I NTERV I EW | SET- UP
PANASONIC GOES TO HOLLYWOOD FULL FRAME 6K At the launch event for Panasonic’s Lumix S1H in Los Angeles last month, we interviewed DOP and director Peter Hamblin, who had exclusive use of the camera for his short film
WORDS CHELSEA FEARNLEY / PICTURES PETER HAMBLI N
P anasonic aptly chose Los Angeles as the spot to finally unveil its first full- frame cinema camera, representing a new zenith of production capabilities in a mirrorless camera. During the launch, the company screened a series of short films that had been shot on a prototype of the S1H. We caught up with the DOP and director Peter Hamblin, whose film riffed on Tinseltown and its Greek underworld of lost souls who moved to LA in the hope of ‘making it’. It centres around two brothers, one of whom has lost all hope, while the other is still in pursuit of their shared dream of becoming filmmakers. We ask Hamblin what he thought of the camera and if it will, in itself, ‘make it’ in Hollywood: the home of professional filmmaking. So, first of all, is there anything you’ve drawn from your own filmmaking experience that triggered your interest in making this piece?
What were your references for the style of the film? I love anything that has a vintage feel to it – something that’s a little bit lost in time. I tried to capture that aesthetic in the brothers’ personalities. Nicky is a sex addict and you can see that, in his world, he is afflicted by his addiction. He can’t
The film is called In Hope of Nothing and it’s called that because we, as
filmmakers, often set out on projects with blind optimism. We get super excited – at least I do – and then we run into people who will shut us down. For instance, when I first came to LA, I spent three thousand dollars getting here, because I had an interview about a surf film that I was working on – which I thought was greenlit. Anyway, I went into this guy’s office and after around 20 minutes he said: “Well, it was nice to meet you, we should definitely work on something in the future.” After that, I got into my car and, as I was driving around LA, I came up with the idea of making a film about the trials and tribulations we go through as filmmakers. In Hope of Nothing is quite tongue-in-cheek, but ultimately, it’s about persistence. It’s about encouraging filmmakers to continue through the hardship, in the hope that one day they will make it.
ABOVE DOP Sam Dewar and DOP and director Peter Hamblin collaborating on set
OCTOBER 20 1 9 | DEF I N I T ION 1 1
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