LENS ROUND TABLE GEAR.
softening what could otherwise be considered too ‘clinical’ of a digital image, and helping to draw in viewers and guide their attentions. CHARLIE TODMAN: With film, everyone was using 4-perf or 3-perf 35mm. But with digital, from one camera to the next, the sensor’s size and aspect ratio can be different. This has opened the door to exploring different squeeze ratios with anamorphic to maximise the pixels that are being used on the sensor. Larger sensor sizes have also given us the opportunity to revisit many of our legacy offerings that were originally developed for larger film formats. And beyond those legacy large format optics, it’s often possible to expand our 35mm optics, spherical and anamorphic, to cover larger sensors. DAN KANES: At Atlas, we believe that anamorphic lens cinematography and projection have always been driven by the notion of delivering a format that is more powerful and leaves a stronger impression on viewers. Larger sensors double down on that notion and harken to the early days of larger film formats like Vistavision being used to create a stronger visual language. Despite a massive range of existing lens options, why is lens customisation becoming an increasingly popular choice for filmmakers and how are you meeting this demand? SE: Prior to digital, there were not so many lens options, but there were a good number of film stocks to choose from and lots of tweaks and tricks that could be done in the film labs to change the look of the image and accomplish the cinematographer’s vision for a film. This, along with lighting, filtration and production design, was how unique looks and styles were achieved for decades. Today, many cinematographers view each digital sensor as a film stock and many have become somewhat loyal to various sensors or companies over the past years. This created an impression that one element of their creativity was being limited. Furthermore, while the ability to manipulate the image in post-production has risen exponentially, cinematographers are not always in control of that process – or even invited to the grade at times. ‘Baking in’ the look at the time of capture has become one way that cinematographers can maintain ownership of their visual intention from set to screen. Consequently, cinematographers turned to lenses as another variable in the creative mix that can’t be easily changed or removed in post. While there
VINTAGE Panavision Auto-Panatars are exceedingly clever anamorphics
“Many cinematographers view each digital sensor as a film stock and have become loyal to them”
are a vast array of modern and vintage lenses to choose from, this concept of unique looks from unique lenses has only accelerated and led to lens customisation on a project-by-project level. What was initially only possible on large-budget features has come downstream as more and more lens technicians are deepening their understanding of optical design and making modifications to lenses to change the looks. Some lens manufacturers are beginning to consider look modification when designing optics and adding the ability to adjust lenses in various ways. CC: In days past, cinematographers had the option to change film material when they wanted to achieve a different type of look. Today, however, the choice of glass has become one of the few ‘non-digital’ creative choices left for a DOP – and is one of the few areas they can really control to get the unique look or vision they’re trying to achieve, without being overruled by post-production. The need for individuality is why many people opt for customised lenses. At Zeiss, we believe that a big part of customisation can and must be done with filters, but to allow for efficient filtering you need lenses that are clean enough without being overly clinical, which was a key consideration around the design of the Supreme Prime lenses. Many cinematographers also particularly like the look certain optical imperfections provide, such as ghosting or lens flares. Again, Zeiss took this into consideration when developing the special version of
the Supreme Primes – the Supreme Prime Radiance – offering cinematographers the creative tools needed to achieve the look they desire, yet with all the benefits of a modern, ergonomic cinema lens. TM: Cinematographers are in the business of crafting looks that serve the needs of each story and the creative vision of each director – and lens customisation is one of many ways to do that. At Arri, we have responded to the call for custom looks with the rear magnetic filter holder built into our Signature lenses, to which any number of materials, flare wires or bespoke optics can be mounted. We have launched our own Impression Filters for this rear filter holder, altering the look of Signatures in various ways. The first to be released are the Impression V Filters, which come individually or as a set of positive and negative dioptre filters that either subtly or boldly alter the focus and bokeh characteristics. CT: At Panavision, we have nearly 30 proprietary lens series evenly divided between spherical and anamorphic, and ranging from soft to sharp, with varying contrast levels and optical attributes. Right off the shelf, that’s a huge variety of looks for cinematographers to choose from and find something that will match their intended look. Our expertise in customisation complements our extensive inventory by allowing us to push a look even further or come up with something altogether new to meet the storytelling needs of
65. AUGUST 2023
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