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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 :)

The Man in the High Castle Series on Amazon

Next episode to be released Nov. 20th.
 
Hi!

I've been looking all over the place to find more technical info on this show.

I know it is shot on Dragon (and it looks great) but:

- what lenses?

- what filters? (there is diffusion/highlights blooming going on)

Anyone knows?

Thanks!
 
Did anyone get any info on the lenses they used for The Man in the High Castle? I just got around to watching this amazing series and love the cinematography, esp the framing.
 
Michael Tiemann said:
Wonderful series! I, too, wonder what lenses were used. Celere?
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Why would Celere have been used? They weren't even out and probably not the choice for a high budget series.

My guess is Zeiss HS series in order for it to look the period and extra bloom done in post since there's a fair bit of VFX going on.
 
Just saw the second season.

It's one of the best looking Red productions I've seen so far. Most striking thing is how clean it is. Have they done any noise reduction in post? Because the 4K version is extremely clean, far cleaner than I feel my own results are put through grade without NR.

Also feels like it's shot on Master Primes, but I'm not sure.
 
Season one was RED with master primes and a bunch of filters

Season 2 Alexa

theres a pod cast on ASC where he discusses

"Though he originally wanted to shoot the series on film, Hawkinson wound up deploying the RED Dragon on season one and then shifted to ARRI’s Alexa for season two which he’s currently working on. Hawkinson has extensive experience working with different generations of the RED as well as different Arriflex models right through to the present Alexas. Hawkinson said he’s had a good experience on both RED and Alexa during the course of lensing The Man In The High Castle. He went with Alexa for season two because he felt it had “a little more friendlier chip, was a little more sensitive, responding a bit better in low light situations. I’m a very low key kind of guy and like low light situations.”

this is from Arri:

AMAZON CHOOSES ALEXA
Having successfully trialed an ALEXA-based technical workflow on three pilots last summer, Amazon Studios is capturing with ALEXA in ProRes 3.2K, finishing in UHD and grading for HDR on its shows PATRIOT, GOOD GIRLS REVOLT and Z: THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING, and is planning to implement the same workflow for upcoming seasons of established productions such as HAND OF GOD and THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. So why is ALEXA the camera of choice for Amazon Studios? While initially they recommended cameras with 4K sensors for UHD productions, several factors made them reconsider. First and foremost, their creatives and producers kept asking for ALEXA due to the overall image quality, flexible workflows and system reliability. Their decision to promote and deliver HDR content, and ALEXA's superior dynamic range, was an additional factor; and finally the introduction of ProRes 3.2K recording with ALEXA allowed them to capture at native resolution, conform in UHD and grade on an HDR display, all with a very streamlined workflow.
 
Martin Ubilluz said:
Season one was RED with master primes and a bunch of filters

Season 2 Alexa
Click to expand...

Well, that figures. Thought it looked too good to be true :tongue_smilie:
Skin tones were smooth and calm without the patchy yellowness you often see with dragon.
 
3.2k acquisition? I'm surprised that was allowed. Have Netflix bent their rules too?
 
Simon Dunne said:
3.2k acquisition? I'm surprised that was allowed. Have Netflix bent their rules too?
Click to expand...

Not a Netflix series. Maybe Amazon only has final resolution at 4K, enabling 3.2K for acquisition.
 
Simon Dunne said:
3.2k acquisition? I'm surprised that was allowed. Have Netflix bent their rules too?
Click to expand...

Well, judging by both the comments from Amazon and the comments here, it really didn't make any serious difference, did it?

Netflix has given a few waivers here and there, but they're primarily related to their edict for capturing not only at least 4K resolution, but recording RAW. Grace and Frankie was given such a waiver (they are using the Canon C300, capturing XAVC), and there are likely one or two other legacy productions in a similar situation. Amazon and Hulu have always been a little more flexible, and both have allowed productions to use Arri equipment on numerous shows that are streamed as "4K."
 
I don't know what TV monitors you guys are watching this series on but I think second season sucks when it comes to image quality and dynamic range compared to the first season. We watched them on calibrated 65" LG OLED monitor and the change or degradation of both image quality, resolution and DR are apparent. Can't see any detail in dark areas as in the past and they have added more noise to disguise their shortcomings. Also, they have done something with the sound as it is not clear sounding when compared to season 1. (We have Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos enacted within our studio) If you disagree with my observation, I recommend you guys watching this series again on a calibrated OLED monitor.

I'm NOT being a RED fanboy here. Bottom line is, they should have stayed with the same camera platform (i.e. RED Dragon) used in the first season. They shouldn't have selected the old ARRI Alexa for this. Perhaps the ARRI Alexa 65 might have changed the look.
 
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