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SHOOT STORY CRAZY RICH ASIANS
ISO looked surprisingly clean. We may add some grain in post, so it was very important for me to have as clean an image as possible so that there is no interaction between the noise of the camera and any texture we end up adding.” The lenses were Hawk 1.3x anamorphics from Vantage Film. The final aspect ratio will be 2.40:1. “The 1.3x lenses give you a bit of anamorphic feel, but the lenses are small and open up to T-2.2,” he says. “The VariCam viewfinder allows you to switch to 1.3x very easily. We tended to stay on the wider focal lengths because we wanted the environment to be present in every shot. Even the close-ups were done between 35mm and 40mm. Also, the VariCam Pure is more compact than the original VariCam 35, which is nice for location work. We were working in the tropics, and the camera didn’t let me down once. It was the ideal choice for this job, and it paid off. It was a beautiful combination.”
using low light levels without compromising on the quality of light. I wanted to work with smaller, cooler light sources, and to diffuse and bounce the light, while still getting the stop I needed. I knew I could do it with this camera.” CODEX RECORDING The Panasonic VariCam Pure offers a 4K Super 35 sensor and features integrated Codex recording media and the proven simplicity of the Codex One Workflow. During the Crazy Rich Asians shoot, the ISO was set at 2000 or below, with one or two exceptions. “I wanted to preserve as much information as possible to work with in colour grading,” says Vanja. “I thought 4K uncompressed Raw was the right choice, and that’s why I chose to use the VariCam Pure with uncompressed Raw recording. I shot tests and looked at them on the largest screen I could find in Kuala Lumpur, and the images shot at 2000
800 and 3200 ISO with virtually no difference in the texture. I convinced HBO to let me use it, and I was elated. Once you have that flexibility, you can start working in a completely new way, and it’s difficult to go back. You get used to it quickly.” The additional latitude changes every aspect of photography, he says. “You can make decisions in the middle of the scene. For example, you have complete control in depth-of- field. You can decide to go up on the ISO if you want more depth-of-field or want to close down, which was not possible before without relighting. It’s easy to do unplanned slow motion or use camera and lighting filters that used to require boosting light levels.” On Crazy Rich Asians , that versatility would come in handy. The filmmakers wanted to showcase the beautiful locations and make extensive use of existing practical light. “This project is a very stylish romantic comedy,” Vanja says. “I needed the ability to work quickly
I WANTED TO WORK WITH SMALLER, COOLER LIGHT SOURCES AND TO DIFFUSE AND BOUNCE THE LIGHT
ABOVE Vanja needed a camera that would give him a consistent look in a lot of different locations.
DEFINITION APRIL 2018
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