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Elite Anamorphics


GregIrwin

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OK, you can't just tease about the acid trip. Come on...out with it Mitch! It sounds too good to be kept quiet.

Sorry, it sounds better as a tease than the actual story. We figured it out in about ten seconds and had a PA take him home. But it was really fun trying to instantly recast the role (he was just a day player), call his agent and explain to the production office why shooting was delayed. I relished standing there listening to the AD's half of the conversations as he made the calls. Classic on-set moment--I almost filmed it for the wrap party. I do recall him writing a wonderfully obtuse entry into the Production Log (nobody was looking to destroy this actor's life).

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Greg

 

Regarding the tests for anamorphic lenes (flatness, sharpness etc...) you described in last years forum, do you find that the Primos, being newer lenses, have less variations from lens to lens than the C-Series and E-Series?

 

Max

Hi Max,

 

I'm not a big fan of the Primo anamorphics. Yes they have less variation between them when compared to the "C" and "E"'s but they have much more astigmatism in the glass and they are HUGE!!! Their size and weight can be a limiting factor when you want to steadicam or hand-hold the camera.

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I think Coke is the worst thing with actors, they are really keen, lots of passion an energy, and they can't focus to get through their lines. I reacll a bout three years a go working with an actor in to do a guest spot on an episodic sci fi thing i was working on, and he could not get theough a line... We had to piece together his performance with different angles, cudos to the editor, they considered recasting, but the director rallied for him and worked through the problems. Oh and then the lead actress walked off of the riser and took a tumble, blinded by the UV lights used in the scene, they flouresce yoour ineer eye fluid. SHE was and is a trouper, one of the few cast members I am still in some regular contact with. The other non intoxified thespians don't like it either....

We had another female lead who was not so nice on another series, and oh yeah, delays, difficult behaviour, ooutrageous stuff, missing a plane to come back form new york.....screaming for silence....oh it was delightful....Her co star on her last day toally told her off. The crew was absolutley silent.......it was beautiful. :)

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After all this actor bashing I feel I should point out that I'ce worked with some incredibly nice and professional people in my time. Bill Cosby personally called crew people the next day to thank them, and anyone who got the message on their answer machine was sure to save it. Max von Sydow was nice enough to appear in a Columbia University student film years ago as a favor and when the shooting was done began helping the students carry the equipment back to the van. I think he was in his sixties at the time. And I've had plenty of actors show up on set on days they're not in a scene simply to support their fellow cast members in their work, generally on unpaid time.

 

But the naughty stories are a lot of fun.

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After all this actor bashing I feel I should point out that I'ce worked with some incredibly nice and professional people in my time.

 

But the naughty stories are a lot of fun.

That goes to show you that people often remember the bad behavior long before they remember the good behavior. That goes for crew too. Tiger Woods actually ran around helping pick up golf balls on an American Express commercial I did with him. He was really great all day. It helps having nice and friendly talent when working with Joe Pytka. I think Joe was actually yelling at Tiger to pick up the balls faster! :huh: And on top of it all Tiger had the flu and didn't complain about it one bit. Class act. I have a bunch of other fond memories of actors, but Mitch is right, it's more fun to talk about the bad stuff.

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So far most of the famous actors I have worked with, I have found to be very professional and friendly. Obviously it's always a plus to work with people over a longer period of time, so one gets to know each other after a while.

 

The only exception to that is someone who isn't even a star (although he'd like to think he is): Dolph Lundgren. He also is the only actor I have ever encountered who comes to set with an 'entourage'.

 

Max

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  • 3 weeks later...
Are Elites the rehoused Lomo lenses?

No. They are brand new optics manufactured in Russia. They are not available in any other lens. The original Hawks and the PowerScopes used old Russian anamorphic optics rehoused and reworked, but the Elites are all new (as are the V-series Hawks).

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How is the breathing compared to the Hawks V-Series (which are not too good in that department)?

 

Also you said you wanted to use steadicam a lot, but since the Elites are very heavy (between 5 and 6 Kilos), how do you/your operator plan to deal with that?

 

 

Max

 

PS: There is a new, lighter series of the Elites currently being developped in St. Petersburg.

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The breathing is there, but it wasn't that terrible to me. Less than the Hawk V-series. My operator & I checked the Elites out together and decided that he could deal with them up to the 100mm size with no problem, but after that it could be a bit of a job. The problem wasn't the weight as much as the distribution of the weight, which was way out near the front of the lens. And past 100mm those lenses got to be something like 14 inches long. We also discussed some bridge support rod assemblies, since all of the Elites require a lens support. But the rental house was happy to work with us on machining some parts and nothing was impossible. The feature has been delayed due to some casting issues but we're hoping for April or May, so we'll see. I did hear rumour of a new set of Elites but don't know any details. Have anything to share?

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I am glad to hear that the Elites have less breathing problems than the Hawks, because that was one aspect I didn't like about the Hawks. Since Arri Munich will probably start to rent out the Elites soon, so I'm hoping to use them on my next project.

 

I used the Hawks V-Series recently and it was very hard on the steadicam operator, since we were shooting with a Moviecam SL, so the whole camera setup was very front-heavy. Handheld also was very uncomortable to operate, so I guess with such heavy lenses one best uses a heavier camera as well, for better weight distribution. Which camera do you plan to use on the your feature?

 

I was told by someone who visited the Elite Manufacturers in St. Petersburg recently that they are developping a new set of lenses, which is lighter, but optically just as good as the current version of the Elites. He said that they look to reduce the breathing even further. If I'm not mistaken, the anamorhic element will be at the back of the lenses as well.

 

I hope they develop a zoom lens as well, something similar to the Hawk 46-230mm lens, with a decent t-stop. Which zoom lens do you plan to use with the Elites?

 

Max

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We we're planning on using the Moviecam SL as well, although my Steadicam Op was going to buy a special plate to allow him to push the camera much further back for balance while still retaining rigidity. Either that or we'd switch to a Compact, which will be our A-camera.

 

I think the Hawks are actually a little lighter than the Elites, or perhaps it's more an issue of weight distribution. The longer Elites have all that weightout front, and they all have lens support mounts while I don't think any of the Hawks require a lens support except the longest ones.

 

Interesting to hear that they'll move the anamorphot to the rear. I'd be very interested to check out these lenses when they're available.

 

We weren't planning to use a zoom, but we'd likely get the small handheld Elite zoom with the package. It's tiny -- smaller than my personal Super-16 zoom -- and it's really meant for handheld or Steadicam use only for lightweight use. It's a spherical 25-80 with a tiny rear anamorphot adapter back that turns it into a 50-160. I wasn't thrilled by the optical performance and corner to corner sharpness, plus it had some strange quirks like it din't zoom at a constant speed as you turned the ring (slowed down suddenly in the telephoto end) and other strange bits. Good for music videos or other TV work where you might use it as your only lens, but I don't think I'd use it much for film finish.

 

One thing I really do like about the Hawks and Elites--the range. There's a lot of lenses in both sets and depending on your style that can be really important. The JDC sets are only four or five lenses, which is fine for most work but can hamper one's style if it's not appropriate for a particular film. That's part of the reason I turned to the Elites for this particular job.

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We also discussed some bridge support rod assemblies, since all of the Elites require a lens support.

I was at Slow Motion last week, and Anatoli showed me a couple Elite anamorphics that had just come back from a Chrysler commercial. These are indeed large lenses, and apparently the production had the camera waving around in the air on a Shotmaker, WITHOUT a lens support. Needeless to say the lens mounts were tweaked, and the camera didn't fare much better :(

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