The mysteries of the mind: filming Hunting for Hedonia on the Canon EOS C300 Mark II

What if electrodes planted in your brain could alter the way you feel and act, for the better? Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a revolutionary technique employed by leading neuroscientists in which an implanted device sends out electrical impulses to manipulate parts of the brain. The results can be life-changing – from helping to prevent tremors in patients with Parkinson's disease to lifting people out of severe depression.

Delving into the mysteries of the human mind, and exploring the implications of DBS in terms of our identity and sense of self, proved a captivating subject for Danish director Pernille Rose Grønkjær. Her movie Hunting for Hedonia, narrated by actress Tilda Swinton and shot on the Canon EOS C300 Mark II and Canon EOS C200, mixes documentary footage with re-enactment to weave past with present, and explore the complexities of mental health, neuroscience and the human journey.

Cinematic aesthetics on the Canon EOS C300 Mark II

To bring their layered, emotionally-charged narrative to the screen, Pernille and cinematographer Ben Bernhard wanted to use a variety of cameras to offer flexibility across varied setups and provide a consistent cinematic aesthetic.

"I like to work with different cameras, so we have opportunities in different situations," says Pernille. "We were in operating theatres and in people's homes; delicate, sensitive areas, where we wanted to present something beautiful. The Canon EOS C300 Mark II, Canon EOS C200 and Canon lenses deliver a cinematic feel. The Canon EOS C300 Mark II is a particularly cinematic camera; the softness in the texture of the images is just incredible."

The Canon EOS C300 Mark II was complemented by the smaller Canon EOS C200, which was ideal for use on a motorised gimbal, while a fast 120fps frame rate (in Full HD) and RAW recording offered flexibility in post-production. "We used the Canon EOS C200 because we wanted super slow-motion," adds Pernille. "Slow motion adds a textural and sensual look to a clinical topic; it really gets under the audience's skin and makes people feel things."

For the tone of the film, the team took inspiration from the look and feel of Scandi detective dramas and Nordic Noir. "You see the darkness, yet at the same time there is an attraction and a beauty," says Pernille. "That's what I love as a filmmaker, combining these opposites. That's where beauty really comes out."

Because the Canon cinema cameras perform so well in low light, Ben managed to shoot most of the film at up to ISO1600, only using ISO3200 in extreme cases. He was confident shadow areas would not block up with noise, an important consideration when the film's visual style was to have areas of obvious light and shade.

"To underline the whole idea of the film, we decided it shouldn't be over-lit," says Pernille. "Our more cinematic approach was to shoot images that hid things in shadow, adding to the mystery. Darkness was our friend."

The versatile 17-120mm Cine Servo lens

While many of the gimbal shots were captured using a lightweight Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens, Pernille had access to a range of Canon lenses and also used fast Canon CN-E primes. She used the CN-E14mm T3.1 L F, CN-E24mm T1.5 L F, CN-E35mm T1.5 L F and CN-E50mm T1.3 L F, as well as a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. However, it was the Canon CN7x17 KAS S E1/P1 Cine Servo lens that became the mainstay of the production.

"It's just such a fabulous lens, so we used it a lot," says Pernille. "It would have been great to shoot everything on primes, as that's the cinematic way. But in a documentary, when you're in operating rooms or people's homes, it's disturbing if you're moving around a lot, so you need the ability to zoom."

With 7x magnification and a 17-120mm focal length, the Canon CN7x17 KAS S E1/P1 Cine Servo lens gave the crew framing flexibility and 4K performance, while minimising their profile in sensitive situations.

"The lenses we used really complemented each other nicely," Pernille adds. "I was a little worried that with two cameras and different lenses it wouldn't be a homogenous experience. But the overall look that the Canon kit brought was what bound the whole thing together; the lenses and the cameras complemented each other. I'm romantic about the filmic look. Canon cameras are actually able to process images into a softer kind of language."

The resulting images chart a previously unseen journey into, ultimately, what makes us human. Pernille recalls filming a woman who had been clinically depressed for 52 years and said her life was not worth living. This woman was transformed by the medical intervention.

"She went into the operation thinking: 'I hope I die on the operating table, because then it's not my problem,'" she says. "It's that level of darkness that the patients live in. When you are introduced to a technology that can actually bring them back to what you or I would consider a normal life, that is incredible. And to be able to capture that on film, and present it to an audience, is a big deal. For me, that's one of the greatest qualities of being a filmmaker, where you work with images that can actually touch an audience or change somebody's mind."