Cinematographer Frederic Goodich recently completed principal photography on the feature film Mid-Life Gangsta. Revolving around a recovering addict’s search through the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles to avenge his father’s death Mid-Life Gangsta was going for a gritty natural look. The film was shot in Los Angeles in a quasi-documentary style and composing for 2.39:1 the filmmakers used Fujinon’s HAe10x10 E-Series Zoom (10-100mm T1.8) and a set of HAe E-Series Prime Lenses along with the Panasonic AJ-HPX3700 P2 HD VariCam AJ-HPX3000 camcorder and Silicon Imaging’s SI-2K Mini. “I like to work with available light and add or subtract light as needed ” says Goodich. “Working in low-light levels the speed of the Fujinon HAe10x10 and the E-Series Prime Lenses allowed me to shoot wide open and still maintain the sharpness I need.” “I was using an LED light source but I would turn it off because it was excessive ” Goodich says. “Just using the light coming from the street I got the look we were going for by using these Fujinon lenses.” “There was no breathing. I loved it ” he says. “When changing focus there is no awareness of the lens or a sense that something is being manipulated on the image because the breathing is so minimal. We had to work very fast. The ability to change lenses quickly was important. We used the same follow-focus markings so we didn’t have to spend time with alterations if we changed lenses.”
