Cinematographer Thomas Rist Gears Up

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Thu, 08/28/2014 - 11:23 -- Nick Dager

Cinematographer Thomas Rist gears up for music video-style promo.When cinematographer Thomas Rist, geared up to shoot an in-store promotional video for shoe maker London Kate’s Get High on Heels campaign, he used the opportunity to try out the new Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon FF-Prime lenses. The dynamic music video-style promo featured renowned choreographer Ferly Prado performing dance moves on a downtown L.A. rooftop and in the L.A. River Basin.

As Prado commenced the 1920s Charleston dance step, Rist grabbed shots of her feet from various angles, from spinning overhead shots to medium and wides to close ups of the boots—all against the spectacular cityscape backdrop. Rist chose to capture the footage with Canon 5D Mark IIIs as well as Schneider Xenon FF-Primes and a Canon zoom.

“We shot with two Canon 5Ds ─ the main camera was equipped with the Xenon FF-Primes, which I shot all the masters with, and a Canon 70-200mm zoom was mounted on the B-camera for close-ups and cutaways,” Rist said. “The picture quality of the two cameras was obvious ─ the detail captured by the Xenon FF-Prime lenses was amazing; I was very surprised at the difference, especially since the FF Primes are comparatively low priced.”

The set of Xenon FF-Prime lenses currently includes 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm focal lengths with the 25mm due out late this summer and the 18mm and 135mm expected for early 2015. Built for digital cinematography, each of the lenses shares the same external dimensions and weighs 2.6 pounds except for the 100mm that is 3.1 pounds. 

“I was very impressed by the design and mechanical functions,” Rist said. “The identical length of each lens makes it easy to manage when changing them. They paired perfectly with my Chrosziel Super Wide Mattebox, Dual Sided Studio Rig, Follow Focus as well as Schneider’s True-Pol and ND combo filters.”

While convenience and affordability factors weighed heavily on Rist’s lens choice, the imagery sold him.

“When I saw the stunning details that the Xenon FF-Primes exhibited, I immediately decided to get the Schneider lenses for my future projects,” he said.

The Get High on Heels promotional video showcasing London Kate’s boot collection can be viewed on television screens inside Madison stores located throughout Los Angeles and in women’s high-end shoe stores in Germany. See it at: http://vimeo.com/91027786.  

Schneider Optics www.schneideroptics.com