CASE STUDY ALISTER CHAPMAN
while they’re compact enough to sit on the camera for long periods and pay for themselves by having the potential to replace a number of separate prime lenses. “They’re also parfocal, meaning that, unlike a lens designed for use with a still camera, they stay in focus and their aperture remains consistent during focusing. For me that’s crucial: I remember back in the day when I was working with a shoulder-mounted ENG camera, I could zoom in quickly on a subject to check critical focus and then zoom back out again. When DSLRs came to the fore I couldn’t do that because the focus would change, and although there are ways to zoom in electronically it’s not the same thing. I’d forgotten how useful that original facility was, but with modern parfocal cinema zooms I can use that facility again and it’s just so useful.” While Alister sees large areas of the business, such as shooting films for use on
pay £10,000/$13,484 for your camera and £40,000/$54,000 for the glass to put on the front of it. “That said, it’s been a huge challenge for lens manufacturers to come up with new products that offer filmmakers what they’re looking for in terms of being high quality, compact and affordable. On the zoom lens front, for example, optics such as Fujifilm’s MK range are transforming the business. Cinema zooms were traditionally huge and eye- wateringly expensive, and way beyond the reach of most filmmakers to own. The quality the MK lenses offer, however, is virtually as good as a prime might deliver,
Dedicated lenses As someone who has been shooting for many years, Alister has seen the whole filmmaking scene undergo much change, in particular the fact it’s recently become way more affordable and accessible. “The quality of cameras has gone through the roof at the same time as prices have plunged,” he says. “A model such as the FS7, for example, costs around £7000/$9439 and offers massively more features than a model of ten years ago, at around a tenth of the price. If cameras are offering this kind of value then it’s clear that lenses have equally got to rise to the challenge: you wouldn’t expect to
“It’s difficult for cinemas to accommodate HDR, but in the broadcast business it’s here already”
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2018
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