Lenses
-
“Every So Often a Train Would Come Rumbling By and the Set Would Shake”: DP Doug Emmett on Shooting HBO’s Room 104
An octogenarian couple returns to the hotel room where they spent their first night together — it’s a logline that would typically preface an elegiac rumination on love and mortality. But by the time that set-up arrives in the season finale of HBO’s new anthology series Rooms 104, it seems just as likely to give way to horror or violence…or interpretive dance. That’s the joy of the newest Duplass Brothers creation — each episode begins as a blank slate capable of unexpectedly evolving into any genre or tone. The 12-episode series — which debuted last Friday night — unfolds entirely […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Aug 1, 2017 -
Watch: “Behind The Lens: Fujinon MK 18-55mm Zoom”
As part of a series of lens tests, Matt Porwoll delves into the Fujinon MK 18-55mm Zoom. As he writes as part of a thorough technical breakdown: The Fuji MK 18-55 is an extremely lightweight lens, but solidly built. Weighing in at just over 2 lbs, it balances well with lighter-weight cameras like the Sony FS7 and FS5. It will also be a nice addition to the Sony a7SII, giving cinema style operation to a camera that otherwise would have difficulty supporting such a lens style.
by Filmmaker Staff on Jun 12, 2017 -
Watch: “Behind the Lens: Zeiss LWZ.3 21-100mm Zoom”
A few weeks ago, AbelCine launched a video series hosted by DP Matt Porwoll that’ll examine 11 common lenses used in documentary filmmaking. First up: the Zeiss LWZ.3 21-100mm Zoom, whose sharpness, chromatic aberration and other properties are exhaustively broken down. To read through the tech info, click here.
by Filmmaker Staff on May 31, 2017 -
Watch: Focal Lengths and Lenses Used by Great Directors
In Wolfcrow’s new video essay, 19 great directors have their choice of focal lengths and lenses broken down, starting with Orson Welles’ use of 25mm for Citizen Kane and 18mm for Touch of Evil.
by Filmmaker Staff on Aug 22, 2016 -
The Witch DP Jarin Blaschke’s Lens Tests (With Stills)
In conjunction with his interview regarding The Witch, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke shared with Filmmaker a series of frames taken from his preproduction lens tests. Here’s Blaschke’s thoughts on the tests, which were conducted at Panavision Hollywood with an Arri Alexa: I had used Cooke Panchro Series 2s [from the 1950s] on a couple smaller pieces and Super Baltars on the last short film with [The Witch] director Rob Eggers, Brothers. I liked them both for certain things, but never compared them side by side or alongside other vintage glass. I asked Panavision [Hollywood] about everything available pre-Panavised Zeiss and made a […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Mar 8, 2016 -
Panavision’s Dan Sasaki on their Large Format Digital Lenses, the Primo 70
Late last year Panavision introduced a new lens line, the Primo 70. These lenses are specifically designed for use on larger sensor digital cameras and, according to Panavision, cannot be used on film cameras. We spoke with Dan Sasaki, VP of Optical Engineering at Panavision, about the development of these lenses, and how they differ from film lenses. Filmmaker: What was the impetus for developing digital lenses? Sasaki: Our Primo 35 lenses have been around since the late ’80s, early ’90s, and they are designed to work with film cameras. The Primo lenses have what’s called the blue line shift on […]
by Michael Murie on Mar 18, 2015 -
Test Footage from Letus’ GoPro Anamorphic Adapter
Since Leviathan, I’ve been more curious than ever about the functionality of GoPros. Often categorized as toys and far more prevalent on ski slopes than sets, it took Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel strapping the pocket-sized gizmo to the underside of a fishing vessel to illustrate its cinematic advantages. A little while back, Letus announced the release of a 1.33X Anamorphic Adapter for the camera, to be known as the AnamorphX-GP. Scheduled for shipment on January 31st, the first wave of test footage has arrived from Jared Abrams at Wide Open Camera. Though the characteristic fish eye traces remain intact, the wide aspect […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 13, 2014 -
Game Changers Part 4: Planning and Shooting
In this fourth episode of a series on the making of the low-budget independent film, Game Changers, director Rob Imbs and cinematographer Benjamin Eckstien discuss audio recording, communication between director and cinematographer, and how to plan out shooting a multi-day, multi-location project. Earlier parts consisted of an overview and then discussed fundraising, casting, camera and lighting gear. Filmmaker: What is the size of your crew? Eckstein: We typically have two people in our sound department every day, though there were some scenes or times of day where we had one person. We typically had an AC and another PA. On […]
by Michael Murie on Dec 4, 2012 -
Game Changers Part 3: Camera and Lighting
In this third part of the series about the production of the low-budget indie movie Game Changers, filmmakers Rob Imbs (director) and Benjamin Eckstein (cinematographer) discuss shooting with the Sony PMW-F3, shooting in S-Log, lighting issues, and the lenses used to shoot the movie. Filmmaker: Ben, you already owned the Sony PMW-F3, was the decision simply to use the camera you had? Eckstein: I’ve been fortunate that I own almost all the gear that I use on a day-to-day basis. From the beginning when talking to Rob, it was not really a discussion of “Are you trying to get the […]
by Michael Murie on Nov 9, 2012
