LENS CHOICES - “Invasion” season 2. Apple TV+
Here’s a nice wee selection of stills from the above show that I shot a few years ago in the UK & South Africa, and I must give a special shout out to the amazing production designer @simonrogers_productiondesigner who built the most incredible sets. The stills highlight the creative decisions behind lens choices for storylines, and showcase a beautiful array of Panavision classic lenses. I’m not sure I’ll ever work on a show again with so many lenses. 👻 Our director Brad Andersen had me running around like a lunatic, but I loved his bold visual choices & bonhomie.
Pics 1+2. Ultra & APO Panatars were used for this section of story charting the characters’ journey through mid west USA & these anamorphics were so beautiful. Totally individual flares & a slightly low con look - which I love - and we had the 35mm which is truly unique & the case has to be opened to a fanfare or trumpets & flying angels.
Pics 3+4. The absolute classic G series anamorphics felt right for the slightly more sci-fi section of story which included dream sequences and space ship interiors with a lotta vfx. More predictable across the range but still individual characteristics.
Pics 5+6. This section of story charted the kids journey from London to Paris and needed to be grittier and rooted in realism. We used PV vintage sphericals using a 2.39:1 extraction with less flare & less distortion towards edges. I mean, still beautiful. And was able to use some wider focal lengths for the channel tunnel sequences.
Pic 7. Sometimes you need to pragmatic with lens choices & we needed a man anamorphic zoom to match the G series to use on a big technocrane day in a cornfield with huge vistas. The T series 37-85mm was the choice & though a bit more contrasty than the Gs with deeper blacks it got us through the day & nothing the DIT couldn’t tweak for rushes.
#panavisionlenses #appletvplus #cinematography #cinematographer #doplife🎥🎬
@itg_ltd@panavisionofficial@bscine@iscinedop
Expressions of Interest: Cinematography Series
This series would deliver a small number of online and in-person sessions for aspiring and emerging cinematographers, including practitioner Q&As, project-based masterclasses, camera equipment demonstrations, and career-focused discussions. The programme would focus on sharing real-world experience, practical decision-making, and routes into professional work, while providing opportunities for participants to ask questions and make industry connections.
Deadline for expressions of interest, Monday March 9th, 2pm.
📍 Location TBC
⛓️💥 Link in bio
Crew Academy East is managed by @clermonthub@nationaltalentacademies@screenireland@screenguilds@wicklowcoco@iscinedop
#ScreenSkills
#IrishFilmCrew
#Upskill
#Accessibility Alt text in image
“For the soft lucid moonlight I wanted, gaffer Shawn White built a series of large soft boxes into the ceilings of the stage, as tightly packed as possible, which gave me a very large soft ambience source, which could work both for day, evening and night. I augmented the soft boxes with Domino moving lights and Cineo Quantum’s that could give me a mix of both hard and soft backlight wherever I needed it. The edges of the stage were also ringed with a mix of Large Tungsten units for punchy sunlight during our day and evening work.
For close ups we used what Shawn would call “Noodles”, which were Astera tubes wrapped in the thick white foam used to protect scaffold tubes. That gave me a very soft light that was incredibly lightweight, which I could hide behind furniture, or rig anywhere. We built small lightweight corex boxes for them so they wouldn’t be reflected in any glass surfaces, and if we needed an even softer light we could just add 4x4 frames of diffusion.
We used a lot of different tools to move the camera but primarily we worked in a conventional way using dolly and Steadicam, switching to handheld for some of the more intense scenes. For anything set in or around the pool we used a series of inflatable rigs that Key Grip Malcolm Huse built, which allowed my operator, Jon Beacham, to keep the camera right at the water level, giving him the freedom to track with the cast around the pool almost like a handheld camera. We had a Scorpio 45 crane on hand to reach out across the water and shoot anything where we wanted to connect the dry side to the water or if we wanted to glide across the waters surface to the set.
Working with the Anamorphic format is a fantastic way to elevate the blocking of an ensemble piece like this. You can use the depth axis to reveal a character in a more interesting way or my favourite is having someone move from a mid shot into their own close up. I specifically chose the T-series because of their small size and excellent close focus which meant I could also use them in our scuba housing for the pool work”.
BTS photos @garethgatrell@deswilliephoto@primatemovie@shawn21000@jonnyb_camop
REGISTER NOW! Our first Q&A celebrating Women’s History Month and hosted by the BSC E&I committee is this Saturday with Emmy and BAFTA nominated #Cinematographer, Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC (@suziecine ).
Suzie’s range of work is a credit to her talent - from the global phenomenon that is #NormalPeople and #severance to her IFTA winning work on #OneHundredMornings or BIFA nominated work on #TheEndWeStartFrom.
This Q&A is open to all and is the first of four we hope to run to celebrate some of the amazing women we have in our society.
Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VoNEYHToSiWnjQWcFiw7RQ#/registration (for Instagram users the link is in our bio).
#suzielavelle @iscinedop #cinematographer #dop #filmmaking #movies #television #womeninfilm #masterclass #womenshistory #iwd
The Irish Society of Cinematographers (ISC) has elected JJ Rolfe ISC as its new President, taking on his new role in April. JJ graduated from Ireland’s prestigious IADT in 2007 and has been working consistently in Film and TV drama ever since, with credits on “Witness Number 3”, “The Night Caller”, and his IFTA nominated work on the smash hit “Kin”. “I’m delighted and honoured to begin my term as President of the ISC. My goal is to follow the great work Stephen and Tim have done in pushing forward the society and I hope to continue with their positive energy” said JJ.
Outgoing President Stephen Murphy BSC, ISC had this to say: “I am delighted to see JJ take over the society and hopefully make it his own. He is a fantastic Cinematographer and wonderful human being and I know he’ll help the society keep moving forward. He’s been a great help to me during my term, sitting on our Board of Governors and representing the society on the IMAGO board. I’m really excited to see where he takes the society next”.
The Irish Society of Cinematographers (ISC) aims to promote and nurture the craft of Irish Cinematography. More info can be found on their website @rolfejj photo by @neiljsmyth
The ISC will be running a unique 2 part Masterclass on Shooting on Film, in Dublin beginning on Friday March 21st.
Join Cinematographers Robbie Ryan BSC, ISC and Stephen Murphy BSC, ISC in a masterclass designed for Cinematographers to learn more about shooting on Celluloid.
In part 1 Robbie and Stephen will shoot tests on both 35mm and S16mm exploring normal, push and pull processing, discussing their working methods, use of light meters, and how they evaluate their exposures under different lighting scenarios.
In Part 2 of the Masterclass on Sat March 29th (Date TBC) the processed and scanned Film will then be viewed and evaluated in 4K at Gabha Post in Dublin.
This masterclass is supported by @screenireland , @panavisionofficial@kodak_shootfilm@cinelabuk@teachsolais and @gabhastudios
Spaces are strictly limited. Please apply with CV and Cover Letter to [email protected] before March 15th.
