Tom Lowe

This is a rough cut of some new DLSR timelapse stuff I shot recently at Yosemite and Lake Powell, mixed in with a few of my golden oldies.

I'm looking for criticism - specifically, shots you liked or didn't like.

Be sure to crank up your headphones or speakers.

http://digitallions.org/timelapse-new.mov

720p 73MB MOV

Why do you say Doyle refuses to teach techniques?

I was out at Joshua Tree national park last year about this time, under a completely full moon. It was the brightest night ambient light I had ever seen. I don't know if it was the reflection off the tan sand and rocks, or just a super-close, bright moon or what. The moon was so bright I didn't need a lantern or anything at my camp. I was out hiking among the rock formations for hours that night. It felt like a big, brightly lit playground out there. I was sleeping out in the open, without a tent, and it was so bright I had trouble getting to sleep, so I had to pull a blanket over my head!

Sunsets/sunrises are a matter of luck, many times. One day, there will be a lot of dust or vapor in the air and the sunset will be breathtaking, the next day it will be totally flat.

Generally I would suggest shooting clean, and doing a lot of CCing in post, but I don't know what you have planned for post. Will you do a DI?

Another good idea for trying to capture a great sunset is to plan two days instead of one, if time and budget permit. This increases your chances of getting something memorable.

The scene I had asked David about was an idea of shooting two actors sitting basically in an open area outdoors under a full or nearly full moon. In my mind, it would be okay if the two actors were extremely, extremely dark, but David also raised the point about ambient light inside a theater or home completely washing out anything too dark on the screen. I doubt that shooting actors by moonlight is possible at all, even using all the tricks in the book -- super fast lenses, ASA cranked to 1500, 360 shutter, undercrankage, etc. Knowing how stubborn I am, I will probably give it a try though... :)

Oh man, I am jealous!

I am going to see this at the next Aero screening if I have to crawl there on my hands and knees. It's one of the greatest things I have ever seen in my life, but I have only seen a half-decent HDTV rip, never on film. 70mm Baraka would be the absolute pinnacle of motion picture visuals, IMO. The "holy grail" of cinematography, so to speak. :lol:

The last four minutes of that movie, with the moco night timelapse, made my jaw hit the floor the first time I saw it. Many scenes from Baraka had a huge impact on my cinema ideas.

Awesome thread, guys.

I'm bummed that I missed that 70mm screening at the Aero. I saw Lawrence there in 70 mil a few months back and was blown away. I also missed Baraka in 70mm that week as well. :(

Two words: Sauna Scene. OMFG... this movie is brutal and brilliant.

Would have liked to have seen a little more Godfather-style stuff at the very end, but I left the theater satisfied.

Northfork showcases some beautiful photography, for those who've not seen it.

This article in AC very much has me looking forward to seeing "Caravaggio" as well.

A thousand a day sounds really steep just for the roof! Sorry they were asking so much.

Entertainium Studios aka United Pacific Studios. I am far too familiar with the place, had the pleasure of shooting my thesis film there for six days, I also recently crewed on two different shorts that shot there. Apparently I can't escape the sweet bosom of the Pornatanium...

Haha. yep... it's the Entertainium. That's the place.

As far as shooting on their roof, you basically just have to climb a ladder, so as long as you're not bringing too much equipment up, it should be fine.

There is a notorious low-rent "studio" in LA that mostly has porn sets inside, but we shot some awesome scenes for a feature on their roof. The name of the place escapes me. It's totally perfect for what you are saying. It's literally in an industrial area, with a scrapyard beside it, but it has a great view of the LA skyline as well, if you want to point your cameras in that direction. I emailed the director to get the name of it, but someone here might also know it.

On Fridays it's a popular swingers club... hahahah. But the owners are chill.. they let us drag all our camera equipment up there... very cool people.

China is a big place, man. If you're working out of Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing, it's gonna be a totally different story than if you are working way out in the deserts in the west.

I saw it tonight at the New York Premiere.

 

Some of the most beautiful imagery I've seen since The New World, if not before that...

 

Really an extremely inspired work. Roger Deakins is a master beyond words, and it's quite evident in this film.

 

Rocked my world, honestly. I'm a bit speechless. Great film, too...

Oh man, your post just got me so stoked. I CANNOT WAIT for this.

yeah, he just shot a film in France for Hou Hsiao Hsien called "Le ballon Rouge" and it looks very beautiful and delicate. I really admire how Ping Bing brings emotion only with colors, there is not a lot of cinematographers who can do that with such a great impact.

 

Have a look to "Three Times" too (again directed by HHH), it's impressive how he used the colors according to different times. And I think it's one of the best film of HHH, a wonderful allegory about love.

Yeah, Three Times is actually #1 in my netflix queue right now. I'm very excited to see it. I wonder why Wong Kar Wai did not use him for My Blueberry Nights? Who knows...

Storaro reminds me a lot of Leo Tolstoy: half artist/half mystic, long-winded and could probably start a religious cult if he wanted to. Does anyone agree with me on this or have anything to add?

I only understand about half of theories. He has a big new interview in AC this month, if that's not what prompted this thread in the first place.

His body of work is so awesome, though, that I take it for granted he knows what he's talking about with all these wild theories of his.

As much as I love The Fountain, the one thing I really did not like was the set design for "jungle" scenes. IMO, they should have done whatever it took to actually shoot in a real jungle. I understand that Aronofsky says he did not have the money for it, but to me, the whole opening shot in the "jungle" looked totally fake. Part of this is Libatique's fault, IMO. It looked overlit to me. A real jungle like that, with towering tree canopies at night, would be very, very dark.

For your purposes, you might want to look at an HVX200, perhaps, or something in that ballpark. 20 grand can get you a Red, but not soon, and it will only be the body, with no lenses... no nothing.

Based on your post it seems way too early for you to be investing in expensive stuff, IMO.

Hi, Been looking for info on Syriana but with no luck.

I found a dvd playback article in ASC and someonline interview to Robert Elswitt where it mentioned camera and stock and a little insight on his aproach. Does any1 know if there are any long articles about the cinematography work?

Thanks a lot!

M

Very strange that AC didn't do a piece on it. I double-checked for you in their back issues and didn't find anything other than that DVD playback.

This will probably win the oscar, hands down. Obviously the biggest inspiration is Days of Heaven, but I also see some Conrad Hall/Road to Perdition in there.

One odd thing: What was with that shot of Pitt's hands floating over the wheat?.... That was a direct - and I mean EXACT - copy of the same shot from Gladiator, even down the ring on his finger. Is that supposed to be a "homage"?

In any case, this is likely to not only win the cinematography Oscar, but probably a few other categories as well. Pitt took top acting honors for it at Venice.

Try and get insurance to cover that...

Lloyds of London? :lol:

OK film, I liked the fact that they eschewed backlight on night exteriors. There was a scene though that I am still scratching my head over that seems completely illogical. Maybe I wasn't paying attention or something. Even now I think I might be confusing two different scenes.

 

The posse is camping at night while escorting Ben Wade to the train. They are attacked by a group of indians who shoot at them. Wade gets hold of a pistol goes up the hill and kills the indians. He comes back down the hill with the pistol in hand. All of the posse are pointing there guns at him. Evans has gotten a head wound and passes out/falls asleep and when he wakes up Wade is gone. Someone in the posse said he 'just walked off.'

 

However the scene happened why would the posse, still armed to the teeth, just let Wade walk off?

If my memory serves: Because they knew none of them were good enough shots to get into a straight-up shootout with Wade? Remember, you are talking about a kid, a paper-pushing train company man, etc. I think Fonda was toast by then.

You could easily shoot in Afghanistan, unless the picture has a lot of sex or something. There are neighborhoods like Khosh al Khan Mina near Kabul that are totally bombed out like you are talking about. They'd be happy to welcome a production, especially if you employed some locals and spread some money around to local shopkeepers and business people, etc... most Afghans only make $2 a day, so you could have a huge "crew" no problem :)

Bugs, to each his own.

The Fountain was far and away my favorite film from last year, and is among my top 5 films for this decade so far.