Naomi Kawase, Director of TOKYO 2020
Here’s an interview with the Official “Tokyo 2020″ Olympic Film director, Naomi Kawase. The film was produced in two parts: one showing the Games from the point of view of the athletes (Side A), and the other of the staff and volunteers (Side B). Side A premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2022.
Naomi Kawase was the youngest filmmaker to win the Caméra d’Or award for best debut director at the Festival de Cannes with her first feature, “Suzaku,” released in 1997. She is the first Japanese woman to be appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador in recognition of her film work, which focuses on the stories of women across generations.
“Tokyo 2020” was produced by the Kinoshita Group and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Yas Mitsuwa of NAC, Inc. arranged this interview and did simultaneous translation during our video conference. read more…
Cooke Varotal Zoom Lens History
Cooke introduced new Varotal/i FF Full Frame zoom lenses in 2021 and 2022: 30-95 mm T2.9, 85-215 mm T2.9, and 19-40 mm T2.9. Here’s a brief history of earlier Cooke Varotal Zooms from Arthur Warmisham’s first commercially manufactured variable focal (zoom) lens for cinematography (Cooke Varo 40-120mm cine lens for 35mm format), assembled and sold by Bell & Howell. In 1971, Cooke introduced their Varotal 20-100mm, f2.8 / T3.1 Zoom. read more…
Otto Blad and Otto Desć
Otto Desć ads that aired yesterday during the Oscars got our best spot award. Although legendary filmmaker Otto Desćinski is a spoof, as is the FDTimes best spot award, Autodesk is good and real.
Otto Blad is also very real. Ottoblad lenses are named for Otto Nemenz. Introduced at BSC Expo, they are Hasselblad/Zeiss Medium Format lenses wonderfully rehoused by P+S Technik of Munich. The project was initiated by Otto Nemenz International, Fritz Heinzle (Executive VP of ONI) and Gerhard Baier (Managing Director of P+S Technik).
The ring that got everyone’s attention at BSC Expo was the rear ring of the Ottoblads. Calibrated and numbered 0 – 6, you can dial in various degrees of detuning/tuning. read more…
Mike Prickett, 100 Foot Wave, 50-1000 Zooms
Michael Prickett, DP on the HBO documentary series “100 Foot Wave”, won a 2022 Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography. The 6-part series centers on big wave surfer Garrett McNamara and giant waves at Nazaré, Portugal. Equipment included Canon EOS C500 MkII, RED MONSTRO 8K, V-RAPTOR, Phantom 4K Flex and Canon Cine-Servo 50-1000mm zooms, among other things. read more…
MYT Works Opti-Glide Compact
MYT Works will travel from Brooklyn to Battersea and BSC Expo on Feb 24-25 to present their newest product.
The Opti-Glide Compact is the latest evolution of their popular Opti-Glide which is used in many rental houses worldwide. The Compact model has the same features as its predecessor but has more customization options at a much more affordable price. Opti-Glide is a camera checkout bay system that elegantly moves focus chart relative to a camera. read more…
Fujifilm X-H2S with Frame.io
Fujifilm announced new firmware for their X-H2S digital camera with Fujifilm FT-XH file transmitter battery grip “that will provide the world’s first native Camera- to-Cloud (C2C) integration capability for digital still cameras,” in partnership with Frame.io. The firmware, expected in spring 2023, will enable users to send still or video files directly from the camera to Frame.io cloud servers. read more…
Tags: C2C, frame.io, Fujifilm FT-XH, Fujifilm X-H2S, Zoom Lens
Michael Cioni on Frame.io C2C and Partners
Michael Cioni was like an orchestra conductor in a candy store at Cine Gear LA this past June. With BSC Expo coming up, I expect to see cameras, audio recorders and post production apps festooned again with Adobe Frame.io Camera to Cloud and Adobe’s Creative Cloud services.
Michael Cioni called with interesting comments a few months ago. Ask Michael one question and that will elicit a wordflow —WORDFLOW! — that requires no additional prompting.
He began, “What’s fun is that this has actually been a long time coming. Even though we’ve had great success with Camera to Cloud thus far, adding the RED V-RAPTOR and the Fujifilm X-H2S took quite some time. There’s an old phrase that I love: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.” read more…
Suggested SIGMA fp L Settings
SIGMA fp L and fp are amazing DP/Director’s Finders.
Paired with the HENRI finder system from Leitz, you get a beautiful birchbark handle, L to LPL mount (optional LPL to PL adapter), carbon fiber rods, a lens support, Arca Swiss baseplate, and start/stop switch.
Here are some suggested SIGMA fp L Settings: read more…
SIGMA fp & fp L Camera Updates include EL Zone
EL Zone. SIGMA fp L and fp are the first mirrorless cameras to incorporate EL Zone. With new firmware updates, your SIGMA fp L (61 MP) or SIGMA fp (24.6 MP) camera is now a spotmeter and exposure tool, in addition to being a versatile DP/Director’s Finder, smallest Full Frame cine camera and mirrorless still camera. read more…
Nikon Z 9 for Cine
Nikon’s flagship, top-of-the-line hybrid, mirrorless digital still and cine camera is adept at both stills and video. Its 8K 12-bit video images are as spectacular as its stills. It feels like a longtime friend the moment you grab it. With the Z 9, Nikon unquestionably raised the bar on image quality, ergonomics and versatility for filming on location and in studios. Images from the 45.7MP Full Frame Stacked sensor are gorgeous. The camera’s tactile, ergonomic heft is familiar. It may remind you of a Nikon F4 from analog film days. Every button is familiar and intuitive. The Z 9 records internal 8.3K 12-bit N-RAW up to 60 fps, or 4.1K 12-bit N-RAW up to 120 fps, or 4.1K ProRes RAW up to 60 fps. read more…
Tags: Full Frame, Nikon, Nikon Z 9 for Cine, Nikon Z9
CVP at BSC Expo 2023
2/24/23 – 2/25/23
CVP at BSC Expo 2023: CVP will be back on the mezzanine area of BSC Expo 2023 on February 24-25.
CVP will be back on the mezzanine area of BSC Expo 2023 on February 24-25. The latest cameras, lenses, accessories and production equipment will be on display, curated by CVP’s technical consultants, product specialists and engineers.
A Virtual Production stage will demonstrate a range of applications, budgets and specifications.
The ever-popular, non-alcoholic Lens Bar is back with a more extensive collection of new and vintage glass for evaluation and comparison for combinations of lenses and filters on a variety of cameras.
I assume there will be a real, high-octane Bar opposite the Lens Bar. read more…
Tags: CVP at BSC Expo 2023
Mandy Walker, AM, ASC, ACS at ARRI Rental NY
1/31/23
Mandy Walker, AM, ASC, ACS at ARRI Rental NYC: Mandy Walker will discuss her work. Q&A. Refreshments
Mandy Walker, AM, ASC, ACS will discuss her work at an ARRI Close-Up event in New York on Tuesday, Jan 31 at ARRI Rental from 6:30 – 9:30 pm.
Ms. Walker has been nominated for an Oscar in Best Cinematography 2023 for her work on ELVIS. (AM, by the way, is Member of the Order of Australia, for service in a particular field of activity.)
There will be time for Q&A and refreshments. read more…
Tags: ACS at ARRI Rental NY, AM, ARRI Rental NY, ASC, ELVIS, Mandy Walker
FDTimes January 2023 Issue Updated
There’s a new page 33. Dan Sasaki, Senior Vice President of Optical Engineering and Lens Strategy at Panavision goes into detail about lenses used by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Typos and errors were corrected, with thanks to readers and reps. And yes, the sun is 93 million miles away, not 239 thousand. read more…
Angenieux Special Report 2022
This 24-page Special Edition is a retrospective of FDTimes articles from previous editions about Angénieux Full Frame lenses: Type EZ zooms, Optimo Ultra 12x, Optimo Primes and Optimo Ultra Compact Zooms. read more…
ZEISS Cine Service Center in Korea
If you have been binging on beautifully photographed Korean movies and series lately, you may have been guessing which lenses were at work. To support one of the most vibrant film industries in the world, ZEISS and Saeki P&C announced the opening of a new ZEISS Authorized Cine Service Center in Seoul, Korea.
This is the fourth facility in the world equipped with genuine ZEISS measurement instruments and test equipment. Lenses brought to the Service Center will undergo the same level of care as if they were at the ZEISS Headquarters’ service department.
FUJINON 25-1000 F2.8 Zoom
New York. Dec 14. At an open house today, FUJINON showed the first working HZK25-1000mm F2.8- F5.0 PL Mount Box Lens on a Sony VENICE 2. Although officially called a “box lens,” you’ll find it on major motion picture sets in addition to its original intent as a 40x fast zoom for multi-camera concerts, events, broadcast and sports.
The thing that got my attention the most was its automatic breathing compensation. The 25-1000 can correct for breathing by compensating its focal length (zoom) in sync with focusing. read more…
Band Pro Open House 2022
Thursday December 8, 2022. On a crisp afternoon and evening in Burbank, more than 500 industry colleagues gathered inside a large tent for the annual Band Pro Expo and Open House. Amnon Band honored Otto Nemenz for his years of friendship and service to the industry. There was an A to Z list of exhibitors. The band played Stevie Nicks… read more…
Tags: Band Pro Open House 2022
AbelCine Sony x Vogue World
12/6/22
AbelCine Sony x Vogue World: Event about the fashion show and street fair that premiered during NY Fashion Week.
Tuesday, December 6 AbelCine is presenting a free evening event in partnership with Sony highlighting innovative use of Sony cameras on Vogue World, the fashion show and street fair that premiered during NY Fashion Week. This event will have two main components: A creative panel with some of the key members of the Vogue World production team in the theater… read more…
Band Pro One World Open House 2022
12/8/22
Band Pro One World Open House 2022: Thursday, December 8, 2022 from 1 to 8 pm.
Band Pro’s Burbank Headquarters One World Open House. Thursday, December 8, 2022 from 1 to 8 pm. Admission is free with RSVP. >>Click Here to RSVP<< Band Pro’s Open House has technology, fine food and drinks. Attendees and exhibitors come from around the world. Band Pro’s exhibit space is rain and weather proof. (Hopefully the weather will be great.) There is… read more…
FDTimes 117 November 2022 Latest Edition
Late, Later, Latest Edition. Here is the proofed, debugged, no-longer beta release of Film and Digital Times November 2022 Issue 117.
