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anthony le grand

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Everything posted by anthony le grand

  1. Finally found an interview from Blauvelt there if anyone is interested: https://filmmakermagazine.com/109294-day-for-night-for-day-for-night-dp-christopher-blauvelt-on-first-cow/ For the shots i was talking about, no damaged lenses or anything, it as just the good old vaseline trick on an optical flat ? And the rest of the film was shot with series 2 Cooke Panchros and a glimmerglass 2 most of the time
  2. Hi everyone, Yesterday I watched First Cow by Kelly Reichardt and really loved the movie, its rythm, the narration... And Chris Blauvelt's work was also beautiful. They shot it with Cooke S2 lenses to give a warm and soft feel, and also added a lot of grain digitally, it looks beautiful. Also, do you know if they did something else on camera to soften the image, like filters, filtration etc..? Also, there's this sequence where the character is injured and its reflected visually (as shown below), and I was wondering how the could get this effet... A very old damaged lens maybe? Elements put in front of the lens ? Anyway, loved the feel of the movie, thanks for your help ?
  3. Hi everyone, I'm watching a lot of movies from Mizoguchi these days, and while they all are beautiful, I was visually particully impressed by A story from Chikamatsu. I think it's one of the most beautiful black and white film I've ever seen. All the tonalities are so subtle and rich, the lightning is gorgeous, there's a poetry and a beauty in almost every shot that is very rare. Not to mention how perfectly framed all the shots are... Do you have any informations about how Miyagawa lit this film, or how he worked generally and in his process ? Maybe there's great things to read about him ? I especially love how he shot at night or when the sun is supposed to be low, it's dark but there's always light in it and a kind of softness... I mean, how perfect is a shot like this one ?
  4. Ahah, they said Dior silk stockings were the best ! I wanted to experiment with that but the issue i have is the consistency of the results/filter. If I like it, I should find a way to create a filter from the stockings that i could clip at the back of the lens (so it's fast and always streched the same way)
  5. I'll definitely work on that and spend time tying composite techniques. But ideally, I'd like to find things during the shooting and have as much as I can already on film ? David, very interesting what you said about the water droplets. There's a lot of fall-off but Henson is known for dodging parts of his prints, sometimes heavily, so I don't know how much of this comes from the lens. He made those pictures around 1975 when he was 20. He got a solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne for this work
  6. Thanks everyone! But i often find soft filters sold for photography not as subtle as some Tiffen filters for instance. I still prefer a black promist to a softar or duto and I don't know why it's not used more often. If that interests anyone, I found that from Art Adams from Arri: https://www.provideocoalition.com/the-secret-life-of-behind-the-lens-nets/ David, I really like some photographers of this era, especially Steichen. I'm trying to read many things about them right and find informations ? Phil, thanks very much for all these details, there's a lot in your message and I'll try some things out ? Also, do you have an idea how Henson got that soft painterly effect? (like on the first picture:https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8060/bill-hensons-bewitching-anti-portraits-of-ballerinas) There's the grain of the film and some underexposure, but there's also this softness on the whole picture and it feels very even, unlike a diffusion existing mostly in the highlights. Or maybe it's done when printing ?
  7. Hi everyone, For some personal photo projects I want to create a soft look and find ways to "deteriorate" sharpness and make things a little bit less raw., sligthly more painterly The things is, while diffusion in front or behind the lens is commun in cinematography, it's not so commun in photography. It is very rare to hear about black pro-mist, low con filters etc... except some old tricks like vaseline. And the use of old uncoated lenses. Did you ever used these kind of tools (like black pro-mist or nets behind the lens) for still pictures? Or maybe you know photographers who made things that way? I'm thinking for instance of some Bill Henson's early work and i'm not sure how he achieved that (low con and slow shutter speeds?): https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8060/bill-hensons-bewitching-anti-portraits-of-ballerinas Of course I'll make tests and everything, but I'm shooting medium format positive, and making tons of tests canfastly be expensive so other people's experience can be interesting :) Thanks!
  8. Thanks for the link Stephen ! It's very interesting, even if the Youtube compression is, as usual, quite awful. I've seen the movie a month ago and still think of it quite often, one of the best of the decade for me. It stays in my mind like some of my favorite directors' best movies (Malick, Erice, Edward Yang or Hou Hsiao Hsien for instance)
  9. Oh yeah, actually the first time I searched for it in the toolbar I wasn't logged in, so I didn't have all the results and didn't see your topic ! Visually the movie is outstanding too. It made me think a lot of Kubrick, with the push of the negative and the use of low con filters. It creates a very sensitive texture and feels alive. The grainiest scenes at night during the dinners and in the bedroom are gorgeous. It's kind of brave to do that now and to go towards a direction where people often consider these things as "mistakes", with weak blacks, lots of grain... Again, very much like Kubrick for Eyes Wide Shut. The thing I didn't like so much with PTA before was the need to show off a bit, a way to say "look at how great I am" (much less the case since The Master though). But here he managed to reduced his filmmaking to its essence, creating some of the most beautiful moments I've seen on screen in years. The scenes where they meet and the other one where he's sick and sees his mother are... wow. Incredibly intense and moving. And the end was so beautiful and subtle too, very romantic in a way, a strange love but about understanding, trust and full commitment to the other.
  10. Hi, I just watched Phantom Thread and didn't find much about it on the forum... Well, i'm still in the movie, and think it's an absolute masterpiece. PTA's best work by far. His most subtle screenplay without a doubt, with 2 amazing actors, gorgeous cinematography, perfect music and yet, the sum of it is so much more than that. I'm really, really impressed. What did you think of it ?
  11. Actually Rollei rebranded the old Agfa RSX-II 200 into the Rollei CR200 for 35mm and 120 still photography so you could have a look there, there's many things on the internet about it. It's a beautiful film stock, slightly warm and with less saturation than more modern reversals, looks very natural. But it's also more grainy. Without this grain it would be one of my favorite for still photography. It can be cross processed sure, but it will get very contrasty and you can't predict which tones you'll get. But it's worth a try!
  12. The thing is I didn't really like the look of The Artist. It's clean and elegant and with very little grain, but it's also kind of flat and it lacks the texture of true black and white. When you watch it it's clear that it's color turned into black and white. Unfortunately almost all the time you feel it when it's done that way. But I think one of the film that managed to do it the best was The White Ribbon by Haneke, it looked quite good I think
  13. Thanks for the link Kenny. It was also the best extract I have found of the UN54, but I'm not a big fan of the look of the stock from what I can see. Thanks very much for you offer Dirk, that's very kind! Double-X won't be an option on this project I think, it's too grainy and we're looking for a more modern emulsion. I'll look at Foma and also see what Adox can do.
  14. Yes, I checked many things on vimeo made with Orwo films, but it's always difficult to have an idea as it's not always clear what processing, equipment or telecine they used. It's often 16mm, sometimes with home-made processing or telecine... But from what I've seen I'm not really fan of the UN54. Dirk, the project will be in 35mm, not sure about the finish yet. But even if we go digital we want most of the look in camera, it would be just to adjust minimal things like grain. Thanks Aapo for the link, but I'm not sure it would be safe to make it with chinese stocks coming from ebay :)
  15. Thanks very much for your answers! I will check ORWO films then. Do you know films that were made with the UN54 and N74? I wondered also about Foma but Fomapan has not exactly the look I'm after. Dirk, thanks for the info for the Double-X. Isn't the new version too grainy on the big screen? It has beautiful contrast but I want to avoid grain as much as I can for this one. I remember The Turin's horse by Bela Tarr was made with the 5222. It looked gorgeous but too much grain for this project. I actually don't understand things about Agfaphoto. It went bust 10 years ago stopping film stocks, photo papers and everything. But then there's still photography films made by Agfa and even the Rollei B&W films have the Agfa logo on them... But all their products are/were beautiful
  16. Hi everyone, I am preparing a feature film and we want to shoot black and white. Do you know guy which stocks are available in B&W except the ones made by Kodak? I'm looking for a sharp and not very grainy stock. I asked Ilford what they could do and they can offer FP4 and Pan F in 30.5m only (about 90 feet). I'm not a great fan of B&W shot in color, I generally didn't like things I've seen and tested made that way and never found the texture of true black and white. I also have to ask to Rollei/Agfa what they can do. In photography I use the Rollei retro 80s a lot and it's pretty close to the look I want. I guess something close to T-Max or Ilford Delta 100 would be a good start for tests too. Do you guys have any idea where I could search (preferably in Europe)? Anyone has experience with Adox? Thanks a lot, Anthony
  17. Quite an old topic but it's always interesting to see people's choices. For me that would be: Movies: The New World 2001, A space Odyssey The Sacrifice (Offret) I also can't not mention The Spirit of the Beehives, not enough people have seen it. Directors: Terrence Malick Victor Erice Can't decide between Kubrick and Tarkovsky.... Cinematographers: Stanley Kubrick (he was so involved in the cinematography that I consider him to be one of the greatest DoP) Gordon Willis Harris Savides
  18. Hi everyone, For an experimental music video I'm trying to achieve a certain effect, of abstract colors, layers and forms that look a bit like Todd Cole's Aanteni opening: http://toddcolephoto.com/rodarte/aanteni He also pushed it a bit further in a beautiful photo series: http://toddcolephoto.com/many-lives-many-masters I don't know if it's microscopic photography or just macro. Do you have any ideas of how a similar effect of colors, layers mixing each others and cells-like forms can be made? I especially love the 7th and 8th pics of his series. At the moment I'm experimenting with food, liquids, milk, inks etc... and with dyes. Thanks : )
  19. Hello, I am actually making tests in order to create moody, organic, kind of abstract pictures with subjects out of focus but where the effect is never still and constantly evolving. As what I'm saying is certainly not very clear, here's a great video by Alexander Brown for James Blake that is a reference: Do you have any idea what he could have used, especially for the warm light effects at the end? Also, Bruno Aveillan's camera work is an influence. I had good results with close up filter moving just in front of the lens, also with prisms and different kind of glasses. Would you have other things to advice me? How could I play with lights coming inside the lens? I'd like to have ray of lights coming and going back from the frame, like something that is gently burning the frame from the inside. I think I'll also try to flash the lens from the side. Also, did anyone ever tried liquids in front of the lens? Thanks for your help!
  20. I'm sorry I can't help you for english universities as i don't really know them. Unfortunately since the education reform last year, it might be hard to find a not too expensive one in england...
  21. Hi, Unfortunately, there's no university in france that offers studies for cinematography but ony schools... The best one is certainly La Fémis but only accepts 6 students each year in cinematography. Otherwise, there's the Ecole Louis Lumière that is quite good but very theoritical, a lot of physics, work in studio etc... A few other schools exist but they're expensive and not as good so I think you should avoid them and stick to the 2 above. I also had very good feedback from INSAS which is in Bruxelles. Nice city, less expensive than Paris and friendlier. It might be a nice place to go! Or you could try other countries, there's a great school in Lodz, Poland (very international) or universities in english speaking countries. Good luck!
  22. Hey, Yes by practicals I mean available lights, that are part of the set. But don't have any idea of the wattage sorry. I think it's low though for all the christmas lights because very often there's a lot of them in the frame and he was rating the negative at around 1200 asa and shooting wide open. For the saturation I think it's more a matter of taste. If I remember correctly the movie, sometimes it was extremely saturated. Especially blue lights at night and red lights later and in the orgy scene. But it seemed kind of natural as well. Maybe because the contrasts were lower and the blacks very weak. But to me in your photo the orange are too saturated that's why I told about a correction blue filter. I have no examples of my pics here unfortunately, but I definitely recommend fuji 400h. Those pics I told you about were in a very dark place with the light coming only from one direction, soft and warm. Like when you're in a dark flat with the sunset light coming from a small window and exposure made for this light. I printed up the negative a bit and liked the grain it gave me in the dark areas, very soft and natural. But you're right 120 helped a lot :) Not sure it would look the same in 35mm....
  23. Hi Anton, Quite a long time that I have not been here and I was suprised to see this old post! Your picture seem quite similar in the lightning, going with practicals and I think that was the idea of Kubrick, looking natural and most important being able to set the lights like that and shoot easily with this existing light. Having practicals in the frame and overexposed parts feels really nice I think. But I see some differences as well. Eyes wide shut was shot on a much grainier film stock than the recent Ektar AND was pushed 2 stops. So shooting with medium format and ektar you'll have a negative that is way sharper than Kubrick's negative and you'll have very small grain compared to it. it will result in a less dreamy aspect. And the ektar is maybe too saturated for that... but then that's just a matter of taste. Also I think you need to use a blue filter to balance a bit the color temperature. If you want to keep 120 film (and your nice Yashica 124G :)) you could try to shoot with portra 400nc or fuji 400h, maybe push it one stop and shoot wide open? I've done that before with the fuji stock and printed up, the blacks were weak but nice and the grain beautiful.
  24. I'm sorry Saul if I'm repeating things that have been said a lot here before. Also, and I may not be clear in my question, I was also wondering how this use of Kodak / Fuji was a choice or a habit of the market. Don't really know for the US nor for Asia but in Europe and in my case in france, we work in most schools with Kodak stocks because of partnerships and we have to deal with people from this company that are incredibly nice and helpful for students. So most of us are happy with our work with them, feeling confident with the stocks and simply continuing to shoot with that. I've met some very good DoP from other countries in Europe that never worked with Fuji stocks while at school (and the best schools). And I think that's a shame because it offers as you said more tools for us. Me neither I didn't know those stocks before and learned to love Fuji with stills, so that's why I'm curious about that now :) . Like you Chris I really appreciate their color rendition, more naturalistic to me.
  25. Hi everyone, I have a basic question about how much you use Fuji Stocks and most important, why. Do you think people mostly use Kodak stocks because their marketing strategy is wider and more efficient and because we used to shoot with them at school? Or did you make a lot of test with both brands and simply prefer Kodak? First, i thought that the fact of being an american company was very helpful but a lot of people even in Asia use it. And Japan doesn't have good relations with the rest of Asia neither so I don't know how people feel about that in South Korea, south east Asia and China. Also, as a still photographer, I mostly use Fuji pro 160s, to me they feel a bit sharper than the Kodak's and I like how it works with the blue tones and the faces. But warm tones can feel nicer with kodak portra. And I kind of feel the same about motion picture stocks. And you how do you feel about that? Do you mostly use Kodak because it has grown into a habit or does it simply depends on the film your working on? Thanks, Anthony
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