On-Set Social Distancing Using AJA Products
Sushi is not socially distant. Here is a photo of this article’s author, Andy Bellamy, in pre-pandemic days, providing bounce fill with his napkin at Yamazato in Amsterdam. We managed to avoid eviction from this and other fine sushi establishments whose chefs suffered our antics in tabletop lighting and camera tests between uni and ebi. But, this is not an article about sushi. It’s Andy’s article about AJA products that can help crews keep safely apart, watching the action on monitors far away from the cameras and connected by fiber optic cables and AJA devices. read more…
Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K
July 16, 2020. We zoom from Wetzlar to Melbourne. Today was a day when resolution seemed to matter. A few hours after Andreas Kaufmann announced the new 40 Megapixel Leica M10-R (R for resolution) still camera, Grant Petty introduced the latest Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K. He said that Blackmagic Design was aiming for the high end with this affordable camera. Did he say 12K? Yes. read more…
40 Megapixel Leica M10-R
July 16, 2020. Leica Camera introduced the latest in their long line of beloved M cameras. The new M10-R has a new, 40 Megapixel sensor. Image noise is reduced, dynamic range increased, time exposure now goes to 16 minutes for those night sky shots, and ISO ranges from 100 to 50,000. The shutter is quieter and causes less vibration…. read more…
ZEISS Virtual Cine Expo
This could be where trade shows are going for the near future and then continue for years to come. Thursday, July 16 is the third and final day of the ZEISS Virtual Cine Expo online. You enter a realistic, 3D rendered view of the ZEISS booth familiar from many real trade shows. Stroll around onscreen and watch detailed presentations. read more…
Tags: ZEISS Virtual Cine Expo
Canon EOS R5 — Full Frame 8K RAW Inside
This should catch your attention. Canon’s new EOS R5 is a 45 Megapixel Full-Frame RF-mount mirrorless hybrid still/video camera that shoots and records 8K DCI 12-bit RAW at 2600 Mbps to an internal CFexpress card. You may not wear socks from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but if you did, the R5 specs might just knock your socks off.
Full Frame (36 x24 mm approx) 45 megapixel (4.40 μm photosites) CMOS sensor
8K RAW internal video recording up to 29.97 fps
8K internal video recording up to 29.97 fps in 4:2:2 10-bit Canon Log (H.265) / 4:2:2 10-bit HDR PQ (H.265).
4K internal video recording up to 119.88 fps in 4:2:2 10-bit Canon Log (H.265) / 4:2:2 10-bit HDR PQ (H.265).
Full-width (no crop) 8K RAW and 8K/4K sensor modes. read more…
Shooting on Location without Flying There
During this pandemic, how do we shoot on location without flying there? While some of us think green screen backgrounds are about as much fun as having root canal work, what if you could use affordable, consumer electronics, large screen LED TVs and projectors to let the actors interact in real time with their backgrounds on set? You can, and Sam Nicholson ASC explains how. He and his company Stargate worked on the HBO’s new series “Run.” The story travels across the United States on a train, but production never left the studio in Toronto—except to shoot the background plates in advance. Equipment includes RED cameras, Panavision lenses, DaVinci Resolve, lots of Blackmagic Design equipment, ARRI SkyPanels, 82″ monitors and lots more. read more…
Tags: "Run" HBO Series, An Interview with Sam Nicholson ASC on real-time virtual backgrounds and production in the time of Coronavirus, ARRI SkyPanels, Blackmagic Design, DaVinci Resolve, Panavision, Panavision DXL, RED cameras, Red Monstro 8K VV, Sam Nicholson ASC, Shooting on Location without Flying There, Stargate Studios, ThruView, Virtual backgrounds
Gods of Focus: Olga Abramson
The lack of marks or rehearsals on Uncut Gems was a given from the start; it’s a part of the Safdie brothers’ directing style. Whether lining up a frenetic running shot or an over-the-shoulder close up, Cinematographer Darius Khondji ASC, AFC would suggest a 150mm lens and the brothers would revel in raising the stakes. Why not a 250mm? Or better yet, a 360mm? read more…
Gods of Focus: Chris Silano
Usually this episodic series about legendary Focus Pullers is called “The Gods of Focus.” This month’s story could be called “The Lion Tamers of Focus.” Read this article to see why. Chris Silano said, “They call Preston Cinema Systems’ Light Ranger 2 the Focus Puller’s friend. And while that’s true, it’s much more. It’s also the friend of the actor, director, editor and producer. Finally, the Light Ranger is the audience’s friend as they get a better movie, every time. read more…
SIGMA fp 2.00 Update
The critics at Cahiers du Cinema espoused a new vocabulary for film students to memorize in the following years: auteur, the director as author and le caméra stylo, writing with the camera as if it were a pen. Actually, a lot of this theory was just that: theory. There was, of course, an entire crew around the camera, behind the author and the pen and the talented cinematographers who liberated the camera from its fixed tripod.
It has been said, at times ironically, that the new wave owed much to the fact that you could avoid pesky Parisian film permits by shooting without a tripod. Nevertheless, Truffaut, Godard, Decaë, Coutard and company would have wept with joy had the SIGMA fp, no larger than a pack of Gauloises, arrived 60 years earlier.
The SIGMA fp camera is the embodiment of an entirely new and liberated camera, an auteur’s stylo. SIGMA CEO Kazuto Yamaki called it “a deconstructed camera that allows for free and flexible styles that adapt to any genre. It is a camera for the next new wave.”
And now, SIGMA fp gets firmware update 2.00 —sort of like a cinematic spa rejuvenation. It is significant. Read all about it here. read more…
Tags: SIGMA fp 2.00 Update
SIGMA fp RAW Video Recording
This is a quick summary of the full article just published in July FDTimes, issue 103.
SIGMA announced a major firmware update, V2.00, for their fp camera and the big news is support for RAW video recording.
DCI 4K 12-bit / HDMI RAW output.
RAW recording via HDMI with Atomos Ninja V monitor-recorder. (Free AtomOS firmware update for Ninja V is required).
Blackmagic RAW recording via HDMI with Blackmagic Video Assist 12G models. (Requires firmware update of Video Assist 12G models using Video Assist Update 3.3.)
HDR in video shooting. etc. read more…
Angenieux Optimo Prime 40mm T1.8
Here are framegrabs taken with the new Angénieux Optimo Prime Full Frame 4omm T1.8. Still socially distancing and wrangling family and friends feigning reluctance at lens tests, here are framegrabs of the new Angénieux Optimo Prime Full Frame 4omm T1.8. Marlena Fauer endured permutations of Optimo Prime optimization and degrees of flare. An in-depth article with interviews is coming in the next FDTimes. read more…
Cooke Tour 2020 Chinese Translation
Who knew that Les Zellan and Robert Howard spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese? They don’t—but if you do, here is the FDTimes Cooke Factory Tour 2020 translated in Chinese, all 36 pages and online as a free download. Please go to the top right of our FDTimes Chinese homepage. read more…
Tags: Cooke Factory Tour, Cooke Optics
Focus Puller at Work: Din
The focuspulleratwork.com community is an engaging forum for Focus Pullers around the world. Interesting topics include “10 Best Things in your Toolbag” and “10 Things for Desert Shoots” and “10 Questions about You.” To share your story with the community, you can do so on the forum. There is also a group interview with 10 questions and every member is… read more…
Angenieux Optimo Primes on Location
Scene Two. What do the Angénieux Optimo Primes look like? To find out, let’s take a nature walk as the evening fog swirls onto Shinnecock Bay, Southampton, Long Island, New York. It’s one hour before sunset. Optimo Prime 28mm and 135mm lenses on a Sony a7R IIII with a Vocas PL to E-mount adapter, shooting 4K video and stills. read more…
Angénieux Optimo Primes
Three Angénieux Optimo Primes arrived. 28mm, 40mm, 135mm. All T1.8. Full Frame. Scene One: photograph them on a plexi milkglass sweep. Images follow. First impressions: beautifully made, smooth focus cams, lightweight, small, fit in one hand (don’t need both hands for a lens change.) Lots of opportunities to customize: front filters, rear filters, and the eagerly-awaited internal element, also artistically called “palette.” read more…
Tags: Angénieux Optimo Primes
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K Update
Blackmagic Camera 6.9.3 Update is available now as a free download from the Blackmagic Design website for the original Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K camera. This update brings the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K software up to the level of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and URSA Broadcast. Our favorite thing: customizable frame guides. read more…
Gods of Focus: Michael Burke
In this latest episode of “The Gods of Focus,” we focus on focus puller Michael Burke. Jon Fauer: You worked as First AC-Focus Puller on “Hunters” with William Rexer as DP. I understand you used RED MONSTRO 8K VV, SIGMA Primes and the Preston Light Ranger 2. Michael Burke: The studio and handheld cameras had Light Rangers on them. We… read more…
ARRI OCU-1 and Master Grips
Here’s a quick refresher course on the ARRI OCU-1 (Operator Control Unit) for camera operators to recover control of focus or other lens functions. The OCU-1 lets you override and take back focus, zoom or iris control from the WCU-4 (Wireless Compact Unit) at the touch of a button, even when lens motors are attached. read more…
Canon EOS C300 Mark III S35 Camera
Canon’s new Super35 4K EOS C300 Mark III camera was introduced on April 20 and should ship later this year. It records Cinema RAW Light and XF-AVC internally, has electronic image stabilization, and a Dual Gain Ouput Sensor with improved dynamic range. The Dual Pixel Focus Guide eyepiece display shows whether you’re near focused or far and when you’re right on, it glows green. There’s 4K 120 fps Cinema RAW Light internal recording and HDR support for both HLG and PQ. This article is a summary of features. read more…
Jean-Marc Bouchut joins Band Pro
Jean-Marc Bouchut has joined Band Pro as Senior Product Manager – Angenieux. Widely known and respected in the industry, Jean-Marc worked at Angenieux for 30 years in R&D, service and sales. Jean-Marc Bouchut’s new position at Band Pro will involve coordinating technical matters of Angenieux EZ Zooms and Optimo Primes. He will support the sales and marketing teams at Band Pro as well as customers and clients in the Americas. read more…
