Short film set in 1970’s

[Ben Kahn]

Hello,

I’m shooting a short film that is set in the late 1970’s in a elementary school. We are using a Sony Venice with Zeiss super speeds and Angenieux ez zooms. 

I’m wondering if their are specifics strategies I can do in camera to get a time period feel. Been looking at movies of the era; camera movement, lighting styles.

In post we might add some grain and color grade to get a vintage film look of the time. Nothing to aggressive so as not to look artificial though. 

One thing I’m curious about is filtration. Can I get recommendations of filters that would have been used at the time? I am conscious of baking in something too aggressive that will be hard to work with in post. However, anything I can get in camera is always preferable. 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Eric Eader]

Ben,

Check out the NYC Public Library (or your local one), to find back issues of American Cinematographer Magazine you can scour after deciding which 70's movies you like, for details concerning how they were made.  That should help kickstart ideas for transitioning analogue methods to digital.

The "usual suspects" rounded up include:  Fogs, Low Contrast, Diffusion of the Harrison, Mitchell or Tiffen persuasion , Nets, French Ladies stocking (Dior), very expensive, very fine Belgian or French tulle stretched on filter frame, as well as any other item the DP experimented with to satisfy a desired look.

Very generalized, but I hope points you in a right direction.

[David Mullen ASC]

Fogs, Double Fogs, and Low Cons were particularly popular in the mid-1970s.

[Jeff Bernstein]

Steadicam?

Rack focus?

Slower pace?

Some zooms?

The short pan?

Natural lighting?

Split-focus diopter?

Colossal telephoto excitement?

Pronounced negative space between characters?

All That Jazz.