Years ago, I had fantasized about a camera that was small enough to be portable, shot 35mm film of any description (stills or motion stock) could accept small lenses and also be able to work as a stills camera. I dreamt of IMAX quality images from a system that could fit in a nap sack. Not long after that, I happened upon the knowledge of a “Nikonflex”- a Nikon F3, as pictured in this entry, that had been modified by IlM for a sequence in the film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”. So I called and spoke to the engineer who had masterminded the camera and eventually became dismayed- it did shoot in Vista-vision style (the film travelling left to right) so a full 35mm (24x36mm) image could be captured, but it wasn’t pin-registered, magazines were hard to come by, film had to be spooled, etc……so a long while passed and I was content with a regular F3, or later FM3A, and didn’t worry about dragging a film camera around. Today’s shoot reminded me of the Nikonflex dreams I used to have- the next picture/ post shows the RED Epic camera stripped down to a comparable size to the Nikonflex, and a staggering amount of creative choices at one’s fingertips! November 16, 2012 by Jason George
Here are a series of shots from a job with Shaw media- I had noted previously about the fantastic quality of light from the Profoto Striplight, and here it is. Makes for a nice catch /eyelight with great wrap and contrast, even when close to the subject. I suppose I like the fall-off factor as well. Just a little pinch of bounce-fill (created some “louvers” (black strips of foam core) to control the amount) and off we went. Again, lovely skin-tones from the IQ 180- 80 MP Phase back on the Hasselblad H4X, with a 80mm Prime. November 14, 2012 by Jason George
From a jaunt down the road today. Nice earthy tones in the landscape before the snow comes- shot with iPhone cam, processed in Toon Paint and bordered in LineCamera. November 11, 2012 by Jason George
A still from a recent shoot for Scotiabank. Very handy that one can export and R3D (Red Raw file) from RedcineX and then open it in Photoshop, with a RED window for processing the RAW file first! November 09, 2012 by Jason George
We see this friend frequently, and stopped today to say hello. iPhone pic with 645, Photoforge, LineCamera. November 08, 2012 by Jason George
November 05, 2012 by Jason George Iphone pix from around Southern Ontario. Shot with 645 & Iphone cam.
iPhone cam and cross process for this shot of the first snowfall of the year. November 03, 2012 by Jason George
One of our pumpkins this year- shot with the iPhone camera, tweaked in Toonpaint, then Shakeitphoto, text in LineCamera. Cheers! October 31, 2012 by Jason George
Another day of movie-magic: spent the day on JV’s Steadicam rig which created a nice flow and energy for every shot -had The Camwave as well- a great wireless transmitter that made viewing the image really pleasant. Being on location today in the wake of Hurricane Sandy posed interesting challenges- the shots called for a sunny-look, and we were hoping to see into the backyard of our location. Even at a T1.8, at 800 ISO, I couldn’t get the BG to expose brightly enough- it was grey, blustery and drizzly, so the grips went to work and built a “corner-cove” made up of a 12 x 20’ and 12 x 12’ white gryfflon with silks over top. The Sparks then lit them with 3 x 4K pars and the rig allowed for a 6K par with a spot lens to create a sun-source and provided the perfect backlight we were looking for. Another 6K through an 8x 8’ diffusion emulated a sky-light source and some Vistabeams with trace paper provided some wrap and a nice eye-light for our talent indoors. Altogether it was a sunny day inside with smooth, steadicam moves, while the real, dreary day passed by. October 29, 2012 by Jason George
A great interview on CNN with Emmanuel Jal, musician, activist and “peace soldier”. There is a short clip of the video “Cush” we shot in this bit- check it out here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/10/18/exp-sudans-war-child-sings-for-peace.cnn October 24, 2012 by Jason George
My new favourite portrait light, the Profoto Striplight M was the right tool for the job. We hooked it up to a 2400 watt-second pack for maximum output and it delivered generously with output and shape. It created a beautiful, even light with a gorgeous drop-shadow and had a nice sense of punch and falloff. Definitely going to be using this fixture again and again. October 20, 2012 by Jason George
What a pleasure last week working with the IQ 180, Phaseone 80 Megapixel back on a Hasselblad H4X, supplied by CM&P. The clients needs were large files for printing up to 4 x 6’ and up and this combo produced outstanding results. We shot on an 80mm prime at F16- a very sweet spot for the lens and got great results. The skin tones were perfect for color and smoothness. You can check out more details at CM&P website: http://www.cmandp.com October 20, 2012 by Jason George
On a recent job, I had the pleasure of using a Dalsa 4k 180mm prime lens. I had never heard of these lenses before, but understand that they are re-housed Leica lenses. Lovely bokeh, very sharp and great contrast and color. I believe the aperture was T2. It’s on the list to use these lenses on a job in the future. Not sure where to go to find more info on them, but know that Sim Digital has a set. October 20, 2012 by Jason George
This job called for a color gradient on a white background; sounds easy enough, but getting that right degree of gradation requires a bit of tweaking between lens choice, shooting stop, camera to subject to background distance, and then the light and color. So in this setup I used an 85mm lens, lit to an T8, and fired 3 x 2k fresnels with Hampshire frost at a white cyc. After that the grips rolled out a 20’ colored gel across a goal-posted pipe to allow easy adjustability of where the gradient was on the wall as well as how hard or soft an edge we liked. The right smoothness came from shooting a T5.6, so we ND’d the lens and had the perfect result. To darken the blue, top double and single scrims were employed- ND gels could also be stretched across the goalpost as another option. October 18, 2012 by Jason George
A travelling beauty-light for this shot- an HMI, 4k Aurasoft, equipped with a 300HZ Powergems flicker-free ballast. All other HMI’s for this shoot were powered up by Powergems amazing flicker-free ballasts. At last, a solution to using HMI’s for hi-speed cinematography. WFW in Toronto has equipped a truck with these ballasts. The Grips secured the Aurasoft to a Hybrid Dolly, and the shot called for tracking back while effects were taking place, at 240 fps. October 18, 2012 by Jason George