Anamorphic Tips

[J. Anthony Gonzales]

I am sure this topic has been discussed to great lengths, but maybe a few of you could list some quick hints and tips when shooting anamorphic. Kind of geared towards using this format for the first time kind of thing. Any good all around lenses? Lighting tips? Min or max lens stops? Etc.

 

Thanks,

 

John G.

[David Mullen ASC]

They are generally bigger and heavier than spherical primes. They are more prone to flare. They breathe when you rack focus. The wider-angle ones tend to have more barrel distortion. The distortions decrease as you stop down the lens, hence the old rule that f/4 is a good stop to work at if possible, if not closed down even more. Some of them don't focus very closely so check the minimum focusing distance.

 

Since they have a 2X squeeze factor, a 40mm anamorphic has the vertical view of a 40mm spherical but the horizontal view of a 20mm spherical.

 

The breathing problem is severe enough for you to consider exactly how and when you rack focus during a scene because it will be visible. You don't want to ping-pong the focus, for example.

[Christian Appelt]

Stop down at least one and a half stops from wide open. Few anamorphic lenses give their best wide open.

 

It's certainly a matter of personal taste, but I think that anamorphic shot with f4-5,6 looks most pleasant. Also remember that, as David has pointed out, anamorphic lenses give you a wider horizontal view angle that looks quite different from shooting wide angle spherical.

 

DOP John Alonzo, who photographed CHINATOWN for Roman Polanski, said in an Interview (IIRC in the book MASTERS OF LIGHT) that he believes the 40mm anamorphic lens being closest to natural sight, actually about 42,43mm would be perfect.

 

Even medium anamorphic lenses can make small rooms (bathrooms, elevators) look larger without the feeling of wide angle distortion, I like that rendering of space. But I guess it all depends on the kind of film you want to make.

[Bob Hayes]

Focus is really hyper critical in Anamorphic. Right eye sharp left eye out of focus problems. So stopping down helps here also. With regards to breathing I find if you can work a slight and motivated framing adjustment in conjunction with a focus shift that will sometimes hide the breathing.

 

Bob