SeeingEyeBlog

Tonight I went to a presentation for the new Vision3 250D 5207 film stock, at Kodak’s Hollywood headquarters. My favorite part was the fact that the grain structure is much smaller than in previous film stocks. I think they said there was a 20% reduction, maybe more. Basically in non-technical terms, one of the things this means is that you can enlarge the film much more before you notice any grain. This is good news for 16mm productions, where the grain is already magnified more than on 35mm, on the same screen size.

But I was more impressed with the knowledge that I can now push-process the film much more, basically enlarging the grain itself before noticing any difference in the signal-to-noise in the shadows. This is true for theatrical-bound pictures, but is even more helpful for an HD finish, where the maximum likely screen size is smaller than a theatrical release (and therefore less magnification). Another reason to shoot on film, especially if you don’t have the time to light the crap out of it. One cameraman (didn’t catch his name) mentioned he had shot a couple rolls of the new stock, pushed it 2 stops, and it still held up without any noticeable grain. I think he was looking at his dailies on HD.

I love low light situations so much that I am building an on-set oil lamp to use as a key light (don’t tell the fire marshall). Maybe a few iPhones thru some thick paper as fill. See my posts on my recent feature Broken Windows for details on my low-light fetish. I’m just so excited, because Broken Windows was 16mm Vision2 7218, processed normal, and it looked great (telecine to D5). A little soft focus-wise, but the lighting was just where I wanted it to be. Vision3 has even smaller grain size, so the same shot captured on 35mm 5219 in anamorphic would give me tons of room to push. In fact, it seems to me that it totally remove the stigma that anamorphic lenses are too slow to be shot under low lighting conditions. If you’re not afraid of pushing 2 stops, a 2.8 becomes what was once 1.4. Plus, most Hawk anamorphics open to a T2.2 (Sorry Panavision, I love you more). For the right project, it would be a perfect combination.

The 250D will let me push into the evening, after magic hour and well into blue dusk hour. Now I just need a set of Arri Master Primes with my name on them. T1.3 is your friend.

I’m pleased to announce that my latest feature, Broken Windows, has been released on DVD. Get it on Netflix, Blockbuster, or buy it directly from the film’s website. I even did a commentary track with the director and producer.

First and foremost, I have seen a cut of Broken Windows, and I must say, I’m excited for the film to be released. I think it was well acted and well directed. As for my own work, it was one of the most fun experiences of my life, and I took as many risks as I did shots.

When I wrote my original post on the brick wall bounce, I hadn’t seen the dailies, let alone a cut of the scene. Now that I’ve seen it, I am all the more eager to build my portable 4×4 brick wall bounce surface.

The scene is lit with a 6k HMI bounced off the architectural brick of the location we were shooting at. I was using 1/2 CTO on the light, and LLD on the camera. What I got was a really nice look that I can’t really put into words. I remember it being nice on set, but the scene rendered beautifully on film.

I really can’t wait for the online and color timing. Stills coming soon.

Here’s an article on IndieWire about the latest film I shot, Broken Windows. I believe they’re using a photo ripped from my Myspace page. Weird. They didn’t ask me to use it but I’m glad they did, because we share the page with a bunch of other films. It’s cool to have the only picture on the page! Of course, we shot the film on Super16 film, and the shot they’re using is just from my crap digital camera.

Conrad L Hall, ASC, used a phrase “room tone” to describe the color temperature of a normal white light after it bounces around and hits all the surfaces in the room, which may be colored (like wood paneling, brick wall, etc). Instead of being the pure white, the light will take on the colors in the room. Now the conventional way to change the color of a light is to put a colored gel on it. But then you’re limited to what that gel does to the light. There are so many different variations in room tone from place to place that manipulating color only by gelling (apart from normal correction gels) seems to be canned, or stale. Using room tone allows the light to become a naturalized citizen of whatever space you’re in, not a foreign invader.

Recently, on Broken Windows, I had a very happy accident during a scene we were lighting. We were in an artist’s loft with a lot of windows and a lot of natural daylight. When night came around and we were setting up for a night scene, my gaffer pointed my daylight fill into the interior brick wall as a work light. But after the director and I blocked the scene, it was obvious that the brick wall bounce was perfect for the scene. I decided to go with my gut and just use the 6k brick wall bounce as my key. It was a beautiful master once we contained all the unwanted spill.

However, the problem I ran into was after we shot the master and got into coverage. The color temperature of the brick wall bounce was so unorthodox that I had no ability to match that color when putting up additional units. The solution for the scene was a LOT of passive bounce from the key and some negative fill, but it sparked the idea with my crew that we should make our own 4′x4′ brick wall bounces. We are planning to make it out of faux brick panels that will weigh around 8 lbs, and mount them onto the bale of a shiny board. And according to the website where I found the panels, they are fireproof, so I can use big hot lights. I’m thinking of also making some out of the stone and wood panels they have, so I can match a few different kinds of room tone.