35mm Anamorphic

Stephanie Zimmer · November 30, 2005

Hi,

To those of you with experience pulling focus on an anamorphic job, do you have any advice as far as what to do or not to do. Things to look out for... Any direction would be appreciated. Thanks.

David Mullen ASC · November 30, 2005

Hi,
To those of you with experience pulling focus on an anamorphic job, do you have any advice as far as what to do or not to do. Things to look out for... Any direction would be appreciated. Thanks.

Other than the lower depth of field due to the longer focal lengths, a big issue is breathing, which can be distracting enough to force you really to think when to rack and not to rack, versus just ping-ponging the focus.

Both breathing and depth of field problems are reduced the more you stop down the lens, so convince your DP why it would be SO nice if he could get you an f/5.6...

Watching out for lens flares is also important.

Also, since the lenses behave like they have wide-angle attachments horizontally, they tend to see right up the edges of the mattebox & filter trays, so prep is important to make sure you don't have vignetting problems, and everytime you put on the mattebox, double-check because often you really have to push it tight against the lens to clear the picture. It's easy to get sloppy and when working in a dark room or at night, you may not notice the vignetting until it's too late.

Make sure your viewfinder and your video tap monitor can unsqueeze the image.

Edited November 30, 2005 by David Mullen