Cinematography

Black Christmas Re-Imagines ‘70s Horror Classic

Tue, 12/17/2019 - 11:37 -- Nick Dager

As Hawthorne College winds down for the Christmas holidays, a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority sisters one by one. Produced by Jason Blum (Halloween, Get Out) for Blumhouse Productions, Black Christmas is a re-imagining of the 1974 cult classic for the 21st century audience. The horror film was directed and co-written by Sophia Takal (Always Shine). Although Takal was a fan of the original film, she wanted to bring attention to contemporary women’s rights issues, in particular the Me-Too movement

Shooting on Short Notice

Mon, 09/09/2019 - 12:07 -- Nick Dager

The Long Walk is the third feature film by director Mattie Do (Chanthaly, Dearest Sister), who was raised in Los Angeles but relocated to Laos to become the country’s first, and only, female filmmaker. In an interview in Women and Hollywood, Do described her genre-bending film as “an unconventional time-travel thriller set in a forgotten rural village in Laos, about the ethos of a man, plagued by regret and loneliness, and his downward spiral into becoming a serial killer. He also has a very complicit ghostly friend.” Cinematographer Matthew Macar shot the low-budget feature over 32 days in Vientiane, Laos with very little prep time.

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Panasonic EVA1 camera
Nikkor lenses

Streamlining an Indie Film's Process

Mon, 08/26/2019 - 13:17 -- Nick Dager

The production of the feature film Brittany Runs a Marathon presented several challenges. The directorial debut of Paul Downs Colaizzo, the film was shot by cinematographer Séamus Tierney, who came to the project late. That was just one of the reasons he was grateful to have the Panavision family of services to back him up, including camera support and Light Iron post-production.

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Panavised Arri Alexa Studio XT camera
Panavision Primo Prime lens
Panavision 19-90mm Primo Compact Zoom lens

Finding the Available Light

Tue, 07/09/2019 - 13:07 -- Nick Dager

Part Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, part Goonies on skateboards, director Lije Sarki’s Concrete Kids tells the story of two nine-year-old boys from Venice, California who, for a contest, set off on a mission to cross Los Angeles on skateboards at night to reach the Staples Center by morning. Now streaming on Amazon Prime, the low-budget feature from The Orchard was shot by cinematographer Daron Keet with Panasonic VariCam LTs in available light mainly at night.

Tags: 
Panasonic VariCam LT 4K cinema camera

The Pefection Demanded Different Looks

Thu, 06/13/2019 - 14:14 -- Nick Dager

The Netflix Film The Perfection, which was shot by cinematographer Vanja Černjul, ASC (The Deuce, Crazy Rich Asians), directed by Richard Shepard (The Matador, Dom Hemingway, Girls), and written by Eric C. Charmelo, Nicole Snyder, and Richard Shepard, follows the story of a troubled musical prodigy who seeks out the new star pupil of her former school with shocking consequences.

Tags: 
Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses

Overcoming Equipment Limitations

Thu, 06/13/2019 - 14:09 -- Nick Dager

San Francisco-based cinematographer/colorist Stephen Berke was director of photography for the award-winning short film Snaggletooth, which had its New York premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Berke was also the DP for two additional short films, The Interview (currently showing on the festival circuit and Best in Show winner at the 2019 Albany Film Fest) and The Shepherds of Cat Island, a 10-minute single-take, premiering soon. His camera of choice is the Panasonic VariCam LT.

Tags: 
Panasonic VariCam LT 4K cinema camera

Sony Announces HFR Upgrades for Venice

Mon, 06/03/2019 - 12:14 -- Nick Dager

Sony has announced that, following the Version 4.0 firmware release this June for its Venice digital cinema camera, which includes a high frame rate license to support 120fps at 4K 2.39:1, 110fps at 4K 17:9, 75fps at 4K 4:3 and 60fps at 6K 3:2, Venice’s Version 5.0 update will further enable cinematographers to shoot at speeds of up to 90fps at 6K 2.39:1 and 72fps at 6K 17:9/1.85:1. This addition enables Venice to capture three times slow motion at 24p, even in 6K. Cinematographers can utilize the same camera across multiple speeds, maintaining the full-frame shallow depth of field, as well as the high picture quality of oversampling in 6K.

Atomos Introduces Neon 4K HDR Field Monitor-Recorders

Mon, 06/03/2019 - 12:11 -- Nick Dager

Atomos Limited has introduced Neon, an all-new line-up of precision 4K HDR field monitor-recorders for on-set or in-studio production where reliable and trustworthy monitoring is essential. Neon comes in four screen sizes, 17-inch, 24-inch, 31-inch and 55-inch, ensuring that no matter the critical production usage, every crew member sees an accurate image representation so directors know with confidence that they have got the shot, that cinematographers ensure consistent exposure, focus pullers maintain the sharpness of an actor's eyes, and so editors and color graders can lock down the creative intent from shot to shot.

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