Cinematography
Filmmaking - Cinematography
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A Look at the New Blackmagic Design Cameras
Yesterday I attended a Blackmagic Design event in NYC at the New Yorker Hotel and got to check out all three of their new cameras. I can officially report that the rumors of their existence are more credible than those of the Sasquatch. My initial response to the cameras was that in theory they’re the perfect post-DSLR choices. I say, “in theory,” because I didn’t actually shoot anything with them — and until that happens, I can’t offer an opinion of any greater authority. All three cameras (the Cinema Camera, Production Camera and Pocket Camera) were set up in a […]
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Gordon Willis on Lighting Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Gordon Willis is one of the truly great cinematographers of the second half of the 20th century, the man responsible for shooting everything from Woody Allen’s Manhattan and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather to such lesser-known (but also brilliantly lensed) movies such as Hal Ashby’s The Landlord and Alan Arkin’s Little Murders. In the second of our ongoing series of exclusive Craft Truck videos, Willis talks about the approach he took to lighting Marlon Brando in the iconic opening scene of The Godfather.
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Stunning First Images and Video from the RED Epic Dragon
Director and cinematographer Mark Toia at the RED User Forum has his hands on the new 6K RED Epic Dragon, and he calls it “the real deal,” writing, “It’s the first camera ever that I have used that captures exactly what I see with my own eye. Never have I seen this before!” From Toia’s post: The Red Dragon sensor has 3 F STOPS more than before. 1 in the hight lights which rolls over wonderfully !, 2 solid extra stops in the darks…. maybe 3 once the colour science has been perfected. But there is still noise, but nothing […]
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Cinematographer Andrij Parekh on Lighting Ryan Gosling
Starting this week, every Thursday the Filmmaker website will be hosting exclusive videos courtesy of Craft Truck, a new website which hosts “conversations with the world’s best cinematographers, editors, technology companies and more from the world of film and television.” To kick off this series, acclaimed d.p. Andrij Parekh talks about his approach to lighting and how this impacts on the performances of actors, such as Ryan Gosling, who he shot in Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Half Nelson and Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines.
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A D.P. Chooses the ARRI ALEXA
It’s been said that choosing between digital video cameras is a bit like choosing between film stocks; they provide different images that suit different uses and aesthetics. I’m not sure that the analogy is entirely accurate, but it’s certainly worth considering. For this reason, I’m always interested in hearing about d.p.’s experiences when working with a camera other than the one they usually shoot with. When Boston cinematographer Chris Loughran recently tweeted that he was going to be shooting with an ARRI ALEXA, I was curious to ask him about his experience with the camera. I first met Loughran a […]
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Fruitvale Station D.P. Rachel Morrison
“She was an incredible collaborator,” says Ryan Coogler of his Fruitvale Station d.p., Rachel Morrison, in Ava DuVernay’s cover story on the writer/director this issue. “She’s very tough,” he continues. “On your first glance of her, you know she has edge. You know she’s somebody who will bust her butt to get the shot. But as you get to really know her and some of the things she’s been through in her life, she’s just this big ball of emotion on the inside. Once she’s set on fire by a story there’s just no stopping her.” Selected after a recommendation […]
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The Cinematography of A Field in England
English director Ben Wheatley’s [Kill List, Sightseers] latest project, A Field in England was shot in black and white and follows a group of deserters in the English Civil War. But this isn’t your standard historical period piece, being variously described by reviewers as a “monochrome-psychedelic breakdown” and a “17th-century head trip.” Shot in 12 days on a micro-budget, it was also, rather unusually, released on the same day to cinemas, on DVD and Blu-ray, and it also aired on Film4 (a free digital television channel). For those interested in the movie’s production, the filmmakers have created a very informative […]
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“You’re Always Supposed to Turn Your Phone Off on Set”: Ed Lachman Talks Cinematography
The folks at Craft Truck sat down with legendary cinematographer Ed Lachman, whose credits include Far from Heaven, Virgin Suicides, Life during Wartime, and Ulrich Seidl’s recent Paradise trilogy. Watch part one above and part two at the link.
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Canon Announces a New DSLR, the EOS 70D. Should We Care?
This week Canon announced a new mid-level DSLR, the EOS 70D. The latest in their series of black, semi-pro DSLRs, the 70D has a 20.2 megapixel sensor, a DIGIC 5+ image processor and built-in wi-fi support. Expected to ship in September with an estimated retail price of $1,199, you’d be forgiven if you assumed this latest DSLR will have little impact on the video production field. You might be wrong. Canon remade the video industry with the 5D Mark II, but for the last two or three years their DSLR updates have offered virtually no improvement in video capability or […]
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The Scent: Interview with D.P. Stefan Müller
What do you do when you get a new camera? Some people run out and shoot test footage, while others just gamble and use the camera on the next shoot they have lined up. When Stefan Müller, an Austrian freelance film director, d.p. and editor acquired a Canon C100, he went out and shot The Scent, a 12-minute short. One of the stars of this short is a black Labrador called Sky. Despite W.C. Fields’ admonition, “Never work with children or animals,” Müller captured a great performance from the dog, yet when asked if anything interesting or unusual happened during […]
