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.

Among the other new developments in my life and work is the trend towards color timing. I got into color work a few years ago, through watching a colleague and friend on his own color timing jobs. I realized that with an all-digital workflow (particularly with the RED), there is temptation at every step–zoom & reframe a shot here, use the wrong codec there–to either disenfranchise the cinematographer at best, or cause irreversable image degradation at worst. It was clear to me that I needed to be my own colorist. I would have no one to blame but myself, and it would assure me of committing to projects on which I actually want to spend the extra effort. Luckily I was ahead of the curve and had a couple years of practice long before Apple acquired Silicon Color and democratized everything. But Apple’s acquisition happened at the perfect time–just as two features I had shot were going into online/color. We got a great deal at a post house whose FCP/Color room was well below the radar compared to their normal da Vinci suite. There, I color timed Yesterday Was a Lie (F900) and Broken Windows (S16). Currently, I have an upcoming feature which will follow a similar DI process to Laser Pacific’s inDI, with little old me at the helm.

An oldschool colorist may not agree that the software solutions are worth their salt. But I don’t care much, and here’s why. A discerning eye can tell the difference between a print finished photochemically versus one put through the digital intermediate process, and most discerning eyes will usually agree that the photochemical finish looks sharper with better detail, yet the DI gives you far more control (which, psychologically, can make up for sloppiness on set and cause a false dilation of the good/fast/cheap triangle). So my point is, we’re clearly taking a step backwards, but technology is catching up fast, bringing with it many steps forward. This step backwards is the time we as cinematographers need to change the game. There is so much control available to us in the color suite, we need to master it all. It’ll enable us to truly preserve those beautiful houses of cards we so delicately assemble on set. Learn to color time your own work, and join the movement to make “DP/Colorist” a commonplace term among producers, directors and post supervisors. That way, when a DI looks as good as photochemical finishing, we will retain our mantle of image quality shepherd. Maybe some of us can even pioneer this at the union bargaining tables next time. I would love to get a clause in my contract for my color timing efforts.

I won Best Cinematography at VisionFest’08 in New York, for Yesterday Was a Lie! This is my first cinematography award, and it’s a great feeling. Hopefully many more to come. The trophy statuette is shaped like a candle flame, which I like, because I love to use natural light sources, like candles.

Yesterday Was a Lie recently won the top prize at the 2008 Park City Film Music Festival, and recently screened at the SSG screening series in Beverly Hills, at the Fine Arts Theater. Here’s a shot of the marquee.

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.