THE EXCHANGE
PERSONAL TOUCH As with filmmaking itself, Greene claims the human element is as vital as ever for constructing lenses in the AI age
In recent years, Robert Richardson, ASC came to us with a specific set of requests that led to the first prototypes of what became our VA large format spherical primes. Similarly, feedback we received on Ultra Panatar 1.3x anamorphics, which were developed to meet the needs of cinematographer Trent Opaloch on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame , fed into the design of our Ultra Panatar II series. Alice Brooks, ASC was the first cinematographer to put our prototype Ultra Panatar IIs through their paces, for Wicked , and her feedback was invaluable in finalising the lenses. DEF: VIRTUAL PRODUCTION IS PUTTING NEW TECHNICAL DEMANDS ON LENSES. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THAT AREA, AND HOW ARE THEY BEING TACKLED? KG: At our headquarters in Woodland Hills, California, the team has done extensive testing to study the relationship between camera sensors, lenses and LED displays. This is so we can help filmmakers recognise where moiré is likely to be encountered when working in an LED volume and provide them with optical solutions developed by our special optics team to mitigate those instances. Part of that testing included shooting footage of a subject in a practical environment, then capturing background plates of that environment and looking at the subject in a virtual stage with the environment displayed on LED walls. We studied the differences and determined which adjustments we could make to the lenses to help enhance the realism of the stage environment. Additionally, for productions that need to capture background plates – either for use in volume stages or more traditional VFX workflows – we have developed our own precision array system, which includes three different sizes of camera array baseplates, as well as a dedicated series of Array Lenses.
DEF: HOW DOES CUSTOMER FEEDBACK INFLUENCE YOUR R&D PRIORITIES? ARE THERE ANY RECENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS OR FEATURES THAT WERE DIRECTLY INSPIRED BY FILMMAKER REQUESTS OR CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD? customers. The direct input and special requests we get from filmmakers are our greatest source of inspiration for new innovations. When we provide a custom modification or develop a new prototype to help a cinematographer tackle a unique situation for a specific KG: Panavision has always built lenses based on the needs of our project, inevitably what started as a one-off request will be embraced by other filmmakers as well, often laying the groundwork for a full-fledged product or even a series of lenses.
aspect ratio and still giving an aesthetic that’s separated from the proportionate magnification of spherical photography. Interestingly, as sensor sizes have gotten bigger, the amount of aberration we allow back into images has also increased. Despite cameras’ light sensitivity continually improving, cinematographers still always want faster usable speeds, particularly for anamorphic lenses. Lens design has been an evolving art and science since photography’s inception, and never exists in a vacuum – it always moves hand in hand with other advances in imaging technology. This means everything from cameras to final displays, inclusive of volume environments, visual effects, colour grading and so much more. As the way stories are crafted by filmmakers and experienced by viewers continues to evolve, so too do lens designs.
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DEFINITIONMAGS
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