Monthly Archives: June 2016
Fujinon Lens Day In Hollywood at ASC
Tuesday May 24th was Fujinon Day in Hollywood, at the ASC Clubhouse. It was an afternoon and evening to learn about lens design, technology, applications and Fujinon’s wide selection of PL mount zoom lenses. Workshops and panel discussions explored the creative, optical and budgetary considerations that are critical to modern optics design. Some of the topics, including objective and subjective differences, were: Flare Color Contrast Sharpness… read more…
Brexit and Film Production
About Brexit, your broker is surely saying, “Keep calm, carry on, stay the course.” Sinking ships come to mind. Markets hate uncertainty. They also make big bad bets. So do bookies. Online British Betting websites have long been a favorite barometer for predicting Oscar winners and things like this. Not so fast. They were 70% sure that Britain would not exit. Hollywood Tycoons seem happy about… read more…
Creative Solutions Open House New York
Creative Solutions opened their doors on June 23rd in the new Greenpoint Creative Solutions Showroom at 190 West Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222. Mark Pederson (CEO / Co-Founder) and Aldey Sanchez (COO / Co-Founder) hosted about 100 members of the New York production community. CSNY will provide rentals and sales of motion picture and television equipment. read more…
Tags: Creative Solutions, Vitec Videocom
Preston LR2 Demo at Keslow Camera
7/16/16
Preston Light Ranger LR2 Demo: Preston Cinema Systems will present their Light Ranger 2 Focus System at Keslow Camera on Saturday, July 16, 2-5 pm. Border Food Truck will be outside
Preston Cinema Systems will present their Light Ranger 2 Focus System at Keslow Camera on Saturday, July 16, 2-5 pm. The Open House will provide hand-on demos with a large variety of camera and lens combinations equipped with the LR2. Howard Preston and crew will be there. Bring your own Preston MDR3 for a necessary Light Ranger 2 update that can be done on site. Also, the famous BORDER GRILL Food Truck will be outside from 2:30 – 4:30 pm with complimentary beverages and gourmet tacos, sides and more… read more…
Tags: Light Ranger 2, LR2, Preston Cinema Systems
Tiffen’s Steadicam LA 2016 Workshop
The Queen Mary Workshop, Long Beach, California, April 2016 by Chris Fawcett, inventor of the Steadicam Fawcett Exovest photos: Nadiya Rodkina Steadicam remains one of the strongest storytelling tools for cinematographers. There is no other way to move the camera that so closely replicates the human experience of vision. Its agility and ability to react instantly and move rapidly in… read more…
Tags: Steadicam, Tiffen, Tiffen Steadicam Workshop
First painting of a Movie Theater:<BR> Sickert’s “The Gallery at the Old Mogul”
Christie’s will auction “The Gallery at the Old Mogul” on June 20th in London. The painting, by Walter Sickert, is one of the earliest paintings in the world of a theatrical projection in a movie theater. (The Old Mogul was not one of FDTimes’ oldest sponsors. It was a movie theater.) I have seen this painting in the home of the… read more…
Ian Casas, Band Pro’s Key Grip
Ian S. Casas has joined Band Pro Film & Digital in Burbank as Product Manager in charge of sales and support for the Cinetech Italiana Dolly line and related grip products. Ian is an accomplished Hollywood Dolly Grip and Key Grip with numerous credits, including Anchor Man, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and National Treasure. Cinetech Italiana Dollies are beautifully made in the company’s factory near Cinecitta,… read more…
Tags: Band Pro, Cinetech Italiana
ZEISS lens kit for iPhone
Now at the Apple Store: a wide-angle accessory lens kit by ZEISS and ExoLens. This is the first in an add-on lens set. The ExoLens with ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T* wide-angle lens is available exclusively from Apple ($199.95). ZEISS and ExoLens are also planning to introduce tele and a macro-zoom lenses for the iPhone this summer. The ExoLens bracket attaches the ZEISS optics to the phone…. read more…
FDTimes in Translation, updated
Thursday, June 9. Ten luminaries of the Japanese cinema industry gathered high above the humid haze of Tokyo—in the New York Bar of the Park Hyatt Hotel. What better place than the bar location made famous by Lost in Translation. The conversation was unmistakably more animated than the squirmy, Pinteresque pauses of that movie. Our cast of characters consisted of manufacturing and rental house executives—ad hoc board members of Film… read more…
Tags: FDTimes Japan, FDTJ
Sigma and the Last Samurai
Sigma lenses are manufactured in Aizu, Japan. Almost every component, from tiny screws to large diameter front elements are made in-house. Aizu is 300 km north of Tokyo: two hours by high speed Shinkansen and then a scenic hour on a local railway. The train winds through high mountain passes and follows the foot of 5,968′ high Mt. Bandai. It looks like Sun Valley (3′ shorter) rising above jade-green rice… read more…
Tags: SIGMA, SIGMA Lenses
Cine Gear 2016 Highlights
Here’s the first batch of Cine Gear 2016 photos. More to follow, along with text. read more…
Tags: Cine Gear 2016, Cinegear
Panavision 8K Millenium DXL Camera
Thank you JetBlue for WiFi while flying from NY to LA today. The emails, news, specs and photos were flying in from Panavision during the trip. Introducing at Cine Gear Expo: the new Panavision 8K Millenium DXL Camera. The camera is a collaboration of Panavision, Light Iron (color science) and RED (8K sensor) — and the result is a Panavised (in the best sense… read more…
