Ozark - Season 3

[OldCorpse]

So, I just binge watched Season 3.

What can I say. IT EFFIN' ROCKS!!!

As we all know, the longer a series goes, the harder it is to maintain plausibility without it all spinning into complete la la soap opera land. After the excellent season 1 and 2 - threads here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?358297-Ozark-Season

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?361792-Ozark-Season-2/

the answer to Season 3 is - PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!

I was very nervous about how they'll handle it. With every season, it's like spinning plates, and you're adding ANOTHER plate - can they keep 'em all spinning without crashing?!

There were a couple of places where things wobbled a bit in the early episodes, but they managed to pull out of it and launch into a brilliant, tense, excellently written, gripping TV!

The acting is out of this world - not a single performance subpar. I love how Darlene Snell's character evolved - she's become so real and so much deeper. The acting, the acting, the acting is out of this world. The brother Ben Davis - the guy is so freakin' believable - this is a tour de force of acting like I've rarely seen... I haven't seen him in anything else, so maybe he's just playing himself, ha!

The developments are so nicely laid out - nothing feels spur of the moment like the poor writers are improvising and can't keep up... no, stuff is deeply layered and the breadcrumbs are trickled out long before they pay off - making it super believable without feeling fake and pop-up.

The writing impresses the hell out of me, the acting impresses the hell out of me - and the way it's shot... man, it's some of the best DP work I've seen in TV!!!

Folks, this is the best TV I've seen in a very long time - this is shaping up to enter the rarified territory of masterpiece on the level of The Wire and Breaking Bad.

 

[Mark Williams]

We binge watched it also. I agree it was great. Sidenote: Marty's house and the trailer park are located at Lake Lanier near ATL. I worked that lake as a federal park ranger for 30 years and am very familiar with the locations.

 

[Guest]

I'm curious to watch this soon. I heard that Ben, the DP used a F/0.95 lens on the Venice. Sounds kind of wild.

 

[Sneakle]

Also a fan of this series. I thought last season floundered a bit but glad I checked back in on current season. I think Jason Bateman is primarily responsible for making this thing work. Laura Linney is always good. Much of it shot on Lake Allatoona near me.

 

[Guest]

no way! that has got to be wild seeing your local area. reinterpreted by such a crazy story. Ben's Collab with Jason is pretty great too. I think the two of them have a good trust and similar aesthetics that work to the end goal.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

I watched season one and liked it for the most part, but also felt it was lacking. I started season two and got tired of it. To me it had similarities with the best show ever made, Breaking Bad, but taking all of the comedy out of it and becoming an overly serious drama. Perhaps also similar to another favorite show of mine, Justified, but again, without any of the humor or charm to the characters. Not that all shows need humor, but rednecks, crime, Jason Bateman, so much opportunity! And yet, the show is so dreary. More dreary than say Sicario, No Country for Old Men, Fargo, and other great crime dramas.

Interesting that they switched from Varicam to Venice. This was one of Varicam's more well known shows, so doesn't bode well for that camera's life to be upstaged by a Sony. Not that I disagree; I prefer the Venice as well.

Much of it shot on Lake Allatoona near me.

I filmed this movie on Lake Allatoona.

We binge watched it also. I agree it was great. Sidenote: Marty's house and the trailer park are located at Lake Lanier near ATL. I worked that lake as a federal park ranger for 30 years and am very familiar with the locations.

Also have gone canoeing at Lake Lanier a few times. I was up in Dawsonville by Lake Lanier today playing airsoft.

 

[OliverM]

Interesting that they switched from Varicam to Venice. This was one of Varicam's more well known shows, so doesn't bode well for that camera's life to be upstaged by a Sony. Not that I disagree; I prefer the Venice as well.

When they started the Varicam was the only camera with dual ISO, I think that was one of the major reasons they chose it. With new cameras come new possibilities and new choices. I think it's mainly the combination of full-frame and dual iso that sold them on the Venice this time around. Plus the option to put the sensor block on a cable and take shots from up against the wall. And they liked the warmer colours for this season, they wanted to change the look a bit. Although it seems to me you can dial in colours and mood every direction you like with footage from any decent camera.
In the S35 size though, the Varicam remains a very good option. In fact, the performance of the Venice and the Varicam is very very close in terms of DR and usable under- and overexposure.

I needed time to adjust to the new look. And I think the background is too blurred at times in season 3. You lose the feeling of the surroundings that way. If that happens for narrative reasons, fine. But to me it looks to be a purely esthetic choice most of the time, that actually takes me out of the story because I 'notice' the image too much. I started watching Ozark because I wanted to see somthing shot on Varicam. So I minded the image but got into the story and forgot to mind the image. With season 3 I notice the image even when I'm not trying to. That the blurred out background looks very gritty at times doesn't help either.

 

[rsbush]

I worked that lake as a federal park ranger for 30 years and am very familiar with the locations.

Ahhh ... this explains why you know all the sweet spots to shoot in.

 

[Guest]

Interesting that they switched from Varicam to Venice. This was one of Varicam's more well known shows, so doesn't bode well for that camera's life to be upstaged by a Sony. Not that I disagree; I prefer the Venice as well.

The DP of that show has a stills photo background and wanted to go full frame. They went with the Venice because the Mini LF wasn't available at the time.

 

[Guest]

We binge watched it also. I agree it was great. Sidenote: Marty's house and the trailer park are located at Lake Lanier near ATL. I worked that lake as a federal park ranger for 30 years and am very familiar with the locations.

amazing! that is rad

 

[Grug]

When they started the Varicam was the only camera with dual ISO, I think that was one of the major reasons they chose it. With new cameras come new possibilities and new choices. I think it's mainly the combination of full-frame and dual iso that sold them on the Venice this time around. Plus the option to put the sensor block on a cable and take shots from up against the wall. And they liked the warmer colours for this season, they wanted to change the look a bit. Although it seems to me you can dial in colours and mood every direction you like with footage from any decent camera.
In the S35 size though, the Varicam remains a very good option. In fact, the performance of the Venice and the Varicam is very very close in terms of DR and usable under- and overexposure.

I needed time to adjust to the new look. And I think the background is too blurred at times in season 3. You lose the feeling of the surroundings that way. If that happens for narrative reasons, fine. But to me it looks to be a purely esthetic choice most of the time, that actually takes me out of the story because I 'notice' the image too much. I started watching Ozark because I wanted to see somthing shot on Varicam. So I minded the image but got into the story and forgot to mind the image. With season 3 I notice the image even when I'm not trying to. That the blurred out background looks very gritty at times doesn't help either.

+1

You've summed up my thoughts almost exactly Oliver. I thought the first two season looked fantastic, and although the third season still (objectively) looks really nice - I feel the camerawork draws more attention to itself with some of the uber-shallow DoF. And I felt a little more separated from the world of the show because of it.

 

[Guest]

When they started the Varicam was the only camera with dual ISO, I think that was one of the major reasons they chose it. With new cameras come new possibilities and new choices. I think it's mainly the combination of full-frame and dual iso that sold them on the Venice this time around. Plus the option to put the sensor block on a cable and take shots from up against the wall. And they liked the warmer colours for this season, they wanted to change the look a bit. Although it seems to me you can dial in colours and mood every direction you like with footage from any decent camera.
In the S35 size though, the Varicam remains a very good option. In fact, the performance of the Venice and the Varicam is very very close in terms of DR and usable under- and overexposure.

I needed time to adjust to the new look. And I think the background is too blurred at times in season 3. You lose the feeling of the surroundings that way. If that happens for narrative reasons, fine. But to me it looks to be a purely esthetic choice most of the time, that actually takes me out of the story because I 'notice' the image too much. I started watching Ozark because I wanted to see somthing shot on Varicam. So I minded the image but got into the story and forgot to mind the image. With season 3 I notice the image even when I'm not trying to. That the blurred out background looks very gritty at times doesn't help either.

in an interview the DP said they never used the Dual ISO 5000 mode on the Varicam, and they only used it a couple times on the Venice. The higher iso mode changes the look of the camera. Although when they used the higher iso mode on the Venice he mentioned they did a 1600 pull, so not sure how low light they were going. He said he prefers the "Alexa", but the Alexa 65 and LF were too heavy for the intense pace of the filming and all of the steadicam work. And because the Mini LF wasn't available. But in any case, the Dual ISO feature was not a deciding factor, as it wasn't used on the Varicam. Having seen all of the Dual ISO cameras, I agree, that the higher iso is not great, and I avoid using it, as well. It is more of a nice feature for owner ops, and not sure it is a cinema feature inherently. But all of them are great cameras at their lower iso, and could stand on that alone. Varicam, Venice, and Gemini have just really spectacular images at the lower iso.

The blurred backgrounds were a creative choice. The DP, Ben Kutchins said he wanted to emphasize the isolation of the characters. And he mentioned that the Leica Notilux 50mm f0.95 was the lens they used most.

He had so many good things to say about collaborating, and just work and art and life in general. he seems like a great person to work with, someone. that can keep the pace and stay tuned in.

 

[Guest]

So, I just binge watched Season 3.

What can I say. IT EFFIN' ROCKS!!!

As we all know, the longer a series goes, the harder it is to maintain plausibility without it all spinning into complete la la soap opera land. After the excellent season 1 and 2 - threads here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?358297-Ozark-Season

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?361792-Ozark-Season-2/

the answer to Season 3 is - PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!

I was very nervous about how they'll handle it. With every season, it's like spinning plates, and you're adding ANOTHER plate - can they keep 'em all spinning without crashing?!

There were a couple of places where things wobbled a bit in the early episodes, but they managed to pull out of it and launch into a brilliant, tense, excellently written, gripping TV!

The acting is out of this world - not a single performance subpar. I love how Darlene Snell's character evolved - she's become so real and so much deeper. The acting, the acting, the acting is out of this world. The brother Ben Davis - the guy is so freakin' believable - this is a tour de force of acting like I've rarely seen... I haven't seen him in anything else, so maybe he's just playing himself, ha!

The developments are so nicely laid out - nothing feels spur of the moment like the poor writers are improvising and can't keep up... no, stuff is deeply layered and the breadcrumbs are trickled out long before they pay off - making it super believable without feeling fake and pop-up.

The writing impresses the hell out of me, the acting impresses the hell out of me - and the way it's shot... man, it's some of the best DP work I've seen in TV!!!

Folks, this is the best TV I've seen in a very long time - this is shaping up to enter the rarified territory of masterpiece on the level of The Wire and Breaking Bad.

well said

 

[OliverM]

in an interview the DP said they never used the Dual ISO 5000 mode on the Varicam, and they only used it a couple times on the Venice. The higher iso mode changes the look of the camera. ... the Dual ISO feature was not a deciding factor, as it wasn't used on the Varicam. Having seen all of the Dual ISO cameras, I agree, that the higher iso is not great, and I avoid using it, as well. It is more of a nice feature for owner ops, and not sure it is a cinema feature inherently. But all of them are great cameras at their lower iso, and could stand on that alone. Varicam, Venice, and Gemini have just really spectacular images at the lower iso.

The blurred backgrounds were a creative choice. The DP, Ben Kutchins said he wanted to emphasize the isolation of the characters. And he mentioned that the Leica Notilux 50mm f0.95 was the lens they used most.

He had so many good things to say about collaborating, and just work and art and life in general. he seems like a great person to work with, someone. that can keep the pace and stay tuned in.

Thanks for the insight James.
Since they made the choice to shoot with a very shallow DoF as a part of the storytelling I'll adjust my opinion a bit. I was distracted by it, but at that point, we're getting into personal taste and preference, which is an everlasting debate.
I am sure the makers are talented people. The show speaks for itself in that regard.

About the dual ISO, the higher sensitivity will change the way the stops are divided on the curve a bit. But not in a way that makes it unusable. It's different, but not that much.
There are examples of work that is of 'cinema-quality' and used the higher iso feature. I agree it isn't being used much in cinema. If people are are familiar with lighting a certain way, they tend to stick with it. Which is understandable.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the insight James.
Since they made the choice to shoot with a very shallow DoF as a part of the storytelling I'll adjust my opinion a bit. I was distracted by it, but at that point, we're getting into personal taste and preference, which is an everlasting debate.
I am sure the makers are talented people. The show speaks for itself in that regard.

So many film makers have been generous with their thoughts and time during this pandemic. It has been an incredible few weeks of getting a sense of how all these different people see the world and use that to inform their work.

About the dual ISO, the higher sensitivity will change the way the stops are divided on the curve a bit. But not in a way that makes it unusable. It's different, but not that much.
There are examples of work that is of 'cinema-quality' and used the higher iso feature. I agree it isn't being used much in cinema. If people are are familiar with lighting a certain way, they tend to stick with it. Which is understandable.

You are right. I down play the dual iso too much. To my eye, the character of the cameras changes. Even though i never regularly shot film, i think the idea that these cameras have two “film stocks” is a good metaphor. Like mixing 200 with 800 and prefering the 200. Or something like that. It is always fascinating seeing how people use different film stocks and processes to better tell a story.

Canon’s C500 changes the least to my eye through the iso range up to iso6400. And then 12,800 it can’t hide the noise any more. I did an exposure ramp and adjusted the iris or ND, and each change in exposure felt like almost the same as the iso setting previous. However, with the Varicam 35, Venice, and especially the Gemini, the cameras take on new looks with different iso settings. Since the Gemini only has two iso settings and the other iso’s are just metadata, changing the iso creates much more noticeable changes to the image. Red is known to have a more even 50/50 style split in highlight to shadow allocation, but if you set the iso to 1600, then all of a sudden it is more like a 40/60 split, trading some of that clean shadow detail for extra room in the highlights. So, that is kind of annoying, but also an incredibly freeing creative option. I think the Mavo’s have even more options.

But in any case, i think the show style was a good balance of standing out and telling the story. So much content these days, that having something that feels a little unique makes it easier to jump into that world. I’ve had a few friends say they disliked how far they pushed the cool tones. Seems a constant balance trying to be stylistically confident and also keep the story in tact. To me, i think they did a great job with that. Jason B, had discussions about the look going in as well. He definitely helped shape things at the higher level. But obviously the details were from the rest of the crew. On a show that fast, the operators have got to be very important in a lot of this too. I’ve heard they do 6-8pg days? Definitely a group effort, starting with the writers and creators.

The colourist, (Tim Stipan), was crucial in this, as well. The DP was heavily involved in see the look through to post, but i think a good colourist can’t be ignored. Especially with how far DP’s push cameras, having thise post conversations to really nail the look is crucial. I think Bradford Young talks very highly of his colourist as a colaborator, as well.

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1744828/filmotype/editorial_department?ref_=m_nmfm_1

 

[Eric Coughlin]

He said he prefers the "Alexa", but the Alexa 65 and LF were too heavy for the intense pace of the filming and all of the steadicam work.

The two most popular Steadicam arms, the GPI Pro and Tiffen G70 can both support around 70 lbs, which is plenty to handle an Alexa 65 with 23.2 lb body, Alexa LF with 17.2 lb body, or Alexa SXT with 15.2 lb body. I get it means more tiring work for the Steadicam operator, but considering many have and can do it, are they just hiring panzy Steadicam ops?

You gotta love the breaths of relief the tired Steadicam operator Larry McConkey, age 62 at the time, takes at the end of this long take of Hugo with a dual 3D Arri Alexa camera setup on a Steadicam. Can't handle a single Alexa 65 when you're a strapping young lad? Sheesh.

 

[Guest]

Well, they steadicamed the Varicam 35 beast the first two seasons. I don’t believe these ops to be soft. Just perhaps realistic about what kind of punishment is still relatively healthy.

I forget the name of the show where the DP or operator muscled through shoulder mounting almost the whole show and messed up his spine/shoulder a bit.

Larry is a legend, but i don’t think he would like doing 6pg days with an Alexa 65 for weeks on end.

It is very fortunate that these brilliant engineers are making cameras so small, and it is prolonging careers.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

As far as I'm aware shoulder mounting heavy cameras without support is more damaging to the back than a Steadicam which much more evenly distributes the weight. I've had times of 1-3 weeks where I'd have scoliosis kick in, look in the mirror shirtless and see my back all contorted, making walking and such difficult, then put on a Steadicam vest which is practically a back brace, and could walk and function much better with it on. On one shoot I even left the vest on for the whole shoot though I was not operating for most of it. Interestingly, my scoliosis tends to get caused by too much sitting at home when I don't have any jobs booked for some weeks, and actually working it's much less likely to occur when I'm active like that; I've been getting it perhaps once a year for the past few years, and once I'm active back at work it tends to go away faster. It's a good thing the Easy Rig, Ergo Rig, and other solutions are available to help with long duration shoulder mount.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, true. Most of the common injuries i hear from steadicam ops is the knees and feet.

I just hope i didn’t make it sound like these guys are anything but hard working professionals. This is an incredibly intentional show, but i can only imagine with a lot of pages to get through that they may occasionally go from rehearsal to take with no break. To me it seemed like a smart choice, where decisions for the right tools are important. And the look of the show is unique as of a result of all of those intentional choices. Which appears to be for the better. In my work, the “alexa look” dominates the creative choices, and i kind of resent that (but not really). So, i am pretty vocal about praising the skill of these filmmakers.

 

[OliverM]

But in any case, i think the show style was a good balance of standing out and telling the story. So much content these days, that having something that feels a little unique makes it easier to jump into that world. I’ve had a few friends say they disliked how far they pushed the cool tones. Seems a constant balance trying to be stylistically confident and also keep the story in tact. To me, i think they did a great job with that. Jason B, had discussions about the look going in as well. He definitely helped shape things at the higher level. But obviously the details were from the rest of the crew. On a show that fast, the operators have got to be very important in a lot of this too. I’ve heard they do 6-8pg days? Definitely a group effort, starting with the writers and creators.

The colourist, (Tim Stipan), was crucial in this, as well. The DP was heavily involved in see the look through to post, but i think a good colourist can’t be ignored. Especially with how far DP’s push cameras, having thise post conversations to really nail the look is crucial. I think Bradford Young talks very highly of his colourist as a colaborator, as well.

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1744828/filmotype/editorial_department?ref_=m_nmfm_1

The greenish cool look they pulled off in the first two seasons took about 10 minutes of adjusting for me, never 'noticed' it afterwards. And while being distracted by the shallow DoF in this season, I do appreciate people trying to put out something that has its own look. Even if it needs adjusting at first. I still think of Steven Soderbergh's Traffic as one of the best big-budget movies I've seen. The 3 moods in that one movie were fantastic.