Anna Byrne

Shift 4 Cine is an exciting and innovative flagship cinematography facility that has, until now, only been available to camera crews in the USA & Europe. For over ten years, the long-established Shift 4 has gathered an experienced team, collected top-of-the-range tools, and designed an adaptable & stylish unit specifically crafted to help DPs, Directors & Producers create the visual grammar for their projects. For more details of the game-changing technical features, including their new MYT Works Opti-Glide systems across all the prep bays, projector & feature testing rooms, go to www.shift-4.com/Shift4Cine The versatile Look Development Studio is a clear departure from the way lens tests are traditionally achieved. Their fresh approach incorporates all the technical markers DPs look for within the testing process, including built-in LEDs & lightboxes, as well as the choice for either natural or DMX controlled lighting, textured surfaces, and modular furniture. In the adjoining room there’s a fully connected Viewing and Grading suite with DaVinci Resolve for a LUT stress testing and development process. Of course, they have a vast collection of glass (Anamorphic, Spherical, Super35, Full Frame, Vintage or Modern) but if you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, their four-strong engineering team is rolling out the Special Optical Projects where they’ll be tweaking, tuning, reworking, and building optical tools and custom looks, giving cinematographers access into new ways of seeing the world. If you have a specific look in mind for your next project, or are keen to explore and develop one, get in touch with them at info@shift-4.com Hope to see you in London soon!

Hi all, I thought you might like to know all about the new and VERY rare LEITZ PRIMES from Leica/Leitz! They're spherical cine lenses and produce incredible, vintage-like rainbow flares. Leitz claim the Leitz Primes are ‘the best of the best’. As Shift 4 are the only UK rental company stocking this state-of-the-art lens set, they invited some of the UK’s most talented Cinematographers, DoPs, Focus Pullers and Camera Operators to a lens test and also shot a short film to investigate the Leitz claim. Then they wrote an article all about them. Read the full article here - it includes downloadable 6K RAW files, which I thought you might be interested in so you can make your own assessment on them! Suitable for high-end productions, you may have already seen the Leitz Primes in action. Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC ISC shot Cyrano (2021), awarding him a nomination at the BSC Awards for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature; Balazs Bolygo BSC HSC used them on the Netflix series Anatomy of a Scandal (2022) and Tony Miller BSC shot the highly anticipated Mr. Malcolm’s List (2022) with the Leitz Primes, which is coming to screens in July 2022. The Leitz Primes are full frame, fast and spherical lenses, designed from the ground up and are very different to other Leitz lenses. Shift 4 have a set of 12 focal lengths available (ranging from 18mm-180mm) and sought to offer the community a varied and professional review of their capabilities. Get your RAW footage HERE!

Hi all! In case anyone wants RAW footage of the Leitz Primes Lens Test, Shift 4 have just written a mega article all about them with downloadable files! Read the full article here.

Hi all, Just enquiring about the new Leitz Primes, has anyone used them on here? Cyrano was filmed on them, which was beautifully shot by Seamus McGarvey, as well as Anatomy of a Scandal (not the best plot in the world but wonderfully shot). I've heard Shift 4 have a set, and they're in London which is great. Apparently they have a lens test demo coming out, but just waiting for that. Mostly, I just want to know if anyone has any thoughts on the Leitz Primes? They're expensive, but that has to be for a good reason, right?

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Hi Phil, I'm Anna and am really interested in camera & lighting assisting. I'm a complete beginner, however, I've been working in a kitroom for the last month - but in a marketing role (though I spend a lot of time in the kitroom itself, not just stuck on a computer). I'd really like to get some hands-on experience on set as it's becoming ever-more clear to me that I want to continue working in the screen industries (previous life has been theatre and live performance-based). As i have access to a lot of kit I can definitely get familiar with what you'll be using before the 16th. Also, I have an MA from RADA so very familiar with Shakespeare, and I'm East London based so travel etc is all do-able. Looking forward to hearing from you, Anna