Jonathan Bowerbank
Basic Member-
Posts
2,796 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Jonathan Bowerbank
-
Excellent news David! Hope you enjoy your stay up here in SF, and that the weather treats you well, especially once you hit Big Sur. :) Feel free to give me a call if you're in need of camera crew ;)
-
;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWU3-gA3ueo&feature=player_embedded#at=388
-
Thought of mirrors/reflectors? Doesn't sound like you're planning on softening it much if you need the exposure, but it's worth experimenting with.
-
Opinion about indisystem
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Andres Salaberri's topic in Camera Assistant / DIT & Gear
If budget doesn't permit, indisystem may do fine. They're not particularly built well, and not very durable, so in students hands they may not last long. Perhaps teaching them to respect the equipment is a good base to start with, then let them use the tools. But yeah, should be fine :) -
FRINGE EP 15
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Gregory Middleton's topic in In Production / Behind the Scenes
I noticed it quite a bit for most of the early scenes between Peter and his "mother". Obviously more noticeable on the wider focal lengths, but I really liked the look on the longer lenses. An almost dreamy, hazy memory type of feel to it. -
Oswald "Ozzie" Morris is a DP who I always think as a quintessentially British cinematographer. Some truly beautiful work, and an evolution which is apparent from film to film. It's interesting to juxtapose his approaches to different films. Moby Dick vs. "Lolita" vs. "Equus". The latter which I consider a masterpiece of its time :)
-
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Ignacio Aguilar's topic in On Screen / Reviews & Observations
Haven't seen it in a while, but what images stuck in my mind the most were the close-ups of Max von Sydow. They just had that framing and style to them, worthy of a living "deity". I'll have to watch it again :) -
looking for classes in SF area
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Cida Fukushima's topic in San Francisco, CA (US)
The San Francisco Film Society offers an array of course in production. This one on the 7D/5DMkII post workflow, which I imagine also includes the ins & outs of the cameras: http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=11&pageid=2019 They also offer lighting classes as well, instructed by some good friends of mine (someone different everytime, but always someone who understands the craft). City College of San Francisco also offers a cinematography course which is well worthwhile. When I took it, we only shot 16mm, but since there are no more labs in SF they may be using alternatives, such as Canon DSLR's. Contact John Carlson of Monaco labs who teaches the course, and he could tell you the details: john(at)monacosf.com -
American Cinematographer had a great in depth article about the shooting of "The Prestige". Worth checking out.
-
The King's Speech
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to David Mullen ASC's topic in In Production / Behind the Scenes
In regards to the framing, I'm sure it was just a choice between the director & DP to try and make conversations a bit more interesting to look at during the long sit down scenes. The performances were so great that conventional framing would have been fine, but I actually enjoyed the negative space in the frame and how it made me focus on the characters' faces. -
Lens Condensation
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to anthony derose's topic in Camera Assistant / DIT & Gear
ditto -
Oh, those things ;)
-
Phonetic Alphabet
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Dan Collins's topic in Camera Assistant / DIT & Gear
A couple alternatives to the aforementioned that I use, below: Alpha Franklin Gamma Henry Kelvin -
Sounds like he was so adamant about renting a Red, he probably spent a lot of his budget on the rental and simply couldn't afford a DP. The footage will probably come out looking like crap, and he'll call you for the next one :)
-
To be fair...Remi Adefarasin did shoot it ;)
-
Yeah, the term "Rod Support System" is just a generalized way to say that you do have one if anyone asks. I only ever use a phrase similar to "rod support system" when I'm describing our setup to a 2nd AC or placing an order with a rental house tech. Otherwise, while I'm building the camera I'll call out for specific pieces (touch and go, dovetail, bridgeplate, rods, FF, Mattebox, etc.).
-
True Grit
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Stuart Brereton's topic in On Screen / Reviews & Observations
http://www.deakinsonline.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1649&p=8219&hilit=grit#p8219 Yeah, they were very strange shots. I'll have to watch it again for sure, but it seemed like the background of trees & sky didn't match properly with the camera movement, or perhaps just didn't seem natural to the actors' and horse's movement. -
If a Narnia movie is #2, it's not shocking that Fockers is #1. It seems like when Oscar candidate season is happening over here, it's "filler" time over there. Much like our February thru April ;)
-
True Grit
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Stuart Brereton's topic in On Screen / Reviews & Observations
Stellar work as usual from Deakins. I don't think it really compares to Jesse James or No Country, it's not as naturalistic or source inspired lighting so much as the aforementioned films are. He does a lot more beauty lighting, taking a lot of care in creating soft and attractive eye lights and I think perhaps playing more towards the comedic tones of the material. There are parts where I think the lighting was perhaps TOO soft and pretty, namely in some action sequences with the female lead. And some frames during firelit scenes where multiple sources were evidenced by multiple shadows appearing on faces during hand gestures, etc. I'm not being critical, I'm just surprised as his usual way of going about scenes like these would involve a single source, with augmentations that wouldn't reveal themselves in the shadows. I suppose I expected a film titled "True Grit" to be a bit more "gritty" and less precious with the lighting. I did take away a lot of tips & techniques, as I always do with the films Deakins shoots. Always a learning experience, whether there are elements I like or dislike about the choices cinematographers make. -
35 III Mag Hell
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Evan Andrew John Prosofsky's topic in Camera Assistant / DIT & Gear
I second Rob's solution. Seating the roll then keeping two fingers on the spindle and rotating the core until you feel/hear it click into the notch. You'll know it has happened obviously if you can't turn the core independently of the spindle. Good luck! 35mm sounds like more of a challenge to new AC's on paper, but I find handling 35 vs. 16 is far easier, simply because it's easier to handle for its thicker gauge with less threat of it coning and unspooling from the middle. -
Lee Utterbach Cameras closes after 31 years
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Jonathan Bowerbank's topic in Cinematography News
An insightful article from CineSource on LU's closing: http://cinesourcemagazine.com/index.php?%2Fsite%2Fcomments%2Fvenerable_camera_rental_closes_the_exit_interview_with_lee_utterbach1%2F -
If there's a sideboard and room for an applebox for the AC to sit on, that works better than making him/her walk beside it. Otherwise, it's doable.
-
Dead poet's society
Jonathan Bowerbank replied to Michael Schroers's topic in On Screen / Reviews & Observations
The "Special Edition" DVD of Dead Poets Society has that Master Class as a DVD extra. Quite interesting to see how he works and revealing of some of his tricks :)