travail
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  • BOGOTA D.C. 2 months ago
    Nice!
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  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 2 months ago
    Golo, It all depends on the energy you read from the subject. It becomes obvious who wants to be on camera and who doesnt.

    Mostly all the portraits in the montage were staged. Luckily enough I speak arabic so I explained what we were shooting and where and what we wanted them to do.

    some of the locals we shot didnt own cars, tvs, computers, etc..., so seeing such high quality video come out of a still camera was mind blowing to most of them.

    The pocket dolly is great. Kessler recommends you use a fourth leg when shooting with heavier rigs. We faced some problems with its smoothness when all the accessories were on the camera (matebox, follow focus, rods, monitor) But it worked flawlessly with the monopod as additional support
  • The heavy duty version of the Pocket Dolly that we are working on should resolve any issues when using a heavier rig.
  • Trevor Meeks plus 1 month ago
    VERY interested to hear about the heavy duty version, Chris! Any news on when I might expect more details? My rig is 19 pounds or so... hopefully the new pocket dolly will handle rigs within that range :)
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    Heres the link to the Kessler Pocket Dolly HD prototype
    youtube.com/watch?v=oSIf57QRb9I

    It handles up to 150 pounds so you'll be good to go.
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  • Jonne Ollakka 2 months ago
    Looks amazing.
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  • Yapasque 2 months ago
    yapasque was here and like so much!!! Great!!!
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  • -GO- plus 2 months ago
    Are you going to post the finished documentary here or will it be released commercially? I really want to see the rest of this.
    I shot a doc about the Irish army in "the Leb" a few years back.... not a patch on this but your video brought back a lot of memories.
    Thanks for that
    G
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    I am still not sure when and where the documentary will be released but I will definitely post a link as soon as its done . Id love to see the stuff you shot for the Irish Army.
    Is it online?
  • -GO- plus 1 month ago
    I'd love to post the doc but the only copy I have is in VHS and I haven't got a method of transfering it. I did, however shoot a load of images from south Turkey during the second invasion of Iraq that I want to re-cut and will upload them as soon as it's ready. Again, nothing compared to your stuff but it has a place in my heart all the same.
    I'll let you know

    G
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  • RomeoV 2 months ago
    This is... mind numbingly beautiful. I hate to say it, but we are DYING for an in depth tutorial on what your steps were.. heck even a quick walk through on any extra tips you used. it's just too perfect not to share some of your brilliance! LOVE IT!
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    Romeo, Ive posted some behind the scene stills as well as some before and after grading comparisons. Check it out
    cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6205&p=43411#p43411

    shoot me an email me if you have any more questions Id be more than happy to answer them. khalid@nextlevelpictures.com
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  • greg ephraim plus 2 months ago
    by far the best 5d footage I've ever seen, looks great! beautiful beautiful beautiful!
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  • Anthony plus 2 months ago
    beautiful
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  • individualEye 2 months ago
    when the camel went around the corner i reeeaalllyyy missed traveling
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    haha. That shot makes me want to go back there too.
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  • Bashar Alaeddin plus 2 months ago
    beautiful... and the music is so fitting!
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  • Involved News plus 2 months ago
    Staggering, this is normally the reserve of the still. Motion adds to it significantly.
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  • Egon Sadaiel 2 months ago
    One of the best I've ever seen out of 5D. It's wounderful in color, composition, rythm, music. Hope to see more of this great work ... !
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  • Chaz Thomson 2 months ago
    Brilliant work!!!
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  • Marko Butrakovic plus 2 months ago
    Inspiring work, a reminder of the fake glitter West offers, when I look at your footage I envy on perspective that is offered in front of your lens, real life that is taking place in every frame of this clip. I just hope I could go there one day to shoot a frame or two... keep up the good work !!!
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  • ZhiC 1 month ago
    I'm speechless, every shot meant so much.
    One video that is worth a thousand stories
    that shot at 2:31 is just incredible
    great job!
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  • Phoric plus 1 month ago
    Beautiful, everything looks great. The audio levels are really high though, had to turn everything way down. Other than that it's stunning.
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  • D.M Hughes 1 month ago
    Absolutely stunning!

    What monitor are you using?
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    I own the Marshall 7 inch monitor with HDMI output. I love the monitor but the connection on the 5d is just terrible.
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  • Luke Pygman 1 month ago
    These shots are incredible... the movement, grading, the framing and exposure... wonderful piece :)
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  • Egon Sadaiel 1 month ago
    Which software are u using for conforming the native 30p ?
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    Egon, I use MPEG stream clip to do most of my conversions on a mac, and Pro-Coder on a PC.
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  • Donte' Lee plus 1 month ago
    So DOPE!

    Shoots r smooth and steady which helps the viewer feel the beauty of the shoots!
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  • f m 1 month ago
    Perfect!
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  • Paul Shmelov 1 month ago
    How did you get such low ground shots with the slider?
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    The Kessler Pocket Dolly can be used on tabletop or smooth surfaces. Most of our ground level shots were on desert sand or dirt so we used rocks, or whatever we could find to level the dolly.
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  • Adam Palmer plus 1 month ago
    Simply stunning, the colors, the texture, the framing, just sublime.
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  • Jordan Clarke plus 1 month ago
    Amazing! I used to live in Cairo this brings back memories
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  • Sebastian TR plus 1 month ago
    Beautifully shot, absolutely awesome - looking forward to seeing the full doco.

    what lenses did you use?
    also what post process did you use when dealing with the footage ? any fps conversion etc?

    again, brilliant stuff - would love to download a 1920x1080 version though!
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    We mainly used the canon 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 all f2.8 L-series lenses. We also had the Nikon 50mm f1.4 and the 85 f1.8, but barely ever used them. The zooms work much better in a run and gun situation.

    I used FCP to edit and Magic Bullet Looks to color correct. Check out the forum about the video cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6205
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  • Adam Levins 1 month ago
    Wow, Fantastic work!
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  • incredible shots
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  • Snow 1 month ago
    Beautiful shots, frames are amazing, great work. Locations are stunning.
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  • Oliver Wilkins plus 1 month ago
    Absolutely stunning. It really raises the bar and gives me a lot to think about.

    Total respect for getting those locations. I know how tough Egypt can be. I'm guessing you were under the radar without permits. Any paranoia/ police issues?
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  • Mithun Divakaran 1 month ago
    What is the name of the track used? It's beautiful music!
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  • Floyd Dean 1 month ago
    Wonderful work!!
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  • Sarkey One plus 1 month ago
    This is by far the best shots I have seen with the Canon MKII, absolutely awesome. The grading is beautiful, really gives it that cinematic look. The hands are clapping uncontrollable....lol!

    Respectfully Sarkey One
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  • Florian Eichin 1 month ago
    wow maybe the best shots i've ever seen! realy amazing! i love it!
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  • Myles Thompson 1 month ago
    Inspiring work. Better than any other 5dm2 doccie footage I've seen.
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  • Mansoor 1 month ago
    Khalid, mashallah amazing work! very inspiring.. !
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  • Joseba1 1 month ago
    Fantastic color, and movi. Very good work and beautiful music.

    thank for share.
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  • Ivo Lev 1 month ago
    Beautiful images, amazing music. Great footage, Congrats!
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  • Kyle Wood 1 month ago
    incredible cinematography
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  • EDDIE RINGER plus 1 month ago
    you have a great eye for composition
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  • David Johansson 1 month ago
    Simply stunning!

    What is the name of the track you used? It's beautiful music!
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    Thanks brotha. The name of the artist is Nicos and the title is Secret Love
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  • Frederic Vercammen plus 1 month ago
    Incredible stuff
    What's the music?
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  • HEHRTREIGER 1 month ago
    INCREDIBLE! The music, the people, the places.. the whole video makes a unique master piece. Congrats!

    Greetings from Chile
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  • Adam Paul 1 month ago
    So Powerful. The music topped it of perfectly. Very very well done.
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  • bshiflett plus 1 month ago
    The is just stunning, beautiful in its own right, and best work I've seen with 5dmkII yet.
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  • dynomike plus 1 month ago
    Stunning...Nice compositions. Love it.
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  • eric becker 1 month ago
    Man, just looking at your production stills. That is definitely the way to roll, set-up wise. Great work.
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  • joey gallo 1 month ago
    this looks sooo good
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  • Myles Thompson 1 month ago
    How about the bands that appear in the sky of the pyramids shot (around 20 seconds)? Is that a touch of aliasing?
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    The bands are not aliasing caused by the camera. I blame that on Magic Bullets vignette feature.
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  • John Debouille plus 1 month ago
    Very nice movie!!
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  • impressive assembly, spectacular music and stunning images, and samples you describe perfectly the corners of Egypt.
    Congratulations!
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  • Jan van der Meer plus 1 month ago
    Stunning work Khalid.
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  • Mark Rutherford 1 month ago
    Soo beautiful! And powerful. Feels like moving stills yet somehow more. You nailed it.
    Thought you should know, I got the link from Rodney Charters ASC and DP for the show 24.
    He said it was the best he's seen from a 5d- and he's been shooting with it a lot using Panavision glass!
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    That is unbelievable!! I am such a huge fan of his work. Thanks for sharing the good news.
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  • John Champlin 1 month ago
    Just lovely.
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  • Mark Rutherford 1 month ago
    Dear Khalid,
    Believe it. You've done something wonderful.
    One more thing I just found out. You and Georges are friends of my dear friend, Joesph Seif.
    We should talk.
    Ping Joe for my email.
  • Khalid Mohtaseb plus 1 month ago
    Wow! what a small world. Joe is a great guy. I might be shooting in San Francisco the first week of November. We should all link up.
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  • jimmy Gilmore 1 month ago
    Khalid,
    Just wanted to add to the praise. Nice work.
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  • Chris Simon plus 1 month ago
    exquisite camerawork ‘n music. In Cairo the cabbie rode over the old cyclist who hobbled-ran after us with his bent bike. I screamed at the driver, “U ran over him”. He winked at me, (he only had one eye) and said in a North African-Arabic-Egyptian twang, “Don’t worry, this is Cairo”. Cyclist caught up and smiling,shared the ride with us. And that’s true story!
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  • Aliyoff 1 month ago
    Good work... I like it...
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  • colorline plus 1 month ago
    Great work, like it
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  • Bartek Bławat 1 month ago
    Nobel Prize for you man , that $#@@# AWESOME!!!
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  • Wayne Avanson plus 1 month ago
    stunning. You have the eye of a poet.
    Blessings

    Avey
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  • chris caliman plus 1 month ago
    very nice
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  • trung nguyen 1 month ago
    Awesome, I find sth peaceful in this movie
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  • nellyb63 1 month ago
    such perfect music choice too. empathic on so many levels
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  • Luis Trueba 1 month ago
    Just Perfect
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