[Stip]

I’m shooting on a Canon C70 (Super 35), which isn’t the best camera for low-light situations.

Don’t worry, the C70 is excellent in low light due to its DGO sensor (Arri Alexa’s sport the same technology). It retains colours and detail many stops under and is even on par with the Alexa Arri LF. For best results, shoot RAW.

[Stip]

Thanks David, I was confused of it being described as ‘poor man’s process’ 🙂

[Stip]

“Army of the Dead” (2021) by Zack Snyder, shot consistently at f0.95 with Canon Rangefinder lenses.

The movie is as shallow as the aperture used and a prime example of putting style over substance.

[Stip]

I like the book series “Master Shots” by Christopher Kenworthy.

It’s more of a picture book, analysing scenes from famous films, directors and DPs, all organised by themes. It’s a very practical tool, basically showing you ways how some of the masters went about specific scenes/tasks (e.g. a dialogue between two people with changing power-dynamics, ways to reveal something ect).

I never found myself copying something, it just inspires and helps to find your own solution when stuck.

[Stip]

So interesting that the analog/digital debate in film is the same as in music.

Major mix engineers like Andrew Scheps mostly work with software plugins today. But in my personal experience, their skills determine how good the music sounds.

I tried every possible software synthesizers the past 15 years until this year I finally got a small, analog hardware synth and to me it’s a fundamentally different. Anything I play instantly sounds satisfying, no chain of plugins needed anymore only to get to a satisfying base sound. One could also re-record a soft-synth through a speaker or amp: the way sound moves the air is unique in every room and setup and can never be replicated digitally.

In film/video I think it’s similar. There are countless film emulation plugins, LUTs and power grades but none magically turns video into film with the press of a button.

There’s a reason filmmakers crave to get their hands on Roger’s excellent film emulation Alexa LUT or that colorists crave to replicate Steve Yedlin’s display preparation.

In my opinion there is no visual or audible benefit of analog over digital anymore but it requires more skills to get as satisfying results as with analog.

[Stip]

I currently don’t own a camera but if I’d buy one I’d want it to be a S35mm equivalent sensor.

Especially affordable entry cinema cameras gravitate towards large format sensors nowadays, which is a bummer for me personally. So:

+ S35mm sensor

+ large dynamic range

+ internal RAW recording

+ internal ND

[Stip]

Has anyone been getting the “Too many re-directs” error?

I get it occasionally for about a year now. I haven’t figured out why and when it happens (only that it’s server side, not on my side).

[Stip]

You may do an internet and/or forum search if you don’t get a reply, your question has been asked and answered quite often

[Stip]

What great work he has done. “Secrets and Lies” is also one of my absolute favorite films.

[Stip]

He will use it when it serves the story, not for effect. From the interviews I’ve seen he works very closely with the art department.

[Stip]

Typically show LUTs are meticulously built upon test footage so that they don’t break and work for a range of scenarios, so that decisions on set can be made under the intended, final look (in camera).  Changing that look in post can mean messing with those decisions (e.g. exposure). So usually in post you would grade under the LUT (or the power grades it was rendered from).

But there’s no rule. Ultimately the colourist needs to work towards the vision of the DP and/or director.

Here’s a great interview about show LUTs and their use with Jill Bogdanovic, colorist of ‘Joker’, ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ and others.

[Stip]

I started with documentary and that taught me to operate on instincts. I believe Roger did lots of documentary early on, his instinct for putting the audience where it needs to be is second to none in my opinion. The shot above is no exception.

[Stip]

He refers to ‘The War Game’, a 1960’s BBC film by Peter Watkins.

[Stip]

Few years ago I shot some Kodak Tri-X 400 and developed it in coffee.
I think it was called Caffenol, made from ingredients that can be found in the kitchen, with instant coffee being the main one.

Then I left the films in the developer tanks for 3 days, bathing in very saturated salt water – that functioned as a natural fixer. And what can I say, it worked!

I never did it again though as the results, as interesting and at times powerful as they were – were not worth the work.

But I still like Kodak Tri-X.

[Stip]

Budget film LEDs have come a long way in terms of quality of light in the past 10 years. There are many brands who all produce great lights. Built quality, functionality and service are the main differences today to more expensive brands.

[Author]

Replies