CINE LENSES SHOWCASING IN NABSHOW

NAB Show 2014. As camera makers make strides to 4K imaging, lens makers are challenged to provide high resolution prime and zoom lenses to deliver high-quality images to the camera sensor.

 

ARRI will showcase a range of seven high-performance prime lenses from the ARRI/Zeiss Master Anamorphic series. The Master Anamorphic series are the 50 mm T1.9, MA 35 mm, T1.9, 75 mm T1.9,100 mm T1.9, the 40 mm T1.9 and 60 mm T1.9. The 135 mm T1.9 will be showcased  in NAB 2014.  Small in size, very lightweight, fast and with minimal distortion, the lenses represent a significant step forward in the technology and practicality of anamorphic cinematography for 35 mm format digital and film cameras. They are designed to provide beautiful out-of-focus backgrounds and a smooth, cinematic look, while be as easy to use on set as other modern cine lenses.

CANON is introducing it first 35mm zoom lens with servo handgrip for documentary, handheld or ENG.Canon’s Cine-Servo 17-120 mm T2.9-3.9 zoom seems impossibly small for a lens that can deliver superb image quality with so much range.The servo focus/iris/zoom handgrip detaches with 3 screws. When re-installed, there’s no need for manual re-alignment.

THALES ANGENIEUX will showcase its Optimo DP Series 25-250 mm 10X zoom lens, designed to provide the perfect combination of zoom ratio, aperture and price.The proliferation of 4K digital screens and the advent of Ultra definition television are escalating the demands for high quality motion picture content.

  

 FUJINON is presenting in NABShow a new 25-300 mm joins the growing Cabrio series PL zoom lens family. Its range extends beyond the familiar 10:1 ratio — offering a 12:1 zoom in a comfortable size and weight. It is intended to be used as an all-around zoom lens for exteriors, locations, action, aerials, sports, cars, running shots, as well as interiors. With a size and weight comparable to the Fujinon Premier 24-180, the new Fujinon Cabrio 25-300 provides a longer range of focal lengths. A detachable digital servo drive unit with Focus, Iris and Zoom motors will be an option mid-year. The lens has rear flange focal depth adjustment. Macro (close-up) capability is available standard on the lens.

SCHNEIDER OPTICS announces a new family of prime lenses specially designed and built for digital cinematography with full-frame sensor HDSLR and other professional cameras. Built in Germany by Schneider-Kreuznach, the new Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon FF-Prime Lenses are the latest addition to the company’s line of high-end optics. The first focal lengths being introduced in the Xenon FF-Prime series are 25mm T2.1, 35mm T2.1, 50mm T2.1, 75mm T2.1, and 100mm T2.1. They are available in changeable Nikon F, Canon EOS or PL mounts.

 COOKE will premier its Anamorphic/i Prime lenses with seven focal lengths featuring an oval bokeh, and designed for film and digital cameras. They feature aberration correction over the entire image area. The company will also showcase its Metrology lens test projector.

 CW SONDEROPTIC will present its Leica Summicron-C Cine lenses with 10 focal lengths between 18 and 135 mm. These are among the smallest and lightest premium prime lenses available. The lenses feature custom coatings to closely match the color and natural skin tones of the Leica Summilux-C lenses while exhibiting excellent flare suppression with very low chromatic aberration and distortion.

 CHROSZIEL will unveil their Aladin MKII 4K live broadcast wireless lens control system which was successfully used at both the French Open and the soccer Champions League in 2013 and is optimized for “Cine-Style” lenses and broadcast cameras. Also new is the Chrosziel Magnum wireless system which is available in three models: single-axis focus only, an upgradeable system for two-axis, and a complete focus/iris system.

THE CAMERAS TO SEE AT 2014 NAB SHOW

By George Leon

Much of the camera buzz at the 2014 NAB Show will be about 4K imaging, although there’s still a thriving market for conventional HD camcorders as well.

 ARRI will introduce its AMIRA, a versatile documentary-style camera that combines exceptional image quality and affordable CFast 2.0 workflows. It sports an ergonomic design optimized for single-operator use and extended shoulder-mounted operation. It features in-camera grading with preloaded looks based on 3D look up tables, as well as 200 fps slow motion.

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN is holding off until the first day of the NAB Show to announce its product lineup, but expect the company to return with its current lineup of cameras including the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Pocket Cinema Camera, and Production Camera 4K.

CANON will show its Cinema EOS C500 4K digital cinema camera, which capitalizes on the groundbreaking ergonomic design of the EOS C300 camera, and offers a Super 35 mm, 8.85-megapixel CMOS image sensor, DIGIC DV III image processor and an expansive range of recording and output options specifically for 4K and 2K image acquisition.

 FOR-A will showcase its FT-One high-speed camera, designed for super-slow-motion acquisition with 4K resolution at up to 900 frames per second. Internal RAM memory holds nearly 10 seconds of 4K content shot at 900 fps, and this can be transferred to optional internal SSD cartridges.

GRASS VALLEY will show the latest models in its LDX series and the LDX Compact series of advanced imaging cameras, including the LDX Première, LDX WorldCam, LDX Elite and the LDX Flex. The company will also showcase its XCU eXchangeable control unit.

HITACHI will introduce the Z-HD6000 CMOS HDTV studio camera which features a 2/3-inch 2.6 megapixel 1920 x 1080 CMOS RGB sensors. The camera provides greater operational efficiency as its head provides extra power and communications, eliminating the need for extra wiring and complexity not normally available in cameras of this class.

IKEGAMI will host an 8K technology exhibit to give attendees a up-close look at the latest advances in this extremely high-resolution format, Super Hi Vision. The company will also showcase its HDK-97ARRI, developed in collaboration with ARRI. This is a broadcast-style production camera with digital cinema characteristics. Also featured is Ikegami’s Unicam HD camera line which includes multiformat HD cameras with 3G-SDI 1080/59.94p performance.

I-MOVIX will present its X10 UM (Ultra Motion) Phantom-based high-speed camera system that provides frame rates of up to 2,600 in 1080i or up to 5,600 in 720p with instant replay. The company will also showcase its X10 SSM (Super Slow Motion) camera system, which delivers up to 10x normal speed capture in full HD resolution.

JVC will introduce the GYHM850 ProHD shoulder-mount camcorder which features a built-in streaming engine, FTP and 4G LTE connectivity. It provides live HD transmission directly from the camera without any external bonded cellular technology. The camera sports an interchangeable Fujinon 20x autofocus zoom lens, dual SDHC/SDXC card slots for simultaneous or relay (continuous) recording and native file recording compatible with most NLE systems. Also look for the GY-HM890 ProHD shoulder-mount camcorder with all the features of the HM850 plus multicamera production capability.

PANASONIC will unveil three new cameras, a handheld camcorder and a pair of new Varicams. The AJ-PX270 P2 HD camcorder is Panasonic’s first capable of recording to P2 and microP2 cards in the company’s AVC-ULTRA codec.  The 4K, PL-mount Varicam 35 employs a single 35 mm sensor to mount cinestyle lenses and shoots 4K at up to 120 frames per second. The high speed Varicam HS shoots HD at up to 240 frames per second, and with its 2/3-inch 3MOS imagers, is designed to mount long lenses for sports and other event remotes.

 SONY will feature its full line of cameras and camcorders including the newest 4K CineAlta cameras, XDCAM camcorders and compact NXCAM camcorders. The company will showcase F65, F55, F5 and FS700 production cameras. Sony is delaying announcements about 2014 camera premiers until the show’s opening.

LIES AND DECEIT IN COLOR. THE SEVENTH LIE.

By George Leon
Review

The Seventh Lie is the feature film directorial debut of James Hung. The Seventh Lie is a fresh departure from the light fare of many dramatic and action Chinese films on the international film market by compelling the audience to participate vicariously on an elliptical narrative presenting intertwined individual complex plots in a seamless linear manner. 

 Hung selected chaotic Hong Kong as the backdrop landscape to frame this dramatic dark narrative of the human condition into a series of four vignettes about the decay and downward spiral of truth and honesty as known by society into a web of lies, deception and betrayal through the eyes of an ensemble cast of flawed characters interconnected to each other on the different vignettes by a common denominator, what it seems to be similar to the famous seven sins, namely wrath, greed, lust, and envy. Corruption, contempt and the  twisting of the word are the driving force on the narrative of this tale, but regardless of moments of despicable betray, redemption and a new found honesty prevails at the end.
 

  
(password: doyoulie)

The very physical and quasi-comedic performance of the cast comprised by Hong Kong top caliber actors (Josie Ho, Ronald Cheng, Loi Hong Pang and Wai Kai Leung Tommy) portraying assassins, cheating couples, corrupted policemen, disgruntled spouses, sexual deviants, runaway brides and a redeeming psychic are the right catalyst to this mixed-genre narrative as written and directed by Hung, who also utilized claustrophobic locations such as hotels rooms and hallways to determining time, landscape and space as another character to tell the story. (Hotels rooms in Hong Kong are rather small in contrast to the urban architectural grandeur displayed by the city). 

The cinematography by Ka On Ronnie Au and production design by Rose Hung worked seemingly with Hung's vision. The photography and art design (Janet Chan) of every location/vignette is under its own color palette, running from a clean surgical steel look (while an assassin is choosing which tailored suit, shirt, and tie to wear before going out to kill again) to the warm tungsten glowy look of a runaway bride perplexed by the possibilities of her own future while hiding from her future husband and bride maids crisscrossing the city under the neon and traffic lights to a final rendezvous with a prophetic psychic on an idyllic park illuminated with colorful china balls and lanterns.

The low budget film was shot on a single Canon 1DC with Canon cinema lenses and recorded to SanDisk’s Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 cards. 

LIGHTING FOR A LEGEND & CONFIGURATION OF THE EOS C500 PL

Here is the coverage of a  story by two different sources, which I decided to merge into one posting given  both  articles- a journalistic blog posting by David Heuring and a marketing video by Canon- are intrinsically inseparable to a cinematographer's discerning eye to better understand the production process involved in the making of the short  film The Human Voice.    

Lighting for a Legend — Rodrigo Prieto Shoots Sophia Loren Short in Rome
As originally published on September 4, 2013 in ASC Parallax View by David Heuring
with the exception of two still photos credited to other source.

Rodrigo on the set of THE HUMAN VOICE. 

© Jon Fauer, ASC

Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC recently finished a unique short film that stars Sophia Loren and was directed by Loren’s son, Edoardo Ponti. The title is The Human Voice, and the script is based on a one-person stage play by Jean Cocteau. The 25-minute film was filmed over the course of about two weeks, mostly on a soundstage in Rome, with some flashback scenes shot along the coast in Naples.

Rodrigo says that says that as a teenager, Loren was struck by another screen version of the story starring Anna Magnani, whose performance helped inspire Loren to eventually become an actress. She’d dreamed of taking on the role ever since. The Human Voice depicts a long, intermittent phone conversation between a woman and her lover, who is leaving her for another woman. At first, she tries to put a brave face on things. But eventually her emotions pour out. The male half of the doomed relationship is never seen by the audience.

 Rodrigo and first AC Zoran Veselic at work.

©Jon Fauer, ASC

Rodrigo met Ponti on a panel at the Tribeca Film Festival, where they each had a short screen in the same program. Rodrigo’s short, which he directed and shot, was titled Likeness and starred Elle Fanning. Ponti’s film, Il turno do note lo fanno le stelle, starred Julian Sands and Nastassja Kinski. “Edoardo approached me after the event and told me about The Human Voice,” says Rodrigo. “I was immediately fascinated.”

Their earliest conversations about the look of the film were conducted via Skype, with Ponti in Rome and Rodrigo in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he was finishing The Homesman for director/star Tommy Lee Jones. “Edoardo wanted it to feel romantic, but at the same time realistic,” says Rodrigo. “He didn’t want an overly dramatic image — he said the drama would be in the words and in the performance. I chose to use Cooke S4 lenses as I felt they have a pleasing quality that would work well for a monologue piece.”

Changes in the time of day offered Rodrigo a range of lighting opportunities. 

©Jon Fauer, ASC

Ponti had done his previous short on the Canon C300, so he had a relationship with Canon. That led in part to the decision to shoot The Human Voice on a Canon C500 camera. During a conversation with Rodrigo, Canon’s Tim Smith mentioned that the C500, in addition to its ability to capture images in 4K 10-bit files, can shoot 2K files with 12-bit color depth. The camera incorporates an onboard Codex S Plus recorder that facilitates either format.

“In testing, I noticed that especially on skin tones and some fruit I placed on a bowl next to the stand-in, the subtlety of color was best captured in 2K 12-bit,” says Rodrigo. “For our purposes, the differences in resolution between 4K and 2K were negligible, but the proper rendering of the many colors in her face was essential.”

 The opportunity to work with the legendary actress was intimidating. “It was an incredible privilege, honor and responsibility to photograph an icon of world cinema like Sophia,” he says. “It did scare me a little bit at first. She has been lit by the best photographers and cinematographers in the world. I know that she understands lighting, especially her own — she knows what looks good. I think that feeling of fear was actually positive in the end. I think it helped me find ways to lovingly photograph her while enhancing the dramatic curve of the piece.

“Edoardo was instrumental in easing these fears,” says Rodrigo. “He is a very generous director who likes to have a fun atmosphere, which is something I enjoy. I think I run a disciplined set, but I appreciate being able to laugh and joke a bit. Sets are tense enough already, with budgets and schedules causing stress. I think it’s important to feel relaxed and happy while you work.

 Edoardo Ponti and Sofia Loren on the set

of the Human Voice © BestImage

“The other great privilege for me was witnessing the mother-son relationship, and how Sophia’s dream of playing this role was becoming a reality through her son,” says Rodrigo. “Seeing them on the set together, through these emotional moments, was very touching. Seeing them find the right performance and direction as a family was very beautiful and special.”

Prior to The Human Voice, Rodrigo shot two completely dissimilar projects, but he reprised the “mostly film-some digital” approach he used on Argo, which of course won Best Picture and two other Oscars this past February. For The Homesman, he shot Super 35 film format for 85 or 90% of the film, but used the Sony F55 in low light situations, including some scenes where he shot with just an oil lamps and candles for illumination. On The Wolf of Wall Street for Martin Scorsese, he shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses and some scenes with spherical Master Prime lenses — for the most part on film and sometimes on Alexa for low light and visual effects.

For the time being, Rodrigo is shooting commercials and enjoying some time close to home.

Canon Collaborations: The EOS C500 Configured by the Crew of Human Voice

A conversation between three talented filmmakers, as director Edoardo Ponti, Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC, and First AC Zoran Veselic discuss how they configured a Cinema EOS C500 PL camera to shoot the intimate short film, Human Voice.

 

 For more detailed technical information about The Human Voice, check out the Film & Digital Times coverage by Jon Fauer, ASC.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMINEES FOR THE 86TH OSCARS®

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMINEES FOR THE 86TH OSCARS®

These are the nominees in the Cinematography category for the 86th Academy Awards with technical specifications. Note that the camera body of choice used by all these talented directors of photography in the nominated films was an Arri film body or a digital camera used for negative film stock photography or high definition digital acquisition.

 On matter of lenses, the Panavision C-Series Anamorphic primes, ATZ/AW22 zooms and Panavision Primos were the choice for two of the nominees. 

 

 Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC AMC principal photography was achieved using Arri Alexa Studio and Plus cameras and a 65mm film camera, the Arri 765 with magazines loaded with Kodak 5219 65mm negative emulsion, a perfect film acquisition tool for digital intermediate processes and 4K workflows. All camera bodies were fitted at one time or another with Panavision Primos and Zeiss Master Primes lenses and a still medium format photography lens, the Hasselblad 765 to help him to capture the emotion of the characters on their struggle for survival on this weightless and sweeping outer-space 3D/CGI rendered drama.

 

 Phedon Papamichael, ASC used Panavision Anamorphic lenses in Nebraska to capture the essence of Alexander Payne's color graded black and white road trip narrative. "The Panavision C-Series Anamorphic lenses helped me achieve a textural quality I was trying to find for Nebraska - the older glass helped reduce the sharpness off the digital image and gave it a more film-like cinematic feeling"  said Papamichael. 

 Bruno Delbonnel ASC, AFC shoot "Inside Llewyn Davis" a York folk music story in the ‘60 on a single 35mm film stock,  Kodak Vision T500/5219 1:85 aspect ratio and the cameras were Arricam LT and ST using Cooke S4 lenses. “The movie has a lot of magenta and cyan, which you can’t really get from a lab process, or at least not as controlled,” Delbonnel states. “The blooming and diffusion we added gave the feel of uncoated lenses. But I actually shot with the super sharp Cooke S4’s, with nothing over the lens at all. Uncoated lenses are uncontrollable – flares, etc. – and I needed to control the light and clarity [during shooting] at all times.”

 Delbonnel crafted imagery that is low contrast, with little or no sunlight. That approach fit well with the short New York winter days, which only provided about six hours of daylight. “I don’t like the term ‘look,’” Delbonnel says. “To me, a ‘look’ is just fashion. You see it in fashion photography. It’s just an aesthetic, and in a couple of years it will be something else. It’s about emotion and the story. For Inside Llewyn Davis, I was looking for sadness, so I had to define it. Is it yellow? Is it green? I had to find a way to make this sadness with color and density and contrast. That is my job as a cinematographer.”

Roger Deakins  A.S.C., B.S.C, C.B.E, received his eleventh Oscar nomination for Prisioners, a dark and disturbing criminal kidnapping thriller shot digitally using the ARRI Alexa Plus and Studio cameras fitted with Zeiss Master Primes. Deakins elaborated a precisely unobtrusive camerawork with the perfect amount of steady control to build tension, framing the storyline in a wintry rain-drenched desaturated color palette, a departure from his fluid camera work and stylistic photography of Skyfall, his 10th Oscar nomination.

"The Grandmaster" charts the mostly true story of Ip Man (Tony Leung), the martial arts master who would eventually teach a young Bruce Lee how to fight. The film was shot on the last roll of Fujifilm ever produced.
Fujifilm  informed him and Mr. Le Sourd, that it would be delivering the company’s final  roll to them but Le Sourd isn't absolutist about celluloid. "I think everything is possible on digital," he says. "‘Gravity' is amazing work and we couldn't do it before. It's a great adventure today to be a working cinematographer."

 When the cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd teamed up with the director Wong Kar-wai to make “The Grandmaster,” he was expecting a six-month project. Those six months turned into three years, making the production felt as epic as the life story at the heart of the film: that of the kung fu master Ip Man. 

Philippe Le Sourd’s outstanding cinematography brings scintillating action sequences into sharp focus -- a crucial factor given Wong's penchant for close-ups that can seemingly reveal a universe in the burning tip of a cigarette to the shape and reflective transparency of rain fall turned into motivators of camera movement.

 Le Sourd shot this masterly crafted narrative using Arricam ST/LT and Arriflex 435 cameras, "the workhorse of the industry", a MOS camera with variable ramping  speed instrumental  to capture in detail the action sequences. All magazines were loaded with the last rolls manufactured by Fujifilm, the Eterna 8663 and 8673. For the most vivid detailed slow speed action sequences under the rain,  Le Sourd opted for the Phantom Flex, an high speed digital 2.5K camera, capable of shooting from 5 frames-per-second (fps) to over 10,750 fps. The result is truly amazing as lensed by LeSourd.

Cinematography Nominees chart courtesy of Setlife Magazine

A GUIDE TO HAND HELD CAMERA OPERATION W/ SEAN BOBBIT, BSC

A Guide to Handheld Camera Operating with Sean Bobbitt, BSC, from the ARRI Workshop at this year's Camerimage Film Festival. This is a must see presentation for all cameraman. Enjoy!

 Sean Bobbit, BSC and Steve McQueen on the set of 12 Years a Slave.

Bobbit is a Film Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography Nominee.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMNEES. SPIRIT AWARDS 2013

Nominations Best Cinematography

 
 Sean Bobbitt Best Cinematography 
 

 
 Benoit Debie Best Cinematography 
 

 
Bruno Delbonnel Best Cinematography 
 

Frank G. DeMarco Best Cinematography 
 

 Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess

 Best Cinematography
Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years A Slave
Benoit Debie, Spring Breakers
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Frank G. Demarco, All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess

Best Director
Shane Carruth, Upstream Color
J.C. Chandor, All Is Lost
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Jeff Nichols, Mud
Alexander Payne, Nebraska

Best Feature
12 Years A Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, Before Midnight
Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, The Spectacular Now
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave

DECLAN QUINN, ASC MASTER CLASS. ONE FILM. ONE DAY

Master Class: One Cinematographer. One Film. One Day. 

Declan Quinn, ASC - Leaving Las Vegas

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2013

Registration: $50 

Sign Up

In this Master Class, Quinn will deconstruct Leaving Las Vegas, scene-by-scene, while discussing his process, choices, obstacles, challenges - what worked and what didn't.

10:00 AM Screening: Leaving Las Vegas. 

12:00 PM Catered Lunch. 

1:00 PM  Master Class 

3:00 PM  Day Ends.

About The Film

Leaving Las Vegas,  Color, 111 min, Drama | Romance 27 October 1995 (USA)

Distributed by United Artists/ Park Circus

Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.

Leaving Las Vegas won Declan Quinn, ASC the first of three Independent Spirit Awards for Cinematography. In her October 27, 1995 New York Times review, Janet Maslin described his work as "subtly distinctive...a neon apparition, beautifully evoked by other worldly contrasts and lurid nocturnal light."

About Declan Quinn, ASC

Declan Quinn, ASC, is an Irish-American cinematographer and a three-time winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Quinn spent several years growing up in Ireland before returning to the United States to earn a degree in film from Columbia College Chicago.

After working as a News Cameraman in Illinois, he returned to Ireland, where he was employed at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, filming several music videos and documentaries including U2: Unforgettable Fire (1984) and U2: Outside It's America (1987).

 Quinn returned to the United States in 1986 and filmed videos for bands such as REM and SMASHING PUMPKINS. Maggie Greenwald’s The Kill Off was his first feature in the US. Since then, Quinn has collaborated with several top directors, including Louis Malle: Vanya on 42nd Street,  Mira Nair on Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair and Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Quinn collaborated with his writer/director brother Paul Quinn and actor brother Aidan Quinn on This is My Father. He has also worked with director Jonathan Demme on Fear of Falling and most recently, the AMC pilot episode for Line of Sight. Additional credits include 2x4, which won him the Cinematography Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, as well as Leaving Las Vegas, One True Thing, In America, Cold Creek Manor, Pride and Glory, Rachel Getting Married and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Quinn resides in the Hudson Valley, New York with his wife Edda where they raised four daughters.