Inside job (documentary)

[emil tanem]

I think a lot of the interviews look really sharp and well lit.
So does anyone know what kind of lights they used and, what camera?
On some occasions there is also really sharp backgrounds going into the horizon.
Could filters have been used to improve this?

 

[ericyoung]

It would help if you posted a frame grab or two of what want to know about in particular, as right now your question is very vague.

IMDB (although often wrong or partially wrong) tech specs say it was mostly Red (probably Red One when they started filming in Spring of 2009, maybe moving onto MX when it was available) finishing with film out. Aerial footage was licensed from another film (Iceland) or shot on a Cineflex V14HD high def camera (US).

If foreground and background are both sharp, then likely they shot with with small iris apertures and/or wide angle lenses. Common filters generally don't affect focus, except split diopters, but I watched that film recently and there is no evidence of those (nothing in the film demands that kind of photographic trick). There are a huge number of interviews shot in many locations so it's hard to generalise about the lighting. Most seem to have a large soft key with soft fill, and many have a light on the hair too. I'd guess the ones with round catch lights are some sort of round soft box on a large daylight balanced lamp on the many shot against daylight windows, whereas square catchlights will be lit either by kinoflos close up or natural window light through a diffusion frame (as seen in some of the opening interview montage) , and filled in the shadow side with either a soft daylight balanced light or perhaps even just a reflector. Others shot against interiors would need much smaller lamps, perhaps Kinoflos or Dedolights, balanced tungsten or daylight as necessary. There are also glimpses of black flags.

 

[emil tanem]

I'm prepping a project which is very similar in that it has a lot of interviews in different locations. I'm sort of concerned on carrying too many big lamps, but I think 2" kinos + "something small and something more powerful" could do the trick.

One more thing, not being from the US myself, is there a set way to go about getting such locations? - Both in terms of finding them and getting permission to film.


This clip includes some of the interviews
http://www.youtube.com/embed/5msVl3oZl4U

pics: