BREAKING NEWS

A Must Read! Essential FOCUS ON LENSES Guide Courtesy of BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

Lens choice is a pivotal and personal choice for filmmakers, allowing them to realise their vision and tell stories that resonate with the audience and make a lasting emotional and artistic impact.

Click image to see guide 

As exceptional cinematographer Nancy Schreiber ASC notes in this guide, “testing your lenses and then projecting the files large and in a controlled environment,” is of utmost importance. “That is how, as artists and technicians, we best find our signature.”  

 

In this second volume of lensing lessons and experiences, directors of photography reveal the ways in which they test and select the best lens for the creative task at hand and the techniques they adopt to realise the full potential of their chosen glass. Whether investigating the power of imperfection and benefits of working with vintage, rehoused or detuned glass or refining your use of lens flare, filters or zoom lenses, you’ll find practical advice and examples of fellow DPs’ productions to help. One such cinematographer sharing words of wisdom is Rick Joaquim SASC whose quest to find unusual lenses has become a passion, combining his love for cinematography and lenses in the form of a growing collection of specialist glass. “We’re all chasing something unique and different,” he says. 

Click image to see guide

If you need to be light on your feet when adopting a guerilla-style approach, there’s plenty of on-set experiences to make your next productions shine. Or maybe you’re taking your first steps into the virtual world and wondering how that will affect your lens choices. Never fear as there’s information aplenty to aid you when making creative choices that lead to realistic results in the virtual realm. 

Finding the perfect glass for a project is a cinematographer’s window to the world they build on screen. We hope you find this guide a valuable resource when embarking on that exciting filmmaking journey.

Subscribe to British Cinematographer here

VISUAL ARTISTRY IN THE AGE OF AI

From June 10-11, the ASC will host "Visual Artistry in the Age of AI," a summit that will explore the ways in which artificial-intelligence technology will be part of a new path forward for creatives working across the arts and entertainment industry. The event will be livestreamed from the Society's Clubhouse from 1:30-5pm pst on June 10 and 9:30am-5pm pst on June 11. 

The summit will include
— Presentations of current AI technology by prominent developers in the field.
— Panel discussions on topics such as the ethical use of AI, using AI within the traditional workflows and the future of content creation.
— Real-time demonstrations showing the skills necessary to create targeted artistic results with the technology.
— An area where attendees can get hands-on experience with various AI programs as an introduction to the technology.
Among the guest speakers and presenters scheduled to attend are ASC members Patrick Cady, Caleb Deschanel, Shelly Johnson, Sevdije Kastrati Dill, Roberto Schaefer and Dante Spinotti, as well as a wide range of AI content creators and filmmakers with intimate knowledge of this burgeoning space.

Registration and access is free. Click here.

EUROPEAN LENS SUMMIT 2025 UK 

The Lens Summit was the incarnation of an idea: What if there was a smaller, more focused event just for cinema optics, without the often overwhelming nature of a larger tradeshow? It now runs on alternate years as European Lens Summit - with CVP - and as Pacific Northwest Len Summit – with USA reseller Koerner Camera.

This unique event brings together an international community of cinema optic enthusiasts to present products, exchange technical and creative ideas and create a real-time discussion with the end users and ultimately engage with more people.

"The beauty of the Lens Summit is that it’s small enough, focused enough, and casual enough for attendees and vendors to have a real opportunity for one-to-one interaction." Film & Digital Times 

REGISTER HERE 

UNREAL FEST BALI

June 25 - 26, 2025

Renaissance Bali Nusa Dua Resort

Unreal Fest Bali is coming! Join us on the stunning Indonesian island of Bali for sessions that cover games, film and TV, animation, architecture, and broadcast and live events. Grab your tickets today and meet us there to learn, network, and have fun.

REGISTER HERE

STATE OF UNREAL 2025

OFFICIAL 4K LIVESTREAM UNREAL FEST ORLANDO

It’s nearly time for the State of Unreal! Check the Livestream from Unreal Fest Orlando at 9:30 AM EDT on June 3. You can soak up the action with 39 livestreamed sessions covering games, film & TV, automotive, UEFN, and more. Catch all the action here, including a first look at the latest tools and technology we’re working on, live demos, new product releases, partner projects, and all our big news—live as it’s announced. #UnrealEngine

Click image for Livestream 

Livestreamed Sessions

Tuesday, June 3

 

Time	Livestream 1	Livestream 2	Livestream 3
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET	Finding Success in Discover	A Peek at Some Future Features Coming to Unreal Engine	Real-Time Workflows with MetaHuman Animator
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM ET	First look at Unreal Engine 5.6	State of Unreal Tech Talk 1	Bringing Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast to Life With Unreal Engine
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM ET	Chasing Waterfalls: Using Niagara to Power a Mobile RTS	Epic Games Store: 2025 Store and Product Update	Max & the Midknights: A Case Study in Modern TV Animation with Unreal
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET	Converting Blueprints the Right Way	State of Unreal Tech Talk 2	State of Animation Authoring Tools in UE 5.6

Wednesday, June 4

 

Time	Livestream 1	Livestream 2	Livestream 3
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET	Physics Gameplay in UEFN	State of Unreal Tech Talk 3	Crafting Larger-than-Life Personas with Metahumans & AI Tools
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM ET	Procedural Urban Environments in PCG	Subculture Rendering and Calculations in Mongil: Star Dive	Rigging for Animators in Unreal Engine
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM ET	New Techniques for Building UI in UEFN	State of Unreal Tech Talk 4	Creating Shorts and Cinematics as a Solo Creator
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET	Fortnite Meets Arm ASR: Unlocking Mobile Graphics with Temporal Upscaling	Avowed: A GPU Technical Retrospective	State of Virtual Production
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM ET	The Great Hitch Hunt: Tracking Down Every Frame Drop	State of Unreal Tech Talk 5	25 Ways To Stylize a Project in Unreal Engine
4:45 PM - 5:45 PM ET	Procedural Worlds by McLaren: Automotive Visualization with PCG Content	Powering Up Your Projects With Scene Graph and Verse	Real-Time Audiovisual Mechanics: An Epic Chat with deadmau5

Thursday, June 5

 

Time	Livestream 1	Livestream 2	Livestream 3
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM ET	Building a Data-Driven Interior Configurator Using Lumen and Nanite	State of Unreal Tech Talk 6	Future-Proofing Fashion: Unlocking the Power of Substance 3D and Unreal Engine
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM ET	World's First UE5 Vehicle Navigation: Pioneering Vector Tiles	State of Unreal Tech Talk 7	Technical Artist's Guide to Profiling in Unreal Engine
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET	Collabs, Commissions, and Creating: Tom Jank’s UEFN Survival Guide

MANDY WALKER, ASC, ACS, AM ELECTED ASC PRESIDENT 

Mandy Walker has been elected President of the American Society of Cinematographers, becoming the first woman to lead the Society in its 105-year history. Known for her groundbreaking work on Elvis, Hidden Figures and Mulan, Walker brings decades of artistry and leadership to the role.

Walker is known for her work on acclaimed films such as Mulan (2020), Hidden Figures (2016) and Elvis (2022), which earned her Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for Best Cinematography. She made history with Elvis, becoming the first woman to receive an ASC Award for feature film cinematography and an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award.

DION BEEBE ACS ASC, HONORED WITH THE 2025 PIERRE ANGÉNIEUX TRIBUTE

Australian Dion Beebe ACS,ASC  is an Academy Award-winning  cinematographer and seven times Rob Marshall collaborator (Memoirs of a Geisha,  Chicago, The Little Mermaid),  who also have collaborated with Jane Campion (Holy Smoke and In the cut) and with Michael Mann (Collateral and Miami Vice). He is currently shooting the biopic of Michael Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua.  See AFC  interview with Dion Beebe, ACS, ASC, winner of the Pierre Angénieux Tribute 2025.

CINEMATOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS BY DION BEEBE AT CANNES 2025

Just like his predecessors Darius Khondji (AFC, ASC) Barry Ackroyd (BSC), and Santosh Sivan (ISC, ASC), Dion Beebe (ACS, ASC) delivered a Masterclass on May 22, 2025 moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Jordan Mintzer, offering cinematographers and cinematography lovers a rare glimpse into the thinking behind his celebrated images. This event preceded the grand homage to his work at the Pierre Angénieux Tribute on Friday, 23rd May, at the Palais des Festivals. Click image to see interview by AFC.

THE FESTIVAL DE CANNES CLOSED TODAY. IT OPENED MAY 13 THROUGH MAY 23. THE OPENING FILM WAS “PARTIR UN JOUR”  BY AMELIE BONIN.

The 78th Festival de Cannes opened today, May 13, 2025. The Festival de Cannes remains steadfast in its commitment to the silver screen celebrating the importance of film making, by holding the opening ceremony and film will not only at the Palais des Festivals, but also to be screened simultaneously in hundreds of cinemas across France, reaching thousands of film enthusiasts.

The initiative was launched by the Festival de Cannes in partnership with France Télévisions, the Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français, and the CNC (The French National Centre of Cinema), and the support of the AFCAE (French Association of Art and Essay Cinemas).

The opening film was the world premiere of Amélie Bonnin's debut feature, Partir Un Jour (Leave One Day). The film is led by Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, and François Rollin. The opening ceremony was broadcasted in French cinemas. 

Cécile is about to open her own gourmet restaurant, finally making her dream come true, when suddenly her father has a heart attack and she is called back to the village where she was born. Far from the hubbub of Paris life, she runs into her teenage crush. The memories come flooding back, destabilizing her certainties. Directed by: Amélie BONNIN. 2025. France. 94 minutes.

The film was shown as part of the "Out of Competition" section, which means it was not eligible for the Palme d'Or award. The festival's opening ceremony also featured Robert De Niro receiving a Palme d'Or, and Juliette Binoche leading the competition jury.

Tom Cruise, aka Ethan Hunt, on the Red Marches, is one of the highlights of the day! The actor of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING by Christopher McQuarrie, has joined the Grand Théâtre Lumière to the sound of a live orchestration and under the flashlights of #Cannes2025.

Pictured: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Pom Klementieff, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Hannah Waddingham, Tramell Tillman, Hayley Atwell & Angela Bassett

Denzel Washington received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes premiere for ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ by Spike Lee. The premiered film “Highest 2 Lowest” directed by Spike Lee is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film “High and Low”.

Nouvelle Vague is Richard Linklater’s acclaimed feature film In Competition at Cannes Film Festival, about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’  as an Ode to the Rapture of Cinema.  Guillaume Marbeck is so perfect as Godard that’s uncanny, and so is the whole movie. 

Nouvelle Vague was shot in black and white 4:3 aspect ratio, faithfully recreating the story of the filming and editing of "Breathless"  as if it was an  actual documentary of when the film was being produced in 1959. The beauty and complexity of this film lies in getting as close as possible to the reference images and archives from the actual filming.

“Watching Nouvelle Vague, you don’t have to squint a bit to pretend that this is Jean-Luc Godard. It seems, rather, that Godard has sprung to life before us. And that uncanny quality extends to the entire movie, which plunks us down in Paris in 1959, in many of the same streets and boulevards and cafés and hotel rooms where “Breathless” was shot. 

The movie is in French with subtitles, and it uses lustrous high-contrast black-and-white cinematography by David Chambille to mirror the look of “Breathless,” and to make us feel like we’re right there, mingling with Godard and Truffaut and Chabrol and Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg and Jean-Pierre Melville, as if we’d dropped in by a time machine”.  Review by Owen Gleiberman from Variety. 

Pics courtesy of French Association of Set Prop Makers

Nouvelle Vague is directed by Richard Linklater. Starring Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard and Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, it follows the shooting of Breathless, the first feature film of the Nouvelle Vague era of French cinema, in 1959. Production designer Katia Wyszkop. Produced by ARProd. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2025.

⭐️ THE 78th FESTIVAL DE CANNES LIST ⭐️

The Jury of the 78th Festival de Cannes, chaired by French actress Juliette Binoche, surrounded by American actress and filmmaker Halle Berry, Indian director and screenwriter Payal Kapadia, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani, Congolese director, documentarist and producer Dieudo Hamadi, Korean director and screenwriter Hong Sangsoo, Mexican director, screenwriter and producer Carlos Reygadas and American actor Jeremy Strong, presented its winners’ list among the 22 films presented in Competition this year.

 

Winners and Jury at the closing night 

Palme d’or

UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT
Jafar PANAHI

Grand Prix

AFFEKSJONSVERDI
(SENTIMENTAL VALUE)
Joachim TRIER

Joint Jury Prize

SIRÂT
Oliver LAXE

SOUND OF FALLING
Mascha SCHILINSKI

Best Director

Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO

 O AGENTE SECRETO (THE SECRET AGENT)

Best Screenplay

Jean-Pierre DARDENNE & Luc DARDENNE for JEUNES MÈRES

Best performance by an actress

Nadia MELLITI in LA PETITE DERNIÈRE directed by Hafsia HERZI

Best performance by an actor

Wagner MOURA in O AGENTE SECRETO (THE SECRET AGENT)

directed by Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO

Special Award

KUANG YE SHI DAI (RESURRECTION)

Palme d’or

I’M GLAD YOU’RE DEAD NOW
Tawfeek BARHOM

Special Mention

ALI
Adnan AL RAJEEV

Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard Prize

LA MISTERIOSA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO 

(THE MYSTERIOUS GAZE OF THE FLAMINGO)
Diego CÉSPEDES
1st film

Jury Prize

UN POETA (A POET)
Simón MESA SOTO

Best Directing

Arab & Tarzan NASSER
for Once Upon a Time in Gaza

Best Actor

Frank DILLANE
in Urchin directed by Harris Dickinson

Best Actress

Cleo DIÁRA
in O Riso e a Faca (I Only Rest in the Storm)

 directed by Pedro Pinho

Best Screenplay

PILLION
Harry LIGHTON
1st film

Caméra d’or

Caméra d’or Prize

THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE

Hasan HADI
Directors’ Fortnight

Special Mention

MY FATHER’S SHADOW
Akinola DAVIES JR
Un Certain Regard

La Cinef

First Prize

FIRST SUMMER
Heo GAYOUNG
KAFA, South Korea

Second Prize

12 MOMENTS BEFORE THE FLAG-RAISING CEREMONY
QU Zhizheng
Beijing Film Academy, China

Joint Third Prize

GINGER BOY
Miki TANAKA
ENBU Seminar, Japan

WINTER IN MARCH
Natalia MIRZOYAN
Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia

Superior Technical Commission

THE CST AWARD FOR BEST ARTIST-TECHNICIAN is presented to Ruben Impens, director of photography, and Stéphane Thiébaut, mixer of ALPHA, directed by Julia Ducournau.

The 2025 jury of the CST Award for best Artist-Technician acknowledges the powerful creativity of sound and image in this film, achieved by Ruben Impens, director of photography and Stéphane Thiébaut, mixer, of Alpha directed by Julia Ducournau.

THE CST AWARD FOR BEST YOUNG FEMALE FILM TECHNICIAN is presented to Éponine Momenceau, Director of photography of  CONNEMARA, directed by Alex Lutz.

The 2025 jury of the CST Award for best Young, Female Film Technician is proud to present this year’s prize to Éponine Momenceau, director of photography of Connemara directed by Alex Lutz, for the delicacy and subtlety of the work on the images that accompany the film’s story and direction.

“A CINEMATOGRAPHER’S LIFE BEYOND THE SHADOWS”, BY ROY WAGNER, ASC.

Named by Kodak as among the “100 Top Cinematographers in the World,” Roy H. Wagner has produced some of the most striking and unique photography on American film and TV screens of the past forty years.

Mentored by legendary cinematographers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Wagner has brought both a studio craftsman ethic and maverick artistic sensibility to his work that includes A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Beauty and the Beast, Quantum Leap and House.

Together with co-author Wayne Byrne, Wagner takes the reader on a candid journey from his small-town roots in the Midwest to the soundstages of Hollywood and into his professional collaborations with industry figures such as John Badham, Richard Franklin, Seymour Friedman, Bill Froehlich, Peter O’Fallon, William Fraker, Diane Keaton, Dennis Maguire, Harry Stradling, Patrick Swayze, Kevin Tenney and many others. $29.00

KODAK FILM AWARDS 2025

Kodak  honored acclaimed motion picture artists who chose film to tell their stories with the 7th Annual KODAK Film Awards. This year's honorees included: 

ED LACHMAN, ASC Kodak Career Achievement Award 

GIA COPPOLA, Auteur Award 

LOL CRAWLEY BSC, Lumiere Award, BAFTA & Oscar Winner 

GREG KWEDAR, Vanguard Award

RAMEZ SILYAN, Music Film Director Award 

Shoot Film. Stand Out. #KodakFilmAwards

WHAT’S NEW AT SONY ELECTRONICS IN NABSHOW 2025

👉 (continued from main page)

The BRC-AM7 4K PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera with AI-enabled Auto Framing and Tracking, which was announced at NAB 2024, is now available. New Version 2 firmware, planned for summer 2025, adds multi-person framing, face registration, enhanced tracking range, lead room effect, and it adds compatibility with the CNA-2 for remote productions. The addition of the Version 2 software will ensure a common feature set and operational style with the ILME-FR7 Full frame camera.  Planned for early summer 2025, both the BRC-AM7 and FR7 will add compatibility with Sony’s latest Camera Remote Toolkit for remote camera operation and settings adjustments.

The recently announced VENICE Extension System Mini adds flexibility to Sony’s flagship VENICE 2 full-frame digital cinema camera, enabling the camera’s sensor to be separated and extended from the camera body via a thin, detachable cable. It is approximately 70 percent smaller than the previous extension system, for use in small and challenging locations. When using two units side-by-side, stereoscopic clips can be captured naturally for Spatial Content Creation and VFX background capture. The system is planned to be available in summer 2025.

A Version 2 firmware update for the BURANO full-frame cinema camera will include new recording formats for faster sensor performance, led by a 3.8K Full Frame crop up to 120 fps and a 1.9K Super 35 mode that can capture up to 240 fps. Further additions include standardized SDI video output for monitoring across X-OCN and XAVC, as well as an improved on-screen display, enhanced image output, additional exposure tools, broader auto focus capabilities, and live event and multi-camera functionality.

Also on display will be the compact PXW-Z200 XDCAM and HXR-NX800 NXCAM 4K HDR handheld camcorders with network connectivity, AI-powered subject recognition, precise auto focus and the option to add MPEG HD422. The PXW-Z200 supports SDI output and timecode, and with firmware expected in summer 2025, will add XAVC MXF recording.

 

As virtual production gains market adoption, Sony is at the forefront with an inclusive suite of virtual production offerings that support Spatial Content Creation. At NAB Show 2025, the company is introducing the OCELLUS (ASR-CT1) camera tracking system, a marker-free tracking system that can be used both indoors and outdoors. This innovative new solution is camera agnostic and uses four out of five image sensors on a sensor unit to track feature points on video signals. The OCELLUS is ideal for use in both broadcast applications such as news, sports and weather, as well as cinematic applications. The camera tracking system is expected to be available in fall 2025.

 

Additionally, Sony’s Virtual Production Tool Set, a series of resources that streamlines pre-production and on-set workflows, is gaining new features which will be previewed to bring pre-visualization to life, before a production takes place. Updated software addresses viewing angle correction, and adds Crystal LED off-axis color compensations. In addition, it provides rendering of high picture quality CG backgrounds at high frames per second by ray-tracing acceleration, and also supports real-time moiré alerts for VENICE 2 operation.

FUJINON PREMISTA 28-100 T2.9 AT BAND PRO

The FUJINON PREMISTA 28-100mm is a standard zoom lens that covers 28-100mm focal lengths. Since is normally covered by six different prime lenses, the lens can help to save time frequently spent changing lenses on productions. It is especially convenient when the camera is on a crane or helicopter where it is often difficult to access the lens. A new 13-blade iris allows for a pleasant bokeh effect and a wide dynamic range of light can be captured thanks to dedicated optical design to suppress unwanted flare and ghosting. Thanks to its large-diameter aspherical lens elements and new focus/zoom system, the PREMISTA series achieves stunning optical quality from the center to the corner at all focal lengths.

👉 Order it at BAND PRO-BURBANK by clicking image above.

SCHEDULE OF THE ASC AT NABSHOW 2025

These panels are not to be missed. The expertly conducted panels are full of information and hands on insights of traditional cinematography techniques and new applied technology to capture, process and deliver compelling award winning images to any narrative.

ATTENDING

Oliver Bokelberg, ASC 

Adam Bricker, ASC

Alice Brooks, ASC

Rodney Charters, ASC

Richard Crudo, ASC

Steven Fierberg, ASC

Michael Goi, ASC

Shelly Johnson, ASC

Craig Kief, ASC

Guillermo Navarro,ASC

David Stump, ASC

Salvatore Totino, ASC

Roy H. Wagner, ASC

Mark Weingartner, ASC

April 6, Sunday

2:00 PM – Roberto Schaefer, ASC | W224-W225

Writing with Light: The Evolving Craft of Cinematography

4:00 PM – Guillermo Navarro, ASC | The Kino-Flo Booth (N1059)

Interview moderated by ASC President, Shelly Johnson, ASC

4:00 PM – Craig Kief, ASC | Vū Las Vegas - 901 Grier Drive Las Vegas, NV 89119

APEX 2025: The Aputure Experience You Still Need to Use Lights in a Volume!

(Interview co-moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Andrew Fish, American Cinematographer Managing Editor)

April 7, Monday

11:00 AM – Craig Kief, ASC | N1449 CineCentral Lab 1

CineCentral Craft Clinic - RIEDEL Presents: Using Advanced Intercom Systems On Set to Boost Efficiency and Collaboration

11:30 AM – Adam Bricker, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Shelly Johnson, ASC

1:00 PM – Shelly Johnson, ASC | SONY Booth (N260MLR)

1:30 PM – Craig Kief, ASC | Studio-B&H Booth (N2427)

Cinematic Immersive Car Process Workflow - Creating Photorealistic Car Process Shots with LED Volume & Image-Based Lighting

2:45 PM – Michael Goi, ASC & David Stump, ASC | S219

PANEL: Generative AI and the Cinematographer

3:00 PM – Oliver Bokelberg, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Shelly Johnson, ASC

April 8, Tuesday

11:00 AM – Craig Kief, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Shelly Johnson, ASC

11:30 AM  - Roy Wagner, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Michael Goi, ASC & Richard Crudo, ASC

1:00 PM – Michael Goi, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Shelly Johnson, ASC

1:30 PM – Craig Kief, ASC | Studio-B&H Booth (N2427)

Cinematic Immersive Car Process Workflow - Creating Photorealistic Car Process Shots with LED Volume & Image-Based Lighting

3:00 PM – Roberto Schaefer, ASC | ASC/AC Booth (N1272)

Interview moderated by Richard Crudo, ASC & Shelly Johnson, ASC

3:00 PM – Noah Kadner, American Cinematographer 

Virtual Production Editor | W219

Revolutionizing Live: The Tech and Innovation Powering the Future of Live Broadcast, Media & Events

4:00 PM – David Stump, ASC at S219

SMPTE: Open Track IO Panel

April 9, Wednesday

10:45 AM – David Stump, ASC at S225

Mastering Metadata for XR Productions

PANAVISION LATEST 

👉 PANAVISION HOLLYWOOD WILL BE CLOSING APRIL 2025 TO CONSOLIDATE WITH PANAVISION WOODLAND HILLS HEADQUARTERS. MORE DETAILS TO COME..

🎥 CLICK TO READ: PANAVISION FUTURE IS IN NEED OF FOCUS.  August 19, 2009

⭐ CAMERA EQUIPMENT OF THE WEEK ⭐

 CHAPMAN COBRA VT 22-61

The Cobra VT 22-61 dolly features a compact design for small spaces, with easy switch from Crab and Conventional within one handle for quick change of drive mode.--- Easy to carry with removable column (center post) Works on both 16" straight or curved track and handles payloads of up to 375 lb.--- Shown with an ARRIHEAD and a CHAPMAN 24" CL Slider.

 

ALEXA 35 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION 

ARRI presents ALEXA 35 to the world. This keynote presentation, broadcast on the day of the camera’s launch, gives an overview of the extraordinary advances it brings to the industry.

Christoph Stahl, grandson of ARRI co-founder Robert Richter, positions ALEXA 35 within ARRI’s proud and rich history; Managing Director Stephan Schenk reflects on 12 years of the ALEXA journey; Senior Product Manager Marc Shipman-Mueller introduces the ALEXA 35 in detail; and Product Marketing Manager Sean Dooley runs through power options, electronic accessories, and the new mechanical support system.

Learn more about ALEXA 35 on ARRI website: arri.link/ALEXA35

SONY CINEMA LINE CAMERAS AT NABSHOW 2022

Hear from Hugo Gaggioni the latest developments of Sony Cinema Line cameras at NABShow 2022.

Sundance Film Festival 2025

January 23 - February 2

Click images for winners list

The Egyptian Theatre is the heart of Sundance Film Festival in Park City

Grand Jury Prizes went to Atropia (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Seeds (U.S. Documentary Competition), Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) (World Cinema Documentary Competition). The NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was given to Zodiac Killer Project.

Audience awards for films in competition were presented by Acura to Twinless (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and  André is an Idiot (U.S. Documentary Competition) and presented by United Airlines to DJ Ahmet (World Cinema Dramatic Competition) and Prime Minister (World Cinema Documentary Competition). East of Wall won the audience award for NEXT presented by Adobe. Awards for the Short Film Program Presented by Vimeo were announced at a ceremony on January 28 at The Park in Park City, Utah.

Award Winning Films, Sundance Film Festival 2025

Top L–R: Zodiac Killer Project. Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Coexistence, My Ass!, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) Second Row L-R: DJ Ahmet, Two Women, The Things You Kill, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), Plainclothes, Twinless Third Row L-R: Sorry, Baby, Ricky, Atropia, Selena y Los Dinos, Life After, André is an Idiot Bottom L–R: The Perfect Neighbor, Seeds, East of Wall, Prime Minister

At the Filmmakers Lodge

  PRESERVING THE VISION

Edited and compiled by Phil Méheux BSC and James Friend ASC BSC, 

Preserving the Vision contains over 600 pages celebrating the history of the BSC.

The book features photographs and biographies of all members, past and present, plus a selection of their major credits and awards since the BSC inauguration in January 1949. 

The book will be on sale at the EXPO and can also be ordered direct from the BSC office by contacting helen@bscine.com. BSC Member Price: £90.00 Non-Member Price: £100.00 (with all profits going to the Film + TV Charity).

For more information on the creation of the book, read the Visionary profile piece on Phil Méheux BSC from the March issue of British Cinematographer here.

BSC EXPO 2022. Day 2 Seminars

April 9, 2022

ACADEMY LAUNCHES GLOBAL DIGITAL PRESERVATION FORUM

academydigitalpreservationforum.org

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces the launch of the Academy Digital Preservation Forum (ADPF), a global online gathering place dedicated to exploring the latest issues surrounding digital preservation of motion pictures.  An initiative of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, the forum hosts original content and resources and will serve as an ongoing discussion place for stakeholders and practitioners within the field and those interested in learning more.  Visit the forum at academydigitalpreservationforum.org.

“Preserving motion pictures – whether film or digital – is an imperative from both cultural and commercial perspectives,” said Andy Maltz, Senior Vice President, Science and Technology Council.  “As long as digital motion picture technologies evolve, there will be a need for collaboration between archivists, technologists and filmmakers.  The ADPF provides a foundation for productive communication and problem-solving to ensure future generations can access the movies we enjoy today and those yet to come.”

The ADPF’s mission is to confront challenges facing the digital preservation field, encourage information exchange, and catalyze work towards sustainable solutions.  By inspiring active participation from online community members, including Academy members, filmmakers, studio executives, archivists, operations professionals, technologists and other practitioners, the forum aims to reinforce the importance of digital preservation to modern filmmaking and help shape the future of this work.

Resources include workflows, practices, technical standards, educational materials and critical research on digital preservation.

The forum will bring industry experts together to examine the state of digital motion picture preservation.  This is the next phase of the Council’s work in this area beginning with the publications of The Digital Dilemma in 2007 and The Digital Dilemma 2 in 2012, the Council’s two groundbreaking reports on the long-term preservation of digital motion picture materials.

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Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro

Blackmagic introduced URSA Mini Pro, which is really three cameras in one because it combines high end digital film quality with the features and controls of a broadcast camera. This means it can be used for digital film, as well as broadcast and live production. URSA Mini Pro uses the same 4.6K image sensor with 15 stops of dynamic range and adds a massive number of ergonomically designed controls on the outside of the camera, plus 3 built in optical ND filters, a new interchangeable lens mount, and it now records to both CFast cards as well as regular SD cards and higher speed UHS-II cards!

The built in neutral density (ND) filters also feature IR compensation and are used to quickly reduce the amount of light entering the camera. The 2, 4 and 6 stop filters are specifically designed to match the colorimetry of the camera and provide additional latitude, even under harsh lighting conditions.

URSA Mini Pro also features a new interchangeable lens mount that lets you quickly switch between EF, PL and B4 lenses, depending on the type of work you are doing. That means you can work with everything from high quality photographic EF lenses to the largest cinematic PL lenses, and even B4 broadcast HD lenses, all with the same camera! In addition to the dual CFast recorders found on the original URSA Mini, URSA Mini Pro also has dual UHS-II SD card recorders.

That means you can use CFast cards for full resolution, lossless 12-bit RAW recording, or smaller and low cost SD cards for 4K ProRes or RAW HD. With the dual slots, when one card is full, recording automatically continues onto the next card so you can keep shooting. The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

SmallHD Debuts Billion-plus Color 17-inch Monitor

SmallHD introduces its first reference grade monitor, the 1703-P3. The monitor features true 10-bit color processing to deliver over a billion colors. It covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space, features a 1500:1 contrast ratio and 179° viewing angle, along with SmallHD’s Pagebuilder OS and large toolset.

“It's really all about P3 and color confidence. This monitor offers true reference grade cinema color, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, which makes it the perfect monitor for DIT’s on-set and for mastering in post,” says SmallHD co-founder Wes Philips.

The 1703-P3 is designed to serve the color display demands of both on-set and post production color grading professionals. Each 1703-P3 monitor comes pre-calibrated for DCI-P3 mastering, covering 100% DCI-P3 with a Delta E average of 0.5. Users can easily install their own 3D LUT calibration with advanced color management solutions like Light Illusion's, LightSpace CMS, or SpectraCal's CalMAN.

The monitor provides for one HDMI and two SDI inputs, as well as one HDMI and two SDI outputs. The fast and intuitive operating system allows ganging of on-screen tools like HD waveform, vectorscope, false color, focus peaking and 2x zebra bars simultaneously, at the user’s preference. A Dual View function allows the user to monitor two input sources at the same time with a side-by-side view.

The 1703-P3 has a bright 450-nit display that supports any LUT workflow through SmallHD’s ColorFlow 3D LUT Engine. This enables 3D LUT support, allowing previously created colorizing look-up tables to be used on-set. LUTS can be applied via the monitor’s full-size SD slot. This information can also be pushed downstream to other monitors. A LUT altered on-set with 3rd party software, such as LiveGrade, can be viewed on the monitor and/or downstream monitors, and uploaded to an SD card for reference in post.

Ruggedly constructed of milled aluminum, this monitor is built to withstand the demands of production sets. And it conveniently features numerous ¼-inch and 3/8-inch threaded mounting points, as well as a VESA mount and RapidRail accessory mounting system. The 1703-P3 can easily power wireless accessories like Teradek with built-in 2-pin LEMO auxiliary power. For truly wireless operation, it can be powered by optional V-mount and Gold-mount battery packs.

List price for the1703-P3 is $3999, and it is slated to begin shipping late February 2017.
For more information please visit: http://store.smallhd.com/products/1700-series/1703-P3-Production-Monitor.


Panasonic VariCam LT 4K Super35MM Cine Camera
Courtesy of Adam Wilt- ProVideo Coalition

The VariCam LT is Panasonic’s “affordable” large single sensor VariCam, putting the core of the $55,000 VariCam 35 in a more compact package running $18,000 for the body alone, to $29,000 for a full shooting kit with EVF, shoulder mount, and a couple of 512 GB P2 Express cards (though there’s a $4,500 rebate on many configurations or a $2500 rebate on the body only, running now through March 31, 2017). This pricing puts it in roughly the same league as the Sony F5 and F55, Canon C700, or RED Scarlet, depending on the various options you bundle with each.

The article also points out that many filmmakers on tentpole movies in recent years have taken to incorporating various film formats into mixed media productions that include multiple digital and film platforms of various types. Among those in 2016 were Jason Bourne and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Others trended to film, and sometimes, multiple film formats, strictly for creative reasons, such as Hidden Figures, a 16mm/35mm hybrid.

SmallHD Premieres Brightest HDR Monitors with LEMO Power

SmallHD introduces the new 5-inch and 7-inch UltraBright monitors with breakthrough viewing in full sunlight. They are designed to fill a variety of needs from a gimbal operator requiring a bright yet compact monitor, to a first AC pulling critical focus in all environments, or to show a director two camera angles at once.

The 503 displays a bright 2200-nits while the 703 displays 2500-nits. These on-camera monitors feature a 10-bit, 1920x1080 IPS LCD optically bonded Gorilla Glass screen with LEMO power.
Plus, both 503 and 703 UltraBrights offer HDR Preview. For more accurate onset exposure adjustment, users may select Camera Input Gamma in the settings menu and individually tweak footage white point and black point via data values in the form of a histogram.

The UltraBright monitors have SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs featuring built-in cross conversion. A Dual View function allows either two SDI or an SDI and an HDMI input to be displayed side-by-side—an advantage for A/B camera set-ups or viewing LOG and DeLOG footage onset.

Like SmallHD’s other monitors, a useful suite of tools is included in the UltraBrights, offering functions including 3D LUT support, HD Waveform and scopes, Focus and Exposure Assists, and PageBuilder OS that allows customizing menus to each camera operator’s individual preference.

Engineered for professional power solutions, the 503 and 703 feature integrated 2-pin 12V LEMO input for powering the monitor and Native mounting solutions for both Anton Bauer Gold/V-mount and Sony L-Series dual battery plates.

SmallHD UltraBrights are now available for pre-ordering in cost-saving Early Adopter Bundles, available until March 31, 2017, with up to $520 savings. For more information visit a dealer or www.smallhd.com.

Band Pro One World Open House 2017 featuring vendors and services under a Venetian Carnival setting.

Oscar winner DoP Claudio Miranda ASC was the guest of honor for his ongoing contributions to the art of cinematography.