Dr. Matthias Erb has been appointed chairman of Arri’s executive board, effective as of January 1. The announcement was made by the supervisory board of the global film technology company. With this addition, the executive board will once again have three members, as it did in 2019.
In the two decades since we first entered The Matrix, there’s been a quantum leap in computing and filmmaking technology. Visionary filmmaker Lana Wachowski made sure she considered both those changes before going back down the rabbit hole. “There have been huge advances in computing that called for an updated visual representation of the virtual world of The Matrix,” explains Daniele Massaccesi, co-cinematographer with John Toll, ASC on The Matrix Resurrections. “Lana wanted to create a synthetic world that would be believable to humans in 2021. It is therefore photoreal and full of color.”
The Disney Channel’s original musical comedy movie Spin is full of the type of color palettes expected of a story that follows Rhea, an Indian American 15-year-old – played by Avantika – who discovers her artistic side through the unique world of DJ culture, and learns she has a passion for creating mixes that blend the textures of her Indian heritage and the world around her. Cinematographer Jeremy Benning CSC and director Manjari Makijany knew from the start that they wanted the film to be shot in large format.
In some of their earliest discussions about the new film The Water Man, both director, producer, and actor David Oyelowo, and cinematographer Matt Lloyd, ASC, CSC, knew that the look of the film would need to be more majestic than a spherical lens could provide. Then, Lloyd met up with Michael Koerner of Koerner Camera of Portland, Oregon, who would provide the lenses and cameras for the project.
Sony Electronics today introduced the Venice 2 digital cinema camera, the new flagship model and latest addition to its lineup of high-end digital cinema cameras. The company says the Venice 2 builds upon the strength of the original Venice with new features including a compact design, internal recording, and the option for two different sensors: the newly developed full-frame 8.6K sensor or the original 6K Venice sensor. The Venice 2 also inherits popular features from the original Venice including color science, Dual Base ISO and 8-stops of built-in ND filters.
A cinematographer, executive producer, and whiskey aficionado, Johnny Derango was corresponding with the owner of The Bottle Haus, an online liquor retailer, who it turned out was looking for someone to create a series of commercials to promote their business on social media. “The directive given to me was to do a commercial that gives the bottles personality, as well as be funny,” said Derango. “It was very open ended, so I had to conceptualize that.”
“When you’re preparing a film you can indulge in dreamy conversations –– it’s an essential part of the process that gets infused into the work,” says cinematographer Sam Levy. “But once you’re on set, and the clock is ticking, you find yourself a passenger on a moving train. Sometimes it’s a slow-moving train, but that train is moving. This was very much the case when we shot Karen Cinorre’s new film Mayday.”
Produced for Amazon Studios, the feature film Birds of Paradise tells the story of two girls at an elite Parisian ballet academy that have their bond and bodies tested as they compete for a contract to join the company of the Opéra National de Paris. The film was directed by Sarah Adina Smith, who not only adapted the A.K. Small novel for the screenplay, but also happens to be director of photography Shaheen Seth’s wife.
Building on the success of the EOS R camera series, Canon today unveiled what it is calling the next leap forward in full-frame mirrorless cameras, the professional-grade Canon EOS R3. The new camera leverages the advancements in technology that Canon has developed since the original EOS R launch in 2018 and bridges the gap between the EOS R5 and the Canon flagship EOS-1D X line. The EOS R3 is the first 3 series camera from Canon since the widely used EOS-3 film camera launched in 1998.
In the 1990s, almost every cinematographer in New York was using Cooke Optics S4/i lenses for commercials, music videos, and independent features, this according to Aaron Medick, one of the cinematographers on Power Book III: Raising Kanan. He became lead DP in the second season for Power Book II: Ghost after starting as B camera/Steadicam operator and moving up to DP for Power, which launched the franchise for cable and streaming service Starz. And it should come as no surprise that many of the DPs on the franchise come from New York, including Power lead DP Tim Ives, ASC who also shot the pilot.
