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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Shooting a 1950's look on the Red

T

Taylor Dansen

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I was wondering if anyone has either experimented or might know a way to get a more vintage 1950's look with the red camera.
Thanks!
 
I would recommend on shooting with BNCR lenses, such as The Super Baltar which was a high end lens back in 50's & 60's. Or the old Schneider and Cooke's. There beautiful classic lenses, hard to convert to PL mount but it's been done, but it's bit costly. A better solution would be to use the
P+S Technik IMS System

http://www.pstechnik.de/en/optics-ims-red.php
 
Which vintage look are you going for?

The kind of ultra saturated colour of a US-set Cary Grant screwball comedy, or the technicolour look of something like Bridge over the River Kwai?

Or is it more of a vintage composition you're looking for?
 
its true that there are many different "50s" looks so it's difficult to give a single answer. HOWEVER, one thing that I feel most people miss when going for an older look is that film stocks are way more sensitive now. IMO to get that 50s look, you gotta POUR light into the shot. stop down or use NDs, but try to use twice the ammount of light you might normally need. look at those old movies and you'll see what i mean.
 
well.. That's very interesting ..
I was searching for how to make techni color like look with a digital camera.. Like singing in the rain.. And 70s play boy magazine look of their prints..
I thought about compressing the dynamic range in the image but it seems that colors are an issue.. Don't know.. Maybe any of you can help me with that..
 
One technique is to light to about a stop over and place a stretched woman's stockings either in front of the lens or over an optical flat. I heard of some people that placed it between the rear end of the lens and the mount then put the lens in to hold the material in place.

The fabric adds a slight soft and haze effect giving a particular vintage look depending on the color and the type of material.
The resulting looks can vary between 30's to 50's depending on the material's thickness and color. Experiment with saturation and contrast adjustments in post to find your look.
 
Do it in post...

Once you limit yourself on capture that's it, that's the best it will ever look. If you capture the best, cleanest look you can always electronically degrade it to look like what you want it to.

I think your answer is just in saturation. Currently, movies are described as being 'punchy' while older films were more accurate (less saturation) or colorful (more saturation, more contrast).

Bob
 
In post or in production?
I wont go into that old can of worms....

BUT!!!

I will say that you should always shoot to a look experiment or rely on past experience but shoot to a look. Many times this may require an in camera/lens/filter/lighting effect or adjustment as well as a post effect. But you should never rely solely on the grade the worst is when the director says "...ah we'll get it n post..."

Know what your shooting for!
 
Bob Gruen said:
Do it in post...

Once you limit yourself on capture that's it, that's the best it will ever look. If you capture the best, cleanest look you can always electronically degrade it to look like what you want it to.

Bob
Click to expand...


I think for the next generation of cinematographers, that's ALL they'll know how to do.
 
Bob Gruen said:
Do it in post...

Once you limit yourself on capture that's it, that's the best it will ever look. If you capture the best, cleanest look you can always electronically degrade it to look like what you want it to.

I think your answer is just in saturation. Currently, movies are described as being 'punchy' while older films were more accurate (less saturation) or colorful (more saturation, more contrast).
Click to expand...

The problem is that a "50's" look isn't just about digitally grading the footage to match a certain look. When it comes to movies, it's every bit as much, if not more so, about a style of lighting, which you can't replicate in post if you haven't lit and shot for it on set.

Good grading will still, of course, be a necessity. Emulating the color stocks of the 1950's isn't trivial. I have yet, for example, to see a successful attempt at digitally replicating the look of Kodachrome or 3-strip Technicolor.

Of course, as previously mentioned, there isn't only one 1950's look. We're talking everything from Touch of Evil and Night of the Hunter to Rebel Without A Cause, Vertigo and Singin' In The Rain. (Not to mention epics like Ben-Hur, etc). And that's assuming we're not including influential Japanese and Italian films, etc. Any film in particular that has the look you need? That would make things a lot clearer...
 
Bob Gruen said:
Do it in post...

Once you limit yourself on capture that's it, that's the best it will ever look. If you capture the best, cleanest look you can always electronically degrade it to look like what you want it to.
Click to expand...

It seems to me there is a lot more beyond just look modification to get a period feeling. Compoisition and lens choice is a big part of it (for lenses both focal lengths and using Older lenses).

Also, the vocabulary of camera movement was vastly different then. The shots and actors movement were often choreographed to fit within the abilities of cameras mounted on tripods. And even when there was movement the steadiness and "accuracy" of the moves was less; there was even a bit of shake in some larger dolly and crane shots (which I like).

If we are talking the 50s the New Wave hand not happened and Crystal Sync was not on the scene yet (at least not commonly). There just were not the same options. In that vein you might want to think about effects too; using Process shots or shooting outdoor shots in studio (North By Northwest is a great example).

Because of this Directors and DP's used a lot of movement tricks to make scenes more animated. If you use North By Northwest as an example take a look at the scene Where James Mason first "interrogates" Cary Grant; toward the end Grant tries to run out the door, and is then held back and forced to gulp down a bottle of Burbon. If that was shot now it would be full of dolly moves, stedicam and lots of inter-cutting. But the physical and mental tension is done mostly with actor movement and simple camera movement. (The crop dusting scene would be another example; today that would have zero locked off shots).

The other thing I would say is Casting. People looked differently back then both in terms of grooming and general physical appearence. I think a lot of people forget that. And you often see shorts trying to create a Noir look or some other period look but the people are simply from the wrong time. That includes the actors physical bearing and carriage.

As for the idea that you can simply make it all work in post from a super clean image. I'm not sure that is true. Optics have certain properties and are affected by spatial information that is simply not present in the 2D recording. I'm sure you can get close. But, those subtle details I'm not so sure on. The number of elements and lens coatings was not the same then.
 
A 1950`s look I like BW is Peter Bogdanovich "The Last Picture Show".

So you going for the 50´s color look or BW look?
 
agwah said:
ketch's video is clearly showing that lighting plays a huge part in creating a period look - you can't do lighting in post - well done
Click to expand...

Thank you, glad you like it, and much appreciate your positive comment, "Garbo" was also the first RED oNE shoot that I did lighting for, always did Pro-Photography, B&W is one of my favorites.



ciao
 
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