A director/DP and a VFX supervisor share their insight into selecting the perfect lens for a volume shoot. Relationships between camera crews and effects people have sometimes been strained by the occasionally contrary demands of the two disciplines. If there’s…
A plethora of filtration and lens options gives filmmakers the perfect opportunity to establish the desired look for their project in camera. The instinct to defer creative choices is understandable in an environment as expensive and risk-strewn as a film…
A rental company will welcome you with open arms when you’re looking for an aesthetic for a shoot. But in the pursuit of the right lens you’ll enter a vital creative partnership Ultimately light, or the lack of it, is…
Effective testing can give cinematographers unrivalled insight into lens performance and make their production the best it can be. There’s no easier way to while away an evening among camera crew than to drop an opinion about lenses into the…
Whether chosen for their speed and versatility or as a creative tool, zoom lenses deserve their moment in the spotlight. Progress in zoom lenses over the last few decades has created a strange reaction. It’d be easy to conclude that…
Vintage lenses can be an invaluable part of cinematographer’s armoury, but using them effectively can be a balancing act. It’s no stretch to point out the popularity of vintage lenses, and finding a balance between that expressive gloss and the…
Is the lens the most important part of the camera channel? It may be and would explain the expanding business of lens customisation and the constant hunt for more glass. Like a music producer covets their microphones, a cinematographer will…
Asking cinematographers how they choose and use their lenses can be seen as intruding on a creative process, but a generosity of spirit is strong in this industry. Thanks to the following for sharing their secret sauce. With the arrival…
The rise of smart lens technology is equipping cinematographers and the wider camera department with greater knowledge and flexibility on set. Humanity has been using curved glass to bend light for at least 2,500 years, and probably longer, though there…
Take a quick trip through the lens to see what sets cine lenses apart from their stills counterparts. If lenses designed for cinema and HETV were animals, they would be thoroughbred racehorses trained just for flat racing and nothing else,…
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