Update 07/19/10 - Alexa & Technica 3D

Update 07/19/10 - Alexa & Technica 3D

I've been trying to re-focus the blog component of this site to be more research oriented so I'm somewhat loathe to do a "status update" type post but I've been totally out of the loop for a few weeks and wanted to share some stuff.

First off, I checked out the Alexa at Arri CSC's "Meet Alexa" event in Secaucus, NJ a few weeks ago. Getting out of bed at 7:30 to get to Jersey by 9AM on a Saturday morning was painful but totally worth it. It's such a simple system so there's really not much to say. It's a little smaller than a RED One, beautiful design and ergonomics, brilliant color viewfinder, etc. Despite what some camps are pointing out, the images we shot and examined at Arri seemed incredibly sharp and resolved. Almost too sharp. The latitude and sensitivity are simply amazing and the skin tones are beautiful right out of the gate.

That's the thing - this is a "digital film" camera in the sense that it's intended to produce a high quality, robust, and faithful image that will be taken into a Digital Intermediate suite for grading and finishing - just like celluloid. There is no painting this camera on-set other than doing some non-destructive LUT's in SpeedGrade or a similar application. In fact, just like selecting a traditional motion picture film stock where you can only choose a color balance (3200k, 5500k) and ISO/EI, Arri has tried to keep it familiar with  the Alexa where you have only 4 ways of affecting the image in-camera - Sensitivity (ISO), White Balance (Kelvin), some basic Tint Control (Green/Magenta), and you can also switch between a Linear and Log Gamma curve depending on your workflow. Working within these parameters, shooting ArriRaw to a data recorder like a S.Two OB-1 will buy you the most visual information and is the most quality conscientious way to work with the camera. Because the Alexa also has the ability to record non-raw, raster video in the form of master quality ProRes 4444 files, I was hoping for some basic paintability in the event a producer wants to use them for their online. These files are very robust so I predict a lot of productions will opt for the ProRes workflow as it's faster and more cost effective. I totally understand why Arri didn't include Paint menus though. They really want you to think of this more like film than video.

Next up, I just returned from a week at Element Technica in L.A. getting trained on their stereoscopic rigs. This stuff is so f-n cool. Prior to this I had no hands-on experience with stereoscopic video and the first time you successfully align the cameras and see the 3D effect come to life on the monitor is a pretty sweet feeling. Right now, there simply aren't enough training options for 3D. There are a handful of courses being offered and most of them are very exclusive and/or expensive or focused on a specific product such as the upcoming Panasonic AG-3DA1 so if you want to really learn this stuff you have to be aggressive about it.

Here's the Quasar Rig built out in Under-Thru Beam Splitter Mode with 2x R1's.

PHOTO MISSING

3/4 View (note: The Inter-Ocular motors and control box aren't on nor are FIZ control for the lenses.)

PHOTO MISSING

Quasar in Side by Side for when greater Inter-Ocular is required.

Neutron Rig (for smaller camera heads like the SI-2K) in Over-Thru Beam Splitter Mode.

Neutron Rig in Side by Side Mode.

It was a great week and I really enjoyed getting to know all the people who were there doing the training. I already miss our long, beer soaked lunches at Father's Office. But as usual, what I always miss most about L.A. - Amoeba Music!

PHOTO MISSING

We used to have the Kim's Video Superstore here in NY and that paled in comparison to mighty Amoeba but now we don't even have that. Kim's has sadly been reduced to a tiny one room store in the East Village. Makes me sick..

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker 

I'm so happy this film got the accolades it deserves. It really is exquisite and uncompromising independent filmmaking. It also might be the first movie shot on Super 16 to win Best Picture. Anyone know? I can't think of any other.

The fact that this low budget film shot on old school Super 16mm using Aaton cameras went up against the mighty, state of the art Avatar and blew it away in all categories is a testament to its rock solid storytelling and pertinent message. The irony is even deeper when you factor in these two filmmakers were once married to each other. What are the odds?

I think Super 16 was the right medium for the story and Barry Ackroyd, BSC's work was first rate. It had a bit of a raw edge to it that was appropriate and also there were some very intimate angles that were the work of the A-Minima. That little camera is incredible. The mags are a bitch to load but you can put it on a book case or in a cupboard and get shots that you just can't get with other cameras. I really miss working with 16 so if any producer happens to be reading this and has a film shoot coming up, please keep me in mind ;)

The Hurt Locker: Technical Specs (from ASC, July 2009)

Super 16mm and HD Video

Super 16mm: Aaton XTR-Prod, A-Minima

HD: Phantom HD

Canon Lenses

Fuji Eterna 250D 8663, 500T 8673

Digital Intermediate

Printed on Kodak Vision 2383 

Fish Tank

Fish Tank

I saw the exquisitely crafted film, Fish Tank, at IFC yesterday and thought I'd share a few thoughts. This British feature was written and directed by Andrea Arnold and lensed by Robbie Ryan, BSC. The female lead is Katy Jarvis, a non-actor who the director spotted shouting at her boyfriend on a subway platform east of London. Unhappy with who the casting agency was offering for the lead, she followed the teenage girl home and asked her if she wanted to be in a movie. After some persistence she agreed to take the role and the performance Arnold was able to get out of her is nothing short of stunning. This film is very much in the style of Ken Loach and Lynne Ramsay in the naturalism of the images, performances, and the unfolding of the narrative. This is independent filmmaking done right and for every incredible film like this there are 1000 that are made and never find their audience. After working camera department in the indie film trenches for several years here in New York, that's just the sad reality of it. This film is the exception and is a fascinating look at the English underclass from the perspective of a 15 year old girl lashing out against her troubled Council Estate existence and dead beat mother. The direction and storytelling are expert but this isn't a blog about the all the wonderful artistic merits of cinema so much as it is about images and the technology used to produce them. 

From my perspective, what's most interesting and unusual about this film was the decision to frame and release in the old school 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Very few feature films have done this in recent history and seeing it in the cinema like this is a very different experience; a bit like watching a giant old TV screen. For Fish Tank, that's 100% from the perspective of the young girl and her inescapable, claustrophobic existence; this aspect ratio was a masterful aesthetic decision. It has such an intimate quality as if all that exists in the world is the tiny bit of frame around her Close Up. 2 shots also have a heightened intensity because of the tighter frame and the scenes with her and her mother's boyfriend are elevated because of it. I love this approach. A director I worked with a few years ago who is a vehement Tarkovsky enthusiast suggested working in 4:3 but we were shooting HD and at the time it seemed like a bad idea to me. These days I don't think I would be as opposed. Fish Tank however was shot on film and with the resolution celluloid affords, I don't think the quality is as compromised for 4:3. I'm assuming this film was shot on 16mm because of the gain structure, depth of field quality, and how nimble the camera operation was. However, it could have been shot on 4 perf Super 35 and the grainy look derived in the DI. I saw in the credits the cameras were Panavision and the stock was Fuji. It looked incredible so if anyone reading this knows more about the process, I'd love to learn more. Hopefully American Cinematographer will take notice and do an article. 

UPDATE:

I've just heard that it originated on 35. Fuji stocks used: Eterna Vivid 160, Eterna 400, Reala 500D. Apparently a lot of work was done in the DI to make the look as "photochemical" as possible.   

If think if I were to shoot something 4:3 digitally,  I would go with the Arri D-21 because the sensor is a 2k x 2k square. It's designed to be matted down to 1920x1080 or to be used with Anamorphic lenses but I'd just keep the picture right off the sensor. The D-21 is also very beautiful in low light and available light. Cinematographer Rain Li made some gorgeous images with this camera in another indie feature, Uncertainty. This film was shot in NYC and she did a fantastic job of capturing its energy and vibrancy especially the Chinatown sequences. Shooting in Chinatown is an art form unto itself! There is some absolutely stunning low light photography in this film and I highly recommend anyone who is afraid of underexposure to watch it.