What lens is used in shooting "The Ugly Truth"?

N

nevin

New member
Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question. I just watch the movie "The Ugly Truth" and would love to know what lens is used to shoot this movie? Particularly at the scene when the actors are in the air balloon.

Thanks a lot!!
 
It's very likely there was more than one lens used. It was shot on Super 35mm, so I imagine they used a Panavision, so maybe Panavision lenses? I have no idea.
 
Yeah, asking what type of lens is like asking... what type of light they used for the scenes.

Just to give you an example, I'm shooting on a super 16mm aaton camera and we have 3 kits of lenses. I have prime lenses from 5.7mm to 80mm (I think), a telephoto that goes to 150, and some macros. You should use a wide array of lenses to shoot something properly.

It's different with a DVX or HVX of course... but those are just digital prosumer cameras.
 
Jon Starr said:
You should use a wide array of lenses to shoot something properly.
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I Disagree. It simply depends on the requirements of the film and as a general rule, I usually stick with a certain lens for a scene and change it rarely. I feel that changing focal length should be done dramatically and used sparingly... hence it will have a greater effect when used. Many DP's and Directors love shooting with only one or two lenses. Some major motion picture films have been shot with 90% or 100% of the film on just one focal length.

Some DP's such as Emmanuel Lubezski feel that using many different focal lengths within a scene or film can break the illusion of a film and cause issues with consistency.

"We didn't use a lot of lenses to shoot the movie. The 40mm was our long lens; sometimes, when we just couldn't get the shots that we wanted with the 40mm, we used the 50mm, and once or twice the 75mm. In general, though, the 40mm was our longest lens and the 21mm was our widest. The 27mm was our normal lens, and we also used the 35mm. In my opinion, when you start combining a lot of lenses, the look becomes a bit too rococo or baroque-- there are too many different variations, and you lose something intangible. We wanted to keep the look of the film consistent.

I definitely like using wider lenses, because they immediately put the actors in a context. I don't like looking at anamorphic movies where they shoot the actors with a 180mm lens and the backgrounds go soft-- you don't know where you are. I like to show the characters in their environments; I think that enhances the story."

- Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC
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Obviously a DP is free to work however he/she wants, but I wouldn't say that in order to shoot something properly you need many lenses. Most likely the film will have a more consistent feel if you move the camera versus the lens... plus when you do eventually move to a different focal length to compress or expand the background, the effect will be heightened on the viewer, as it will stand out more.

ps: Chivo is talking about the film he shot, Sleepy Hollow.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
I Disagree. It simply depends on the requirements of the film and as a general rule, I usually stick with a certain lens for a scene and change it rarely. I feel that changing focal length should be done dramatically and used sparingly... hence it will have a greater effect when used. Many DP's and Directors love shooting with only one or two lenses. Some major motion picture films have been shot with 90% or 100% of the film on just one focal length.

Some DP's such as Emmanuel Lubezski feel that using many different focal lengths within a scene or film can break the illusion of a film and cause issues with consistency.

Obviously a DP is free to work however he/she wants, but I wouldn't say that in order to shoot something properly you need many lenses. Most likely the film will have a more consistent feel if you move the camera versus the lens... plus when you do eventually move to a different focal length to compress or expand the background, the effect will be heightened on the viewer, as it will stand out more.

ps: Chivo is talking about the film he shot, Sleepy Hollow.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Never knew this.

It just seems natural to change lenses depending on the effect you want for a particular shot for a scene.
 
Jon Starr said:
I stand corrected. Never knew this.

It just seems natural to change lenses depending on the effect you want for a particular shot for a scene.
Click to expand...

No, no. You're not wrong to want to change lenses. Sometimes the scene may call for lots of lens changes. I was just saying that you don't always need a wide array lenses to properly shoot something; and that my personal style was the opposite. There is no right and wrong way to do something when it comes to cinematography. Like Freddy Francis says, ""There are no rules and there is no formula to filling the frame to please everybody. I've got this corny saying though: 'There are three types of photography: good photography, bad photography, and the right photography. The right photography is what tells the story best.'"


If the story calls for it, by all means, have every shot a different focal length... or use a bunch of lenses. Make them dramatically different, or keep it all the same... it depends on the effect you want. Just remember to stop and think... 'what will this do to (or for) the story?'
 
well when thier in the ballon if i remember correctly it was greenscreen... so i can't remember
 
Really? He obviously knows more than one lens was used.

nevin said:
Particularly at the scene when the actors are in the air balloon.
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I remember that scene. It left an impression in me too.

The balloons looked beautiful. Gorgeous. Surely there was some composting involved though, but it looked very realistic.

In wondering why it left such an impression I assumed they may have shot it on a wide enough lens to give the feeling of a lens that may have been wide enough achieve that shot (in the scene their action is captured by a prosumer camera mounted on the basket) while long enough of a lens to avoid severe distortion from a wide focal length at close proximity. Add to that the right camera placement, shooting the plate with the same lens, perfect composing job, perfect grading, etc...

It might be the reason for asking what lens was used.
 
Just watched this movie last night, the shots from the air with the balloons were CGI. All of them.

If you watch the deleted/extended scenes you'll see where they shot the balloon basket on greenscreen. One of the extended scenes has the CGI balloons composited in and the balloons were very low rez. When they cut to the CU of the actors in the basket you see Avid's "Media Offline" behind them. Apparently that scene was added to the DVD after some of the footage had been deleted.

I thought the keying/compositing of the closeups in the balloon scene was horrible, as well as the compositing in all the car scenes. Very, very, very obviously greenscreened.
 
Maybe, yet it was still very beautiful. It is a highpoint in the story and it was also one in the cinematography. It it did look fake and I don't remember then it is worth mentioning that you don't need things to look realistic 100% of the time. What about effect otherwise, pushing reality? That is the scene where they finally get together right? I can't remember. I do remember however that it worked very well... maybe that's just me, maybe I am too much into chick flicks. Maybe what made it feel so nice was that there is very little open shots with great depth and on this one you get a few miles worth of stage. Whatever it was it definitely worked for me.
 
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