Neal Norton

Hi Mark: I used the Alexa XT Studio for a film I shot last year. We spec'd this camera because we were shooting a bunch of projected images and the regular Alexa would consistently have some kind of image problems with projected video (banding, tearing, etc.) We tested for months and even considered using a Sony F65 with a mechanical shutter. The Alexa studio won the hearts of the visual effects supervisor for the best results with the projectors. We were shooting "Open Gate" and the optical finder will not show the whole image as recorded so the optical finder was pretty useless for this job. We capped the optical finder and used the regular EVF-1 and an on-board monitor to operate. After a while I figured out that the studio camera handles motion and flicker issues better than the non-mechanical shutter Alexa. I ended up shooting the studio whenever I could - the pictures are simply better. If you don't have both cameras side by side then the small improvement in image quality is very hard to see - but it is there. The mechanical shutter is really of benefit if you can afford to shoot the camera. FYI I also worked on a film where the DP operated "A" camera and he also used the on-board monitor to operate the Alexa Studio even though it was not "Open Gate". I would use the optical finder when I was on that camera and liked it. We had no problems with shutter noise. The camera is very quiet. The studio cameras are not a great option for steadicam or a lot of hand held. It is heavier and the wider shape is a liability. If you are stacking filters up front instead of the internal filters I think you might like the EVF-1 better... but I never had much of a problem with that. Regards, Neal Norton Director of Photography

I have done some work with very old lenses in order to produce the swirly bokeh. The petzval lens design is well known to produce this effect and I have had good results with antique view camera lenses adapted to modern cameras like the Alexa. My favorite is a voigtlander petzval from the 1860's that was made for a small view camera. Most of these lenses are of focal lengths of 135mm and longer with 160mm being common. I use two polarizers stacked one in front of the other in order to control exposure for day exteriors. Here is a picture of one of the lenses I am working with: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/petzval-pl-mount-conversion-neal-norton?trk=prof-post Neal Norton Director of Photography Tampa, Florida

Haris I am in agreement with you about the S4 iris shape. I personally really find it a distraction. I think the strong interest in finding and using lenses with "character" is a reaction to the very clean and sometimes clinical or digital look of video cameras. There is an element of "human-ness" that lens aberrations such as flare, chromatic aberration, field curvature, spherical aberration and geometric distortion can impart to an image. Hand crafted versus machine made. Filters can help but they produce an effect far less complex that a lens with "character". The argument for and against 'sharpness' or 'softness' in a photographic image is as old as photography itself. As early as the 1860's there were photographers that resisted the scientific aspect of photography and worked with soft-focus lenses to create images that were strongly influenced by the impressionist paintings popular at the time. Anglo-American Pictorialism was a very popular school of photography that from about 1890 to the 1920's produced very stylized photographs that looked much like impressionist paintings. Lenses like the Pinkham and Smith portrait lens and the Cooke Portrait lenses were used to introduce very strong spherical aberration to the image creating a strong sharp focus with a soft OOF image overlaid to make the image quite 'painterly' or 'artistic' and much less scientific looking. Around 1925 there was a revolt against the Pictorial School that produced the F64 school of photography which advocated photography as its own art form and strongly rebelled against the soft-focus movement. I think it is fair to say that for the most part the F64 school was the winner in a sometimes vitriolic debate about what photography should be. From the 1920's to today the Pictorial School has been mostly seen as old fashioned. With the move away from film based cinematography and into the present world of digital cinematography I think it is very useful to explore the use of lens 'flaws' as a way to produce images with a more craftsman like look. Of course if the story demands a crystal sharp and clean image then there are many lenses capable of the job. Neal Norton Director of Photography

I just saw the first half of the 70mm Roadshow print at the Veterans AMC in Tampa. I did make it all the way to the intermission. No way I was going to sit through the second half of this film. Really not my cup of tea. My least favorite work by the great Bob Richardson. 70mm or not. The lighting just was impossible for me to believe. Neal Norton

Hi Jaime: I own a lens rental company so you may want to consider my opinions with the fact that I have a financial interest in some of the lenses I would reccommend. I do work with a fairly wide range of lenses and have had an opportunity to evaluate many both on a projector and on the job as a DP. Every project could be designed to favor a specific look that would lead a DP to select a particular lens or group of lenses. One of the big factors to consider is what lens coverage you require for the project you are shooting. If you are working with a S-35 image circle then your choice of cinema lenses are pretty much unlimited. If you are shootin Alexa Open Gate or Red Dragon at 6K then you will need to make sure the lenses you want to shoot are capable of covering a 33.5mm image circle. In some cases I don't mind a vignette caused by a lens with an image circle that is 'too small' for the format chosen. . .for example in Arri Open Gate shooting an aspect ratio of 1:85 the Optimo 12-1 will vignette at most focal lengths to varying degrees - and for some projects that might be just what you like (or just dreadfull depending on your taste). As to favorites it really depends on the look you are trying to acheive. If I were interested in a super modern/clean polished look shot with a digital camera then I might want to consider Arri Master Primes matched with the Fujinon Premier zoom lenses. For a Romantic Drama or Comedy where I would be working hard to create a glamorous look for the actors I would be very interested in a set of Leica Summilux C lenses matched with an Optimo 12-1 and maybe a couple of Optimo hand held lenses. The Leicas are just superb - they have so few flaws and they are eaasy to work with being small and perfectly matched in size. Personally for many types of jobs with digital cameras I really like the TLS Cooke Speed Panchros and the TLS Super Baltar vintage lenses. They have a wonderful look with a sharp-er center image that falls off fairly quickly to softer corners. The over all image is softer than most modern lenses wide open with reduced contrast and a tendancy to flare nicely. Often these lenses are just beautiful with no diffusion added at all. The masterful lens designers at TLS have made these older lenses as easy to work with as an S-4 with widely spaced and easily read focus markings. The vintage lenses really add a lot of character to the sometimes 'too clean' look of digital. For anamorphic I am a big fan of the Panavision G-series lenses. Small and fast these are some of the best looking anamorphic lenses I have worked with. The Arri Master anamorphic lenses are very clean and sharp and I would like to try out the new flare adapters they have introduced to help give these lenses more character. For anamorphic zoom lenses I think Panavision is still the best option for both long and short anamorphic zoom lenses - with the exception of lightweight zooms. Angenieux has done a great job with the new 30-72 anamorphic and the 56-152 anamorphic which are adaptations of the 15-40 and the 28-76 spherical zoom lenses. Both of the Angenieux anamorpics are great lenses that have very little geometric distortion and are sharp corner to corner with very little field curvature problems like many anamorphic lenses. The Angenieux anamorphics also focus really close at 2'2" MOD which is a big deal for an anamorphic zoom (and many anamorphic primes) which means you can leave the diopters in the filter case for almost all close ups. Kind regards, Neal Norton Director of Photography

I think the very handsome incentive programs in various parts of the world have much to do with American runaway production as well as the lower over all labor costs in some parts of the world. Maybe the beautiful locations in places like New Zealand have a little to do with reasons producers shoot there as well. Atlanta and New Orleans are very busy here in the US and I think the tax incentives play a major role in that reality. . . even with union crews on most jobs. All human interactions are subject to less than perfect behavior - because, well, we are all pretty imperfect humans. Unions, much like other organizations such as corporations, governments or religions can do harm as well as good. Producers can be incredible story tellers and risk takers that deserve our admiration and they can also be less than fair on occassion. I have been a member of the Camera Guild for almost 30 years and I can say with certainty that I am very glad to have made the decision to join and remain a part of my union. I have a fully vested retirement plan that will provide a measure of security when I do retire and I also have a pretty good IAP (investment plan) that will be a big help as I grow old. I have had a reasonable health insurance plan for the entire time I have been in the union and I am grateful for that. . .here in the USA where the uninsured or under-insured do receive substandard or no medical care. I am very grateful to the Producers and Production Companies that have hired me and payed me very well and payed for my benefits packages and I hope in most cases thay have made a great deal of money for their efforts of which I was a part. For the most part I think the Producers I have worked for understand that the union I am a part of is maybe the only way to provide a stable career in a business where my services are needed and desired on a sporadic basis. I only work when the Producer needs me so the benefits packages help to create a way I can remain available for the next job down the road. I strongly encourage a young camera person to consider union membership. It is a very good way to build a long career and maybe plan for retirement someday. I am sorry that Richard feels he has been mistreated by our union and I hope some day we have a chance to try again and work together as collaborators on the projects he works so hard to make a reality. Best to all! Neal Norton Director of Photography

Arri Alexa EV s/n 3476 For Sale $34,000 Alexa 3476 with 1275 hours High speed license Alexa EVF-1 viewfinder s/n 3757 SP-1 shoulder pad 6' power cable BP-12 set viewfinder cable short viewfinder cable medium 12v acc cable time code cable BPA-1 Leveling block Swiss tool allen driver 5X150 Wiha allen driver 3X75 anton Bauer plate Front handle extension block VEB-1 viewfinder extension bracket 5 Sony SXS cards 32gb Case (Master Cases) Contact Neal email neal@gulfcamera.com

I would consider very carefully before buying either camera. Answer these questions: What is the demand for each camera in your market? Who would be your customer(s) and what type of work are they doing? Who is your competition? What do they charge? Why would your camera be more desireable than the camera offered by your competition? Cheaper? Better service? What would you be able to charge for a days rental? Weeks rental? Months rental? How many rental days could you reasonably expect per year from each of the cameras? What would the camera be worth after 12 months? 24 months? 36 months? How much will you be spending on insurance, maintenance and marketing? If the camera fails where will you be sending the camera for repairs? Local/overseas? Best of luck, Neal Norton Gulf Camera, LLC

Hi Simon: The Preston FIZ is the most used wireless lens control system and is the first choice of most A/C's. The FIZ is accurate, robust and reliable. It would be very unusual for an FIZ system to be rejected as a rental in favor of another system. If you were to ever sell your FIZ there is a ready market for used Preston Systems. Neal

Preston.

Hi Sabyasachi: "To Neal Norton's opinion that documentary guy can't shoot feature." No that most certainly is NOT my opinion. Please re-read my post. I never said any such thing. I was pointing out that it is very unusual for a person with no feature credits to be hired on major films. Neal Norton Cinematographer Sometimes Documentary Shooter

Well, first off, having a director chat with you about doing a studio film is very different from signing a deal with a large production. There are very few directors able to hire the DP without having the studio/producer consult and or give approval. I have done more than a few films where the DP was not the Directors choice at all - the Producer hired the cinematographer to help prevent the young or inexperienced Director from making costly mistakes (like hiring a cinematographer with no credits) or upsetting the actors with poor results at the camera. I know of only one studio feature where a famous Director hired a DP with no feature credits because he wanted the film to look like a documentary film - so he hired a very experienced documentary shooter for that one film. The cinematographer to my knowledge has never done another studio feature film. As to hiring a good Gaffer and Key Grip all I can say is good luck with that. Talented and experienced department heads are very unlkely to go into a high profile production with a Cinematographer that has no experience. You would have to convince any A-list department head that the job would not end up being an embarrasing disaster. People who do big films are not desperate for work. How a cinematographer is treated by the actors is often directly related to the list of credits found on IMDB. There is more than a little anxiety on the part of the actors who want very much to feel like the production is providing the absolute best quality cinematography possible. A DP with no credits would be a big problem for many actors and I'll bet there are more than a few movie stars that have a big say in who shoots the film. It sounds like you are doing the most important thing an aspiring DP can do. . . be in contact with working Directors. If this job does not work out you still have a big advantage over other young cinematographers in that you actually are in contact with a real working Director. Even if you don't land the job as DP maybe you can be involved in some way that keeps you in contact with your Director. He/She may have a pet project that doesn't have a big studio budget and would be a really good way to get a foot in the door. Kind regards, Neal Norton Cinematographer

The short answer is "yes" filters are used on almost all shoots. What filters are used is dependant on the job and the desired 'look'. Pretty standard for digital are: IRND filters, ND filters, some form of diffusion (not always - some jobs very sharp undiffused is what you want). Polarizer Pretty standard for film are: ND filters, 85 filters, maybe diffusion filters - but less so than for digital and even less so for 16mm. Polarizer. Many packages would include grads both soft and hard but this is less so now that post can easily introduce a grad effect quite nicely in the post production environment. Neal Norton Cinematographer Currently working in Wilmington, NC

Which camera is a better fit for your business plan? Do you have a guaranteed cash flow potential for one or the other? If not why are you buying instead of renting? After one year, two years, five years, etc. what would you expect as a reasonable return on your investment? (ROI) Consider maintenance costs. (For example, Arri will cover an Alexa for maintenance for $5,000/year) If you are a Producer as opposed to a DP/owner then which camera will be a better fit (faster/cheaper) for your entire work flow? If you do not already have a strong understanding of what your customer base prefers you need to put more time in developing a business plan that will make you a profit. In my part of the world rentals tend to be 70% Alexa, 20% Red Epic/Epic Dragon, 10% other - but Owner/operators are much more heavily leaning to the Red Epic/Dragon. As to the cameras functionality, I find the Alexa very similar to shooting a film camera (intuative) and the Red Epic/Dragon a much more Brand centric device. I think the Red camera would require much more specialized training/study to learn the 'Eco system' for that product. Neal Norton DP- Florida

Phil I think you have this exactly right. I am calculating 18 months with enough residual value to sell the camera and turn a reasonable profit - or forget it. The Alexa XT pkg will cost at least 115,000 and that is far less expensive than an Arricam LT or ST ever was but you sure better be able to see a return on that in less than 2 years or it could be a real money loser. A rental day now and then won't cut it.

Hello all: I am interested in determining 'best resolution' using the Red Epic Camera in 5K with a sharp lens. My method is as follows: Red Epic at 5K with 3:1 compression ei 800 and an Arri Master Macro 100mm with a T5.6 pointed at a Century test chart at 51 X focal lengths as described in the instructions. I very carefully checked the flange depth on the camera. Very carefully checked focus. I shot a clip at 24fps and then debayered using Red Cine X software and taking a full resolution still as a 16bit Tif. and exporting the still. I then examined the still using Photoshop and enlarging (pixel peeping) the image. My results are: 56 lines/mm Any thoughts? I looked for help on the Red User Board but have not gotten any feedback there as of yet. Thank you, Neal Norton Director of Photography

Hi Matthew: There is a big difference between the Alexa and an Epic Dragon. You can buy or rent an Alexa. Until an Epic Dragon is available to the market (not hand picked Red folks) it is pretty hard to compare the two. Neal Norton

My experience is that working up the ladder from Loader to AC to Operator ends at AC or sometimes Operator. . . very rarely have I seen people who spend many years making a living in the trade successfully push on up to DP. They get too old and too financially comfortable. If you want to see the business from the bottom up I suggest you not be very good at it. It can be very hard to walk away from good jobs and great money in order to shoot no budget music videos! To be a good DP I would suggest the best thing you could do is to learn how to draw well. If you can truly see what is there well enough to make a sketch that represents what YOU are seeing then I think you would be way ahead of most peers. Go to museums. Buy art books. Take drawing, painting and art history classes. Develop your own style and taste. Maybe instead of buying expensive cameras, build your own lighting instruments. Home Depot or Lowes can be a huge toy box for an aspiring DP. Do a project with home made hard light. Then soft light. Then mix it up. Can you light a scene that looks like a Rembrandt using $100 worth of Home Depot lighting? I'll bet Mr. Mullen would make short work of a challenge like that! A DP really needs ONE thing. That ONE thing is a Director that believes in you and trusts you with her project. How you develop a relationship with people who will end up as working Directors is up to you. If you have a Director that wants YOU to be the DP on her film then everything else can be bought, borrowed or bluffed. Best of luck, Neal Norton

Hi David: My experience through the 2000's was that Panavision and the Genesis camera was the real advance guard in the world of digital cinema. The Genesis was in use actually making movies over two full years before the Red One arrived in small quantities and with very limited functionality. Then more than 1 1/2 years after the Red One arrived I had my first taste of digital cinema production working on "Zombieland" using a Genesis camera. In our case we used the SSR-1 recorder on board for much of the work and it was pretty similar to working with a Millenium XL camera with 500' mags. Not as elegant as film but very solid and reliable. I know you would prefer a higher than HD resolution but honestly I have screened "Zombieland" more than once - both printed on film and projected digitally and I have found the experience quite good. I have never had a single person remark in any way that "Zombieland" looked inadequate (of course the stellar work by my friend and talented DP Michael Bonvillian had a lot to do with that!). I think the reliability of the Genesis and the results on screen actually paved the way for other cameras such as the Red Epic and the Alexa camera on film sets. The early problems with the Red One I think may have actually slowed the shift to digital by some producers and studios. There was a degree of "don't experiment on MY show" out there, then. As far as "game changer" my opinion is that the Red One was absolutely a revolutionary product but not because of resolution or method of recording - it was because of the very low price. I think a case could be made that the Red One opened up the low budget world in a big way to people who never would have been able to rent a Genesis with a set of Primo lenses. Then a year after the introduction of the Red One we saw the new Canon 5D Mk2 (2008) and it may have been an even bigger shake up in the indie world than the Red One. The 5D sure was not perfect - but for many it was good enough. Sincerely, Neal Norton Camera Operator

An A/C friend working on this film told me the Fuji Premier 18-85 T2 was used frequently along with the Leica primes and short Optimos. Neal Norton

Why digital? Fast. Cheap. Good (enough)

Hi Baburam: What are you looking at the chart with? A digital camera? I have found all the digital cameras including the Epic to be limited to around 80 Lines per millimeter max. So, if you are following the directions and have set the camera at a distance of 50X the focal length of the lens and are using a very good monitor then you should be able to determine the resolution of the lens and camera system up to <80 L/mm. Looking at the chart with an optical viewer (Unique Optics collimator) set at 50X the focal length of the lens, it is easy to see that at the center of the lens the resolution of most lenses will be greater than 112 L/mm. I have not seen any lens that is out resolved by a digital camera. I do not know the OKC 35 lens but I would be very surprised at 15 L/mm. Make sure your flange focal distance is correct and that the chart is well lit. Hope this was helpful. Neal

Of course I can't speak for every crew and set. . . In my experience as an IA camera operator, we all work for the Director. The Director would not be 'asking' permission in any case in regard to using the camera. As long as the company has followed union rules and hired the required crew for each camera on the job then it would be unlikely that a complaint would taken very seriously. The Director can simply say "I am operating the camera" and that is that. Imagine telling Mr. Speilberg not to touch the camera:) I have worked with Directors who like to operate the camera at times and in that situation I try my best to support that Director in any way I can - such as making sure a handheld camera is set up in a user freindly way or clearing trip hazards from the path. I would also watch the monitor if possible to let the Director know if there was any kind of problem (c-stand in shot?) or maybe a possible improvement. I have seen a Director take over operating a camera when the operator has not gotten the shot like the Director wants - and that is an ego crushing scene for sure. But we are here at the discretion of the Director and DP so a thick skin can be an important asset as a camera operator! The more common situation I have seen is that a DP will hire an operator to 'stand by' while the DP does the operating. In some cases this might be a pretty good deal - I would jump at the chance to watch Bob Richardson work and get paid for it to boot. Regards, Neal Norton Camera Operator

My 2 cents: the easyrig is not a great solution with a pkg as small and top heavy as a C300. The easyrig tends to exagerate the top heavy oscilation of the camera. I really like the easyrig with a large camera like a Panavision Platinum when planted for dialogue - but even then when moving it makes for some pretty lively movement. You might try the "softball" trick with long lenses. Bolt a softball to the bottom center of your camera and then rest the softball on a hard surface like the nose of a dolly or a Pancake attached to a stand with a pigeon. It ends up being quite "rock n roll" with out making for a nauseating shot. You should be able to go pretty long like this maybe 150-200mm. Neal norton

I am selling an Alexa EV. Camera includes HS License. The camera is in very good condition with low hours. $65,000 Located in Florida. Contact: neal@gulfcamera.com