Camerimage 2019

Camerimage in Poland is one of the world’s leading film festival with a focus on the art of Cinematography. Now in its 27th year the festival has gone from strength to strength. 2019's festival was my fourth and there is lots to report. The festival was a little different to the previous three I have attended due to a relocation to Toruń from Bydgoszcz. The new location is much the same as the previous in that its based in a large town with a medieval history. 

Torun city wall

Statue of Copernicus

The main festival hall was based at the CKK Jordanki, a fantastic contemporary theatre with more than sufficient space to house the excellent marketplace of companies from the world of camera and lighting through to pre and postproduction facilities. However whilst attending the festival I heard of the exciting plans to build a permanent CAMERIMAGE European Film Centre on a disused site a five minute walk from the CKK. The centre will be for research and training in the area of filmmaking all year round and not just during the festival – a great asset to Toruń and the wider community and Camerimage festivals to come!

CKK Jordanki main festival hall

The festival site consists of many locations for workshops and seminars held by leading figures from the cinematography discipline. One such venue this year was a local high schools hall that made a fantastic location for a set construction to display live demonstrations of camera and lighting set ups. I attend one such event run by Canon and lead by Claudia Raschke a leading documentary maker who creates films using the Cinema Verite style.

Workshop centre directions

Claudia Raschke workshop

I also had the chance to attend the ARRI seminar on connectivity. ARRI are one of the leading camera and lighting companies in the world. Created by two friends Arnold and Richter (AR + RI = ARRI) ARRI was born in 1917. Today the company offers training and their seminars and workshops are leading the way to understanding the now very complex landscape of camera technology cinematographers are faced with understanding. Look up tables (LUTs), metadata, wireless connectivity and camera access protocol (CAP) being just a few things covered in this in-depth seminar.

As well as the fantastic workshops and seminars the festival is predominantly a film festival like any other, with awards presented in all major categories of filmmaking. The main festival winners (Golden Frogs) this year where 1st place Joker, 2nd place The Two Popes and 3rd place The Painted Bird plus there were also awards for best documentary Midnight Family, best music video for James Massiha ‘Natural Born Killers (Ride for Me)’ plus best music video Cinematography for the Jon Hopkins ‘Singularity’ and round table discussion of short films Lefty/Righty, Cactus Blossom and Boarder Crossing to name a few.

Award ceremony

Helena Trestikova documentary event

The whole experience of visiting Camerimage 2019 despite the change of location was a real treat and one to remember. Discovering all the new venues and seeing familiar faces in familiar scenarios made for a real adventure. The new home of Toruń looks set to be an interesting chapter in the Camerimage story. The ever-changing face of cinematography technology shows no sign of slowing and with other developments looming in the future such as computer gaming engines crossover into the film industry, events such as Camerimage are an essential calendar event for industry professionals.

Rose jam Paczki shop (Polish Doughnuts)

Flower stall at night

So, another Camerimage over and I have no doubt the organisers are already busy planning and refining the 2020 event to be even more impressive and integrated with the town of Toruń, which incidentally was the festivals birthplace in 1993. The previous site of the festival, Bydgoszcz will always be a place I have fond memories of, and I will no doubt visit the town again in the future.

Web links:

Camerimage Festival

https://camerimage.pl/en/

Documentry filmmaker Claudia Raschke IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0711070/

Cinema Verite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9

ARRI 100 History

https://de-de.facebook.com/TeamARRI/videos/arris-history-1917-the-beginning/10156022267839061/

CAP app

https://pomfort.com/pocketcontrol/

ARRI LUTs

https://www.arri.com/en/learn-help/learn-help-camera-system/tools/lut-generator

Feature Films:

Joker

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7286456/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Two Popes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8404614/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The Painted Bird

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1667354/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Documentary Films:

Rene

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334606/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Katka

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1533061/?ref_=tt_sims_tti

Honey Land

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8991268/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Music Video:

James Massiha ‘Natural Born Killers (Ride for Me)

https://vimeo.com/358604086

Jon Hopkins ‘Singularity’

https://vimeo.com/290574571

Short Films:

Lefty/Righty

https://vimeo.com/375462263

Cactus Blossom

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10719304/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

Boarder Crossing

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10814852/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

F24 open day

Focus24 open day visit 11/07/2018

In 2013 I departed Focus24 (F24) to work at Goldsmiths, University of London. Back then F24 was based in a relatively new building on Central Street in the Old Street area of East London – a far cry from the humble beginnings on Hoxton Square. Today I have made the journey to Acton in West London to visit F24’s new digs on the well-known Park Royal Industrial Estate. Park Royal is home to some of the leading film equipment companies such as Panalux, Cirrolite, Take 2, VMI, SOLA Lighting and the now well-established studio facility Black Island Studios. The purpose of my visit – as well as to see F24’s new home – is to help establish industry contact and also to see what the latest trends are in the world of camera equipment hire.

The building is situated in amongst many like it – however on entering I was greeted by some well-dressed men who where pleased to see people where arriving. I signed in and made my way into a large function room with drinks and a huge flat screen TV (England V’s Croatia world cup semi-final). I got chatting to an old colleague I worked with on a short a few years back and then Ben Mitchell, F24’s owner, gave us a whirlwind tour of the facilities. Consisting of two large prep rooms, Lens collimation space (Gecko collimator & dark out room with projector) and a massive kit room floor with its own bay for an off road vehicle purpose built for filming. The bookings team have their own office and the hallways are decked out with inspiring film posters and comfy chairs for hanging out on. The space is brand spanking new and purpose built for the accommodation of pre-shoot test crews and equipment hire builds and processing to the highest standard.

Over the years since working at F24 I have increasingly noticed the name appear in credits of some of the most creative and technically excellent productions I have seen in commercials, music promos and independent films. When F24 acquired Filmscape Media in 2017, a well-established equipment hire company previously based at Pinewood studios and recently relocated to Acton, the F24 family expanded. With the addition of Motion24 and rummors of U24 in the pipeline, it seems F24 are well placed to weather the future. With other well-established companies just a stone throw away (Panavision, VMI, ARRI Rental etc.) this will be a space to watch in the world of film equipment hire over the coming years.

Web links:

Focus 24 http://focus24.tv/

Motion 24 https://motion24.tv/

F24 on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/focus24hire/

Other web links:

Goldsmiths https://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-filmmaking-cinematography/

Black Island Studio http://www.islandstudios.net/black-island-studios/

VMI https://vmi.tv/

Panalux http://www.panalux.biz/

Cirrolite http://www.cirrolite.com/

Panavision https://uk.panavision.com/

ARRI Rental https://www.arrirental.co.uk/

Filmscape https://www.filmscapemedia.com/

SOLA Lighting  http://www.solalights.com/light

Take2 http://take2films.co.uk/

Camerimage 2017

If you are interested in film and are serious about being a Cinematographer then I would highly recommend getting a small group of friends together and visiting the Camerimage festival in Bydgoscve, Poland. Comprising of a small equipment market area most events are held at the Opera Nova in the town centre. However there are many other events held all over the place in varying venues so well worth exploring - plus the old town is a good place for sightseeing and photography. Here are some notes I made whilst visiting Camerimage 2017.

Step onboard

Sunrise on plane

Opera Nova - Camerimage 2017

Having arrived in Poland and familiarised myself with the local surroundings I headed into Bydgoscve center to my first proper day at Camerimage. I made my way to the main event venue ‘Opera Nova’ to assess the schedule and purchasing ticket passes. I decided not to get a week long pass but to instead buy individual passes for specific events (writing this up after the end of the festival I think I should have just brought a weekly pass even though I was only visiting until the Tuesday - full week passes are 390 Zloty - that's about £60). By only purchasing tickets for specific events I found myself having to think a lot more about when and where I could be and uncertain if I could buy a ticket as some events only went on sale 10 mins before they started. The up side however was I wanted to try and do the festival on a budget and managed to do this. a seminar cost 10 zloty and a screening also.

Bus timetable

Local shop near my digs

Airbnb

Im inside the Multikeno in Bydgoscve Poland and am sitting in the waiting area outside the screening rooms. I accidentally bought a ticket for Cocaine Grandmother when I actually asked for a ticket to the Darren Aronofsky film Mother! (Im blaming language translation barrier - i,e I can't speak Polish) Now I am sitting here thinking actually I could try and sneak into the screening I wanted to see that also has a Q&A with Chris Doyle and Anthony Dog Mantis. The staff look like they are quite organised but I don’t know if they will check tickets on entry to the screening rooms. I will sit here and observe what happens. Sometimes I know that after the film starts the steward leaves or sits down. If it is full then it could be very embarrassing but if it isn’t it could be a good event to attend.

Dinner

Selfie with Christopher Doyle

Well I managed to blag my way through in the company of the visiting Cinematographers and got a good seat. We watched Christopher Doyles latest film ‘The White Girl’ and then after Christopher Doyle, Anthony Dod Mantel, Ed Lachmen and Jenny Suen (Director of The White Girl) sat at the front of the cinema and the ‘Like a Virgin’ discussion started. The concept of the discussion was 'how does each member of the panel keep their approach to film fresh and virgin like'. 

Festival graphics

Like a Virgin discussion

'Like a virgin' music video clip

Canon workshop

Stephen Goldblatt the Cinematographer holding this workshop worked with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda on ‘Our souls at Night’ and in that film he shot them in a bedroom scene. For the workshop he wanted to demonstrate how to light people of age in a flattering way. Also how to film actors in darkness or give the impression of darkness. Modern high sensitivity cameras can film in virtual darkness but the lighting will be flat or unmotivated. Physically on set actors need light to work with and as the audience we need to see their eyes lit.

Workshop with Stephen Goldblatt (ASC BSC)

Lighting demonstration

Recreating a scene from 'Our souls at night'

Our Souls at Night still

Stephen went on to talk about the importance of pre shoot tests. He suggested testing everything prior to the actual shoot. Things that might need testing are wardrobe choices - these may include patterns, textures, qualities that change under different lighting conditions. Make-up, set design also should be looked at. Materials used on screen should be thoroughly checked under varying conditions. On set there won’t be time to experiment as much as in pre-production - shoot tests. It is the Cinematographers responsibility - even if not requested by the production to proactively pursue these things. On set small tweaks that require a lot of attention and focus might not be possible during the chaos of a busy shoot.

He talked about how actors are just people and they have their own personalities and ways of doing things like everyone else. Pre-shoot meetings should occur to allow understanding of each other to develop. When working with actresses they tend to have a strong idea of how they would like to be lit - may have a preferred side of the face. People of age may want to be lit in a flattering way to ensure they are represented as best can be.

A mention of how eye lines are a huge part of the communication with the audience. Techniques like tape on matt box to enable consistent eye lines. Most actors are familiar with the idea of not making eye contact when delivering lines. Using high ISO/Sensitive camera’s used to have lots of lights for example in the 1993 film The Pelican Brief scene on Madison Steet would have used lots of lights to achieve the shot. Now days its possible to achieve the same shot but without an army of trucks and people. Shouldn’t shoot wide open either as you want a large depth of field to see the location as its a part of the story.

Video clip here

Hawk Anamorphic Lenses discussion panel
Attendies: Magdelena Gorka PSC // Andrej Bartkowisk ASC // Stuart Dryburgh ASC // Peter Flinchenberg PSC // Peter Martin (Hawk) // Daniel Pearl ASC

Panel at Hawk Anamorphic Lens Discussion

3 x ranges of lens to cater for different types of sensor.

Mini Hawks - Hybrid anamorphic - 9 primes and 2 zooms

Hawk Class-X - 2X anamorphic - 9 Primes and 2 zooms

Hawk65 - Large format anamorphic - ranges from 40mm to 150mm

Daniel Pearl - Likes the detail in the bokeh after the de-squeez. He only uses rec709 in all his work as used to the solid workflow and can light to the final look.

Mag’s - Likes to stamp the image (creating a destructive/burnt in style that cant be removed from the shots) as knows won’t be part of the grading process.

Andraej - Critical focus is difficult. Finding a consistent look important.

Stewart - Film reference ‘The Secret life of Walter Mitty' he used 1.3X on 3 perth film. 16:9 on Alexa ST also mentioned 16mm.

Peter - Film reference 'Concrete Night’ Uses mixed lenses. Cinematographers loosing the chance to make magic so should embrace the chances to make magical images. Used zoom series (mini hawks).

A member of the audience asked about the use of filters with anamorphic lenses. Mag’s replied that she uses a lot of things to destruct the image as much as possible to create unique look. Stewart mentioned that when filming women he creates image adaptation by placing nets in front of and behind the lenses.

It was also great to witness the enthusiasm of Wayne Isham and his whirlwind tour of some of the amazing back catalogue of music videos he has made since a lucky break after putting together a Jimi Hendrix archive clip in his old job. He has directed videos for the likes of Metallica, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Foo Fighters, One Republic, Sheryl Crow and Richy Martin to name a few.

Wayne Isham 'choreography of images' event

As well as these events I have mentioned there are also some fantastic networking opportunities and the town of Bydgoscve is well worth exploring. This year also saw the appearance of David Lynch showing his latest Twin Peaks series (Episode 1 & 2) and holding a Q&A after with great insight into his process to filmmaking. The neighbouring town of Torun held an exhibition of his work. Once again I would highly recommend attending Camerimage if Filmmaking and Cinematography are your interest.

David Lynch Q&A

Me on my way home

Screenings:
The White Girl (2017)
Cocaine Grandmother (2017)
Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series (Episode 1 & 2)

Weblinks:

Hawk Lenses

Camerimage festival website

Sound Art Exhibition

Goldsmiths University in New Cross has played a large part in my development as a camera operator. Through studying the MA in Filmmaking I developed a solid understanding of cinematic techniques and the importance of team work in filmmaking. Recently I returned to Goldsmiths as a member of staff working in the Media and Communications department as a technical advisor. Once again I find myself pushing the boundaries of my filmmaking knowledge and further developing my own understanding of digital cameras and the filmmaking workflow. Through practicing with my own work I maintain my knowledge and skill set to the best it can be. Here is a short video clip I pieced together using a BMPCC and Adobe Premier Pro. The piece covers a research exhibition called 'From me flows what you call time' and features work by Goldsmiths, Slade and RCA researchers.

Building the Filmable Pinhole Camera on location

The build was pretty stressful and involved all hands available to achieve. We started by measuring four feet between the image plane, and the Sony EX1 camera, on the lengths of wood I had purchased from Wickes the night before. Then we placed the planks of wood on a step-ladder and a rubbish bin as a temporary resting place. The aim was to replace the bin with two legs that where adjustable in height. To achieve the next stage of construction we needed to establish the final location of the camera which would be on a incline of 10 degrees – this would need to be factored into the positioning of the legs on the front of the system. We where now running short of time to achieve the shot before the train departed on its next hour long journey. Dan Duran found time to help and we soon had the system nearly complete. Our next challenge was to move it to the other end of the station where we would be filming. To do this we moved it in sections and then finalised construction on arrival. Once the system was in place and the camera was focused and fixed we sealed out any ambient light so as to achieve a bright enough image on the image plane. Once the camera was sealed in it became very difficult to make any adjustments to the framing etc.

 

The Town of Figure Eight - Shoot Day 1

After an hour and a half journey we arrived at Chinnor Steam Railway for a 9am start. There was a few different shots we needed to achieve throughout the day. The first was a shot from the back of the train going through the country side using a HD hero - excellent for shooting in tough locations where there is a risk of potential damage to the camera. The only draw back of the HD hero is the fact it can only shoot at 30 frames a second - not ideal for TV broadcasting (firmware update now available for 25 fps shooting). However this was fine for us as we intend to use the footage for back projection. After the first train run we knew were we where with that shot and had it under control. This meant I could now move my attention over to constructing the Filmable Pinhole Camera System ready for the shot scheduled for around 12ish.

The day before the shoot

I had to work on the Saturday before the shoot and knew that when I finished I would need to go straight to B&Q to purchase some last minute items to enable the Filmable Pinhole Camera system to work. I checked the closing time and had two hours to achieve my goal. On my way from Lewisham on the bus too Greenwich. I suddenly remembered that there is a Wicks building suppliers a lot closer and walkable to Dan Duran's place - perfect to drop of the materials for transport to the Chinnor location at 7.30am the next morning. So I jumped off the bus and walked the five minutes journey. When I arrived at Wicks I asked for a pen and paper so I could sketch out a rough design of how the system may work.

Rough design of frame

More rough designs

I set about shopping for the materials I believed would be needed to construct a frame that would both give enough length for the four feet minimum distance for focus and enable a light proof space around the image plane and the Sony EX1. It was now very clear we would have our work cut out for us in the morning.

Final test and finishing touches

Now that we had a system that produced an image bright enough to be filmed, it was time to do just that. I took the box round to Dan Duran's house as he owns the Sony EX1 Camera we would be using for the actual shoot on the weekend. We set up the filmable pinhole camera in the front room at night and soon realised creating enough light to replicate the daylight situation we would be filming in would be hard. So instead I borrowed Dan's light box and placed an X using black gaffa tape on the middle of it so as to be able to clearly see a focus mark. I then set about moving the light box with the X on backwards and forwards to get a better understanding of the depth of field and focal length of the lens. Form this test it became very clear the distance between the EX1 and the image plane would need to be around about four feet. This I believe was due to the low light situation and the need to zoom the image slightly for framing. Whilst the box was at Dan's he kindly sprayed the inside black so as to reduce the amount of light bouncing around inside. We also found time somehow to smarten it up for the imminent shoot date on Sunday at Chinnor Steam Railway. To do this we coated the now tatty outside of the box with white card and decorated the hole around the lens with a flaming trim.

Testing focus

Now that a lens had been incorporated into the filmable pinhole camera system I needed to know how much of the image would be in focus due to the fact that using a lens creates what is called Depth of Field. I also needed to test how to set the focal distance by moving the lens nearer and further away from the image plane. To determine this I decided to create a basic test outside my house using some homemade distance markers and a brick wall.

Focus Markers on brick wall

Filmable Pinhole Camera Focus/Depth of Field test

By measuring in five feet increments I could get a rough idea of how close or far the subject of our film should be for a good focus to be achieved. I started by setting up the first marker five feet from the box and then the others in further five feet steps as shown in the picture above.  I then took a series of photographs of the resulting image created inside the box moving the lens each time.

Focus Test 1

The first photo above clearly shows the focus to be around the first marker placed at five feet from the box. The wall around the marker is a good way of seeing the depth of field - what is in focus. I marked the position of the lens from the image plane and moved it a few millimeters to see how the focus changes in the next picture bellow.

Focus Test 2

The second photo at the new lens position shows how the focal length was affected as the 10 and fifteen feet markers are now sharper focus than the five feet marker. Also the depth of field appears to be larger in this photo.

Focus Test 3

In this photo I have moved the lens once more increasing the focal distance. All markers are now soft focus and the road and houses in the background are sharp focus. Both the focal distance and the depth of field have increased significantly in this photo.

This test, although very rough, did help cement a few issues with the system. I now knew roughly how far the box would have to be placed away from the subject of our film. I also knew the light level of the image would be sufficient for the Sony EX1 we had planed to use for filming inside the box. The introduction of a lens with a small pinhole style aperture in front of it meant we now had an adaptable system capable of capturing an interesting image.

Experimentation with Lenses

To start with I worked with the smaller lenses from the slide viewer to see what results I could get. The first thing I noticed was the image tended to be sharp in the middle, but very soft towards the edges. This effect looked interesting and Dan Duran liked it initially. However we decided a vignetted look was clearer and introduced a piece of tube to the front of the lens to control the light. Essentially we only wanted to use the center of the lens.

The first images I achieved worked, but where too small. The focal distance from the lens to the image plane was very small, meaning the image plane had to be very close to the back of the lens, creating a small image. The picture bellow was taken with ambient light leaking through - but an image can clearly be seen, which was a vast improvement on my earlier experiments with just a hole in tinfoil.

I then set about testing the overhead projector lens using the same vignetting tube effect. I placed the lens on the front of the box I had constructed and then sealed out any ambient light.

I now felt very good about the filmable pinhole camera system, and positive a good result could be achieved for the shoot that had now been scheduled. The next thing to do was test the depth of field issues created by introducing a lens to the system and also to finalize the actual shooting set up incorporating the digital film camera.

Lens Introduction

To achieve an image with enough light to be filmed by the Sony EX1 camera, a lens is needed. By simply using a pinhole alone, with a clear focus, means the hole has to be very small. If the hole is large enough to give a good light level it means the focus goes soft. The lens we have is from an overhead projector and has a very large projection size (thanks to Val for lending it to us).

I also dismantled an old photographic slide viewer I had knocking around which delivered some positive results also. The lenses from the slide viewer are a lot smaller and created much smaller images than the projector lens shown above.

I set about experimenting with the different lenses I now had in the hope of achieving a much brighter image. I did however know that by introducing a lens into the filmable pinhole camera system I would be looking at issues with depth of field, image size and perspective, which isn't such a problem with an image created by a simple hole in a piece of tinfoil.