Karim D. Ghantous
Well-known member
Copy-pasted from the In Hollywood newsletter:
---
The Focus Pullers Association, a branch of the IATSE, called for a flash strike this morning. The issue was ignited by the growing number of cinematographers who have started to prefer cameras with larger sensors, coupled with lenses with wider apertures. They claim that such equipment is not only unnecessary, but it makes their jobs nearly impossible.
Some of the newer cinema lenses have irises that go as wide as T1.4, and as a result, have almost no depth-of-field at close distances. The latest manufacturer to make fast VistaVision lenses is Cooke. Their S8/i series, with focal lengths from 25mm to 135mm, all have apertures starting at T1.4.
So is the problem real? Well, let’s have a look at some numbers.
The DOF for a 50/1.4 lens at six feet is about 4”. At four feet, it’s about 2”. And critical sharpness is an even thinner target. But, stop down to a reasonable T5.6, and your DOF at 6 feet is a more relaxed 15”.
“We have finally had enough,” said one of the union reps this morning to industry journalists. “We are calling for an end to this trend of faster and faster lenses. It’s already getting out of hand. Our message here is, It’s Okay to Stop Down.”
The issue was raised several years ago, during the production of Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper and shot by Danny Cohen. Cohen chose to shoot the film wide-open. As a result, some of the shots were occasionally out of focus, which many audience members found frustrating.
For the most part, the film held together and was a commercial success. But, rumours emerged that the camera crew were not happy with Cohen’s specifications. Hooper was asked to override Cohen, but apparently he refused, saying that he and Cohen worked as a team.
An insider on the production told us, “Sometimes, you want to shoot a little fast, to get more separation than usual between subject and background. That’s fine. But it’s getting out of hand.”
Psychologists speculate that the recent trend of shooting wide open came from photography.
Up until 2009 or so, most people were shooting high end video on relatively compact DV cameras. Those cameras had smaller sensors, which allowed a bigger zoom ratio in a smaller form factor.
Then the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D MkII came along, and they weren’t very expensive, despite having problems that the conventional video cameras did not. This allowed low budget film makers to shoot with lenses like Nikon’s famous 58mm Noct Nikkor, called by some as the most beautiful lens ever made. And all of this was perceived as liberating.
What was just a novel option morphed into an idea that many felt was a fresh discovery, despite the fact that almost all experienced DPs would only open up that wide if absolutely necessary.
Some union members blame young and ignorant film makers for the trend of shooting wide open with fast lenses. “It’s funny, but DSLRs with VistaVision sensors, and their owners who don’t know anything about cinematography, are what’s responsible for the corruption of the cinema aesthetic,” a union rep told us in no uncertain terms.
“These people think that the ‘cinematic look’ is orange and teal plus T1.4," they continued. "They obviously have never sat down and looked beyond the front page on Netflix. And it’s worse, because a lot of modern stuff is shot at T4, T5.6, T8. But they’re not seeing that, they’re seeing old headlines like that one episode of House which was shot on a DSLR - a camera that wouldn’t be allowed on a set today.”
Contrast this with the opposite approach that many films take, which is deep focus. Citizen Kane is the best known example, but many films are shot with a fairly deep stop, although there are some shots where a wider stop is more appropriate.
“Sometimes it’s easier to let the background go out of focus,” said a veteran focus puller who spoke to us this morning. “It means you can not worry about a random person walking across the background, just as an example. It means you don’t need to chase them down to sign a model release, you know?”
Another famous film that was shot in deep focus is Tangerine, directed by Sean Baker and shot by Radium Cheung. That was the inevitable result of shooting the entire picture with an iPhone 5s. One of the reasons why Baker chose the iPhone was that he did not want his movie to be yet another DSLR movie.
“Nobody ever says that films like Kane are not cinematic. Quite the contrary. They are held as exemplars of what cinematic actually means,” a union member said to us. “I’m not saying every shot has to be at T11, okay? But let’s not shoot at T1.4 just because it’s there.”
The frustration has been building for years, we were told, and it has finally boiled over. Nobody has indicated when they expect the strike to be over.
---
The Focus Pullers Association, a branch of the IATSE, called for a flash strike this morning. The issue was ignited by the growing number of cinematographers who have started to prefer cameras with larger sensors, coupled with lenses with wider apertures. They claim that such equipment is not only unnecessary, but it makes their jobs nearly impossible.
Some of the newer cinema lenses have irises that go as wide as T1.4, and as a result, have almost no depth-of-field at close distances. The latest manufacturer to make fast VistaVision lenses is Cooke. Their S8/i series, with focal lengths from 25mm to 135mm, all have apertures starting at T1.4.
So is the problem real? Well, let’s have a look at some numbers.
The DOF for a 50/1.4 lens at six feet is about 4”. At four feet, it’s about 2”. And critical sharpness is an even thinner target. But, stop down to a reasonable T5.6, and your DOF at 6 feet is a more relaxed 15”.
“We have finally had enough,” said one of the union reps this morning to industry journalists. “We are calling for an end to this trend of faster and faster lenses. It’s already getting out of hand. Our message here is, It’s Okay to Stop Down.”
The issue was raised several years ago, during the production of Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper and shot by Danny Cohen. Cohen chose to shoot the film wide-open. As a result, some of the shots were occasionally out of focus, which many audience members found frustrating.
For the most part, the film held together and was a commercial success. But, rumours emerged that the camera crew were not happy with Cohen’s specifications. Hooper was asked to override Cohen, but apparently he refused, saying that he and Cohen worked as a team.
An insider on the production told us, “Sometimes, you want to shoot a little fast, to get more separation than usual between subject and background. That’s fine. But it’s getting out of hand.”
Psychologists speculate that the recent trend of shooting wide open came from photography.
Up until 2009 or so, most people were shooting high end video on relatively compact DV cameras. Those cameras had smaller sensors, which allowed a bigger zoom ratio in a smaller form factor.
Then the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D MkII came along, and they weren’t very expensive, despite having problems that the conventional video cameras did not. This allowed low budget film makers to shoot with lenses like Nikon’s famous 58mm Noct Nikkor, called by some as the most beautiful lens ever made. And all of this was perceived as liberating.
What was just a novel option morphed into an idea that many felt was a fresh discovery, despite the fact that almost all experienced DPs would only open up that wide if absolutely necessary.
Some union members blame young and ignorant film makers for the trend of shooting wide open with fast lenses. “It’s funny, but DSLRs with VistaVision sensors, and their owners who don’t know anything about cinematography, are what’s responsible for the corruption of the cinema aesthetic,” a union rep told us in no uncertain terms.
“These people think that the ‘cinematic look’ is orange and teal plus T1.4," they continued. "They obviously have never sat down and looked beyond the front page on Netflix. And it’s worse, because a lot of modern stuff is shot at T4, T5.6, T8. But they’re not seeing that, they’re seeing old headlines like that one episode of House which was shot on a DSLR - a camera that wouldn’t be allowed on a set today.”
Contrast this with the opposite approach that many films take, which is deep focus. Citizen Kane is the best known example, but many films are shot with a fairly deep stop, although there are some shots where a wider stop is more appropriate.
“Sometimes it’s easier to let the background go out of focus,” said a veteran focus puller who spoke to us this morning. “It means you can not worry about a random person walking across the background, just as an example. It means you don’t need to chase them down to sign a model release, you know?”
Another famous film that was shot in deep focus is Tangerine, directed by Sean Baker and shot by Radium Cheung. That was the inevitable result of shooting the entire picture with an iPhone 5s. One of the reasons why Baker chose the iPhone was that he did not want his movie to be yet another DSLR movie.
“Nobody ever says that films like Kane are not cinematic. Quite the contrary. They are held as exemplars of what cinematic actually means,” a union member said to us. “I’m not saying every shot has to be at T11, okay? But let’s not shoot at T1.4 just because it’s there.”
The frustration has been building for years, we were told, and it has finally boiled over. Nobody has indicated when they expect the strike to be over.