polaroids... (lomo anamorphics)

ryancglover

ryancglover

Well-known member
Hi folks.

Here's a small piece I shot to test out my 35mm & 80mm Lomo anamorphic square fronts:



Thanks for watching!
 
As always Ryan, very nice footage. Anamorphics rule on the GH1 - I'm now in production on my feature and I've been using anamorphics wherever possible and cropping at other times (when I need a really fast aperture like f/1.4 you just can't shoot anamorphic, at least with my setup), but man I have to say my favorite thing about using anamorphics is the way you compose a shot, it's really very different than shooting non-anamorphic, really, really different, and I'm not even sure it's possible to get the same shot when shooting non-anamorphic and then cropping, and even if it is I don't know if you'd be able to compose that way or *think* to compose that way if you were just going to crop, having the height not change, but getting a wider image really changes the way one composes and for me, so much for the better - they're certainly no piece of cake to use (and I'm still using the Panasonic 1.33x adapter), but when everything clicks, anamorphic footage just kills on the GH1, I've got a few shots that I just couldn't have done otherwise by using them, I'm still amazed that I can carry around a package that will shoot anamorphic 2.35:1 in a backpack!
 
Thanks apocalypse! hows the feature coming along then? loving the images you're getting from the panny adapter?

I know what you're saying about composing shots, its very fun in anamorphic. especially wide shots.. although I could really go for a way to monitor footage deanamorphically.. framing with the lomo's with their 2x squeeze is pretty strange. but the look is worth it for me! speaking of the look, here are some grabs for kicks..
kristagreenbokehsmall.jpg

35mmflaresmall.jpg

subwaysmall.jpg

kristapondbokehsmall.jpg


good luck on the rest of photography!
 
Here's a small piece I shot to test out my 35mm & 80mm Lomo anamorphic square fronts:


HIPSTERS!

Just teasing. Really nice work.
 
ryancglover said:
Thanks apocalypse! hows the feature coming along then? loving the images you're getting from the panny adapter?

I know what you're saying about composing shots, its very fun in anamorphic. especially wide shots.. although I could really go for a way to monitor footage deanamorphically.. framing with the lomo's with their 2x squeeze is pretty strange. but the look is worth it for me! speaking of the look, here are some grabs for kicks..

good luck on the rest of photography!
Click to expand...

Composing can definitely be a little tricky, with just a 1.33x squeeze it's not too bad, 2x would be tough! I did see that someone used to sell a lens that you could put on top of an lcd screen that would unstretch it, but I think I only saw it for 1.33x squeezes and I can't even remember where I saw it at this point.

The feature is going very well - I've gotten some very good stuff with the panny adapter, it is definitely not the easiest in the world to use, but it can deliver when you get it right. The footage is definitely not as "anamorphic-looking" as the stuff you're getting with the LOMOs in terms of oblong bokeh, etc, but I mainly like it for wides and compositional reasons, a few shots have really knocked my socks off - however most importantly the script for the feature is really working well and we have some very talented actors, and one actress in particular that is so talented that it just blows my mind, that's really what's taking the film to the next level - cinematography wise I've been able to get I think 80% of it to look as good as I could have hoped, and the rest is definitely good, just not stuff I would say is necessarily mind-blowing, but it's been 8 years since I last DP'd so I am still getting my sea-legs back in a sense, so I think getting 80% what I envisioned even during the first week of shooting is good, the rest will be better and if we need to reshoot the stuff that didn't quite make it there in terms of look in the end, and we think it may hold us back, we will, but really it's the performances that are driving this film, it's an entirely dialogue driven film so all the shots are really of people and it's more about building good intimate connections with the people, getting their reactions, their eyes, keeping focus on them as they move, etc., and combining that with good shot design...but it's a very straightforward film in terms of all that, it's not particularly "artsy" - it's simple and straightforward with good composition, color, set design, etc., and the actors take it from there - we do have some very cool visual stuff from when we shot at the Harvard Smithsonian observatory with some massive telescopes and radio telescopes, etc., that stuff is definitely the eye-candy, but due to low light I found myself mostly sticking with my Olympus 17mm f/2.8 or Canon FD 24mm f/1.4 L with no anamorphics on those shots.

I *did* one day rig up the Panny adapter to the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 pancake...boy that looked funny! It worked okay but it was much too much weight to leave on the front of that lens and the olympus couldn't focus very well with it on...so that I didn't break the thing, I took it off, but perhaps with very exacting support for the adapter it could be made to work.

You can see a little of our footage here:

http://www.vimeo.com/10509836
password: "dragons"

We are getting the license for the song in the teaser, but since we don't have it yet we've got this trailer password protected.

Lenses used (in order by shots)

1. Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 (rollei sl35 west german)
2. Olympus 17mm f/2.8
3. Zeiss 50mm f/1.4
4. Olympus 17mm f/2.8
5. Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 + Panasonic Anamorphics
6. Canon 24mm f/1.4 L + Panasonic Anamorphics (this looks incredible on the big screen)
7. Zeiss 50mm f/1.4
8. Olympus 17mm f/2.8
9. Zeiss 50mm f/1.4

No post color correction or anything of that sort yet - this was just a teaser. Very preliminary.

What's really great so far too is the sound, thank God for Rode making the NT3 and NTG-3, these microphones simply rock - recording at 96/24 on the Fostex FR2-LE - got a good sound guy...and the sound is totally feature film quality.

I'm a hipster too, and this film is full of hipsters - it's okay, we like to make art.
 
thisisapocalypse said:
...we have some very talented actors, and one actress in particular that is so talented that it just blows my mind, that's really what's taking the film to the next level....
Click to expand...

Yeeeeesss!!!!!

I just did a screen test/proof of concept short with a relatively well known actor (major Hollywood supporting roles) and when he first did the reading, the hair on the back of my neck just stood on end.

They make life so easy if they are not the ego driven prima donna, but rather a professional who excels at his/her art. I'll take a good actor over technical details, but when the two combine.... heaven.

Anyway, nice stuff - although I've never met such delightful looking particle physicists. My how things have changed. :laugh:

Would love to hear some production sound if you have the time and feel inclined to share some.

And all with the GH1?

Best of luck with the rest of the movie.
 
stoneinapond said:
Yeeeeesss!!!!!

I just did a screen test/proof of concept short with a relatively well known actor (major Hollywood supporting roles) and when he first did the reading, the hair on the back of my neck just stood on end.

They make life so easy if they are not the ego driven prima donna, but rather a professional who excels at his/her art. I'll take a good actor over technical details, but when the two combine.... heaven.

Anyway, nice stuff - although I've never met such delightful looking particle physicists. My how things have changed. :laugh:

Would love to hear some production sound if you have the time and feel inclined to share some.

And all with the GH1?

Best of luck with the rest of the movie.
Click to expand...

http://www.vimeo.com/10663280
password "dragons"

Note, the above is NOT Safe for Work due to language. These shots are...sort of dailies/rehearsal - it was *very* late this night and we had rewritten the scene the same morning, so in these takes the actors still had to periodically reference the script, they make some errors with regards to continuity, etc. etc. etc. - but at least I can show you something with production sound as I can't post a whole lot of what we've got so far, but this I can show you.

This is the "confrontation scene" - production sound sync'd but it's just right off the card, it's not been through any post processing yet - all video is being done on the GH1 and all sound with the Fostex FR2-LE and either the NT3 mic for interiors or NTG-3 for exteriors. For these takes we put the mic only on the actor favored on the over the shoulder shot to get the best sound possible for their individual reads.
 
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thisisapocalypse said:
...For these takes we put the mic only on the actor favored on the over the shoulder shot to get the best sound possible for their individual reads.
Click to expand...

Well you certainly have that. Good stuff.

And a very interesting premise from the little I can gather from this dialogue and previous hints.

Lesbian particle physicists! :2vrolijk_08:

Thanks for sharing. Sounds good, looks good, acting is good. Look forward to the finished product.

And Ryan, please excuse the thread steal.
 
stoneinapond said:
Well you certainly have that. Good stuff.

And a very interesting premise from the little I can gather from this dialogue and previous hints.

Lesbian particle physicists! :2vrolijk_08:

Thanks for sharing. Sounds good, looks good, acting is good. Look forward to the finished product.

And Ryan, please excuse the thread steal.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I wrote and am directing all of this too in addition to being the DP and running camera - talk about craziness. To be clear, one of them is an astronomer and the other is a particle physicist, in the teaser we just made a joke about two particle physicists colliding for fun :) But yeah, how can you go wrong with good looking lesbian scientists?
 
Very nice. I have a set of Lomo round fronts. What is the post workflow for the footage? And how did you handle the added frame an focus difficulties with anamorphics without a real monitoring solution? Thanks
 
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