institude benjamenta

[Demian Barba]

hi, i was wondering if any of you guys would have any idea about how was this film shot (film stock, proces, filters) to achieve that beutiful, soft, low con, glowing look.

 

 

happy holidays

 

demian

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

I haven't seen the film you mention, but "soft and glowing" suggests diffusion, such as promist filters. Can you direct us to some stills online?

 

Phil

[Demian Barba]

hi,

i found some pictures on line. though nothing would be better as watching the movie itself. kino released it on dvd. it's definetly worth watching.

 

demian

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

Difficult to tell from those small pictures, but it just looks like decent black and white photography on a reasonably high contrast stock.

 

Phil

[Demian Barba]

hi,

 

actually imposible to tell from those pictures, for the film is actually very low contrast with no pure whites nor deep blacks. i actually wander if perhaps an ilford or agfa stock was used.

 

 

thanks

 

demian

[David Mullen ASC]

I saw it in the theaters a long time ago when it first came out; it had a soft 1930's look without hard lighting -- I seem recall noticing some artifacts that suggested it had been shot near wide-open with net diffusion. Otherwise, looked like Kodak Plus-X 35mm to me (I only say that because Plus-X has a more "pearlescent" quality compared to the "sooty" charcoal look of Double-X.)

[Jason Maeda]

the scenes in the bedroom at night with the highlights moving across the walls are fantastic. i think the dp is named nick knowland if i remember correctly. i'm pretty sure it was shot with a net.

jk :ph34r:

[Shawn Mielke]

Marvelous film!

[Ben Schwartz]

IMDb says Nic Knowland shot uncredited pickups for David Tatersall on The Phantom Menace!!! :o

 

This is an incredibly beautiful film. It's interesting to see how the visual style of directors who were previously animators - Gilliam, Jeunet, the Quays - is so precise and fetishistic about composition, lighting and mise en scene.

[Vivian Zetetick]

See the following interview with the Quay brothers regarding Nic Knowland and how he photographed the film:

 

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/19/quay.html

 

The Quay brothers offer that it was filmed with "the lowest grained Kodak black & white".

 

For the quality of its black & white photography, I would put The Institute Benjamenta right up there alongside They Were Expendable, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, and Out of the Past.

 

I can't wait to see the Quay brothers new live action film The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, which looks like its going to be even more of the same:

 

http://www.hoehnepresse.de/german/pianotun...ianotuner.shtml