DEFINITION August 2019

MAK I NG OF A LEGEND | FEATURE

Philipp Blaubach DOP on Gunpowder for the BBC

Eben Bolter DOP on The Woman in White for the BBC I treat the Alexa (the Mini in this case) like 800 ASA and don’t touch it throughout the shoot. I’ve actually started rating the Alexa at 1000 ASA as a base, as you get a little bit more grain which I think looks nicer than the 800 Alexa. It gives you a tiny bit more highlight detail and a tiny bit less shadow detail. The shadows fall away quicker and

Robert Yeoman DOP on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again We shot the film on Alexas. Since the transition from film to digital it has been my camera of choice – it’s easy to use and I prefer the image to other digital cameras. As I knew we would often be shooting ‘three shots’, I chose the widescreen 2.40 format so I could more easily accommodate getting three actors in the frame. Anamorphic lenses have a distinct magical quality to them so I chose to go that route (the first Mamma Mia! was also shot on anamorphic). I’ve been shooting on the Alexa sensor since 2011 and I love how it sees the world. The way it handles highlights, skin tones and shadows feels cinematically natural and beautiful, and I know exactly how far I can push it. Technically, there are sensors which perhaps have higher resolution or greater latitude, but none in my opinion feel as good as the Alexa sensors. Benedict Spence DOP on GameFace for E4

I was keen to use the Arri Alexa because I had done a TV series a couple of years ago and been told that the series had to be shot in 4K, so we couldn’t use the Alexa. My reaction was to say, ‘You mean the camera that shot Skyfall and went to IMAX cinemas, are you saying that wasn’t good enough resolution?’

AUGUST 20 1 9 | DEF I N I T ION 45

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