Key ContactsDirector Sales & Marketing Dr. Rolf Slatter +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1384 rslatter@arri.de

ARRI Rental Deutschland Thomas Loher +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1440 tloher@arri.de

ARRI Film & TV Services Key Account: Angela Reedwisch +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1574 areedwisch@arri.de

ARRI Representative India: Thomas Nickel +91 - 98 2072 4312 thomasnickel@online.de

ARRI Film & TV Services National Sales: Walter Brus +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1772 wbrus@arri.de

ARRI Film & TV Services Feature & TV Drama: Josef Reidinger +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1339 jreidinger@arri.de

ARRI Film & TV Services Digital Film: Henning Rädlein +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1970 hraedlein@arri.de

ARRI Film & TV Services Sound: Thomas Till +49 - (0) 89 - 38 09 – 1292 ttill@arri.de

ARRI Lighting Solutions Sigrid Müller +49 - (0) 30 - 678 23 30 smueller@arri.de

ARRI (GB) Ltd., Don Harris +44 - (0) 1 89 54 57 000 dharris@arri-gb.com

ARRI Media, Philip Cooper +44 - (0) 1 89 54 57 100 pcooper@arrimedia.com

ARRI Lighting Rental, Tommy Moran +44 - (0) 1 89 54 57 200 tmoran@arrirental.com

ARRI Inc., Franz Wieser +1 - 845 - 353 - 1400 fwieser@arri.com

ARRI CSC (NY) Simon Broad, Hardwrick Johnson +1 - 212 - 757 - 0906 sbroad@cameraservice.com hjohnson@cameraservice.com

ARRI CSC (FL), Ed Stamm + 1 - 954 - 322 - 4545 estamm@cameraservice.com

Illumination Dynamics (LA) Carly Barber, Maria Carpenter + 1 - 818 - 686 - 6400 carly@illuminationdynamics.com maria@illuminationdynamics.com

Illumination Dynamics (NC), Jeff Pentek +1 - 704 - 679 - 9400 jeff@illuminationdynamics.com

ARRI Canada, Sebastien Laffoux +1 - 4 16 - 2 55 33 35 seb@arrican.com

ARRI Italia, Antonio Cazzaniga +39 - 02 - 26 22 71 75 acazzaniga@arri.it

ARRI Australia, Clemens Danzer + 61 (2) 9855 4300, + 61 (2) 9855 4301 cdanzer@arri.de

www.arri.com

ARNOLD & RICHTER CINE TECHNIK GmbH & Co. Betriebs KG Türkenstr. 89 · D-80799 München phone +49 - (0) 89 - 3809-0 fax +49 - (0) 89 - 3809-1245

Published by: Arnold & Richter Cine Technik, Türkenstr. 89, D-80799 München Editor, editorial office, text: Jochen Thieser (Executive Editor), Marita MüllerWith additional text by: Sven Beyer, Harald Brendel, Siobhan Daly, Christoph Fehn, Bob Fisher, Roman Gadner, Herbert van Hille, Fred Horne, Bill Lovell, David Macdonald, Thomas Nickel, Judith Petty, Angela Raguse, Timo Müller, Marc Shipman-Müller, Matthew J. Siegel, An Tran, Claudia WutzkeArtwork: add cooperation Uwe Heilig Mediendesign, lucie_pPrinted by: Rapp-Druck GmbH, Flintsbach

The opinions expressed by individuals quoted in articles in the ARRI NEWS do not necessarily represent those of ARRI or the editors of the ARRI NEWS.Because of our constant endeavour to improve quality and design, modifications may be made to products from time to time. Details of availability and specifications given in this publication are subject to change without notice.

Expo Calendar 2006_2007

These are the most important exhibitions where you can find out about ARRI products and services

2006

October 26 – 28 Broadcast India Mumbai

November 15 – 17 Inter Bee Tokyo

November 15 – 17 DV Expo West Los Angeles

November 20 – 23 NAT Expo Moscow

November_December 25 – 03 Camerimage Lodz

2007

March 28 – 31 Prolight & Sound Frankfurt

April 16 – 19 NAB Las Vegas

June 19 – 21 Showtech Berlin

June 19 – 22 Broadcast Asia Singapore

August 05 – 09 Siggraph San Diego

August 22 – 25 BIRTV Beijing

September 07 – 11 IBC Amsterdam

n e w s

I s s u e 1 1 / 2 0 0 6

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a r r I f l e x d - 2 0

C a m e r aTheMAXFiles:Par tII 56

NewSpotref lectorforARRIMAX18/12 58

MaxMoverTechnologyTestedtotheMax 59

PlAzAMedIA 60

ARRIStudioCeramic500 61

VolkswagenTV 62

ARRIl ightsUpInnovat iveeducat ionChannel eventandAutomot ivel ight ing 66

VideoForum2006–AHitforARRI(GB) 68

CinematographerStyleScreens 69 atAcademyofMot ionPicturesAr tsandSciences

ASelect ionofCurrent lyServicedProduct ions 70 ARRI Rental Germany · ARRI Media · ARRI Lighting Rental ARRI Lab – TV Drama · ARRI Sound · ARRI Commercials ARRI CSC · ARRI DI / VFX

TheTechnologyBehindthe416 04

developingthe416 10

First416Product ions 12

CineGearMasterClassFocuseson“TheNewSuper16” 17

FirstUlt ra16Product ions 18

TA X I 9211 –Super16inIndia 20

Super16downUnder 22

doggicamSystemsandARRIFleX235 24

onC H I l d R eN O F M eN Creat ingaBeePOV 25

MichaelBallhaus,ASConT H e d ePA R T ed 26

3Per forat ionsPayfordIonB l A C K d A H l I A 30

Goingthedistance:ClarkMathislensesR O C K y B A l B O A 34

G A N d H I My FAT H eR 36

FletcherChicagoBringsFilmGeartotheWindyCit y 42

MB-20SystemII 43 largeKnobforlFF-1 43

ARRIStepsOutatCineGearexpo 44

BIRTV2006 45

ARRIFleX416andARRIMAX18/12WincinecAwards 46

ImagicaRisesasthelargestARRIlASeR-drivenFacilityinJapan 47ARRISCANsArr iveateFIlM 48

GoldcrestAdoptsARRISCANintoWorkf lowFamily 49

R A N G d e B A S A N T I 50

Real-TimeScanningForlessThanAMillion 52

“Goal,Goal,Goal!“ 54 TheARRIFleXd-20CapturestheAct ionintheFootballStadium

L i g h t i n g

N e w s a r o u n d A R R I

S e r v i c e s

D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e

C o n t e n t

PHO

TO:

BER

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HU

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As ARRI approaches its 90th birthday next year, our company is especially proud of the many accom-plishments that we have had in 2006. We continue to reinvent 16 mm filmmaking with the ARRIFLEX 416. The new camera has been performing to much acclaim as it undergoes severe testing in its initial intro-duction phase. It’s an exciting time for 16 mm. Due to improvements in lens technology, film stocks and the availability of filmscanners such as the ARRISCAN, the Super 16 mm format has been elevated to the standard of what was expected of 35 mm film only a few years ago.

The 416 holds a special significance for us, since it represents our continuing commitment to support analog cameras. At the same time, we are constantly defining digital technology with advances in our D-20 high definition camera, ARRISCAN film recorder and ARRILASER. By using the latest technology to improve upon the best that traditional filmmaking has to offer, ARRI proudly has a hand in both the analog and digital world. With more than 200 ARRILASERs and a growing number of ARRISCANs being deployed at some of the world s most renowned digital postproduction sites, ARRI has become a major contributor to the growing worldwide Digital Intermediate business. The DI process integrates in the most elegant and perfect way the art of traditional film acquisition with the creative opportunities and the efficiency of digital postproduction.

Production versions of the D-20 camera have become available in America and Europe and are success-fully being used for commercials, high profile TV drama work and feature films. The cameras are working today in an HD workflow environment but significant R & D resources are being funneled into the D-20 project to directly interface the camera to the 2K DI workflow, thus bypassing HD limitations. We at ARRI are dedicated to the highest standards, but insist on leaving it up to the filmmaker to decide how to bring a vision to reality.

An amazing vision was recently captured in a powerful documentary that we are extremely proud of: C INEM ATOGR APHER ST YLE, directed by Jon Fauer, ASC. The film was produced by ARRI, Kodak and Technicolor and contains over 110 interviews with many of the most gifted cinematographers working today. C INEM ATOGR APHER ST YLE shows us true insight into filmmaking, artistic choices, how the cine-matographer influences technology – and vice versa.

C INEM ATOGR APHER ST YLE has already been accepted at a number of US based Film Festivals, such as LA Film Festival, Mill Valley, Denver and Hamptons. In Europe it will first be screened at the prestigious Camerimage Film Festival in Lodz, Poland.

ARRI is dedicated to providing the best possible tools for today’s filmmakers. Depending on the project and the look an artist desires, we strive to create a broad palette from which filmmakers can pick what best suits their visual realization. And it is these talented artists that push us to be better and continually challenge us not to be satisfied with what already exists. We look forward to what we can all accomplish together in the future.

Franz Kraus

Franz Kraus

E d i t o r i a l

TheTechnologyBehindthe416

The ARRIFLEX 416 shows tremendous

improvements over older Super 16

cameras in many areas. This is good

news for anyone wanting to use a

modern Super 16 camera to shoot for

standard definition or high definition

broadcast or for a theatrical release.

Many of the new features of the 416

have been described in detail in the 416

brochure and on the 416 website,

which also contains an ever-expanding

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

section. Here is a look at some of the

technologies behind those features.

Size&WeightThe 416 weight has been reduced by an amazing 25 % in contrast to the 16SR 3, when comparing a similar configuration including body, viewfinder, IVS and magazine. When comparing the 416 Plus to a 16SR 3 with UMC-3, the reduction in weight is even more: 28 %. These are not incremental, but substantial savings. In addition the 416 has a small, low profile shape. Low weight and small size were achieved through consequent miniaturization of elec-tronic components and the fact that all components, including the camera's and the magazine's main body, are machined out of solid blocks of special high strength aluminum, twice as strong as regular aluminum. The older cast aluminum process necessi-tated a certain thickness for the walls of each piece. By machining, it is possible to create much thinner walls and to design pieces with tighter tolerances while retaining the same mechanical strength. This also means components can be closer to each other, further reducing size.

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TheTechnologyBehindthe416

The inner skeleton of the 416 camera body before anodizing, machined out of a solid block of aluminum. Note the red rubber insulators that prevent vibrations from creating unwanted sound

The 416 camera body outer shell, also machined from a solid block of aluminum

The camera control panel display during the loop check procedure

TheloopCheckProcedure

After a new magazine has been attached or after camera power has been turned on, you should always push the PHASE button to make sure the pulldown claw properly engages into a perforation. This is the same as on the 16SR 3. Unlike the 16SR 3, though, the 416 has separate motors for camera and magazine and a smart processor, so this procedure can be automated and some extra safety features can be added. This new procedure is called “loop check”, and takes less than two seconds. During this pro-cedure, the control panel will display LooP.

During the loop check procedure, the pull-down claw will engage into a perforation. Then the camera will check loop sizes and center the loop properly. The camera will display a warning if loop size is too big (possibly resulting in scratches) or too small (which would lift the film of the spacer plate and make the image out of focus). While this happens, the camera also checks on the position of the mirror shutter and on the open mirror shutter angle.

If the RUN button is pushed without a previ-ous loop check, as can happen in the hectic environment of a shoot, the camera knows that the loop check has not been done and will perform it, resulting in a short delay before the camera comes up to speed, but avoiding freshly punched perforations and camera jams.

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The newly designed BAT connector is being stress tested through tens of thousands of connection / disconnection cycles on this special pneumatic rig, built by ARRI Austria, in a variety of temperature and humidity conditions

IntelligentBat tery Management

Battery management has always been an issue dear to the heart of users and manu-facturers alike. With the 416 and its Lithium-ion on-board battery OBB-2, ARRI is intro-ducing a smart battery management system that is based on the fact that camera and battery can communicate with each other. The BAT socket on the 416 is an exclusive new design created for ARRI by Fischer. The socket on the camera contains an extra receptacle for a communications pin, that is located in the connector on the battery. This ensures backwards compatibility with older connectors; you can still power the 416 with

ViewfinderEspecially in 16 mm, the quality of the view-finder is crucial so the operator can accu-rately judge the image. The 416 viewfinder optics have been re-designed from the ground up, incorporating fewer lens ele-ments of higher quality and a shorter optical path. The results are significantly higher contrast, higher resolution and a brighter image. This translates into many advantages on the set: judging focus is a lot easier, the image is clearly visible even at night, with high T-stops, with lots of filters or when an eyepiece extension is attached.

Magazine/CameraInterfaceHaving a strong motor in the camera and some sort of mechanical link between cam-era and magazine to drive the magazine is a robust and proven technology that has been used successfully in many ARRI cameras like the 35-3, the BL series and the 435. However, it has some disadvan-tages if you want to build the smallest and quietest camera possible. The ARRIFLEX 416 is the first 16 mm camera that has no mechanical linkage between camera and magazine.

First pioneered with the ARRIFLEX 765 and now used in the ARRICAM system and the 1000' 435 magazine, with modern techno-logy it is more efficient to place a motor in the camera and another one in the maga-zine and to have only power and commu-nication lines between the two. This cuts down on size and weight, as electronic components can be made very small. It also cuts down on the noise generated by the mechanical link.

The position of the magazine motor (left) and the movement / shutter motor (right)

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any regular Fischer 2 pin battery cable. But when the OBB-2 is connected to the 416, it can exchange information with the camera.

The OBB-2 is a smart battery, containing a chip that monitors battery behavior and creates a discharge profile. The LOW BAT display on the camera is in fact communi-cated by the battery based on that profile, a much more accurate way than the previous measuring of battery voltage in stand-by. The OBB-2 will also prevent any deep discharg-ing of its cells, a condition that has dramati-cally reduced the life of many batteries in the past.

Since the 416 viewfinder mechanical design is based on the ARRIFLEX 235 viewfinder it has the same freedom of movement and features. The 416 viewfinder can be freely rotated, extended or flipped to the other camera side for comfortable viewing in any camera position.

Image orientation can be set automatically or manually and medium or long eyepiece extensions can be used with no loss in image quality. Because of the large exit pupil the operator has more freedom to move without loosing the image – a great advantage when going hand held or shooting action sequences.

The OBB-2 can communicate its power draw while the camera is running. The camera records those values and averages them over time. The resulting average power draw allows the camera to show an accu-rate battery capacity display in percent, and how many more magazines can be run. Since this is based on the actual power con-sumption of the camera in the actual envi-ronment, it takes all connected accessories and environmental conditions like tempera-ture or humidity into consideration.

The new, smart on-board battery OBB-2 can run at least five magazines and keep camera and IVS in stand-by for over two hours

Old 16 mm camera viewfinder image ARRIFLEX 416 viewfinder image

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SoundInsulationThe 416 uses a completely new sound insulation design that makes it as quiet as an ARRICAM. An inner skeleton is suspended by symmetrically positioned rubber insula-tors in the outer shell. The camera's move-ment and other parts that create vibrations – and thus unwanted sound – are mounted to the inner skeleton. The insulators prevent any sound from the inner skeleton to radiate to the outer shell. The symmetrical position-ing of the insulators ensures that the flange focal distance stays constant so there is no change from heat or cold. The magazine design is based on the same concept.

To further reduce sound, all rotating parts have been dynamically balanced. For parts that are essentially flat, balancing would be achieved by strategically adding a counter-weight to make sure the center of mass is aligned with the center of rotation. This pro-cess is known as static or single-plane bal-ancing. Unfortunately, most rotating parts in a camera are not flat but have complex, three-dimensional shapes, like the mirror

Two of the hourglass shaped rubber insulators are visible here in the top right corner of the magazine

The motor and movement of the 416. The red item on the left is part of the 416 torque motor, which is

being used for balancing the movement. The red item on the right is a heavy metal counterweight.

Between the motor and the counterweight the move-ment can be dynamically balanced. The pin visible

behind the movement is the registration pin

416Versus416Plus

ARRI 16 mm Product Range 416 Plus 416 16SR 3 Advanced HS

Speed Range (fps) 1 – 75 1 – 75 5 – 150Shutter Angles (degrees) 45 – 180 45 – 180 45 – 180150 Degree Shutter Angle (1) yes yes noSound (dbA) < 20 < 20 < 29Weight (Kg / Lbs) (2) 5.7 / 12.6 5.5 / 12.1 7.8 / 17.2Viewfinder Quality +++ +++ +Viewfinder Handling +++ +++ +Viewfinder & Video Independent yes yes noARRIGLOW multi-color multi-color redIntegrated Video Assist yes yes noVideo Assist Quality +++ +++ +Video Image Enhancement yes yes noIntegrated Accessory Electronics yes no noLens Data Display Plug (3) yes no noTimecode yes yes yesMagazine Loads (meter/feet) (4) 120 / 400 120 / 400 120 / 400 and 240 / 800 (1) For 25 fps shooting with HMI, fluorescent and mercury vapor lights in 60 Hz countries(2) Body, viewfinder, loaded magazine, video assist(3) Lens Data Display can be connected to 416 Plus for Lens Data Archive (LDA) use (4) The 240 m / 800 ft magazine should only be run up to 75 fps

The 416 is available in two versions: 416 standard and 416 Plus. The 416 Plus has a wireless radio and electronics for lens motors integrated directly into the right side of the camera body. This avoids

the clutter of extra boxes and cables, and makes wireless focus a simple matter of turning on cam-era and focus controller, saving a tremendous amount if time in the process.

shutter or the movement. Their principal axis of inertia, the axis around which they want to rotate, doesn’t remain parallel to the axis of rotation, resulting in a “wobbling” during rotation. Dynamically balancing means designing the assemblies so that at least two counterweights are used to remove the wob-bling, thus reducing vibrations and noise and decreasing strain on the whole system.

The 416 Standard

The 416 Plus

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• 35-style Optical Viewfinder — brighter, higher contrast, higher resolution — bigger exit pupil allows more eye movement — multi-color RGB ARRIGLOW — accommodates even wide diameter PL mount lenses — excellent optical quality with eyepiece extension

• High Quality Video Assist — improved image quality — adjustable image enhancement

• The Quietest 16 mm Camera — sound less than 20 dbA

• Compact & Lightweight — small camera body — low profile design — 25 % lighter than 16SR 3

• Ergonomic Design — ergonomic shoulder cut out — viewfinder removes quickly for Steadicam and remote applications — optional integrated radio & lens motor drivers — split bridgeplate for fast switch from tripod to shoulder

416MainFeatures

ViralUpdatingTo simplify the process of software updating for magazines and the 416 IVS, which can get tedious when many magazines have to be updated, the 416 uses a new system called “Viral Updating”. The camera will automatically take care of changing the software of any attached magazine or IVS to match its own software version.

The software for the magazine and IVS is stored in non-volatile memory of the camera itself. If a magazine, for instance, is attached that has a different software version, the camera will automatically up or downgrade the magazine software. On a magazine, this takes only 2 to 3 seconds. An “UPdt Int” display on the 416 control panel informs the assistant that an internal update is in progress. Thus you can always be sure to have matching software in camera, magazines and IVS.

Marc Shipman-Mueller

416IntegratedVideoSystem(IVS)The new IVS offers an improved image quality in contrast to the 16SR 3 video assist, made possible by a completely new optical design and improved IVS electronics. A new chip set inside the 416 IVS allowed us to make the IVS smaller and draw less power, plus it offers a number of new image control features. For the first time color bars can be output by an IVS, a useful feature for setting up monitors on the set. Also new is an optional image enhancement setting, which essentially is an electronic sharpen-ing that increases contrast by sacrificing resolution, a method that will improve the apparent crispness of the image in most situations. White balance can now be done automatically, set manually or pre-set based on a white surface in front of the camera.

Since there never is enough accessory power, the 416 IVS now has two 12V MINI MONITOR outputs, which together can supply a continuous load of 3 amperes. One socket is meant for the on-board monitor, the other for a video transmitter.

And last but not least, a new warning LED on the IVS shows the dreaded ground fault, a condition where a faulty ground in one of the BNC cables attached to the IVS can do great damage to the system.

The IVS can now supply color bars for properly setting up monitors on the set

The ground fault warning LED (labeled GND) can be seen above the MINI MONITOR (MM) sockets

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The 416 development process started with a lot of market research into the viability of a new Super 16 mm camera. Meetings with the ARRI subsidiaries and the ARRI Rental Group further confirmed that the Super 16 market was doing well, even expanding, and that there was a demand for a new camera. Once the project was approved by manage-

ment, the development process split into two simultaneous strands that were guided by the engineering team and product management.

The engineers started to investigate the tech-nologies at the heart of the 416. To test the actual performance of certain components like the viewfinder, the mirror shutter, the

movement or the magazine attachment mech-anism, so called functional models were build. These were crude boxes that contained proto-type mechanisms or optics to test a particular design’s performance.

At the same time, product management worked on defining the camera’s specifica-

developingthe416

Creating a new camera is a process based on the con-

fluence of customers' wishes and the technology that

allows a development team to realize those wishes. At

least that is the design philosophy guiding many ARRI

camera products, including the 435, 235 and now the

416. Here is a closer look at the development process

behind the ARRIFLEX 416.

The functional model designed to test the magazine attachment mechanism. Note the elegant wooden magazine designed to approximate the shape and feel of a loaded magazine

This is a late stage functional model of the camera, combining mirror shutter and movement with the magazine attachment mechanism. Note the early-design diagonal magazine release, which would be changed later to a horizontal design to make more room for electronics

The functional model of the magazine (left) does not look like much, but it pulled film as well as the prototype magazine (right)

The 16SR 3 (left) in a shoot-out with the functioning model of the 416 viewfinder

416digitallySpeakingHow would the 416 fare if looked at in terms of digital specifications? When the images shot with the 416 are scanned with an ARRISCAN film scanner, the result is at least a 2K, uncompressed 4:4:4 RGB image, 16 bit linear or 10 bit log. Thus the 416 camera fulfills the DCI 2K specifications. The camera runs up to 75 fps while recording on the same media as when running at 24 fps, still without any compression at full resolution. It uses industry standard PL mount cine lenses.

The 416 is equipped with a full-color optical view-finder. Optical viewfinders, as used in all ARRI cameras, provide by far the most comfortable, accurate and efficient way to work when cap- turing images. The 416 has a single sensor (the film), and there is nothing between the lens and the sensor, so there are no artifacts or T-stop limitations caused by the prisms used in three-chip cameras. The 16 stops of film's dynamic range cannot be matched by any electronic camera today. This image sensor can be upgraded in less than a minute. That is how long it takes to load the 416

magazine with new film stock. The image sensor is instantly modular (i. e. you can load new film stock at any time) and guaranteed compatible with future image sensor upgrades (new 16 mm film will fit, of course). In fact, you can switch im-age sensors at will, by loading film stocks with different characteristics for different sensitivity or a different look. And all that at a weight (camera, loaded mag-azine, viewfinder and video assist) of 12.2 lbs (5.5 kg), and a power draw of 0.7 amps (about 20 Watts) while running.

10 C a m e r a

tomers wanted, while the engineers had to point out what was technologically possible. This was no easy process, as the needs of the filmmakers on the set, new features and wishes had to be carefully considered with the resulting increases in weight, size, ergo-nomic viability, camera price and develop-ment timing. In the end it usually came down to a weighing of priorities; sure the camera could be this much smaller, or have that cool feature, but then it would also be this much heavier, bigger, more expensive or would delay the release date by so many months. Having listened to all those filmmakers during the focus groups made it possible to set priorities and to find the right balance between these conflicting requirements.

A good example for such a decision is the electronic mirror shutter. While admittedly a cool feature, an electronic shutter would have made the 416 substantially bigger, heavier and more expensive. It would have also made the shutter housing larger, which would have interfered with many wide angle prime lenses. Most customers, when asked

during the focus groups, said that they would rather have a smaller, lighter and less expen-sive camera.

Armed with the results of the functioning models and the formal specifications, the engineers then embarked on the slow and tedious journey of actually designing the camera in detail. A myr-iad of major and minor issues had to be con-sidered and decided. From the main processor used to control the camera to the positioning of labels and buttons, from the type of magazine locks to the direction they would turn, everything had to be drawn and entered into a virtual 3D model of the camera. Making sure that all the interior components fit and would not collide with each other, while still keeping the camera service-friendly, was like designing an intricate 3D origami game.

Then actual prototypes were built, which were tested in room temperature and in climate cham-bers at various temperature and humidity settings and on torturous shaking rigs. Once we were

... and here, in contrast, the finished battery attachment mechanism on the 416

The first functional model of the battery attachment mechanism that was used to prove the concept, ...

... 416 prototype camera housing. Note the now horizontal rail for the magazine attachment mechanism

A prototype camera inner housing. Once motor, mirror shutter and movement have been mounted, it will be installed into the ...

tions. This began with focus groups to deter-mine the wishes and needs of the working professionals who will ultimately use the cam-era on the set. Meetings were held in early 2005 with a total of over 100 cinematogra-phers, operators, camera assistants, rental house owners and technicians to discuss features for a new Super 16 mm camera. These discussions were based on drawings and a plastic model of the new camera. The meetings again confirmed that Super 16 was alive and thriving. The most important features requested were a better viewfinder, a more silent camera and a better ergonom-ic design. Many were citing the 235 as a good example of a well-balanced camera with a good, ergonomic design.

Armed with these three priorities and the protocols from the focus groups, engineers and product management got together to hash out the actual specifications for the 416. Product management was posing as customer advocates asking for all the features the cus-

One of the first design drawings, envisioning what the 416 plastic model might look like

The first 416 plastic model, already surprisingly close in design to the final version

An early prototype of the 416

The final 416 design

satisfied with the functioning of the prototypes, they were brought onto actual film sets. Much as we would like it, we cannot foresee every situation a film camera will be subjected to on a film set, and so the practical test of an actual shoots provided further feedback on how to re-fine the camera’s design. At that stage brochures and the product website were designed, and the question of the camera's name was decided. From its codename of ”Pablo“ we quickly went through various suggestions, including ”216“ or

”516“, to arrive at ”416“, since this is the 4th generation of 16 mm sync sound cameras with a coaxial magazine.

The purpose of the whole exercise is, of course, to create a tool that will do its job on the film set while providing substantial advantages over pre-vious designs. The whole development process is strenuous and involves a lot of hard work; but it is rewarding to see the end result, to see film makers appreciate the camera for what it is: yet another carefully crafted tool in their arsenal to bring their vision onto the screen.

Marc Shipman-Mueller

11C a m e r a

Many have looked at the 416 during trade shows and special showings, and cinematographers and assistants have used 416 cameras now in the US, France, Austria, Germany and England on TV films, TV series, commercials and documen-taries. The feedback has been extremely positive, exceeding our expectations.

Various features of older 16 mm cameras had been identified in May of 2005 by the 416 focus groups as in need of im-provement. The most important being viewfinder, video assist, sound level, weight and ergonomics. It is particularly grati-fying to the 416 development team that it is exactly those features of the 416 that are being praised by the first users. Here is a small sample of opinions from the field. The full interviews with more photos can be found in the ARRI Email Newsletter 18 at http://www.arri.de/entry/newsletter.htm.

The ARRIFLEX 416 was intro-

duced in April at the NAB trade

show to much positive feedback

in the press and online. Since then,

we have introduced sixteen 416

pre-production cameras into the

market. Such a large number of

pre-production units not only gives

us a lot of feedback, but also puts

the cameras earlier into the hands

of cinematographers, and thus further

strengthens the Super 16 format.

Final production units will ship in

December 2006.

416 Viewfinder

Cinematographer Peter von Haller: The best feature is the new viewfinder. It has a bigger image that is brighter and shows more detail. I can judge focus better, which was especially useful during our night shoots. Even in wide shots I can now see details.

Cinematographer Will Rexer: The viewing system is the key thing – it is so sharp and so bright, you can really see what you are doing. The image is very clean, and even in bright backlight situations I had no strange artifacts in the viewfinder. And it is comfortable in terms of operating on a dolly in awkward positions.

Cinematographer Lothar Stickelbrucks: The most important improvement is the viewfinder system. With the 416 view-finder I can see everything! I see the whole picture, but it is so sharp that I can also examine details at the same time. Because it is so sharp, I can judge the focus, I can see immediately if something in the shot is in focus or not. I also love the fact that the color balance of the viewfinder is just like what I saw in dailies.

Cinematographer Christoph Chassée: It is great that on the 416 the view-finder does not collide with the bigger lenses anymore. The 416 sets a new standard: the image looks great even with the extensions, and I was happy on more than one occasion to have both lengths of extensions with me, the medium and the long one.

”We used the 416 on a Steadicam, on a dolly and hand held, and it was terrific. The viewfinder sys-tem is dynamite, the video tap is fantastic and the ARRIGLOW works great. The 416 is incredi-bly light, well balanced and really comfortable.“

Cinematographer Will Rexer (center) with First Camera Assistant John Schwarz (left) and Second Camera Assistant Gregg De Domenico

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First416Productions

”I used to shoot a lot of 16 mm, and looking at this new camera, it makes me feel like I want to start shooting again. The viewfinder is great and the sound level is fantastic, it is an abso- lute delight. My customers who have seen the camera and my staff feel the same way, they are enthusiastic.“ Otto Nemenz, President of Otto Nemenz International with the ARRIFLEX 416 on his shoulder

Cinematographer Chris Hart getting light levels in the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula

”The viewing system on the 416 is intense! All the cameramen I have worked with that have used the 416 fell in love with it, since it makes their job so much easier. The moment they put their eyes on the viewfinder it blows them away how bright it is!“

Camera Assistant Jay Feather (right), here on a commercial with Cinemato-grapher Joost Von Starrenburg (left)

”The image in the viewfinder is very bright and has a lot of contrast, it is really a class above other 16 mm cameras. Especially during our night shoots I had for the first time on a 16 mm camera the feeling that I could see as well as the film does.“

Cinematographer Christoph Chassée (third from left) with Camera Assistant Matthias Wrage (left), Dolly Grip Florian Klein (second from left) and Director Thomas Kronthaler (right)

”The 416 is a fantastic camera. It has a nice size and is very quiet. The biggest issue for operators is the viewfinder, and the 416 view-finder is outstanding. We have Super 16 and HD cameras for rent, but I personally think Super 16 makes more financial sense. Super 16 is certainly a format with a future, especially if you consider the archival issue.“

Denny Clairmont, President of Clairmont Camera (right), discussing the 416 magazine here with Marc Shipman-Mueller (left)

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First416Productions

Sound

Camera Assistant Alannah Sennheiser: It is so quiet that we sometimes did not know if it was running or not. A really quiet camera is great, as it saves time that we would have spent in the past dealing with sound issues. Our soundman said: “I cannot hear this camera at all, even when the mic was pointed directly at the camera.”

Weight and Ergonomics

Camera Assistant Jay Feather: The 416 is spectacular! The SR 3 was a great camera, but lots of people go to 16 if they want hand held, and the SR 3 was always a bit awkward on the shoulder. The 416 in contrast is unbelievably comfortable, and so much lighter. I don’t even know how that is possible, but it makes hand held much easier.

Cinematographer August Jakobsson: The weight of the camera is amazing. I thought it was very lightweight for hand held. I usually leave everything on the camera, the full six-by matte box and everything, and I was really happy with how light it was.

Cinematographer Christoph Chassée: The handling on the shoulder is sensational. And we made use of that a lot in TANGO, TANGO; there are a lot of hand held shots. The camera is very easy to use, so we could work very fast and comfortably.

Camera Assistant Armin Golisano: The 416 is lighter and thus easier to transport. Oh, and we really love the new camera handle! It is properly balanced, has many attachment points and I can grip it securely. This makes a big difference.

Cinematographer Peter von Haller: I agree. That seems like such a small detail, but if you cannot grip a camera securely by the handle, and if you cannot attach anything to it, it slows everything down. The 416 handle is great.

“The 416 is a huge improvement over all other 16 mm cameras because its viewfinder is so big, bright and beautiful. Everyone who looked through that viewfinder said ‘Wow, look at that!’.“

Cinematographer Chris Hart setting up a night shoot

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“The video assist is better. The image looks better, and I like the fact that it allows me to manually adjust the color balance right on the control panel with the blue and red buttons. We had a night scene where the streetlamps made the video image very green. By man-ually adjusting the color balance of the IVS we were able to remove the green, so the director could get a better impression of how it will look.”

Cinematographer Peter von Haller (left) and First Assistant Armin Golisano (right) on location in Montmartre

Video Assist

Cinematographer Will Rexer: The 416 video tap is terrific. In the past, there always was a difference between the image the client sees from a 35 and from a 16 camera. The 416 tap is so good looking and so sharp, there was really no difference to the images on 35 camera taps.

Camera Assistant Jay Feather: The tap on the 416 is amazing. The image is crystal clear, we have no more complaints from the agency. The agency is happy.

“We really did put the camera through its paces, and it was great to see how well it did. I had it on my shoulder, then would throw it on the ground for a low shot, then put it on a tripod, and it was very easy.”

Cinematographer Matt Siegel, here with Assistant Rainy Rau setting up a scenic shot in the mountains

“The lighter weight of the camera really helped!”

Cinematographer Chris Hart going hand held with the 416 and a 9.5 mm Ultra 16 lens

“Oh, yeah, the RGB ARRIGLOW is very cool! You can change colors! That was great at night, but I also used it for a green screen scene, and played with the colors to find the one I could see the best.”

Cinematographer August Jakobsson (right) with Second Camera Assistant Jacob Barrie (left)

RGB ARRIGLOW

Cinematographer Lothar Stickelbrucks: I first thought the RGB ARRIGLOW is a bit of a toy. But then we had a night shoot, and I don’t really like the red ARRIGLOW color, it somehow changes the color im- pression I get. I found that a blue or green ARRIGLOW was much more color neutral, it did not change my impression of the color balance of the image. So maybe it is not just a toy.

Cinematographer Will Rexer: It really did help! I had some shots against a green screen, and then against a blue background and then a black background and a white background, and on some the ARRIGLOW color just blended in, so we changed it. I never thought I would have needed an ARRIGLOW that can change its color, but there we were, and it really helped!

Camera Assistant Jay Feather: The multi-color ARRIGLOW option helped us just yesterday. We were shooting against black, and the DP said he could not see the glow very well, so I switched to glow setting 8. I said “try this”, and he liked it.

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First416Productions

“The 416 balances very nicely on my Steadicam. It is very lightweight. That is actually a very good thing, because then I can carry the rig longer and move faster.“

Steadicam Operator Kareem La Vaullée in Montmartre

Integrated Accessory Electronics

Camera Assistant Armin Golisano: My favorite feature is that the wireless radio is integrated into the camera body. Now there are fewer cables, and building the camera, or change-overs from tripod to Steadicam are faster and simpler. I like that, it speeds up work and makes the camera less messy. The ARRI Wireless Remote System is very reliable, and is fast and easy to use.

Camera Assistant Jay Feather: I am a big fan of the ARRI Wireless Remote System. Having that integrated into the 416 is great. We needed no extra pieces, no extra cables hanging off the camera, it is straight forward. You turn the camera and the WRS on, and you are ready to go.

Cinematographer Lothar Stickelbrucks: We had many crane shots and some car shots, and it was great that we did not have to fiddle around with extra boxes for the wireless focus. Its all built-into the 416, which speeds up working with this camera.

The hand unit of the ARRI Wireless Remote System

“The 416 proved to be a real time saver regarding all the change-overs. Aside from

‘normal’ use on a tripod, we shot some big dance numbers from a GF8 crane. Then we needed the camera often very quickly for some hand held shots, then onto a P & S Skater and back onto the tripod.“

Cinematographer Christoph Chassé. 416 here on a GF8 crane

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“Thank you for letting me use this new camera! It think it is a very successful design. I am now trying to get it for my next shoot, and will be sad if I cannot have it!”

Cinematographer Lothar Stickelbrucks (right), here with Assistant Alannah Sennheiser (left)

Magazines

Camera Assistant Jay Feather: Changing mags is quick, no one is waiting around for you. And once the loaders got used to the different method for loading the mags, they were super fast.

Camera Assistant Alannah Sennheiser: Magazine loading is very simple. I looked at it once, tried it and it worked OK for me.

Cinematographer Lothar Stickelbrucks: Changing mags was very fast and easy, one can tell that this is a carefully considered system. It is a pleasure to work with.

Camera Assistant Rainy Rau: For the assistant the 416 is wonderful. I had no problems loading the magazines, for me there was almost no learning curve. It was all pretty familiar.

Marc Shipman-Mueller

Steadicam

Cinematographer Will Rexer: I own an Aaton, and I have worked a lot with SRs, and so I was curious how the 416 worked out on the Steadicam. Our Steadicam operator was impressed. He said the 416 has the least amount of weight shift of all the 16 mm cameras.

Jay Feather: The Steadicam operator was happy, the 416 is very light.

Cine Gear Master Class Focuses on “The New Super 16”

A packed house of Cine Gear Master Class attendees gathered on June 25, at the Kodak screening room in Los Angeles for an in-depth overview of Super 16 mm filmmaking. Director-Cinematographer Jon Fauer, ASC was the tour guide through the toy store of new equip-ment and the moderator of the panels and presentations. Designers and technical wizards from the major film gear manufacturers were on hand to serve as personal gurus through this guided tour.

There was a mini-Cine Gear set up outside in Kodak’s courtyard, where various vendors set up for participants to try out new equipment during breaks and after the seminars. The equipment included the ARRIFLEX 416 with accessories, S 16 Zeiss lenses, Aaton XTRProd2, a-cam Ikonoscope, S 16 Cooke lenses, Canon zooms, acces-sories, video assists, support, Fisher dolly and more.

The theme of the seminar was “The New Super 16.” A fresh generation of cameras, lenses, accessories and postproduction possibilities has converged to create an almost entirely new format, from the platform of the for-mat introduced by Cinematographer Rune Ericsson. The subtext, of course, was why and how to shoot Super 16 in this new digital age of film. What makes this format

“new” and now so compelling are the latest film stocks, whose resolution, grain and look surpass many of the 35 mm film stocks used just a few years ago. The new cameras are quieter, lighter, with brighter viewing and better handling than ever before. Scanning to digital intermediate, digital color grading and recording back out to film provides a vastly larger array of tools and choices and offers a much better blow-up than previous liquid gate methods. Everyone discussed the notion that film is an archival, universal standard for origination for features, docs, spots, and broadcast.

Fauer began by reading a paper from Ericsson (who had hoped to be in attendance), on the origins and struggle to get Super 16 introduced.

Kodak Account Manager Candace Chatman gave a slide presentation of the new Vision2 film stocks – the engines of the Super 16 revolution. Chatman also pro-jected a demo for the Vision2 7218 stock that had been blown up optically to a 35 mm print.

ARRI’s Camera Product Manager, Marc Shipman-Mueller gave an overview of the new ARRIFLEX 416 camera, fol-lowed by Ian McCausland on the new Aaton XTRProd2, Phil Vigeant on new modifications of the classic Beaulieu R16 camera, Jorge Diaz Amador on upgrading ARRIFLEX SR1 and 2 cameras for Super 16. Rental house owners Denny Clairmont and Joe Dunton were vigilant referees, making sure no unsubstantiated claims were made. Cine-matographer Paul Ryan, who recently shot ADMISSIONS on Super 16, spoke about some of his experiences work-ing with the format.

Next, a panel of experts unraveled the engines further-ing Super 16’s latest evolution: new film stocks, scanning, digital tools, and film-out. John Dowdell III, chief colorist at Goldcrest Post in New York, discussed his experiences with scanning and film-out with Super 16.

Support for the successful filmmaking event came from Ellen Galvin of Film and Digital Times; ARRI’s Thomas Grieser and Stephan Ukas-Bradley; Frank Kay of J. L. Fisher; with Bruce Berke and Michael Zakula, of Kodak.

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Like the Master Primes, the Ultra 16 lenses combine high speed with outstanding optical performance. With a widest stop of T1.3 they allow shooting in low or available light, so are easy on the lighting budget, create more natural looking images and provide the cinematic look including, where necessary, a shallow depth of field. Equaled by no other Super 16 lens in optical performance, they join the other ARRI / Zeiss lenses in elevating the Super 16 image to its highest possible quality.

FirstUltra16Productions

Especially in Super 16, the choice of lens is crucial for the

resulting image quality. For this reason many cinematographers

are now using modern 35 format lenses on 16 mm cameras, since

many 16 mm lenses are of an older design. To cover the wide end in

16 mm, a new generation of 16 format lenses has been designed by ARRI

and Zeiss, the Ultra 16 lenses.

Together with the first pre-series ARRIFLEX 416 cameras, the first pre-series of Ultra 16 lenses have hit the set to very positive acclaim. Here is a small sample of opinions from the field. The full interviews with more photos can be found in the ARRI Email Newsletter 18 at http://www.arri.de/entry/newsletter.htm.

Marc Shipman-Mueller

Angle of view comparisonThe illustration shows the horizontal angle of view for the Ultra 16 lenses and the Ultra Prime lenses for the Super 16 format

“We used the Ultra 16 lenses a lot and we are completely and exceedingly enthusiastic about them!” Cinematographer Christoph Chassée on the set of TANGO, TANGO

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“The Ultra 16 lenses are gorgeous. We did some wide shots in the Rain Forest, looking straight up into the Cedar trees, and those were phenome-nal. I love the 416 camera for all the improvements that help me during shooting, but I think for the image quality the Ultra 16 lenses are a tremen-dous leap forward. For 16, the film stock and the lenses you use are very important factors for the image quality you will get. We shot all the WORDS ON THE WIND footage with the new Vision2 Kodak stocks and with the best lenses we could get a hold of: Ultra 16, Master Primes and Ultra Primes. This will give us the best resolution possible. I think if people really understood the part a lens has in the final image quality, they would not use older lenses anymore and choose their lenses more carefully, which is especially important in 16.” Cinematographer Chris Hart, here looking straight up in the Cedar trees through an Ultra 16 lens

“The Ultra 16 lenses look very good, and the T1.3 has helped us out at night. There was one scene that was a shot of two streets around Montmartre at night. We neither had the time nor do we have the budget to light two streets, and being able to use the Ultra 16 at T1.3 allowed us to shoot with available light and still get a great image with lots of detail and a good exposure. Especially on a wide shot, T1.3 can make a big difference.” Cinematographer Peter von Haller on the set of TH E RUSS IAN LOVE R

Main Features

• Five Modern Wide Angle, Close Focus Super 16 Primes

– 6, 8, 9.5, 12 & 14 mm

• High Speed-T1.3– for complete control over depth of field– for shooting in low or available light– for natural-looking images– for fast paced production environments– for tight lighting budgets

• Highest Optical Performance in its Class– high contrast and resolution– T* XP coating ensures flare resistance– image geometry free of distortions– minimized chromatic aberration

• Smooth & Robust Mechanics

• Matches other ARRI / Zeiss Lenses– extending the focal range of Ultra Primes and

Master Primes in the wide end for Super 16– same size & ergonomics as Ultra Primes– Super Color Matched to Ultra Primes, Master

Primes, Variable Primes & Lightweight Zoom LWZ-1

Two screen captures of Super 16 footage shot by Chris Hart

“The Ultra 16 lenses are very flare resistant, which we have seen in a variety of scenes. It is also great to have the same front diameter on Ultra 16 and Ultra Primes, that makes it easier to work with. And the fact that the focus and iris rings are in the same position on all those lenses makes lens changes faster. In fact, I like how all the bits work seamlessly together. With the new lenses and the 416, a lot of these indivi-dual improvements add up so we can work faster.” Camera Assistant Armin Golisano, working in Paris on a TV film

“The Ultra 16 lenses are head and shoulders above the older lenses. Just looking at ease of use, ergonomics, their size, the type of markings. If you simply look through them they are tack sharp, you can tell just by looking through the viewfinder. They look just as sharp as the Master Primes do on a 35 cameras.” Cinematographer Matt Siegel, here setting up a wide angle shot in the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula

“In telecine I can see when people are using older lenses, the image looks softer and muddier and I can see color fringes on some of the older wide angle lenses. In 16 this is very crucial: you want to have the sharpest image to begin with. Sometimes it is sad to see all the effort that goes into the set and the act-ing and art department and so on, only to produce a muddy image because someone was too cheap to spring for a modern lens, or to see an image with a bad exposure. If you expose properly, use modern film stocks and modern lenses, Super 16 can look fantastic!” Senior Colorist Bertl Grabmayr

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Super16inIndia

What’s the story?It’s about two individuals, strangers, from two different walks of life, with huge egos that almost outdo each other. It’s about a day when these two strangers meet and the wreckage that follows thereafter. It’s about Bombay, the city and the different people living in it.

Why was TA x I 9 211 so successful?A major chunk of the stories in Bollywood Cinema revolve around love and relation-ships. The rest of it is occupied by the so called ‘new age filmmakers’ who make films only about life and all the aspects that form it, which is good, as cinema, but does not really work commercially in India. TAXI how- ever has a neat mix of both these worlds. Every person who’s watched it relates to it in some way or the other. It had two actors with fans from two different parts of society. Add to this a great director like Milan Luthria and a producer like Ramesh Sippy, and it spells success.

Why did you shoot in Super 16?I’ve shot on all formats, be it video or film. I believe that cinematography should be a character of the story; it should help in pushing the story forward, rather than scream out and say, “Hey! Look at me!”

TAXI was about Bombay, its gritty lifestyle and the people living in it. The decision to shoot Super 16 was mainly driven by budget, but also because I knew that the shoot involved a lot of handheld work, in tight corners and inside cabs and other cars. Super 16, with its smaller cameras, spherical lenses and the new Vision2 stocks, had what I needed to give this film the look that it deserved.

We did contemplate shooting on compressed HD or 35 mm anamorphic. Thirty-five ana-

morphic is the norm in India that almost all films follow. But we chose not use either format, as the shoot involved a lot of hand- held work. I chose not to go anamorphic mainly because of focal length, as I wanted to go really close to the actor’s face, espe-cially during some fight sequences and an argument that takes place.

How was the experience using Super 16? What lenses / equipment were used?I have used Super 16 on a lot of my earlier work; and as usual, I love it. All the cameras available in Bombay at the time were con-verted SR 1s and 2s. Only one camera had a variable shutter, but it did not have any of the primes that I wanted. Most of the lenses of the other camera had scratches on them and so on. The best camera that I found was a converted SR 2 with a fixed shutter and

TAXI 9211 is an independent feature

film shot in Bombay on Super 16 film.

It’s about a day when two strangers

with big egos meet and the wreckage

that follows thereafter. Cinematogra-

pher Kartik Vijay feels that the huge

success of this feature is based on the

fact that “it combines the traditional

Indian movie formula of love and rela-

tionships with a ‘new age’ sensibility.”

He also credits the actors, as well as

director Milan Luthria and producer

Ramesh Sippy.

Director Milan Luthria (second from left), cine-matographer Kartik Vijay (fourth from left) and actor Nana Patekar (right) inside a bank vault

Taxi92112 0 C a m e r a

Zeiss primes (12, 16, 25), a Canon 12 –120 macro zoom and a 5.7 mm prime. About 15 – 20 % of the movie was shot on 35 mm spherical as none of the 16 mm cameras in India here are used for stunt sequences. I would have liked to do those on Super 16 as well though.

What major difficulties did you face?I think my biggest challenge was to main-tain the continuity in lighting, as the film unfolds through 1 day in Bombay and the shoot was scheduled to take place over 45 days. The monsoons were on in the city and the film was not supposed to take place on a rainy day. So we did have to cancel some days of shooting because of rains. But apart from that, it went well.

Thomas Nickel & Marc Shipman-Mueller

Taxi9211F. l. t. r.: Director Milan Luthria, actress Sameera Reddy and Cinematographer Kartik Vijay prepare a shot in a car with the 16SR 2

Cinematographer Kartik Vijay checks the lighting inside a luxuriously equipped Taxi

Cinematographer Kartik Vijay (next to camera) with Director Milan Luthria (holding the microphone)

The telecine suite at the Kodak Cinelabs facility in Mumbai

Super16expandsinIndia

“Whenever we speak of film in India, the first format that comes to mind is 35 mm. However there is another format which has suddenly gone through a major transition, specifically in the Mumbai marketplace, and that is Super 16.“ explains Shankar Dutta from the Entertainment Imaging de-partment of Kodak India Private Limited. While the Super 16 market had been calm for many years, with the format use prima-rily for documentaries and music videos, in the recent past Kodak has seen a signif-icant growth in the volume of negative sold.

“This marked increase in the usage of 16 mm film has been mainly in Mumbai,“ continues Dutta, “largely due to the sudden rise in the number of Super 16 cameras and a tremen-dous improvement in the processing and postproduction facilities. The establishment of Kodak Cinelabs in January of 2006 has also helped.“

“Not only has the consumption of the 16 mm format gone up, but also there has been a change in the profile of the users,“ Dutta ads. “Today 16 mm film is used for many different types of projects, including regional features, music videos and commercials and by people who use it for significant financial savings, which they may then use for postproduction.”

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downUnderThe workshops concentrated on Super 16 film as an acquisition medium. “We provide an experi-ence and an environment that grants young image makers exposure to the latest Super 16 camera and film technology, and the results have been fantastic”, remarked Carolyn DelVecchio, who, together with Bart Durkin, heads Kodak’s world-wide training program out of Rochester, NY. The workshops were orchestrated locally by Sean Glasson, General Manager E. I. Kodak Australia.

MelbourneDrawing from Melbourne’s strong film resources, Kodak Account Representative Mary Pappas spear-headed the workshop in Melbourne, coordinating everything. The workshop and its 16 participants found a home at Victoria College of the Arts (VCA). Malcolm Richards, Patrick Auge, and Mark Hall from Cameraquip-Melbourne provided three ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 cameras.

This workshop was designed by American Director of Photography Matt Siegel as a cinematography

“crash course.” In the morning of day one, they discussed topics such as the mechanics of a Super 16 camera, exposure, latitude, metering, density curves, and film stocks.

After lunch, the class was broken into three small production groups. Director of Photography Laszlo Baranyai ACS, HSC led one team which tested the latitude and response of film in high contrast situations. Director of Photography Tim Hudson led the second team which shot film at various frame rates and shutter angles. And Matt Siegel worked with creating scenes, lens choices, depth of field, and pulling focus. “Many of the partic-ipants had only worked in video. And those folks were usually one man bands from the ‘I’ll do it all myself’ school. Beyond the technology, we really worked with the individuals to function as part of the camera crew … as a team,” com-mented Siegel.

On day two, the class tackled lighting. Various lighting setups were created, including classic three-point lighting, hard/soft light, direct/indirect techniques and looks, gels and color, diffusion, and basic portraiture. Later the camera teams walked along the perimeter of the VCA campus to examine the color and quality of existing light at night: fluorescents, neon, sodium vapor, mercury vapor, car headlights, the downtown skyline. The class was asked to photograph these varied sources in an attempt to learn film’s low light response. “In many cases the meter said 0.7 or Error. Our zoom lenses were 2.2.”, reflected Siegel. “I asked the class, ‘What do you think will happen?’ The Vision2 7218 500T prides itself on its sensitivity and reproduction in low light situ-ations. Tomorrow afternoon in telecine they would find out.”

The next day, at the CineVex film laboratory, a Kodak accredited Image Care facility, the partic-ipants were able to follow the progress of their negative through processing as well as learn about some of the other aspects of film postproduction – both technical and creative. CineVex Technical Manager Chris Sturgeon lead the facility tour, which included a demonstration of film/color tim-ing on a Hazeltine, timing lights, showing wet gate, contact, and release prints, a trip into the negative cutting room (no one had ever cut nega-tive in the class) and finally into the storage vault

to see what a feature film is made of … In this case, 1,000,000 feet of film shot for the upcoming fea-ture CHARLOT TE’S WEB.

Says Sturgeon: “We were delighted to get involved in ‘The Truth About Film’ Super 16 work-shops. Many of the participants were unfamiliar with film but keen to learn about the Super 16 format … so the questions came thick and fast. At the lab, we know that when it comes to image capture, film is still king. We were able to show them how well and how easily it blended with other image capture and manipulation techniques. We have no doubt that Super 16 negative will remain an ideal professional format for image capture well into the future.”

The final and most compelling section of the work-shop – telecine – took place at Digital Pictures, Melbourne’s premier post facility. Pamela Ham-mond, Digital Pictures Head of Postproduction, toured the facility with the class. Beyond telecine on the Vialta, Digital Pictures’ facility supports full digital intermediate capabilities including Cintel DSX, Lustre grading, and an ARRILASER film recorder. Returning to the telecine suite, the class met Martin Greer, Head of Telecine, who empha-

SUPeR16As part of their worldwide training program, Kodak conducted a series of Super 16 cinematography

workshops in South Australia. Based on the popular “The Truth About Film” program that had been held

previously in Brisbane, the workshops expanded to Melbourne and Adelaide.

The participants of the 2005 Melbourne “The Truth about Film” Workshop on stage at the Victoria College of the Arts, School of Film

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downUnder

sized the importance of establishing communica-tion between the filmmaker and the colorist.

The workshop dailies looked beautiful and well exposed. During color correction, the class got to work with the colorist and to see the results.

“What I am seeing [in telecine] is exactly what I was hoping for. This is what film should look like,” commented a participant and videographer upon seeing the first film dailies of his 15 year career. Furthermore, they would now understand the concepts introduced in the first morning of their workshop. Latitude tests now had direct visual references. The same for over- and undercranking, lens choice, rack focus and strobing. They could see the results of their filter choices. Compare the grain structure of the various film stocks. And finally … the night safari images came up. What happened to Vision2 7218 when the meter said nothing? “I have always been really impressed by the under exposure characteristics of the Vision 2 500T,” commented Siegel, “Every class their faces light up with that ‘Wow-ed’ expression when they see film do its thing at night.” Melbourne was no exception, the night safari looked beautiful with the grain holding and little to no breakdown in the blacks.

Adelaide Bags packed. Gear shipped. And it was time for the next stop on the tour. The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) hosted the second Super 16 Workshop in Adelaide. Under the watchful eye and gracious support of the SAFC studio manager Sal Corcoran, the Adelaide KFE / ”Truth About Film” worked with 12 participants. Kodak’s Leigh Christensen handled the logistics.

Instructor Matt Siegel was joined by Director of Photography Tim McGahan ACS, who had flown in from Brisbane, Queensland. The educational team was completed with another young and tal-ented Sydney-based Director of Photography Judd Overton. Tim McGahan ACS reflected, “The ‘Truth About Film’ workshops provide a great opportunity to expose young filmmakers to the qualities of film. When conducting this workshop, I most enjoy seeing the power shift in a student’s attitude towards film. When they start the course, they all have a fear, a fear of film. No question about it. Three days later, they may not be fear-less, but they leave having shot with a professional ARRI SR 3, as part of a crew, and having used the latest Kodak Vision2 Super 16 film stocks. They have learnt how to control and how to manipulate the film image in production and in post produc-tion. That is what I call the power shift. With the three day intensive workshop format, no student is going to leave as a qualified cinematographer, but hopefully we will have ignited the spark and the participant will go on to explore and experi-ment further with film.”

As there was no lab nor telecine in Adelaide, the workshop turned its attention more heavily on the ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 packages, allowing time for a de facto camera assistant mini course and giving each participant the opportunity to build and breakdown their camera system. Furthermore, the workshop took more time investigating the tools of lighting, working closely with regional Gaffer Richard Risse-Jones. Producer Mike Piper stepped

Workshop participants of the Adelaide “Truth About Film”, hosted by the South Australian Film Corporation

Matt Siegel (with hat) leads the workshop participants in an indoor shooting exercise

in on day three to talk about putting together a film production, budgeting, and the roles and responsibilities of crew members.

Thanks to the wonders of jet transport and FedEx, the Adelaide class was able to see its film dailies back by late afternoon of day three.

extraCurricularAct ivit iesOnce class ended, the Kodak team made a trip to the Kingsford Ranch in South Australia, visiting the long running Australian television series MCLEOD’S DAUGHTERS and cinematographer Roger Dowling ACS, who had been working his EXR 7245 50D year in and year out under ex-treme conditions. Shooting full episodes in five to seven days, Dowling said he kept two full crews and their Panavized ARRIFLEX 16 SR 3 cameras shooting constantly. The cinematographer looked forward to working with the new ARRI cameras and Kodak s new Vision2 50D 7201.

For future Kodak educational journeys and oppor-tunities, keep an eye out at www.kodak.com for announcements regarding the 2006 program dates and locations.

Matthew J. Siegel Edited for ARRINEWS by Marc Shipman-Mueller

Director of Photography Tim McGahan, ACS (with hat) elaborates on lighting techniques

Director of Photography Laszlo Baranyai, ACS, HSC instructs the workshop participants on the basics of daylight exterior filming

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doggicamSystemsandARRIFleX235onCHIldReNOFMeN

Headed by cinematographer Gary

Thieltges, Doggicam Systems has

developed a series of unique camera

mounting and moving systems in

the last decade. Their mission is “to

imagine, design, develop and

promote innovative equipment that

offers the capability to execute your

creative vision.” And that’s exactly

what they did for the upcoming film

CHILDREN OF MEN, directed by

Alfonso Cuaron and shot by Emanuel

“Chivo” Lubezki, ASC, AMC (THE

NEW WORLD, ALI ). Starring Clive

Owen and Julianne Moore, the film

is a vision of dystopia for the near

future, where London is plagued with

violence and humans are facing

the likelihood of extinction. The film-

makers desired an extremely complex

and unprecedented shot that involved

actors inside a moving vehicle.

Innovat iveC inematography

The Sparrow Head hangs from the Power Slide over the heads of actors Clive Owen

(right) and Chiwetel Ejiofor

The Sparrow Head suspends the

ARRIFLEX 235 inside the vehicle

for the shot

Says Thieltges, “There have been some trick shots done in and around moving vehicles, but this is real actors performing in front of a camera with everything happening in real time, using no green-screen or compositing of multiple images. I think we made some cinematic history here. A shot like this has ever been done before. It was really amazing and brave of Chivo and Alfonso Cuaron to be so dedicated to create this shot when there was no existing equipment to pull it off.”

To accomplish this shot, the team employed an ARRIFLEX 235 camera

mounted onto a Doggicam Sparrow Head 400 and two Power Slide rail systems. In this interview, Thieltges talks about achiev-ing the elaborate scene and the pleasure of working with Lubezki.

This whole experience happened rather quickly. They were a week away from starting the film and they had been working on a system in England, it became apparent that it wasn’t going to be sophisticated enough in terms of its control to be able to do these long, sus-tained shots in a vehicle. That’s when Chivo called me.

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I was thrilled to get that call, it’s what we love to do here. People come to us with shots they are trying to accomplish all the time. Chivo called me from London on a Thursday afternoon and by Saturday morning he was here in Burbank, [Calif.] looking at a test of the equipment. We were able to put this all together and do exactly what he wanted in about 36 hours. A week later, it was over in England.

How did Lubezki describe the shot to you?When I spoke to him on the phone that Thursday, he said he wanted a very free-form move – to have the camera within the confines of the car while that car was mov-ing. He wanted to be able to move from the front seat to the back seat, to the left to the right, actually out the window of the door and back into the car again. This is not a quiet ride in the country. This is a 12-page action sequence. There’s very com-plex choreography between the camera, the actors, the car they are in, and the cars and people outside the car. It’s a very com-plex, dynamic scene. It all choreographs to this very subtle movement inside the car.

What solution did you come up with?We provided the Sparrow Head 400 with the ARRIFLEX 235 camera for that shoot. There are a couple attributes of our equip-ment that made this whole thing possible. One is the very precise control over the head and dolly that we provide. The sec-ond is the extreme lightweight construction methods that we use in all our equipment. The Sparrow Head only weights 16.5 pounds, the combination of the Sparrow Head and 235 is such an ideal package. To have a very sophisticated camera and control over that camera, it’s a very light-weight package.

The combination of two of our Power Slide dollies in an X / Y-axis pattern was some-thing that I had been thinking of putting together, but we had never done it yet. As soon as he described the shot, I knew that was how to do it. The entire rig that was suspended over the top of this car only weighed about 185 pounds. Putting any-thing that much heavier on top of this vehicle while its being maneuvered in this manner would have required much sturdier rigging, it would have been top heavy and harder to install. The extreme lightweight, the really fine control and tremendous rig-idity of the carbon fiber construction in both our track and in our head, gave us the tools to solve this problem.

I called Jack Carpenter of Carpenter Camera Cars and he graciously loaned me one of his camera trucks for the day. We

were very easily able to rig up onto that. We shot a couple rolls of film and Chivo operated the head while our tech, Frank Buono, operated the Two Axis Dolly System. He was instantly so happy because he could see how maneuverable, simple and with what finesse we could actually move the cameras in complex patterns. We rode around Burbank that Saturday morn-ing shooting off the back of the truck with four of our guys standing in for the actors. Then Chivo took that film back to England unprocessed and he called me the follow-ing Wednesday. He said Alfonso jumped on top of his chair during the dailies and screamed “I get my shot!”

Why was using the ARRIFLEx 235 the ideal camera for this application?Two critical factors were its light weight and compact size. We really needed a small camera to be able to maneuver inside the car. The camera also has a really fabulous viewing system for them to be able create these shots on the fly. The director was sitting up on the rig with Chivo, who was operating the camera and Alfonso could lean over and change the shot. Having that really crisp, flicker-free color tap on the camera really made everybody’s job that much easier.

How long did it take to shoot this scene?They broke the shot into eight components and devised cut points where they will be able to weave those separate shots to-gether to make it seem as a 12-minute take. Each component was shot in one day, so the entire sequence took eight days to shoot.

This was all shot on location with no green-screen at all. Aside from weaving these shots together, it’s all done in camera. From the very conception of this shot, they always wanted to do everything in camera. They were so driven and dedicated to pursue this shot and we were all able to deliver it.

This is a groundbreaking shot, how does it feel to have played a big part in this?I am really proud to have been a part of this tremendous effort. A new way of working was born with this shot. You can do very complex choreography in camera and do it efficiently. If they had budgeted a 12-page action sequence with dialogue and all kinds of other events going on, they wouldn’t have scheduled that to be shot in eight days. Not only was this incredibly creative, but cost-wise this was a tremen-dously economical way to achieve this sequence. I think these are tools that are going to catch the imagination of really creative people in the industry.

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DoP Jens Maasboel came up with a novel grip concept: “We were shooting a commercial with director Michael Abel in Prague for Nestlé’s new product ‘fitness’. I had to shoot a bee landing on a flower. The most suitable camera for this purpose is of course the small and lightweight ARRIFLEX 235. But there was still the problem of realizing the move perfectly. A regular crane or dolly would have been too mechanical in the movements. Steadicam on the other hand would have been too smooth, and pure handheld too unstable. But then I remembered a tip from Birger Bohm, Blixt Camera Rental Copenhagen, involving Helium balloons. We ended up with four of them, each with a diameter of 1.5 metres.”

“Equipped with a 60 meter magazine and a 24 mm /T2,1 lens, the ARRILFEX 235 floated weightless and was very easy to control in all directions. The 235 together with the balloons worked fantastically and the result was perfect. Now the balloons are a useful part of my camera kit.”

DoP Jens Maasboel

CreatingaBeePOV

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Michael Ballhaus, ASC one of the most prolific DPs around,

recently finished the Martin Scorsese film THE DEPARTED, which will be released in the USA in October.

Technical support for this feature was provided by ARRI CSC in New York. Ballhaus used Master Primes, Ultra Primes, ARRICAMs and 435 cameras

on this gripping psychological thriller which turns the good cop / bad cop cliché on its head. Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Vera Farmiga,

Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen star in this remake of the 2002 Hong Kong hit film MOU GAAN DOU ( INFERNAL AFFAIRS).

THE DEPARTED revolves around a young police officer in Boston who goes under-cover, infiltrating the Irish Mafia. His uncle once had connections to the Mafia, giving our hero some credibility. At the same time, a gangster is able to infiltrate the Boston police department. When it becomes clear to the mob and the police that there is a mole in their midst, both men must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Marc Shipman-Mueller met with Ballhaus in his Berlin apartment and discussed THE DEPARTED. Excerpts from the interview are printed below, while the full interview can be found in the September issue of the ARRI Email Newsletter 18 at http://www.arri.com/entry/newsletter.htm.

Did you use an ARRICAM Studio and a Lite?No, we had two Studios. Often we would shoot with two cameras simultaneously, so we needed two A cameras, and the Studio is the quietest camera around. This was a feature of the ARRICAM that was adored by our sound man. CSC does a nice job of maintaining these cameras, and our sound man kept asking if the camera was running, even when the microphone was very close to the camera. I like the ARRICAM because it is so practical in use on the set. The fact that the magazine can be top or rear loaded is great, and my Steadicam operator, Andrew Roland, who was also the B camera operator, said the Studio is great for Steadicam. It is light and well-balanced. Most importantly, though, we never had any problems with the cameras. We shot a lot of film, and there never was a concern about the hardware.

What lenses did you use?I like to work a lot with the Variable Primes. When we wanted to go wider than 16 mm or longer than 105, we would use the Ultra Primes, which we of course also used on Steadicam and for handheld work. And then we were one of the first productions that used the Master Primes.

What did you use the Master Primes for?Mostly for night exteriors, and for some extremely dark scenes where we could not have gotten anything with T2 lenses. The film called for many low light setups, includ-ing location street scenes at night with very little light to work with. I chose the Master Primes in order to work with the available light and to preserve the natural look of the scenes. On several occasions the Master Primes saved last minute setup changes, late in the day, when the daylight was disap-pearing. These scenes would not have been

Michael Ballhaus (here with Director Martin Scorsese) checks on a camera angle

during THE DEPARTED

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possible to shoot without these lenses. I am truly impressed with the optical performance of the Master Primes.

In one case in particular, Martin had made a change in location, but we had no light-ing on the new location. It was very dark, and my light meter spoke to me only very quietly. The location was a spot where oil trucks come to be filled with oil. There were only some sporadic lights here and there, and I thought “Oh boy, lets see if I can do this …” We shot without setting any lights, only with available light, and it came out very nicely, you can see every detail. We shot with the Master Primes at T1.3, without pushing the film stock.

Another good example is a wide shot look-ing down at Boston, where there was just a shimmer of light left in the sky, very little. You could see the lights of the city, and what the Master Primes recorded is amazing. You can see every little detail, it is surprising how much the Master Primes can record. Anything you can see with your eye, you can capture on film now. And it looked great – I really liked the look of the Master Primes. Using the Master Primes was a great win for this production.

Was there any shot you thought was particularly challenging? Well, there were many shots that were chal-lenging. There was one big setup in partic-ular that was located in an old grain silo. This silo was in New York and it had been used in the past to load grain onto trains. In the story, the Mafia was selling computer chips to the Chinese, and the exchange of chips for money occurred in this grain silo. Since this old building was essentially a ruin, there was almost no electrical light at all, there was just one spot with light in it. The only light that was there were the street lamps that shone in from the outside. This was quite a challenge since it was very dark. But it was also fun creating a dark and mys-terious mood. The Mafia troops are coming into the building from one side, and the Chinese from the other, they face each other, and in the middle there is this one spot with a bit of light where they hand over the goods. It was a challenge to keep the proper bal-ance between the darkness and the little bit of light, to make sure that the audience sees just enough. I enjoyed that.

Could you describe what kind of a look you were after for this film?Well, usually Martin and I have a meeting about the look of the film up front. We did not want this movie to be too bright, we

Ballhaus has received Oscar nominations for his work on B R OA D CAST N EWS, TH E FA B U LO U S BA KE R B OYS and GAN G S O F N EW YO R K

Matt Damon (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio star in the Warner Bros. Pictures' crime drama THE DEPARTED

Actors Leonardo DiCaprio (left) and Jack Nicholson having a quiet moment in a scene from THE DEPARTED

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In his native Germany, Michael Ballhaus developed an interest in films after renowned director and fam-ily relation Max Ophuls allowed him to observe the filming of LOLA MONTES (1955). Between 1960 and 1982 he shot over 50 films for German cinema and TV. During that time he also worked closely with German New Wave director Rainer Werner Fass-binder, shooting 15 classic Fassbinder movies includ-ing THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN, GERMANY

IN AUTUMN and CHINESE ROULETTE. In 1982 Mr. Ballhaus started shooting in the United States, where he quickly began to establish himself as a highly regarded craftsman. Since then, he has shot films in every conceivable genre, receiving Oscar nomina-tions for his work on BROADCAST NEWS, THE FABU-

LOUS BAKER BOYS and GANGS OF NEW YORK. His ability to translate scripts into memorable images has brought him to work with some of the world's finest directors including Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Wolfgang Petersen and Robert Redford on projects such as GANGS OF

NEW YORK, AFTER HOURS, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE and GOODFELLAS. He has not only given those movies a unique look, but has also created se-quences that are already considered obligatory study material for film students.

A short Michael Ballhaus Biography

wanted a look that had some mystery, some dark zones, since this story is a psychologi-cal thriller. And for that we needed darkness.

Was postproduction done analog or as a digital intermediate (DI) ?Once the editing is done we are going the DI route. I have not done a big movie in DI yet, since it has not been necessary yet. With GANGS OF NEW YORK we thought about it, but there we thought it better to go with the original negative, to go analog. The disad-vantage of the DI route is that you record at 2K, and if you look at the original negative in contrast, you have a better image. I think a print from a negative still looks better than a 2K recording.

That is why many are now wanting to go to 4K. Of course, but that is still very expensive. Not every studio wants to spend that money. Maybe we go to 4K, that would be great, I am not sure, we will have to see. I saw some films that have been done in 4K, that was impressive, but still, I prefer the original negative.

You went to the USA in 1982 and started shooting there. Could you tell us why you went there?Well, first it is a misunderstanding when you read that I “went” to America. It was slightly different. My first film in America was a German production. The director was Peter Lilienthal, and the film was called DEAR MR. WONDERFUL . Joe Pesci was the lead actor. We worked on this film with an American

Michael Ballhaus (left) and Martin Scorsese set up a shot

team from New York, and the production designer had an offer for another movie, and they had no DP yet. The production de-signer told the director of that other movie that he was shooting with me, and asked him if he wanted to come and see some dailies. They did, and that is how my first American movie came about. That was John Sayles, the film was BABY I T ’S YOU. So during the shooting of this German movie, I got the offer to shoot this American movie. I finished DEAR MR. WONDERFUL and then shot BABY IT’S YOU in America. Then we went back home to Berlin, and we thought “Well, that was nice, a good experience.” But six weeks later the next offer came from the States, and so it developed slowly. Only when I shot AFTER HOURS with Scorsese did we realize that this would continue, since shooting with Scorsese was of course something special. So then we took an apartment in New York, and since then it has not stopped. Since then I have been shooting non-stop, sometimes with not enough of a break between shoots. There was one year when I shot three films in a row, there was no break between them, but the projects where so great that I could never say no. One year it started with Scor-sese, then Mike Nichols and then Francis Ford Coppola, and one cannot say no to either one of them, so I had to say to myself:

“Ok, you just have to work a year without any breaks.” In those 20 years I have shot 38 films in America, and that is a lot.

Thank you, Michael Ballhaus!

Marc Shipman-Mueller

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A gruesome murder in the Hollywood of 1947

with bizarre details that has remained a

mystery until this day – what better story could

there be for the next Brian De Palma thriller,

especially since this one is based on a true

story. The tragic death of Elisabeth Short, who

was also known as the BLACK DAHLIA, was

photographed in the early summer of 2005

by Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC starring Scarlett

Johansson and Hilary Swank. We had the

chance to chat with him about this film during

breakfast at the 2005 CAMERIMAGE festival.

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Tell me a bit about the story of the Black Dahlia. That is a fascinating story. Elisabeth Short was an aspiring actress who usually dressed in black, thus her nickname “Black Dahlia.“ Like many others she came to Hollywood hoping to make it big in the movies. She loved the Hollywood nightlife and loved to meet men and was known as a beautiful freeloader. In 1947 she was found dead in an empty lot in Hollywood, cut in two at the waist. The coroner’s report showed that she had been brutally abused and tortured. This was one of the highest profile murder cases for the LA Police Department at the time, but it was never solved.

And where does the movie come in?The movie is about two cops, Bucky Bleichert, who is played by Josh Hartnett, and his partner, Lee Blanchard, played by Aaron Eckhart. They investigate the death. Bucky finds out that his girlfriend had ties

to the victim. Then he begins uncovering corruption and conspiracy within the police department.

What kind of a look did you choose for this movie?BLACK DAHLIA has a film noir look, lots of shadows. But I wanted to see detail in the shadows. I used no filters, just sometimes a bit of diffusion for Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank. The movie has three different styles. First, there are flashbacks that are almost black and white looking. Second, there is black /white 16 mm film that is projected inside the police depart-ment. Third, the look we wanted for the rest of the story (about 80 %) is a monochrome, desaturated color. We didn't use any manip-ulation in photography during production like flashing, bleach bypass, pushing or pulling in development. All desaturation was done through the digital intermediate process.

I understand you shot this mostly in Europe?Yes, even though this is a movie that plays in Hollywood, the production decided to shoot in Bulgaria. They had been trying to get this movie made for two years, but it was too expensive to shoot in Hollywood. Economically it was advantageous to shoot in Bulgaria. We built two Hollywood streets on location in Sofia. We had a great production designer, Dante Ferretti, who received an Oscar for THE AVIATOR, and that really helped to create the right period look for the movie. We shot two weeks in Los Angeles to establish authentic exteriors.

Director Brian De Palma (left) discusses the next scene with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (right)

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What cameras and lenses did you use?I used an ARRICAM Studio and an ARRICAM Lite, plus a 435. We used the Steadicam a lot. For lenses I mostly used Angenieux Optimo zooms, but I also had some Cooke S4 lenses and some Variable Primes. Occasionally I operated a second camera. I love the ARRICAM. It is a very lightweight and beautiful design. The view-finder is good, very bright. Our rental house was New Image in Bulgaria. We shot BLACK DAHLIA on Super 35 mm format with 3 perforation pull-down.

Why did you decide to shoot with 3 perforation pull-down?For the film noir look, I wanted to go through a digital intermediate, and I had to sell that idea to the production. Certain things I could achieve with good lighting, but in today's unrelenting shooting schedules they push you to work faster. I thought I would need the time in post to perfect things. During exterior shooting I could not control the weather, and by relying on the DI I could sacrifice certain quality on the set since I would have the chance to correct color, contrast, even shadows later. With this in mind I could keep the company on schedule all the time. By shooting on 3 perforations we saved on cost in film stock and developing, and we used that extra money for the DI.

How did Brian De Palma react to your suggestion?He said to the producers, “Do what Vilmos wants.” He trusts me with the technical stuff. How was your collaboration with Brian De Palma?It is always a joy and a challenge to work with Brian De Palma. He does not want to hear that you cannot shoot a scene in a single shot, and that it has to be broken up to many cover shots. He is very creative in designing interesting and complicated shots. I love challenges; everything can be done, even though some of the most difficult shots could take a lot of time to line up. Brian is always very patient, never pushes you, he understands the difficulties of lighting an intricate master shot. He loves to do long, uninterrupted shots – sometimes going 360 degrees around the actors with the Steadicam.

Who decided how the camera would move?Brian De Palma designs his own shots. He is a brilliant director.

What scene was the most fun for you to shoot?Ah, there were a lot of good sequences. I particularly like the beginning of this movie. It plays in South Los Angeles in 1943, during the Zoot Suit riots. We start

with a long shot, high up in the air, camera on the Technocrane and on 100 feet of dolly tracks, looking at the riot in full swing, palm trees and cars on fire, hundreds of people fighting each other. The camera descends to ground level following some running soldiers through the crowd. The arm of the Technocrane extends into a cross street where we find our leading actors in a big fight with some Mexicans. At the end of this fight the camera follows them into a liquor store where the shot ends.

Lets switch to post production. Most DI is done in 2K these days. I convinced Brian De Palma that we should scan the DI with 4K resolution. According to some people 2K has enough quality. We did some tests comparing 2K and 4K, and the difference was incredible. It is really amazing if you see 2K and 4K images pro-jected side by side. The 4K has more sharp-ness, more definition, it looks more like film! The movie just comes alive. I worked with Frank Roman at Laser Pacific. He is a great colorist, I spent only eight days with him to lock in the looks. Of course, he worked several hours every day on his own.

Vilmos Zsigmond operating an ARRICAM Studio on the set of B LACK DAHLIA

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Since cost seems to have been a factor, did you ever consider shooting BLACK DAHLIA in 16 or HD?To get the right look I had to shoot on film; it is much more difficult in HD to make something look as good as BL ACK DAHL IA does. Digital photography doesn’t have the contrast range, the highlights and the shadow details. Film still looks better than any video or digital recording. Maybe 10 years from now we will have a digital recording system in 6 K or 8 K that looks as good as film. Until then I would rather shoot on Super 16 mm than on HD. You need to shoot film for the big screen, and I like the big screen. I think screen sizes are going to get bigger in the theaters of the future, maybe like IMAX is now, to get peo-ple away from watching their DVDs at home.

Thank you, Vilmos.

Marc Shipman-Mueller

Director Brian De Palma

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When Cinematographer Clark Mathis (THE PERFECT SCORE, HAPPY ENDINGS) agreed to shoot ROCKY BALBOA, he was all too familiar with the original film and found its message still relevant since its release in 1976. “I’m really a fan of the films,” he began. “The ROCKY films are full of iconic imagery. His character is so distinctive and such an archetypal piece of American his- tory. It’s amazing how ROCKY has become synonymous with America, not only here, but around the world.”

In ROCKY BALBOA, an ESPN program cre-ates a computer simulation of the title character taking on the current champion, Mason Dixon (played by Antonio Tarver). When the projection picks Rocky as the winner, it sparks the curiosity of the old fighter and the young champ.

The filmmakers spent six weeks of the shoot in Philadelphia, making an effort to show-case the home of its famous hero. “We spent the most time of any ROCKY movie in Phila-delphia and shooting on location offered a unique set of challenges,” notes Mathis. “It helped to have my documentary background

– being able to know what you need and what you don’t need, and move very quickly. Sly wanted to move and have a lot of mo-mentum to the shoot. I designed lighting that would allow us to turn units on /off very

Goingthedistance:

quickly to create many different looks within the same environment and not have to stop and spend a lot of time re-lighting.”

With Stallone directing, the pace of the shoot was extremely quick. “Sly is a force of nature,” the cinematographer laughs.

“Basically you have to keep up! During one of Rocky’s training montages in a gym, we did 117 set-ups with two cameras in about 13.5 hours of shooting. It was the most setups I’ve ever done on a movie. Day 1 we had 79 setups.”

The script also called for more than a few scenes to be shot at night. To create this look Mathis was one of the first DPs to use the brand new ARRI / Zeiss Master Primes, lenses with the ability to shoot at a T1.3.

“I’m really happy and grateful that Denny Clairmont [of Clairmont Camera] and ARRI were able to give us the first set of Master Primes. I don’t think I could have achieved the look I wanted for Philadelphia with anything but the Master Primes, especially with so much night shooting. I wanted to shoot wide open and have the clarity and resolution to give me the chance to be bold and embrace the environment of Philadelphia. We were really limited with the budget, but I

think it’s one of the biggest canvasses I’ve ever shot because you’re able to see the whole city. Lighting was at very minimal levels on the actors to not overpower the natural environment. We were really able to walk that razor’s edge and produce something that has a lot of breadth and depth for what our budget would have allowed us to do had we lit it traditionally.”

Mathis also used the lenses for bright, day-light exteriors. “We framed this wonderful tableau of [Rocky] next to [Adrian’s] head-stone, with a big tree to the left of the frame and the sun in the right of frame. We got the dailies and the sun was a perfect ball in the sky. There was no flare, almost no change in density in the blacks, and we were shooting right at the sun. For me, I didn’t have to worry as much about flares or spend time address-ing those issues because with the Master Primes, the density wasn’t affected.”

This was the first ROCKY movie not shot on Panavision. The cinematographer relied on ARRICAMs and Kodak stocks 5229, 5218 and 5205. “The ARRICAMs have the best viewing systems in low light that I have ever seen. With superior viewing systems also comes superior video tape. Since Sly was acting and directing, he relied very heavily on watching playback. We had to have the best delivery of that image for him to review

Thirty years since its release, ROCKY

continues to resonate with audiences

today. More than simply a sports

film, ROCKY showed the gritty life of

a small-time boxer who dared to

push himself to his best potential.

The inspiring film garnered 10

Academy Award nominations and

went on to win three, including Best

Picture, Editing and Director in 1976.

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after every take. We shot a lot of nights and we were shooting in very low light. Had we been shooting with any other camera system, I think it would have been very tough for him to gauge the performance. There’s no other system that provides a brighter, better video image off the path in low light than the ARRICAM.”

Actors are often known for their visually pleasing looks, but in the case of Stallone

on this project; he was not concerned with a perfect appearance for the camera. “In the past when you go back to the third and fourth films, you can see that Rocky is very glamorized. There was really soft lighting and filtration. For this movie, he didn’t want any of that beauty lighting. He wanted to see the age on his face and really let it all hang out. It’s part of Rocky’s character now that he is older and that he had all this mileage on him.”

The different visual style also carried over to how the filmmakers decided to create the look and feel of the final boxing match. Says the DP who garnered ASC nominations in 2002 and 2004, “Sly wanted this film to be very different from all the other ROCKY movies. He had the original concept of the finale being shot on tape like a live boxing event. For me, you’re always looking for ways to create contrast and without being too obtrusive about it. This was a chance to do a more traditional narrative in a very innovative way – contrasting the body of the movie being film with the finale on video-tape. We shot it on HD 24p, going back and mixing certain parts of film for the montage sequence. Once he passes through the curtain of Mandalay Bay for the fight, we switch to video. The curtain becomes a very theatrical dividing line.”

While filming the climactic fight, the production took advantage of the crowd and atmosphere of a real professional boxing match. Says Mathis, “We basically piggybacked on the televised Taylor Hopkins fight. HBO gave us a seven-minute window where we could walk Sly out through the entryway up to the ring during the actual sold-out Pay-Per-View event. The cheapest seat in there was about $800 and you had never seen or heard these dressed-up high rollers, turned into eight-year-olds screaming for him. That to me, was very moving. They cheered twice as loud for Sly than they did for the actual fighters at the match that they paid to see. You didn’t even have to say anything, 12,000 people without having to be prompted over the PA system were screaming ‘Rocky’! It was unbelievable.”

For the cinematographer, the experience on ROCKY BALBOA is more than just a new credit to add to an already accomplished body of work. “There were a lot of amazing, larger-than-life moments that I’m still processing since I’ve been so busy. Just in historical context of this, I’m very happy to have been a part of it and I think Sly’s happy, which is an accomplishment,” he laughs.

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GANdHIMy FATHeRPhotographingGANdHIMyFATHeRDavid Macdonald – An English DoP working in India

First approachesWhen I was first approached over two years ago by Feroz Khan to photograph his film GA N D H I MY FAT H E R I was very excited. Here was a true story, with at its centre one of the most remarkable men of the 20th century. Yet it was an almost unknown story. I was captivated from the moment I read the first draft of his script.

As a theatre director making his first film, Feroz was looking for a director of photo-graphy who could bring more to the table than simply his photographic skills. He sensed that he might need support trans-lating into the very different “grammar” of cinema. As we talked through the project in the early days it became apparent to me that in fact he would need very little support indeed. The result was one of the most genu-inely cooperative and rewarding working relationships I have had in over 40 years of cinema and television and, on Feroz’s part, one of the most remarkable first films I have seen for a long time.

Unlike the bulk of Hindi cinema, Feroz want-ed his film to be made for a world market, and to be accessible to audiences unfamiliar with Indian culture and history. He felt that an outsider close to him during the film’s making would be an asset. We discussed parts of the script which, while self evident

to an Indian, were confusing to me by virtue of my different culture and relative ignorance of Indian history, particularly that of parti-tion. As a result of this I learned much about Indian history, culture and politics, which added enormously to the fascination and rewards of this project.

Getting accustomed to IndiaAll directors of photography travel a lot and are used to working in unfamiliar environ-ments. Mostly, however, they travel with a large crew from their home country. An Amer-ican or English film shooting in India will bring all its principal personnel with it and India’s role is reduced to that of a backdrop and technical support.

To travel alone to work on an Indian project is very different. It is I who am the guest. It is I who must adapt. I had to clear my mind of preconceptions of how things are done in my familiar European working environment.

In Europe, where manpower is the costliest single item in the budget, technology is used to support very small crews. In India this situation is dramatically reversed. Techno-logy, which has to be imported under penal tariffs and taxes, is costly relative to India’s greatest single resource – manpower. GANDH I MY FATHER is not a Bollywood blockbuster, although it is by local standards an ambitious film. I was nonetheless stun-ned to discover that we had a basic crew of over 90 people, often more.

Not surprisingly, the opportunity for confu-sion on a film set tends to multiply in propor-tion with the number of people working on

AFilmbyFeROzKHANProducedbyANIlKAPOORA note from the Director:Sir Richard Attenborough introduced “Ma-hatma” the great soul to the west. I grew up understanding “Gandhi” through others, till I discovered a deep wound he carried in his heart. Somewhere in the shadows of this great man lived his son, roaming the streets of India like a beggar. Converting to Islam as a challenge, reconverting to Hinduism as a penance and finally drinking himself to death. Harilal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s eldest son carried his Gandhi identity as a curse around his neck. Mahatma Gandhi could transform the soul of a nation but could not save the soul of his own son.

My search to know the human side of Gan-dhi took me to South Africa, to different parts of India, libraries, scholars and his immediate family members. To me Gandhi became a greater human being as he strug-gled personally, socially and politically, but always put his principles and quest for human dignity above everything else.

Feroz Khan

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GANdHIMy FATHeRit. Indian films are usually shot with playback and post sync, the discipline and quiet of shooting sync sound is virtually unknown and sets get very noisy. Indeed, to Western eyes and ears, an Indian film set looks and sounds like utter chaos! I was soon to discover that this is a deceptive misconception. It is a peculiarly Indian chaos with it’s own rules and logic, and out of it results emerge as if by magic.

One should never forget that India has the largest film industry in the world. Whilst the quality of its output is variable, its best is well made cinema and the top technicians are of international standard and quality. Our crew was the hardest working I have ever encountered anywhere, with a terrific

“can do” attitude and an ability to find ways round difficulties that was sometimes little short of miraculous.

From the very first day I was greeted with generosity and open minds. With gracious hospitality I was made to feel that I really did have a place; that I did have something different to offer; and that this, on some un-spoken level, was understood and accepted. I was instantly made to feel part of the team, and quickly came to appreciate the qualities of those with whom I was working. I can only hope that, for my part, I responded with the respect and humility that was their due.

Shooting the movieFrom the outset it was clear to everyone that this film was different. Not simply the fact

that here was a Hindi film with no dashing hero, no mustachioed villain, no heroine to rescue, no love story, no song and no dance, but here was a film with a true and serious tale to tell. A film which revolved around one of India’s greatest citizens and revealed another side to his story, a relatively un-known one, containing all the elements of classical tragedy, and yet at its heart a story of domestic family disunion universally familiar and understandable to everyone.

This film wasn’t simply made by fine and accomplished talents in front of and behind the camera – it was made by people who cared about it deeply. There was an aware-ness that something special was being attempted that led everyone to give that extra contribution that comes from involve-ment of the heart.

One of Feroz’s decisions taken very early on was to try and shoot the film on location in real surroundings rather than build sets in the studio. Even when sets were to be built, they were for the most part to be built within an existing location environment and

shot both outside and inside as if they were real locations. This was music to my ears. I have always preferred to work on location. Despite the physical restraints of working in sometimes difficult circumstances, I love the unplanned disciplines that a real situation imposes.

The photography of most Hindi movies reflects the Indian love of colour. Much of this film takes place in Gandhi’s ashrams which, far from being colourful, were very basic and ascetic. Many of the other loca-tions we chose were old buildings from early in the last century, which had become faded with age, softening their colours. I decided to adopt a style of muted colours except in scenes of festival, marriage, and celebration, where colour would play a primary role and be all the more vibrant by virtue of its sparing use.

No DoP works in a vacuum. Production Designer Nitin Desai’s gloriously aged and lived in sets and the simplicity of Costume Designer Sujarta Sharma’s costumes, both of which were a joy to photograph, enabled

Harilal re-converts to Hinduism

A dejected Harilal after hearing of his father’s death

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texture. All of which conforms to my general philosophy of lighting for cinema, which is that what matters most is not where you put your light – but where you don’t.

TechnicalThis film was unusual in that it used bilingual actors and dialogue scenes were shot in two different languages; Hindi and English. Hindi for the home market and English for the USA and UK, although the rest of Europe is more likely to take the original Hindi. The film is very much a performer’s piece and Feroz Khan was determined that that neither version should be the “poor relative” that gets dubbed.

This meant that about one-third of our nega-tive was common to both versions and about two-thirds version specific. It was clear that if we went the conventional photographic route in post that we would end up working from dupes and would drop a generation before we had even begun. I therefore sug-gested to the production that we should go digital.

Another reason for suggesting digital is that Indian cinema is distributed and projected exclusively in Cinemascope. Because of the high number of locations I had decided to try and keep lighting to a modest minimum. The film also had a very large amount of scenes shot by the light of oil lamps and I wanted to try and use the absolute minimum of extra light and make these scenes really feel as they were lit by the oil lamps them-selves. All this pointed to fast stocks and shooting with wide apertures. I felt much more confident using spherical lenses on a Super 35 format than using anamorphic lenses.

The use of digital also meant that it would be possible to easily extract both 1:2.35 anamorphic print and 9:16 digital DVD format from the non anamorphic negative. We framed for this possibility using a three quarter offset. The 1:2.35 was vertically centred relative to the S35 gate aperture and the 9:16 was offset with one quarter of the surplus height placed above the 1:2.35 frame and three-quarters below. This has the

dIateFX inMumbaiby Colourist Ken Metzker

Unlike many of the regular Bollywood films where the concept is about seeing how bright and co-lourful I could make the film, David and Feroz worked on getting the full tonal range and a very realistic colour palette. I liked this idea. It was a true test of our Digital Pipeline at EFX-Mumbai.

It is one thing to make a data film that is a hybrid of film and data. It is quite another to make a DI invisible in a film. This is a process of improving what film is all about and pushing it to its limits but not going outside the natural film look.

me to pursue this idea to the full. They have given this film an authenticity rare in Hindi cinema.

The other thing that struck me very forcibly during our travels choosing locations, was that Indian buildings of the era, we were re-creating, are very dark inside. Windows tend to be small and for the most part inward facing onto shaded courtyards. The same interior sombreness applied to the rusting corrugated iron buildings of the South Afri-can Ashrams with their shuttered windows, which were very gloomy once inside away from the brilliant sunshine. This provided the second key for my treatment. Interiors would be very simply photographed with only the feeble filtered light that penetrated inside, with deep shadows left undefined. Most of the film takes place prior to electricity and the use of oil lamps for the many night scenes accorded perfectly with this same treatment. The photography attempts to remain as real as possible but, at the same time, to subtly enhance that reality to provide interest and

when the images are in the data form there is the possibility of fixing a problem shot; getting VFX shots to match the rest of the film; doing some wild effects … However, DI is not going to make an underexposed and unevenly shot film beautiful. All the work will go into making the continuity work and making the image look reasonable overall. There will be neither the dynamic range nor colourist time to take the image to the next level. I believe David understood that, and I thank him for it. Instead of getting a scene to just work, we had the freedom to really take it to the next level – one that allowed us to add to the overall storytelling and keep the viewer involved.

In this area we utilised Lustre’s excellent window-ing. Basically we were able to bring more atten-tion to the characters through shading and en-hancing the density in certain areas of the picture.

GANDH I MY FATHER (GMF) was EFX-Mumbai’s first feature scanned entirely at 4K. This allowed us to do resizing on the image and maintain the maxi-mum resolution. Only the VFX shots were downsized to aid in the timely completion of the work and to resolve software compatibility issues with 4K.

It also allowed us to utilize our facility designed scanning look up tables. These were created to get all the dynamic range of each film stock, but more importantly to get an idea of what the director of photography intended. David’s negatives were very well exposed and even. In fact, it was be-cause of his even exposures that we had the time and dynamic range to get a brilliant end product.

I hear some producers and even VFX supervisors talking about the time and money they will be able to save by fixing it in the DI suite. It is true,

Harilal is taken in by Moslems who pay his debts and persuade him to convert

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advantage that lamps, flags, and micro-phones can all be brought closer to top frame edge. The drawback is that the extra surplus in the bottom of frame makes it harder to keep your own tracks out of pic-ture on occasions and that zooms do not track centred in the 9:16 frame. This latter was not a problem as for other reasons I had already decided not to use zooms at all, unless absolutely unavoidable.

As I had never done a digital finish for cine-ma before and the technique was anyway still in its relative infancy in India, I tested very comprehensively first.

This began by testing different film stocks from more than one manufacturer and print-ing the results both photographically and digitally. Although I am very disciplined in-deed about my negative density, I tested up to two stops over and under exposed with various lighting ratios. I wanted to find out the limits of the digital system under duress as well as choose the best film stocks.

The first clear decision that was taken was to choose Vision2 negative. 250D for the day

scenes and 200T for the night. For two scenes only I used 500T. In the event both these scenes look superb digitally processed and there really is almost no perceptible grain.

The second decision was to do our digital grade with the Colourist Ken Metzker of EFX, a division of Prasad labs in Mumbai.These tests taught me my first important lesson about digital grading – don’t for a moment think that digital flexibility means you can take liberties! Whilst it can cope with problem material in a way that is un-thinkable with conventional print, it also shows up problems very quickly and clearly. A poor negative will almost certainly be rescuable but don’t expect great results. The corollary to this was equally clear if you want to really take advantage of the wonder-ful flexibility and subtlety of a digital grade you must provide an impeccable negative. I have no doubt that Ken Metzker, who is also contributing to this article, will have much to say about this as well.

If you are not going to print photographi-cally and you are having one light video rushes it is very hard indeed to keep a rigo-

Gandhi on gas lit railway platform at night

Harilal, by now a destitute alcoholic, hears of his father’s assassination on the radio

An example of this is, when Gandhi’s son is drunk and leaving his dormitory. It is a dark scene to start with. Through bringing down the lantern light sources, the moonlight lit window, and white sheets of the bed and surrounding areas, we were able to make Gandhi’s son jump out at the viewer. The viewer’s eyes are drawn to him because of the subdued nature of the rest of the image. He is the most important part of the scene and this addi-tional colour timing aids in helping to tell the story. Now these things could be done at the time of shooting, if circumstances permit, but it is virtually impossible to do this when the actor and camera are moving in a small room on location (as is the

case in this example). The timing windows were tracked to follow portions of the image and were dynamically changed in shape and intensity to ensure that Gandhi’s son holds our attention.

GMF was recorded on the ARRILASER, which also converted the Super 35 mm spherical image to ana-morphic. We did extensive testing on different software / hardware combinations to get the best results for this conversion – the ARRI film recorder always won hands down.

GMF was a great film to work on and I am glad that David gave me the opportunity, and that the

Indian film community has not decided not to throw me out of the country just yet. I arrived in India in November 2002 and have not looked back – from my first year of doing more final grade commer-cials then I had done in my first 10 years of post- production in Vancouver, Canada; To helping set up a complete digital pipeline and timing DI's at EFX-Mumbai during the next couple of years. The changes that have occurred in the Indian post pro-duction community have been dramatic. The DI phenomenon in India is second only to that in the US. As a colourist it has given me the opportunity to transfer my colour timing knowledge to the big screen. For Indian film, it has created a DI quality base that is international. The DI process has im-proved the look and feel of Indian film dramatically. In addition, it has opened the door for India to start producing high quality visual effects that fit seamlessly with the rest of the film.

India – the land of many colours

The DI process was carefully utilized to enhance and to contribute to the film, rather than to give it just more colour

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Because of the high number of locations, many of which had difficult access, and to try and keep the mostly location shooting streamlined, I decided to work very simply with a relatively small lighting complement.

We shot on an impeccably maintained ARRIFLEX 535 supplied by Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. It performed without any problems for the entire shoot. I made a sty-listic decision not to zoom and to always use dolly moves on fixed lenses. Although we had a zoom with us, it was used only as a variable fixed length lens. I think we zoomed twice in the whole film and on both occasions the zoom is buried in a move and invisible. The fast lenses were complement-ed by our 250D and 200T Vision2 stocks.

For the daylight scenes I had a standard lighting complement of two ARRI 6K PARs, two ARRI 4K PARs, one 4K fresnel, two 2.5K fresnels and a 650W HMI Chimera. For the night scenes I used mostly small lights, 1K fresnels, and occasionally a 2K fresnel. We carried a couple of 5K and 10K fresnels. I don’t think the 10K’s were ever used and the 5K’s only rarely. Except for a couple of extra lamps for some very large interiors and night exteriors, that was it. A modest enough kit for a major film. Most of my lighting is indi-rect and we used a lot of large silks and white reflectors and very large quantities of solid black cloths to control exteriors.

I also made extensive use of tiny 12V quartz bulbs hidden behind light sources in the shot. These were used to good effect with in one night exterior of a garden party. Each table carried a candle in a candle stick. These bulbs are so tiny it was possible to hide one behind each candle stick and use this and this alone to light the people at the table in a very convincing manner. This was one scene where I took advantage of the Vision2 500T. The results are remarkable. Another night scene takes place in front of a troupe of actors who are carrying flaming torches. Again I used the 500T negative and used no lighting at all aside from a cool overhead ambient wash which was way below exposure level. All the exposure came

from the flames themselves. No supplemen-tary lighting was used at all.

The ability of a digital grade to indepen-dently grade colours, selective areas, and work on quite specifically isolated densities creates a multitude of possibilities and indeed allows you to plan your original lighting strategy with the foreknowledge of how you can extend it in the grade. I shall give a couple of simple examples.

Now this is completely subjective, but I hate the convention that night is blue and shudder every time I see saturated blue night scenes. Night for me is cool grey. This is tricky photographically. Digital grading however enabled me to plan a lighting strategy to produce just this. I would bounce HMI lights with half 85 gelatines off very large white reflectors mounted on towers to produce a soft blue ambience for night scenes against which I would then light the rest of the scene with tungsten, knowing that in the digital grade I could simply lower blue and cyan saturation producing the cool grey ambi-ence I wanted but without affecting the tungsten lit skin tones. I used this technique for the garden party mentioned above.

Another way I was able to use foreknowl-edge of digital post capability came in a number of night scenes. The downside of bouncing off large reflectors on towers is that the light can be hard to control, particu-larly flagging it off areas where it is unwant-ed. The flags required tend to become huge drapes hung from cherry pickers or cranes. This was quite simply out of the question on our shoot. However it was often possible to arrange one’s lighting knowing that an area difficult to flag into shadow could be adjusted later by grading it in a digital ‘window’ and darkening it independently of the rest of the shot. Because of accident and illness I had two gaffers on the film for different sections of it. It would be hard to overestimate the contri-butions of Barkat Zaria and Anil Chandran who brought not just professional skills and knowledge to their work, but a fine eye and

rous check on negative density. Throughout the shoot every shot was put through the analyser and printer lights delivered, even though we didn’t actually print. These were my ‘bible’. If my lights drifted more than a point or two from ‘32 across the board’ I would check immediately with Mr Prabhu the chief grader whose expert opinion I trusted completely. Additionally we check printed a couple of key takes each day with conventional print.

The film is two-and-a-quarter hours long and the double language shooting placed a heavy load on everyone. This made for a punishing schedule. We shot 101 days. As is not uncommon, the days were long, 12 hours minimum, often 14 or more, in temper-atures which in July rose into the high 40s (110 plus Fahrenheit).

Harilal, in a rare moment of harmony and understanding with his father, massages his feet

At an expensive dinner party a group of unscrupulous businessmen, offer to once again settle Harilal’s debts in exchange for his name on their letter heading

Kasturba, Gandhi’s wife of sixty years, dies in his lap

Harilal broods after hearing of his poor academic results

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davidMacdonaldBorn in 1943, David Macdonald started 1964 in the film industry as assistant cameraman. In 1967 he com-menced as documentary and current affairs camera-man, a job that took him to many parts of the world. In the next years he expanded his activities very suc-cessfully to include lighting for commercials, TV dra-ma and some cinema. He photographed commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott. Bob Brooks, Barry Myers, Katherine Lefebvre, Graham Rose and many others.

At only 26 years old, he photographed ONE BRIEF

SUMMER for director John McKensie, becoming the youngest cameraman of the day ever to do a full length cinema film.

While continuing to work as a lighting cameraman, he expanded to direct TV and cinema commercials in Munich. A string of German prizes and Gold & Silver Lions at Venice saw the start of a full time career as a commercials director in the UK with Rose Hackney Barber Productions.

Narrative close up special effects, high speed and macro photography, together with a deep working knowledge of digital post production techniques be-came his specialty. However, his ‘first love’ of lighting and computer graphics also brought him to other fields of activites including the lighting design for the Body Zone, the interior of the giant human body in London’s Millenium Dome.

In 2003 he was approached by Feroz Khan to photo-graph the Indian cinema film with the working title MAHATMA VERSUS GANDHI. Work began in mid 2004. The film is scheduled to be released in January 2007.

David Macdonald’s other credits include:MR SHEPHARD AND MR MILNE – Director Andrew HolmesONE BRIEF SUMMER – Director John McKensieHORROR HOSPITAL – Director Anthony Balsch THE HARDER THEY COME – Director Perry HenzelTHE AUTHOR OF BELTRAFFIO – TV feature film – Director Tony ScottTHE ROCKING HORSE WINNER – Director Bob BiermannSMILE ORANGE – Director Trevor RhoneTHE KNOWLEDGE BY JACK ROSENTHAL – Director Bob Brooks

feeling for lighting as well. Without their support life would have been hard indeed.

The film contains very little by way of visual effects although there is some crowd multi-plication, a small amount of blue screen on board a ship at sea and a couple of 3D creations of the same ship. The film uses a lot of original news reel footage and we also shot some recreations which had to blend seamlessly with this footage. These shots were shot on both film and HD video and were time compressed, grained, and given rub marks, unsteadiness, vignetting and uneven exposure in post. This work was done to very high standards under the supervision of Pankaj Khandpur at Tata Elxsi’s Visual Computing Labs.

Less glamorous but just as important was clean up work removing undesirable objects, touching up a rogue hairline, removing teeth in Gandhi’s old age and so forth. This can be difficult and demanding and was carried out with consummate professional-ism by Spirit in Hyderabad under the super-vision of Rana Naidu.

Digital GradingAfter years and years of working with tele-cine colourists I thought I knew a lot about digital grading. I was soon too learn that outputting for cinema print is an altogether different process, and a great deal more demanding. Research and choose your

GHANDI MY FATHER Producer Anil Kapoor (Anil Kapoor Film Company) Writer / Director Feroz Khan Director of Photography David Macdonald Production Designer Nitin Desai Costume Designer Sujarta Sharma Camera Assistant Srinivas Shandran Gaffers Barkat Zaria and Anil Shandran

Digital Intermediate at Chief Grader Mr PrabhuPrasad Labs, Mumbai Colourist Ken Metzker VFX Pankaj Khandpur and Rana Naidu

Camera Equipment Ramoji Film City

colourist with great care. They can make or break you!

If you are lucky enough, as I was, to find one who is really good, then listen to them very carefully and respect their opinions and suggestions. I learned a huge amount from working with Ken. His eye is more acute and finer tuned than mine. He took me and my work a step further than I had real-ised would be possible. The grading became not just a finishing process but a creative process in it’s own right. I do not mean dig-ital extremes or completely transforming an image or giving it a “look”; this film is a very restrained almost classical piece of photo-graphy for which such treatments would be ruinous. I am referring to a subtle finessing of tone and colour to a point that the grade rather than just being a finishing process became an extension of the original lighting. I found it very satisfying and, on occasions, really stimulating and exciting. The year and a half I spent on this film has been one of the most interesting and rewarding times of my career. To be invited to take place in such a project, one that has opened my eyes to a new and very different culture, has been a rare privilege indeed.

I shall remember this film for many things, but mostly for all the many people who made me so welcome in an astonishing and vibrant country. They gave me their hearts and, in so doing, they captured mine.

David Macdonald

Harilal in an emotional outburst calls out to his neighbours in the street and becomes caught up in a troupe of street performers

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The move was influenced by customer demand and an upswing in film production for the Midwest region. Fletcher Chicago began renting the new equipment in early 2006. “When enough customers ask for it, you start looking into it,” says Tom Fletcher, Vice President of Marketing. “We’ve never been one of the video companies that said film was going away. We’ve always known that film is going to be around for a long time. Now we’ve spent about $2 million, showing that we think film is going to be around for quite a while.”

The facility began exploring options in film cameras this past October when they brought in industry veteran Stan Glapa to manage their rental department. Says Fletcher, “It’s really important to not just have the gear, but also the right people to sup-port it. Stan has been renting film cameras in the Midwest for the last 20 years and Al Collins has been repairing and maintaining cameras and lenses for two decades.”

The new inventory covers 35 mm and 16 mm and features the ARRICAM LT, the high speed ARRIFLEX 435 Xtreme, ARRIFLEX 235, ARRIFLEX 416 camera, and a new complete

FletcherChicagoAddsFilmGeartotheWindyCity

set of ARRI / Zeiss Master Prime lenses. Notes Glapa, “We felt that these cameras were the latest and the greatest in film equip-ment. It made sense to get the best of the best. It’s very indicative of the way we do business. In terms of HD gear, we’ve stayed on the higher end of things – getting into film solidifies that we’re not just a video rental house. We specialize in high def imagery. This is just another way of accessing a high def image.”

Fletcher explained that acquiring the equip-ment became a real prospect after seeing an ARRISCAN film scanner demonstration at IBC last year. “The ARRISCAN is able to scan up to 6K. To be able to capture so much information, I could see that film will have a long life ahead. ARRI also keeps improving technology by coming out with new cameras, so we felt this was a good time. We wanted to bring these new camer-as into the marketplace. Now our customers can come to us to get high-end image-capturing devices whether that is digital or film,” he says.

With this infusion of new equipment, along with Illinois film incentives to promote shoot-ing in the state, the team at Fletcher has witnessed an increase in production for features and especially commercial work. Cinematographer John Schwartzmen, ASC (PEARL HARBOR, SEA BISCUIT) recently rented an ARRICAM for a Levitra commercial pro-duced by Sticks & Stones Studios.

Says Fletcher, “We’ve been one of the lead-ers in renting digital equipment and now we’re one of the leaders in film. We’re just giving more options.”

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Archie Fletcher (left), President of Fletcher with Stan Glapa

The staff at Fletcher with the new film equipment

For the first time in the company’s nearly 20-year history, Fletcher Chicago has expanded into traditional motion picture film rentals, with an investment of nearly $2 million in ARRI, Zeiss, and Angenieux gear. Since 1987 Fletcher Chicago has offered sales and rentals of quality video equipment to high-end professionals in the broadcast, production, and film industries. In the last several years, Fletcher specialized in High Definition (HD) production equipment.

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Ident Number:Large Knob for LFF-1, Left K2.47176.0Large Knob for LFF-1, Right K2.47175.0

Like the MB-20, the MB-20 System II is a compact matte box designed to accommo-date even wide angle lenses like the Fujinon 4.5 × 13, while still being lightweight enough to be used hand held. Various attachment methods provide great flexibility: the MB-20 System II can be attached to the camera with a range of swing-away brackets for standard or lightweight rods, but can also be attached directly to the lens with a clip on adapter. Independently rotating filter stages can hold diverse filter sizes up to 5.65 " × 5.65 ".

ARRI’s new and innovative patented cage design allows for use of videography-style light shields without sacrificing durability, and gives full protection of the sunshade against shocks. The MB-20 System II is com-patible with all traditional MB-20 support consoles, filter stages and brackets. As with the traditional MB-20 system, four light shields can be used simultaneously with full adjustability to control flares from all sides – hot pavements below and bright sun above are no longer a problem.

MB-20SystemII

With increasing use of the ARRI Lightweight Follow Focus LFF-1 as a primary follow focus unit, we received many requests for a studio style knob. This new focus knob matches the size of

standard ARRI studio follow focus

knobs and is compatible with standard studio follow focus marking disks, while retaining the LFF-1 system’s anti-backlash couplings.

ARRI is expanding its line of video accessories with the

introduction of the new MB-20 System II. The new

Basic Module and Light Shields offer users and rental

houses MB-20 modularity at reduced cost of entry.

largeKnobforlFF-1

The new patented cage holds the light shields while protecting the sunshade from damage

The Lightweight Follow Focus LFF-1 with the large knob attached

More ARRI Quality for Video Productions

Ident Number:MB-20 System II Set K0.60030.0for Lightweight Support

Component modules also available individually

What are ARRI Video Accessories?

ARRI's line of video accessories brings the leg-endary ARRI reliability, robustness, quality and support to high end video cameras. ARRI Video Accessories include the compact matte box MB-20, MB-20 System II, follow focus FF-5HD and compatibility of the ARRI Wireless Remote System (WRS) with video cameras. As the world‘s largest manufacturer of motion pic-ture film cameras, ARRI can draw on almost a century of experience in building high quality accessories that withstand the rigors of profes-sional productions. All ARRI products are based on thoughtful ergonomic design and feedback from customers combined with the latest design and manufacturing techniques. As a result, ARRI offers robust and reliable tools essential to the professional performance of a camera system. Even though ARRI video accessories have been designed with the vid-eographers’ production environment in mind, all components are also compatible with film cameras, providing an unprecedented flexibil-ity in utilization.

The cage with the sunshade and light shields attached

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coming cinematographers huddled around the ARRIFLEX 416, the new Super 16 film camera with a 35-style viewfinder and low sound level similar to that of the ARRICAM. A completely new lightweight ergonomic de-sign, integrated electronic accessories and compatibility with the same lenses and accessories used by its 35 mm siblings make the 416 the most robust, flexible and port-able Super 16 camera ever built.

Meanwhile gaffers, grips and cinemato-graphers examined the MaxMover and ARRIMAX 18/12 – the most powerful HMI light on the planet. The fixture provides an optimum choice for productions requiring maximum light output. MaxMover offers remote pan, tilt and focus for large lighting fixtures that can be operated safely and conveniently from the ground using a simple analog or optional DMX (wired or wireless) control. MaxMover can be mounted on boom arms, tall platforms, or in hard-to-reach positions.

The booth also displayed new products ex-clusively available through ARRI Rental Group companies such as the new 16.5 –110 mm ARRI/Zeiss Master zoom lens and the NAC K4 High Speed Digital camera.

ARRI giveaways brought hordes of attendees

Design engineer Klemens Klehrer assists a guest with the new 416

Cinematographer David Mullen, ASC discusses the ARRIFLEX D-20

Digital Cameras Product Manager Bill Lovell goes over the ARRIFLEX D-20 with Film & Video reporter Debra Kaufman

Andreas Weeber of ARRI CSC discusses the D-20 with DP/Gaffer Bruce McCleery

Attendees at the ARRI booth stop to catch the World Cup game

Illumination Dynamics set up a tent to showcase their automated lighting

ARRIStepsOutatCineGearexpo

In its 10th year, Cine Gear Expo has grown from a one day equipment event to the premiere film and digital media expo, net-working event and seminar series for the entertainment production and postproduc-tion community in Los Angeles. This year the new location at the Wadsworth Theatre and Grounds in the West Los Angeles area brought attendees and exhibitors to a re-laxed, outdoor atmosphere from June 23–24. With an eclectic slate of master classes, screenings and panel discussions, Cine Gear planners made an extended effort to reach out to more unions and guilds to participate in the show.

Housed partly in a distinctive blue-and-white striped tent, the ARRI booth drew a large audience of industry professionals throughout the show. While representing the worldwide ARRI Rental Group, the booth also showcased the latest equipment like the ARRIMAX 18/12, the MaxMover automated stirrup and ARRIFLEX 416.

It was the first public showing of the three products mentioned above for the Holly-wood area and many eager filmmakers packed the tent to have hands-on time with the offerings. Established as well as up-and-

The ARRI Rental Group also announced at Cine Gear that the ARRIFLEX D-20 film-style digital camera would now be available from Clairmont Cameras in Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver.

ARRI gave a presentation titled “The State of Our Technical Arts” to an audience at the Wadsworth Theater. Cameras Product Manager Marc Shipman-Mueller talked about the new 416 camera and recent ad-vances in Super 16 filmmaking. Bill Lovell, Digital Cameras Product Manager, went over new footage and features of the D-20, while Angela Reedwisch of ARRI Film & TV Services GmbH talked about postproduc-tion services offered at the state-of-the-art Munich facility.

With so many enthusiastic attendees at the ARRI booth, the festive event gave ARRI the chance to thank our customers with pretzels, hats and T-shirt giveaways.

An Tran

4 4 C a m e r a

DoP Mr. Hou Yong (right)

The newly appointed Director Sales & Marketing, Dr. Rolf Slatter (left)

August 23–26 every year it’s time to meet old and new friends

in Beijing at BIRTV. The Beijing International Radio, TV and

Film Equipment Exhibition

is a magnet for China’s

industry leaders, network

stations, productions and

all the creative potential.

BIRTV2006

ARRIFleXd-20The ARRIFLEX D-20 film style digital camera was shown at the BIRTV event and immediately prior to the show took part in a comparison shoot organised by the Digital Media Department of the Beijing Film Academy. This very well organised shoot, which included Grass Valley Viper and Sony HDC-F950 cameras as well as the D-20, took place over two days at a studio complex on the edge of Beijing. Several complex sets had been built, including one with a waterfall and pool, and table top shooting with many coloured objects of varying texture was also included. Bill Lovell, Digital Camera Product Manager for ARRI com-mented “Professor Liu and his colleagues went to a lot of trouble to create shooting conditions typical of a commercial or feature film and the D-20 performed very well, showing its quality in such an environment. I look forward to seeing the results of the comparison”.

During the BIRTV show many directors of photog-raphy, producers and others were impressed by the quality and variety of images on show from various D-20 productions. The ARRI FlashMag, which allows the camera to be used in handheld or Steadicam configuration without requiring a cable to a separate recorder, was also much admired.

Bill Lovell

ARRI was represented with its own extended booth showing all state-of-the-art equip-ment, ranging from the ARRIFLEX 416, 235, D-20 and Master Primes. All the big budget feature films in the country are made by 35 mm cameras. A full range of ARRI lighting was shown this year, even though ARRI lighting is already well known in the market for years. ARRIMAX, the most powerful HMI light on earth, differentiates ARRI as a market leader of technology and innovation.

ARRI Digital Intermediate Systems were re-presented by the ARRISCAN. Visitors on the show floor were fascinated by the speed of the new Digital Dailies Mode that lets the ARRISCAN run 8 fps. In Digital Dailies Mode, the negative is scanned with a single exposure instead of the double exposure.

Also presented was the new keycode based workflow which enables the user to scan camera negative based on pull or cut lists without knowing the frame position. Search ing of the keycode is done at 2 m/sec (6 ft/sec).

After BIRTV, the ARRISCAN was shipped to ARRI Service Center in Beijing for a focus group workshop, where customers had a chance to look closer and exchange ex-tensive information on both products, the ARRISCAN and ARRILASER.

4 5C a m e r a

The new Super 16 film camera ARRIFLEX 416 and the innovative ARRIMAX 18/12 received an award each at a ceremony in the historic Munich Chamber of Commerce by a panel of international experts. Profes-sor Slansky, head of the jury, commented in his introductory speech on how difficult it was “to give so few awards, since there are so many excellent ideas, technologies and products we have seen here.” This resonated well with everyone present in the Chamber of Commerce, since this 2006 cinec trade show has been one of the busiest ever with many professionals crowding the halls to get a peek at many new products.

The ARRIFLEX 416 is a modern Super 16 mm film camera that was praised by Hans Hansson, who presented the award in the Camera Technology category, for being completely silent, lightweight, ergonomic and equipped with a beautiful, bright viewfinder.

Walter Trauninger, Head of ARRI's Business Unit Camera, noted in his acceptance speech that “some years ago we had thought we would never build another 16 mm camera,

but then the market showed us that 16 mm was a healthy and thriving format, and so we developed the 416 in record time.” He continued: “From the Focus Groups con-ducted by Marc Shipman-Mueller, which defined the camera‘s features, through the design phase led by Project Manager Klemens Kehrer until now, it will have been less than two years! This was only possible through the dedication and hard work of all on the 416 team, and I want to thank them. Thanks is also due to our Managing Direc-tor Franz Kraus, who had the courage to get such a project on the way.”

The ARRIMAX 18/12 is combining the smooth light field of a Fresnel spot light with the performance of a parabolic reflector system without the need of spread lenses. The new design of the ARRIMAX reflector utilizes a multi-faceted structure for stepless focus. Equipped with a new 18,000 W single ended daylight discharge lamp, the ARRIMAX 18/12 provides an outstanding performance for all lighting applications. Wilhelm Schuster, Head of ARRI‘s Business Unit Lighting, said that “ARRI Lighting is particularly proud of this award because we think the ARRIMAX with its lens-less design sets a milestone in the area of large daylight fixtures. Thanks to all on the ARRIMAX team for making this possible.”

Timo Müller / Marc Shipman-Mueller

For more information online:ARRIFLEx 416: www.arri.com/entry/416.htmARRIMAx 18/12: www.arri.com/prod/lighting/ product_pages/arrimax/arrimax.htmcinec Awards: www.cinec.de/cinec/en/

ARRIFleX416andARRIMAX18/12WincinecAwardsSunday, 17th of September 2006 – ARRI received two cinec awards in

the categories Camera Technology and Lighting Engineering for outstanding

and innovative engineering.

Cinec 2006

Meet the best – 3561 professionals from all over the world came to Munich for the cinec. The visitors from 61 countries once more turned the cinec into an excellent international meeting and market place. The share of foreign visitors reached 59.5 % this year, besides participants from the whole of Europe, there were above all trade partners from the Middle East, Russia, India, China, Japan, South Africa and the United states. The visitors' competence and high ranking in decision making was especially satisfy-ing for the exhibitors.

The Cinec 2006 Award Jury

Prof. Peter C. Slansky, GermanyStefan Bastian, GermanyAlan Bermingham, Great BritainLouis-Philippe Capelle, BelgiumPeter Claridge, GermanyHans Hansson, Sweden

The happy ARRI team, f.l.t.r., top row: Walter Trauninger, Head of Business Unit Camera, Franz Kraus, Managing Director, Marc Shipman-Mueller, Product Manager Film Cameras & Lenses, Timo Müller, Product Manager Location Lighting, Wilhelm Schuster, Head of Business Unit Lighting F.l.t.r., bottom row: Klemens Kehrer, 416 Project Manager, Erwin Melzner, Head of Lighting R & D

Walter Trauninger, ARRI's Head of the Business Unit Camera

Wilhelm Schuster, ARRI‘s Head of the Business Unit Lighting

Hans Hansson speaking about the ARRIFLEX 416

4 6 C a m e r a

3IMAGICAIMAGICA’s Digital Imaging Division has now purchased a third ARRILASER. NAC, ARRI’s agent in Japan, has

already installed the third ARRILASER – a speed performance type – at the Tokyo-based visual effects facility.

Comments Yoshinori Watanabe of IMAGICA Corp., “Japan’s largest lab facility IMAGICA Corp., is engaged in all parts of motion picture-related business. Our Digital Process Group is equipped with cutting edge tech-nologies and provides high quality scan-ning/recording. Such a superior service and know-how is extended not only for our in-house service, but also for external custom-ers like animation studios. The group is also a leading center, driving the digital interme-diate world in Japan.

In order to respond to the growing demands, we were determined to go for a third ARRI-LASER system. Japan is famous for animated productions which get more and more popu-lar worldwide. These are filmed out with great quality and success on the ARRILASERs.

We always pay serious attention to main-tain the product performance at the highest level. With the ARRILASER’s perfomance, we are always confident that the clients enjoy superior technology.”

The ARRILASER does recordings from HD up to 4K resolution onto intermediate and camera negative material. With its built-in image processing engine, simple image manipulations as scaling, cropping and sharpening and many more, are possible on-the-fly during recording.

Additional options like ALICE, the interactive image viewer, and ARRI CMS ‘Video Look,’ the color management system for linear workflow, complete the ARRILASER lineup.

The ARRILASER is capable of recording high quality images onto intermediate material in 2K at a speed of 1.7 sec/frame and in 4K resolution at the unsurpassed speed of 2.9 sec/frame.

Roman Gadner

RisesasthelargestARRIlASeR-drivenFacilityinJapan

4 7D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

PHO

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BY D

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EN J

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ARRISCANsArriveat

Explains Bill Feightner, EFILM’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, “We really wanted to take the big leap in performance, quality and stability. We look-ed at a number of brands out there, but it was pretty obvious in terms of colorimetry, low noise and dynamic range, that the ARRISCAN exceeded anything else out on the market. EFILM is a very pragmatic com-pany, ARRI offers us excellent service and the ARRISCAN won out over any of the other technologies out there.”

EFILM has created an efficient, integrated environment for filmmakers to work through the digital intermediate process, which they refer to as the “digital laboratory.” The ARRISCAN enables EFILM to increase pro-ductivity and experience a new standard of quality in film scanning. With EFILM’s com-plex network of systems and software, the integration of the ARRISCAN required more than simply plugging it in at the facility.

“ARRI is very proactive in querying the mar-ketplace as to what they want,” he says.

“They talk to different customers and not all manufacturers are that way. ARRI is the kind of manufacturer that is willing to adapt the product so that it can meet our special-ized needs. We chose the ARRISCAN because it is going to be able to accomplish what we want to achieve here.” Using CMOS technology, the ARRISCAN provides high-speed performance through parallel data outputs and flexible output modes through active pixel technology. Because of its innovative design, the ARRI-SCAN is suited for almost any scanning ap-plication including digital intermediate, vis-ual effects, restoration, archival and dailies.

“What is unique to to the ARRISCAN is that it uses an LED array. It samples the entire frame of film at once. When you’re scanning all at once, you are getting all of the informa-tion in a shorter amount of time. It allows us to use less light, which doesn’t damage the film as much and it allows you to go much faster,” notes Feightner.

After careful evaluation and testing, Hollywood-based EFILM has chosen

to purchase two ARRISCAN film scanners for integration into their digital lab

services. EFILM has pioneered numerous breakthroughs in postproduction

digital imaging for motion pictures, including the first groundbreaking 4K

digital intermediate (DI) on SPIDERMAN 2.

EFILM is already familiar with the depend-ability of another ARRI workhorse, the ARRI-LASER film recorder. The facility owns and operates 14 machines, with all digital inter-mediates recording out onto the ARRILASER.

Says Michael Cooper, Vice President of Business Development, “We’re a volume-based business and with the load of digital intermediates as well as all the digital effects scanning, there is a lot coming through our facility. From our experience with the ARRI-LASERs, we know they are very stable and reliable. We’re comfortable working with ARRI because they have a great track record.”

Aside from high quality equipment, Feightner recognizes the service and team of techni-cians ARRI offers is equally valuable. “The performance and image quality of the scan-ner are exceptional, as well as the depend-ability and support behind the product,” he points out. “If you don’t have the support, it’s a useless product. Especially with the workflow that we have here, we can’t afford to be down. With ARRI’s prior record with the ARRILASERs we know if there’s a problem, it will be taken care of.”

EFILM’s Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer Bill Feightner

The ARRISCANs at work in EFILM's digital labs

ARRILASERs handling volume-based digital intermediate and digital effects scanning

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GoldcrestAdoptsARRISCANintoWorkflowFamily

As one of the busiest boutique facilities in the Big Apple, Goldcrest Post New York was designed to offer complete postproduction needs for the independent filmmaker. With an established digital workflow, Goldcrest strives to enable filmmakers in realizing their true creative vision. The facility began offer-ing digital intermediates (DIs) in 2004, when Goldcrest opened a specially-designed theater to provide clients a 2K data or HD online editorial and color correction services in a cinema environment to ensure accurate pre-visualization.

To bring films shot on celluloid into the digital realm for DI work and visual effects, Goldcrest recently purchased an ARRISCAN film scanner. As the first installation of the ARRISCAN on the East Coast of the U.S, the staff at Goldcrest understood that the quality of DI work is limited only by the quality of the scan. Says Tim Spitzer, Managing Direc-tor of Goldcrest Post New York, “Beyond initial photography, the basis for all data based DI work is the quality of the scan. Having first seen the ARRISCAN at IBC (International Broadcasters Conference), I was arrested by the image quality. The ARRISCAN’s oversampling, and dual expo-sure scan capturing the full D-min to D-max of the film being scanned, gave the dimen-sionality and radiance of the final images not delivered from other systems. The ability of the system to handle all 35 mm and 16 mm formats, pin registered, and deliver quality matching that of the newest genera-tion of film stocks with their ever-expanding dynamic range, provides Goldcrest with the ability to deliver end product without inherent compromise.”

Recent projects Goldcrest has completed using the ARRISCAN include John Cameron Mitchell’s Super 16 mm-originated DI of S H O R T B U S , and 2K scanning of feature interpositives (IPs) for video deliverables on Mira Nair’s NAMESAKE and Ed Burns’ THE GROOMSMEN. “Scanning 35mm IP’s at 3K sub-sampled to 2K for the creation of video deliverables and HD DVDs, creates an image quality which surpasses conventional telecine mastering. The scanning to a single

2K data master, from which all video deliver-ables are created, allows a single digital dust-bust process to serve for all those desired deliverables. We are also now actively testing archival restoration of films for the Goldcrest Films library, and other films for HD DVD mastering.”

The DI work at Goldcrest was recently put to the test for a Super 35 mm documentary titled CINEMATOGRAPHER STYLE, directed by Jon Fauer and sponsored by ARRI, Techni-color and Kodak. Featuring leading interna-tional cinematographers from 15 countries, CINEMATOGRAPHER STYLE explores how and why movies look the way they do.

Explains Spitzer, “The film is a unique tapes-try about the art and craft of the cinemato-grapher, woven by the words, expressions, and love each cinematographer obviously holds for their medium. Their vision is won-derfully articulated in this unique educational and historical testament, which Goldcrest is proud to have helped create.”

With over 110 world famous cinematogra-phers in the cast, Fauer and Dowdell knew the discerning eyes of their subjects would be put to the test at the premiere screening. They sought to deliver the most pristine print as possible. Says Spitzer, “On CINEMATO-GRAPHER STYLE at a preview of the film at the Academy theater in Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of seeing the results of the Super 35 mm film we scanned on the ARRISCAN, projected on a three-story screen. The images were magnificent. With director Jon Fauer, collaborating with Goldcrest’s colorist John Dowdell, we made 110 cinematographers look amazing. The images delivered by the ARRISCAN to our Quantel 2K IQ with Pablo color corrector gave us unmatched control of color and ease of digital clean-up. This was one of those rare moments when I broke into spontaneous laughter of joy. Walking up to two feet away from the screen there were no visible digital artifacts, no grain enhancement artifacts characteristic to lower resolution scans, only natural film grain and some really big smiles.”

An Tran

F.l.t.r.: Colorist John Dowdell, Managing Director Tim Spitzer, Milo Hernandez of Goldcrest and Thomas Greiser, ARRI NY

CHOOSINGANARRISCANIn order of importance the attrib-utes we find most important are:

1. Quality! • 6K > 4K and 3K > 2K oversam-pling: The ARRISCAN CMOS sensor captures and digitizes the negative at 6K or 3K. For CINEMATOGRAPHER STYLE we scanned at 3K and sub-sam-pled down to DPX 10 Bit Log files at 2K. This over sample creates a true 2K file with no visible aliasing

• Pin registration at 4 frames per second

• Extraordinary dynamic range: The ARRISCAN uses a diffuse light-integrating chamber to illu-minate the film. Diffuse light minimizes film surface scratches and dirt. The light source is a matrix of Red, Green, Blue and Infrared LED’s.

The ARRISCAN strobes the LED’s twice. The first exposure is optimized to digitize the shadow portions or D-Min of the negative. The second expo-sure of RGB LED’s is ten times as bright and is optimized for the highlights or D-Max of the negative. Software stitches the two scans together to produce a true 16 Bit Linear file repre-senting almost the entire dyna-mic density and color range of the film.

2. Ability to scan all 35 mm and 16 mm formats

3. Gentle film handling

4. Ease of operability

Tim Spitzer

Victor J. Kemper,

ASC

Michael Goi, ASC

Steven Poster,

ASC

Remi Adefarasin,

BSC

Richard Crudo,

ASC

Robert Primes,

ASC

Daryn Okada,

ASC

Hiro Narita,

ASC

Nancy Schreiber,

ASC

Michael Ballhaus,

ASC

Denis Lenoir,

AFC, ASC

Bill Bennett, ASC

Paul Ryan, ASC

Daniel Pearl, ASC

Kees Van Oostrum,

ASC

Owen Roizman,

ASC

Russ Alsobrook,

ASC

Matthew Libatique,

ASC

Dion Beebe,

ACS, ASC

Roger Deakins,

BSC, ASC

Tony Richmond, BSC, ASC

4 9D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

The movie was shot on Super 35, mostly using an ARRIFLEX 535B and Kodak 5205, 5217 and 5218 stocks. Shot on exciting and historic locations in India, the movie was output on film using ARRILASER film record-ers onto two negatives – one with subtitles and one without.

The film revolves around present day char-acters, who had been acting as freedom fighters from the past. The story switches between past and present, thus making it a challenge for the colorist to build differ-entiation among the time periods, and yet maintain the seamless look without con-fusing the audience.

The project involved major technical resour-ces with Prasad EFX using two ARRILASER film recorders to complete the project in record time. Prasad EFX has come to rely heavily on the ARRILASER’s speed and excellence and presently operates three ARRILASER film recorders in India and one in Hollywood. Kavita Prasad, Director of Prasad EFX says, “The ARRILASERs have phenomenally increased our capacity to take on DI projects and increased our band-width for revenue generation.”

Ken Metzker, chief colorist, Prasad EFX, was very excited about this project. He says, “The entire movie went through the DI process.

The production team of RANG DE BASANTI was very organized and started working on the look of the film very early. Because of this we were able to spend a lot of time working on the ‘past’ look.”

“Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had a very clear vision of the separation that was need-ed between the past and present looks to make the story work in a more powerful way. The DoP, Binodh Pradhan and I took this information and went through a series of possible looks on a varied set of the past sequences. This covered black-and-white, varying degrees of desaturation, color tones, and mixed tones. We recorded these looks and screened the print. From this we were able to get a better direction on which way we should not go. Both the director and DoP were sure they did not want to pro-duce a look that had been done a million times before.

We decided on a yellow tone (not sepia). This is the yellow tone that often happens on prints of photographs from the 20’s and 30’s. It was still just a black-and-white photo with a tone and did not do justice to the great depth that Binodh had captured in the negative.

What could we do to give the image more depth and separation? In the 20’s and 30’s

photographers would often hand paint parts of the image to achieve more separation. Could we translate this to the big screen? Another set of tests was done with different degrees of saturation and tones and we had finally nailed the ‘past’ look. We would color in the tone of the skin, foliage, fire, and other items that were useful in achieving depth and separation of the image and were important in helping to tell the story. This effect sounds very easy, but completing the ‘past’ look in the required deadline pushed us to utilize three Lustres at one point.”

Metzker explains Rakeysh had doubts of how the past look would work in context with the present look. He says, “Another test was put together utilizing entire se-quence intercutting past and present scenes. After viewing this, we were able to start the timing of the ‘past’ and had a good idea which direction we wanted to go on the ‘present’ look.”

The colorist points out that the director and cinematographer desired the movie to look like celluloid despite it’s journey through the digital realm. “Rakeysh and Binod had envisioned the present to look very filmic. They did not want this portion of the film to scream DI. This is where the ARRILASER edge would step in later. They wanted it to look very realistic in the print medium.

Rang

de

Basa

nti

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's RANG DE BASANTI was postproduced at Prasad EFX in India through the digital intermediate (DI) process to create spectacular images differentiating the past from the present. Binod Pradhan, cinematographer for RANG DE BASANTI used the technology and equipment to great advantage.

BE

FO

RE

5 0 D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

It was decided it would be a touch on the cooler side. This was decided to aid in the separation between the past and present. Being a DI movie, one has a lot of options. That does not mean you always choose to use them. By keeping the present filmic, I believe the effects done on the film look very believable and do not detract the au-dience’s attention from the story.”

Pradhan used the DI process to manipulate the look in one particular scene where a party at night was taking place near a fire. Says Metzker, “On the long pan into this scene we have a very dark cityscape and a brighter party scene. By selecting the cityscape and increasing its brightness and contrast, then moving the Power Window in Lustre as the shot pans, (so it would not affect the party scene’s look), we were able to achieve more depth in the image and better establish the location in the movie. In the same scene we utilized Lustre’s Windows and keys to darken and lighten certain areas in the image. This way we could get a very realistic fire-lit night scene established in the audience’s mind and yet maintain enough illumination for clear definition of the characters and their ex-pressions. Ultimately, Rang de Basanti was a great story and challenging project for the Prasad EFX team to work on.”

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Director of RANG DE BASANTI, talks about his expe-rience with Prasad EFX and the digital grading of this great project with Mohan Krishnan, Head-Corporate Communica-tions, Prasad Group.

Has digital intermediate made a difference for RANG DE BASANTI?Digital intermediate has helped RANG DE BASANTI immensely. The project was a tricky and complicated piece of digital grading. The movie switches between the 1920's and the present. This required to be visually dif-ferent, yet needed to maintain the link and come together towards the end. The actors were the same and that made it trickier, because if not handled imaginatively and carefully there was the risk of confusing the audience. What we got finally was a very good grading pattern that made all the difference.

Could RANG DE BASANTI have been done without digital grading?Yes, but definitely not to the level of proficien-cy we got with the help of digital grading.

How was your work with Prasad’s EFx Colorist Ken Metzker on RANG DE BASANTI?He was exceptionally hardworking, imagi-native and understanding! A project like this required a great amount of passion and understanding and that way Ken was great to work with.

How did you enjoy working with Prasad EFx on RANG DE BASANTI?My relationship with Prasad goes back 15 years and I have worked with Prasad

EFX a number of times in the past. I have always looked forward to come back to work with Prasad. The attitude, sincerity and commitment of the people who work at Prasad have been a reason for this.

Was RANG DE BASANTI a very special project to you?RANG DE BASANTI was a very ambitious pro-ject involving the best technicians and artists. We wanted the best in everything and we were specific about perfection everywhere. It turned out to be a very interesting project to work on for all involved and we got it all right, the way we had visualized.

Roman Gadner / Mohan Krishan

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Prasad EFX has used the ARRILASER film recorders for many more major projects from India, Malaysia, Singa-pore, Egypt, UK and the USA. The ARRILASER plays a decisive role in Krrish, one of the most anticipated Indian films in recent times starring Hrithik Roshan and involving some breathtaking visual effects, all done at Prasad EFX facilities in India.

PRASAD EFX is part of the legendary Prasad Group founded by Late Mr. L. V. Prasad. Prasad Group is Asia's premier postproduction services group with offices all over India, Singapore, Dubai and Hollywood. The services offered by the Prasad Group covers all the areas of film postproduction.

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The ARRISCAN is the only film scanner in the market that captures a double exposure of each frame. This results in a digital image with an extremely low noise level even in the highest densities of the negative. In this mode, the speed of the ARRISCAN was increased from originally one to four frames per second – known as Speed-Upgrade I, which started shipping early this year. Now, ARRI presents another speed upgrade where the second exposure is omitted, this is almost doubling the speed. “The quality of the single exposure is comparable to the results of a HD-telecine”, says Dr. Achim Oehler, Chief Engineer of the ARRISCAN.

The speed of nearly eight frames per second is achieved for any resolution in standard TV,

1K (1024 pixels per line), HD (1920 pixels per line), or 2K (2048 pixels per line). The ARRISCAN becomes a very attractive alter-native to a HD/2K telecine in a data-centric workflow. A bundle of three scanners will cost less than current real-time scanners while offering significant advantages.

– Pin-registered scanning – Scan resolution up to 6K – Automatic dust removal with DICE – Redundancy, no single point of failure

The application of the new speed upgrade ranges from producing digital rushes in SD or HD to ultra-fast scanning for small-budget DI productions. “Creating rushes with the same film scanner that is used for the high-

Real-TimeScanningForlessThanAMillion

ARRI offers real-time scanning

for less than a million Euro. Again,

the ARRISCAN has reached

new performance levels for pin-

registered film scanners. It scans

close to eight frames per second in

any resolution from standard TV

to 2K. At the IBC show in Amster-

dam, ARRI will offer a specially-

priced bundle of three scanners.

Digital dailies mode > 7 fps High-quality mode 4 fps

Comparison double exposure vs. single exposure

red green blue

Stat M Dens 1.43 1.58 1.50Cineon 717 790 748

5 2 D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

resolution scans enables a wealth of options for the postproduction”, explains the Head of Application Engineering at ARRI, Harald Brendel. He adds, “Having rushes that match the hi-res scans in color and geometry pro-vides the possibility to use them not only for editing but for visual effect layouts and early color grading as well.”

The tradeshow special can be used in two ways:The three ARRISCAN units can be connected via ARRI’s central job manager, so that the three units act as one unit and the job man-ager dispatches jobs from one EDL to the according ARRISCAN.

Having 3 reels loaded on 3 ARRISCANs will result in an overall scanning speed of 3 × 8 fps = realtime scanning capacity, but with the given advantages of a massively paralleled workflow.

But each unit can also operate in stand-alone mode, so that a facility that has sub-sidiaries in multiple cities or countries could choose to install each ARRISCAN at a differ-ent facility. This ensures that scans can be interchanged between the facilities and guarantees consistency in geometry and color between subsidiaries of a facility.

The tradeshow special is valid until the end of 2006 and will include a fully equipped ARRISCAN for 35 mm + High Speed Pack I (enabling 4fps @ 2K in double exposure and 8 fps @ 2K in single exposure).

The color and geometry calibration of the ARRISCAN ensures consistent results across multiple scanner units. All ARRISCAN’s are being synched in the ARRI factory before leaving to the client. Especially for the geo-metry calibration, ARRI uses a sophisticated mechanism where a glasstest pattern is loaded in the ARRISCAN (like a film frame) for calibrating all necessary pixel pitches.

Digital ICE Technology from Kodak is an-other groundbreaking feature of the ARRI-SCAN. Digital ICE Technology is taking care of an “on-the-fly” dust and scratch removal based on the infrared LED light of the ARRISCAN.

Kodak is offering a temporary free of charge license until November 21st , which enables all ARRISCAN clients to use the automated dust and scratch correction.

Direct SAN Integration:ADIC Storenext 2.6 or higherSGI CXFS 4.0.3 or higher

Data Interfaces:QLA2342 fibre channel host bus adapterSUN 10 Gbit Ethernet PCI-X Adapter with MMF Transceiver

Data transfer modes:ftp via 10 Gigabit EthernetDirect SAN access

General: single flash for OCN only (no Digital ICE)data rates up to 200 MB/sec, dependend on output format

Host Operating System:RHEL 4.0, kernel 2.6.9

Contact:Elfi Bernt, Product Manager, ebernt@arri.de

Concerning Price information of the trade show bundle:Stefan Kramper, Sales Manager Digital, skramper@arri.de

Correction with Digital ICE

Trilevel Defect Map

Infrared-based dust & scratch removal

Original – no correction

ARRISCAN – Central Jobmanagement

EDLParameterDatabase

Storage: NAS or SAN or DAS

Gigabit Ethernet or Fibre Channel

EDLParameterDatabase

ParameterDatabase

ParameterDatabase

JobDatabase

Storage: NAS or SAN or DAS

Gigabit Ethernet or Fibre Channel

JobDatabase

5 3D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

Two hours before the start of the Bundesliga game Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Mainz 05 the cameras were installed. The aim of this shoot was to record high-resolution imagery that could be stitched together in order to generate an ultra-wide format of 5K by 1,4K resolution to be projected with five digital projectors. This panoramic presentation with the look and feel of being live in the stadium was shown during the FIFA WorldCup 2006 at the final event of the CineVision2006 pro-ject. Within this project, which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Techno-logy and Economics, ARRI, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Deutsche Telekom, Flying Eye and Kinoton worked together to develop new technologies for future digital cinema.

Shooting at the Frankfurt Football Arena with two ARRIFLEx-D20sTwo ARRIFLEX D-20s were set up so that the focal points of the cameras were as close as possible to each other. 20 mm Ultra

Prime lenses with a horizontal image angle of 62 degrees were used.

The cameras were operated in the D-20 data mode with data transfer via dual HD-SDI interfaces to the digital field recorders. The output format was raw Bayer data with a resolution of 2880 × 2160 pixels from each camera and a bit depth of 12 bit. After recording and transfer to post production, a high-quality offline demosaicing was per-formed. In order to synchronize the two cameras, the ARRI FEM-2 Module (Function Expansion Module) was used.

Each of the two ARRIFLEX D-20s captured one side of the soccer field. With an over-lap of about 10 % between the two views, a total field of view (FOV) of over 100 degrees was achieved.

The high-resolution footage was saved on a “megacine” fieldrecorder, a portable storage

and recording device developed by Fraun-hofer IIS. In the current configuration it con-sists of 16 notebook hard disk drives with a customized RAID setup that offers a total storage capacity of one terabyte, equivalent to a recording time of up to 40 minutes of raw Bayer data. The “megacine” is equip-ped with dual HD-SDI inputs and stores the imagery as single frames. The data can then be transferred to a server through a 2 GBit fibrechannel interface or – for single test or check frames – via FireWire IEEE 1394a. The data can also be converted on the fly into .dpx, .tiff or .cineon-format. For this shoot, only the high-resolution single-frame option was used to preserve the highest possible quality.

High-Resolution Imagery for Panorama Projection with the “Immersive Touch“To successfully construct a high-quality pano-rama, two different types of adjustments are required: The geometric adjustment trans-

“Goal,Goal,Goal!”TheARRIFleXd-20CapturestheActionintheFootballStadium!

Two cameras, four field recorders, several cases with

lenses and accessories and a 5.1 audio recording set –

equipped with this impressive kit, the engineers of

the Fraunhofer IIS and the Fraunhofer HHI arrived at

the camera platform in the Frankfurt football stadium.

The final 5K panoramic projection

5 4 D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

forms the input imagery into a joint image plane and corrects for parallax errors that result from the special camera setup. The photometric adjustment fine-tunes the color rendition of the two images in order to get a smooth transition between the two views. The final result is a 5K football panorama with a perspective that corresponds to what a spectator would see from the best seat on the height of the midline.

In contrast to normal football broadcasts, the viewer has an overview of the complete field as well as the stands, which are visible on three sides of the pitch. The very large viewing angle together with the possibility to see crowds and hear the original stadium sound contribute to the “immersive” feeling of being present at the match.

For the projection of the 5K panoramic imagery, five state-of-the-art Christie DLP projectors (1400 × 1050 pixels) were used in a special multi-projector setup developed at the Fraunhofer HHI. The core of this system

is the so-called CineCard which provides seamless transitions between the individual sub-images. A single CineCard is able to control up to four separate projectors.

The multi-projection was presented during the FIFA WorldCup 2006 to a selected audience of journalists, cinematographers and industry representatives in order to show the potential that future technology can offer to bring live-events into movie theaters. The overall size of the 5K panoramic rendi-tions projected in the CinemaxX Berlin Pots-damer Platz was 20 × 5.6 m.

We would like to thank all project partners for their support and input. Our thanks go especially to ARRI Munich for providing technical equipment and for the postpro-duction and color grading of the captured material.

Angela Raguse, Fraunhofer IIS and Christoph Fehn, Fraunhofer HHI

The five Christie DLP projectors used for projecting the 5K panoramic imagery

Two ARRIFLEX D-20 cameras capturing the stadium

A bank of “megacine” fieldrecorders, on which the high-resolution footage was saved

5 5D i g i t a l I n t e r m e d i a t e _Wo r l d w i d e o n t h e M o v e

ARRI Inc. Lighting VP John Gresch demonstrates the MaxMover with the ARRIMAX for a local gaffer

TheMAXFiles: PartII

Introduced only a year ago, the ARRIMAX 18/12 has been busy globetrotting.

Fifty percent brighter than a 12k PAR, the ARRIMAX is an optimum

choice for productions requiring maximum light output. Now

available with the easily interchangeable Super Spot

Reflector, the ARRIMAX can offer focus from 8º – 15º,

allowing light to be concentrated almost three times

as bright as the sun on an average day.

ARRI Lighting Technician Aaron Weller, pans Max across the Universal Hilton courtyard

From big budget Hollywood productions to commercials and independent films, the ARRIMAX supplies light on shoots of all shapes and sizes. In this latest installment of The Max Files, we check out where the ARRIMAX has been and what the powerful light is up to.

lONdON

ARRIMAX was busy in the U.K. lighting the way on a feature film and episodic TV series. Here’s what some of the filmmakers had to say:

”Ask any DoP and they will tell you that if they could, they would like to drag the sun around the sky placing it in just the right position for each scene. This desire is not because of some unfettered megalomania (although a little is not uncommon or indeed helpful in the role!). It is simply because we want more control over our environment when

I was able to significantly lift the front ele- vation of the house even after 12:34 p.m. – the point at which the sun no longer illumi- nated it. Shooting from inside the house looking out, the Max could be spotted up to edge light a large group of mourners heading toward camera. Shooting back toward the house and in full-flood mode, the fixture lifted the dense and dark ivy facade a couple of stops – just enough for me to feel that a semblance of continuity was being maintained.”

“A regular 18k would not have done the job. Although new, the ARRIMAX performed ad- mirably – no hot-restrike issues and a clean dimming ability without a significant colour shift. This lamp represents a great step for- ward. The arrival of digital capture will not alter our lighting requirements. Keep the wattage coming – 36k HMI anyone?”

DoP Oliver Curtis, BSC

crafting images. To this end, fixtures with greater wattage and flexibility have long been called for, whether as a ‘sun-source’ – direct, edge or back-light – or as diffused and bounce fill sources.”

“We all hope to give directors greater free- dom and to give ourselves greater creative possibilities. This new ARRIMAX has gone a significant way to attaining that goal. I recently completed a movie with Frank Oz called Death At A Funeral, a story set in one afternoon with people running in and out of a country house as a family funeral descends into farce. Over the two weeks of our location, filming these exteriors was scheduled as carefully as possible to maintain lighting continuity and the illusion of a bright spring day. Of course we had the wettest May in 20 years! Placing the ARRIMAX supplied by ARRI Lighting Rental on the end of an 80-foot cherry picker with some slight diffusion to take the edge off it,

C o l o g n e

b u r b a n k

Director of Photography Achim Poulheim;in the background Michael Becker, gaffer on RENNSCHWEIN RUDI RüSSEL 2 –RUDI RüSSEL RENNT WIEDER

5 6 L i g h t i n g

“We originally tested the ARRIMAX at ARRI Lighting Rental and were impressed with the really long throw which made us think that it would be ideal for day exteriors. We shot a scene in a church and shone [Max] through a stained glass window into the church interior, it worked really well. A regular 18k Fresnel would have posed a problem for this scene. To have gotten the throw we would have to place the lamp close to the stained glass and with such power this could have caused the glass to fracture and the lead to melt. If we moved it further away, we wouldn’t have gotten the throw we needed and the sufficient light required for the scene. In this instance the ARRIMAX 18K lens less system per- formed perfectly and was ideal for what we had in mind.”

DoP Cinders Forshaw, BSC and Gaffer Tom Gates on the Television Drama Series M ISS M ARPLE

COlOGNe

Based on a German children’s novel, Peter Timm directs RENNSCHWEIN RUDI RÜSSEL 2 – RUDI RÜSSEL RENNT WIEDER. The company Maier Bros. GmbH, Cologne, is renting besides a lot of grip, stage and lighting equipment, also an ARRIMAX 18/12 to the production.

“Despite the relatively small focus travel, the ARRIMAX provides an enormous range between the flood and spot focus position. Particularly the spot position shows what the facetted reflector of the ARRIMAX can realize. In day-to-day use the ARRIMAX proves to be handier than I initially thought. Even after working long hours in demand-ing outdoor conditions (rain, wind) the ARRIMAX did not show any weaknesses. Probably the comments of my crew express most accurately what the ARRIMAX stands for: ‘Here comes the sun!’”

Gaffer Michael Becker

Chicago

Max came into town as an unknown. Over a two-day period other lights paled in com- parison. The shoot-out at Essanay Studio and Lighting Co. was like the St. Valentine’s Day massacre – after the smoke and mirrors cleared; nothing was left standing except Chi-Max.

“We compared the ARRIMAX to a regular 18k Fresnel on our stage here at Essanay. The ARRIMAX put the 18k to shame. It easily covered an area four times the size of the 18k Fresnel with the same output and considering the amount of output it has, the heat issues are very minimal. It’s no worse than an 18k Fresnel. For night exteriors it’s an incredible light, it can light up buildings blocks away or for daylight, you can shine it through any large window and just have one light instead of multiple lights. It will pay its way back pretty quickly to rental companies and be a time saver to produc- tion companies.”

Gaffer and President of Essanay Studios, Jules Tomko

BURBANK

For a select group of cinematographers, operators, gaffers and rental house owners in Los Angeles who were unable to attend NAB, ARRI brought the show to them for an exclusive Pre-NAB event to exhibit the ARRIMAX 18/12 HMI PAR, new ARRIFLEX 416 camera and ARRISCAN film scanner. As guests brought their cars to the valet at the Universal Hilton, they were welcomed by intense beams of light emanating from two ARRIMAXes in the courtyard. One ARRIMAX sat on a stand and another was suspended in a Condor with ARRI’s auto- mated stirrup, the MaxMover.

The annual Gaffer’s Day took place at the ARRI Burbank facility this spring, featuring the new ARRIMAX and MaxMover hoisted high on a Condor. Lighting technicians, gaffers, key grips, students and filmmakers paid a visit to Max and see him in action.Max welcomed over 250 members of the International Cinematographers Guild who attended the West Coast Lighting Workshop in June featuring Russell Carpenter, ASC; Shelley Johnson, ASC; Wally Pfister, ASC and Daniel Pearl, ASC. Situated near the entrance of the Local 80 stage where the workshop took place, ARRIMAX sat on dis- play for the operators, assistants and other cinematographers to examine during breaks between all the tips, tricks and techniques offered by the talented speakers.

l ASVeGAS

Touted as the world’s largest electronic media event covering television, motion picture studios, broadcast and cable net- works, the 2006 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention brought over 100,000 registered attendees together. Max made a headlining appearance at an Oktoberfest-style party for ARRI customers, where he lit up the Hofbräuhaus against Sin City’s neon skyline.

lOSANGeleS

In its 10th year, Cine Gear Expo has grown from a one-day equipment event to the premiere film and digital media expo, networking event and seminar series for the entertainment production and postpro-duction community in Los Angeles. It was the first public showing of Max in the Hollywood area and many eager film- makers packed the booth to have some face-to-face time with him. As with many celebrity sightings, some attendees were so excited by the ARRIMAX they posed for pictures with him!

Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, ASC takes the class through his special techniques for lighting faces

Max, hanging from a MaxMover, lights up the landscape

The line of attendees for the ICG Lighting Workshop gets a first look at ARRIMAX

b u r b a n k b u r b a n k

5 7L i g h t i n g

PartIITheMAXFiles:

Max also had the chance to stretch his legs at a shoot with cinematographer Daniel Pearl, ASC on a commercial production shoot. Pearl, who had been introduced to the large fixture while leading a seminar for the International Cinematographers Guild, used Max as a key light for every shot. The production took place at the athletic stadium of Mount San Antonio College, where Pearl captured a pole-vaulter in action.

AUSTR Al IA

Just recently, we were pleased to deliver Australia’s first ARRIMAX to Les Frazier, a well known and experienced Melbourne Gaffer. A few days later, we contacted him to see how it was all going. Les reported that he had already put it to work with great success, and both he and the DOP were very pleased with the light output and quality of the ARRIMAX and was obviously looking forward to the next time he can pull it out of the truck to give it a run. It seems the only one not happy with the new arrival is Les’s wife who can’t get hold of him. Because if Les is not working he has been at his work-shop firing it up to show it off. Annie Frazier, Australia’s first ARRIMAX widow.

An Tran, Judith Petty, Timo Mueller, Fred Horne,Richard Curtis and Clemens Danzer

ARRI’s Timo Mueller showcases Max to an NAB attendee

All hail the mighty ARRIMAX!

A lighting setup that includes Max for a commercial shot by Daniel Pearl, ASC

l a s v e g a sl o s a n g e l e s

a u s t r a l i a

Les Frazier operating the ARRIMAX

NewSpotReflectorFORARRIMAX18/12

Standard Reflector Flood 50° – 13459lx / 1495fc

Spot Reflector optimised for 8° – 289000lx / 32139fc

Standard Reflector Spot 15° – 129960lx / 14400fc

Almost3t imesasbrightasthesunonasunnyday!ARRIMAXPer formanceat10m/30ft:

5 8 L i g h t i n g

MaxMover--TechnologyT eS T ed TO T He M A XUsually it is a long way from a good

idea to a marketing plan for a success-

ful product. Perfect technology and vast

experience are the most reliable bases

in this game to develop equipment in-

line with the specific market demands.

ARRI MaxMover at Rücker GmbH for tension and stress testings

With the MaxMover, ARRI went one step further: not only the requirements for the movie industry had to be considered, but also for theatrical, event and industrial applications. Simply the most versatile motorized stirrup was targeted. In order to fulfill all the different requirements, the MaxMover had to pass many tests, such as an IP rating test, tension tests, electrical safety tests and EMC/EMI tests.

The IP rating for example gives an indica- tion about the protection of the product against environmental influences. With two independent digits the IP protection class describes how good the product performs in dust, spray water etc. The first digit always indicates the protection against solid objects on a scale from 0 to 6, with 6 being the highest protection class for products totally protected against dust. The second digit stands for protection against immerging liquids on a scale from 0 to 8, with 8 for products protected against long periods of immersion under pressure. The MaxMover is rated with IP54 meaning it is protected against dust (5 for the first digit)

and against sprays from all directions with limited ingress permitted (4 for the second digit).

Tension testing demanded a mechanical stress from the MaxMover that was 10 times higher than the specified weight load without any deformation of the mechanical construction. The resulting actual test weight was then 800 kg (1760 lbs), which is equal to 7850N. A load that is definitely not recommended to be taken into account, when working in real life situations: for good reasons the maximum capacity is limited to 80 kg (176 lbs).

The electrical testing procedure ensures safety and reliability regarding the electrical functionality under all circumstances. The EMC* (electromagnetic compatibility) and EMI* (electromagnetic interference) tests are also a very important part of the general test procedures, especially since they are a part of the CE declaration of conformity. Besides many more quality and safety par- ameters, the CE marking on the MaxMover (as well as on all other ARRI products)

ARRI MaxMover at J. Schmitz Technologiezentrum GmbH for EMC and EMI testings

guarantees that there is no interference with other electrical systems, including radio transmitter devices.

The MaxMover offers great functionality and a professionally rugged design for a vast variety of high profile applications – but it is also not limited to lampheads: Any other device that benefits from a remotely controlled movement can easily be attached.

Timo Müller

* EMC – The ability of a device or system to function without error in its intended electromagnetic environment

* EMI – Electromagnetic emissions from a device or system that interfere with the normal operation of another device or system

Source: http://www.emclab.umr.edu/emcdef.html and http://www.aquatext.com/tables/ip_ratings.htm

5 9L i g h t i n g

Lutz Rösken: Looking at the power consump-tion and the costs for the air-conditioning, it only took us about one year.

CW: How do you evaluate the performance of the ARRI Ceramic 250?

Lutz Rösken: Compared to the 1kW studio luminaires the light dispersion is much more even. I also like the idea of being able to switch between daylight 5600K to tungsten 3200K just by exchanging the light bulbs, even though I would probably have no project to use this feature.

CW: Any recommendations for new products or improvements?

Lutz Rösken: The Ceramics are perfect for news or any show with little movement. For sports or entertainment shows a more flexible light is necessary – the lampheads need to be dimmable. I know you are working on a top-performance dimmer, but right now I unfortunately can’t utilize the ARRI Ceramics just for everything.

CW: Thank you, Lutz, for taking the time.

Claudia Wutzke: PLAZAMEDIA was one of the very first adopters of the ARRI Studio Ceramic technology. Do you have a personal affinity for new technology?

Lutz Rösken: I am always interested in pro- gressive lighting technology. I first heard about the ceramic technology at a seminar at the Prolight&Sound 2004 exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany. Philips introduced the new ceramic bulb and ARRI identified all kinds of applications. But Mathis Richter from the ARRI sales department was actually the one who inspired me. He has been a fair-minded counselor to me over the last 15 years.

CW: Did you set up a completely new studio or did you replace lampheads back then, when you installed ten of the new ARRI Studio Ceramic 250?

Lutz Rösken: I replaced our 2kW Studio lampheads. The 2kWs ran dimmed to 60% only because of the heat dissipation. With the ARRI Ceramics I am noticeably saving energy for the air-condition, it is much more comfortable for the show master, and we are getting more light output at a lower wattage.Another very important point to me was the maintenance. The studio produces up to 17

hours daily in live broad- casting. This work schedule does not leave you many options for maintenance, especially when the lamp- heads are in a fixed instal- lation and are as hard to reach as in this studio. So I definitely needed lampheads that can be left unattended for a very long time. Actually, there was no service necessary over the entire production time of one year.

CW: For what kind of show your are using the ARRI Ceramics?

Lutz Rösken: We are currently working on a ‘call-in’ show operating from 1 to 6pm. The ARRI Studio Ceramic 250 are serving us as key and fill lights. The light beam of a regular 2kW studio luminaire carries a lot of heat, which puts a lot of stress on the show master. With the Ceramics the temperature increase is now hardly noticeable.

CW: How long did it take you to get your return on investment for your new ARRI Ceramics 250 installment?

PLAZAMEDIA is Germany’s largest sports-TV producer and

one of the leading service providers for TV and the new

media. Their customers range from DSF, Premiere, 9Live, ARD,

ZDF, SAT.1, ProSieben, RTL and RTL II to Walt Disney Tele-

vision International. Lutz Rösken, head of the light engineering

department of PLAZAMEDIA, talks about his experiences

using ARRI Studio Ceramic 250 for over two years now.

ARRICeramicTechnologyforOneofGermany’sMostImportantServiceProviders

PlAzAMedIA

6 0 L i g h t i n g

ARRI X Ceramic 250

Surface temperature comparison: ARRI 2000 vs. ARRI Studio Ceramic 500 (prototype)

ARRI Studio Ceramic 250 ARRI Studio Ceramic 500

Ataglance:

ARRI Studio Ceramic 500– 500W / 90–265VAC 50/60Hz– 3200K / CRI>90 with CST 500 HR– 1000hrs lamp lifetime, CST 500 HR– 45000lm, 90lm/W, CST 500 HR– Hot Restrike– Built-in Ballast– Flicker Free (130Hz) – Cost benefits: maintenance, running costs, air conditioning, wiring, transport, generators– Lower thermal stress to performers– Longer lifetime for colour gels

Versions– Manual– Pole Operation

Colours– Blue/Silver– Black

Accessories– Barndoor– Snoot– Diffusor Frame– Scrims

The ARRI Ceramic Trio – A league of its own!

500ARRIStudioCeRAMIC

ARRI Lighting expands the Ceramic range with the introduction of the new Studio Ceramic 500. After initial success of the ARRI X Ceramic 250 and the Studio Ceramic 250, ARRI complements the Ceramic range for ‘cool’ studio solutions. The 500W Ceramic power class offers a true 3200K energy efficient equivalent for a 2kW tungsten Fresnel spotlight. The ARRI X Ceramic 250 and the ARRI Studio Ceramic 250 have already proved as substitutes for respectively conventional 2kW soflights and 1kW tungsten Fresnel spotlights.

All ARRI Ceramic fixtures feature cooler housing temperature, lower power consump-tion, longer lamp lifetime, “hot” restrike, colour rendering index > 90, and built-in igniter and ballast.

The ARRI Ceramic trio plays in a league of its own regarding efficiency and low main- tenance solutions.

61L i g h t i n g

Seeing is believing – and a picture tells a story much better than a 1000 words. So, broadcasting an educational channel on the internet is an obvious proposition. The mechanics on site can ask questions immediately – without any travel expenses, while the studio crew explains every step of the work flow in great detail. Furthermore, all these interactive questions may source internal suggestion systems and help to continuously improve products.

Volkswagen TV Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, is one of the pioneers in this

V O l K S W A G e N T VARRI l i gh t s Up Innova t i ve educa t i on Channe l

Corporate TV is a pretty young

catch phrase that may soon become synonymous with a new kind of learning. With great success, companies

are expanding the capa- bilities of their internal communications depart-ments to continuously improve the level of infor- mation of their employees all over the world.

6 2 L i g h t i n g

emerging field and quickly became an important building block of the company’s corporate communications strategy.

ARRI talked to Dipl.-Ing. Heiko Thoms, head of Volkswagen TV.

Could you please give us a brief history of the Volkswagen TV Studios?

Heiko Thoms: For the first three years, our productions came out of a very small studio. Even for shoots on a lifting platform, we had to move our cameras into the workshop. When the new TSC (Technical Service Centre) was planned, we had the oppor- tunity to bring in our requirements, based on practical experience. Furthermore, the proximity also has some decisive logistical advantages.

Sounds like a true success story. What about the utilisation of the studios – and what sorts of programs are produced here?

HT: We produce a number of very different formats, from the technical training of service people for totally different markets through up-to-date product information (known as the Volkswagen-API) up to sales training and internal communications. Our target groups are mainly service, sales and after-sales personnel but we also produce for all employees generally. Through our formats, our divisional director, Mr. Hildebrandt, communicates directly to some 650 people on a regular basis. In after-sales, the company has adjusted its organisational structures and uses our formats to communicate changes and achievements.

Our camera control room is able to broad- cast live from three studios. However, we would typically broadcast from one studio, do rehearsals in the second and prepare another program in the third. Our broad- casting scheme is adjusted to the usual company standards with a two-shift labour system. This means two programs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both between 8 am and 5 pm. Afterwards, the studios are free e.g. for rehearsals of a corporate message by our divisional manager whenever he has got the time for it. At the end of the day, we are an in-house service-provider.

Calculating five days a week and 12 months, it looks like the studios are used to capacity and bear any comparison with “normal” TV studios.

V O l K S W A G e N T VBritta Dörnbrack, Heiko Thoms and Sven Beyer

6 3L i g h t i n g

HT: The capacity is even higher, which may not sound logical on first sight. However, the technical equipment is run by the TVN company – and Volkswagen rents out the studios occasionally. So there is some added value of these studios that is not only the availability for corporate TV.

What picture format are you using? When broadcasting the programme, there is no definitive requirement to use any of the usual TV standards.

by our programs. After log-out the previous settings of the PC are restored. However, the basic picture format we are using is PAL.

What was the decision-making process like regarding the technical equipment?

HT: When starting the process, we already had acquired long-term experience in producing corporate TV programs. On the other hand, we asked for external consul-tancy and ran through a standard specifi-cation process. We got in contact with other companies using corporate TV and running their own studios – and we did a lot of comparisons. Today, we know that we got exactly what we wanted and what we needed. We specify our requirements precisely and buy the corresponding tech-nology and the editorial services. Or in other words: Technical equipment and edi-torial staff are supplied by TVN, a service company. We are using the same standards and terms as private TV companies, like RTL or public broadcasters, like the ARD.

HT: This year will see the 10th anniversary of Corporate TV at Volkswagen. It all started with VW/AUDI TV, which was broadcast quite conventionally over satellite und received via set-top boxes by standard TV sets. This signal path was the biggest disad-vantage: The TV set usually was located in a meeting room and interactivity just did not happen. Now the program is at the employees’ PC and they can ask questions instantly. After log-in, the PC is automatically set to a 800 × 600 pixel resolution as used

6 4 L i g h t i n g

Of course your programs do have to reflect a specific corporate design ...

HT: Sure they do! Our studio decoration, the equipment, even the PC log-in screen – they all comply with the corporate design of the Volkswagen brand and are instantly recognised as such. Quite similar to the ARRI products, which are also instantly recognised by their design and quality.

Your concept really seems to work. Do you think that it will be used by other members of the Volkswagen group in the near future – e.g. Seat, Skoda, Audi?

HT: Audi run their corporate TV using our support, know-how and equipment. Further- more, we are currently discussing how to address and use synergetic effects since Skoda and Seat are very interested to use this media channel as well.

Will this also contain local topics?

HT: Of course. There is even a programme by the European Union, called Leonardo da Vinci, that we are already part of. This project does not talk so much about techno-logy but about the specific requirements and conditions for various countries and nations.

In any case, all content produced will be available for all Volkswagen importers world-wide through our media container. These importing companies decide indi-

vidually what part of the content they are going to use and how they are going to use it.

Mr. Thoms, thank you very much for your time and for sharing your insider’s view with us!

Sven Beyer and Jochen Thieser

Dipl.-Ing. Heiko Thoms was appointed head of Volkswagen TV in 2005. His career started in 1989 when he became an apprentice in industrial electronics at Volkswagen. Later, he studied vehicle construction and returned to Volkswagen, handling warranty issues. In 2001, he joined the corporate TV team. In 2004 he was promoted to team leader of VW/AUDI TV.

ARRI equipment list of the Volkswagen TV Studios:

ARRI Studio 2000 P.O.

ARRI Studio 1000 P.O.

ARRI Junior 2000 P.O.

ARRI Junior 1000 Plus P.O.

ARRI Junior 650 Plus P.O.

ARRISOFT 2000 P.O.

ARRI CYC 1250 Single P.O.

ARRI CYC 1250 Single

ARRI Studio Cool 4

The specification process for the Volkswagen TV studios was coordinated by Dipl.-Phys. Jürgen Fink, who was also responsible for the very advanced media technology used at the Volkswa-gen Autostadt in Wolfsburg.

6 5L i g h t i n g

Quite naturally, the moving lights and LEDs are in the front line at many exhibitions, shows and events. But still, all these systems can not entirely replace the classical light sources like PARs and Fresnels. A good basic light setting – as the name says – plays the tune. Small wonder that the ARRI Event Lighting System continues slipping into applications that could not be more different from each other. From product placement on shows, through the world’s largest stage in the middle of lake Con- stance in Bregenz, the TURANDOT in the

Associativity

is driving our way of thinking.

Just try to prevent images from popping up in

the back of your head when someone uses the words

“cars” and “lighting”! These images may stretch from mystically

illuminated prototypes in photo studios to the big car shows with their twin-

kling starry skies. The range of applications that the ARRI Event Lighting

System has filled since it came into existence six years ago in the shape of the

ARRISUN Event 5 and 12 is at least as wide. This, however, is only a small

part of a much bigger success story that is now becoming a new business

segment at ARRI …

6 6 L i g h t i n g

Forbidden City, the Peter Gabriel Tour 2004, the Miss Slovakia competition 2006 to the premiere of the movie PIRATES OF THE CARIBEAN in Hollywood and the Olympic Games in Athens 2004. The key to all these applications was a clever develop-ment following market needs– and driven by practical requirements and experience from ARRI Rental.

It may not be instantly obvious, but most of the major car manufacturers not only count on the precise lighting quality of ARRI’s Event Lighting System with its easy set-up and reliable cabling when presenting their new designs: they also use ARRI develop-ments behind the curtains. Industrial Lighting Solutions is the key phrase. Applications for

are only possible when precise lighting equipment and perfect technology are in use.

A further field of application is solar simulation. As the HMI’s light spectrum is a close approximation of natural sunlight, it can be used to study the aging process of materials or to test the durability of design elements in a car under laboratory conditions.

The tough requirements of movie shooting – and the additional inputs from many other sources – are the background that allows ARRI to ideally support its customers from all industries in the continuous struggle for the best equipment. Herbert van Hille

industrial lighting are e. g. crash tests with their enormous demand for flicker-free light to allow high-speed pictures with 1,000 to 5,000, even 10,000 frames per second and to provide all the detailed resolution the development engineers need to see. New cameras with even higher resolutions and shorter exposure times are setting the pace in this segment.

Methods developed in crash test lighting are also being used for other industrial applications, especially when working on strain limits or movement analysis, e.g. in sports. Even when watching TV, we appreciate slow-motion for discussing referee decisions in soccer, forgetting for a moment that such technical gimmicks

NewBusinessSegmentdedicatedtotheAutomotiveandShowIndustry

6 7L i g h t i n g

ARRI: Why do you visit VideoForum?

Alex: I try and keep informed about new video technology and VideoForum is one of best exhibi- tions to achieve this.

ARRI: Whilst you were visiting VideoForum did you attend any of the free seminars?

Alex: I attended the majority of them.

ARRI: Did you find the seminars constructive?

Alex: Very much so, although they were very popular and there was an awful lot of information to take in.

ARRI: What made you decide to enter the prize draw for a place on an ARRI Lighting Academy course?

Alex: I have been a Focus Puller for ten years and have been shooting shorts and small promos for the last three, and I am still leaning. Attending the seminars made me realise this and a competi- tion for a free place on a lighting course seemed too much of an opportunity to pass over, of course I didn’t think I would be lucky enough to actually win.

ARRI: As a Focus Puller, what did you hope to achieve attending the course?

Alex: As I said before, although I have been in the business for ten years, I am very much aware that to make it as a cameraman there is still so much more I need to learn.

ARRI: Did the course live up to your expectations?

Alex: Without a doubt, the vast experience and knowledge Dave Lock has is so impressive, and it is all the tricks of the trade that he has accumu- lated over the years that you will never find in a text book.

ARRI: You were aware of UK rental facility ARRI Media before you attended the course, but did you learn anything new about ARRI whilst you were at Highbridge?

Alex: ARRI proved again what a highly profes- sional outfit they really are. The history of ARRI is so impressive and the staff appear to really enjoy the environment in which they work. This shows through in the service you get from every depart- ment within the ARRI Group.

ARRI: How did you find the equipment you used throughout the course?

Alex: ARRI’s facilities at Highbridge are endless and we had access to everything in the rental and sales division – it was great to be able to get your hands on so much kit. Although I am very familiar with the camera side it was great to be able to have access to the vast range of lighting and grip equipment available.

VideoForum20 06

ARRI: Would you recommend the ARRI Lighting Academy?

Alex: I already have, I have recommended the course to all my colleagues. Regardless of the level of experience you have in the industry it is a great format to refresh known techniques, bounce ideas off of other people attending, as well as try out different things to achieve the effect you are after.

ARRI: And finally, did you think that the course was worth winning?

Alex: Absolutely, apart from learning an awful about lighting, the hospitality was great, the food was good and at the end there was a brilliant goody bag full of lighting toys and gadgets!

For more information on future ARRI Lighting Academy courses contact:

Siobhan Daly, ARRI (GB) Tel: +44 (0) 1895 457000 E-mail: sdaly@arri-gb.com

Bill Curtis, Bill Curtis Associates Tel: + 44 (0) 1959 563 326 E-mail: bill@bcassociates.org www.bcassociates.org

ARRI (GB) was once again sponsor of the Lighting Skills Centre, which offered a series of free seminars to those interested in improving their knowledge on lighting methods. Conducted by experienced lighting professionals, including Dave Lock, a highly successful Lighting Director who trained with the BBC, and Jonathan Harrison, a Lighting Cameraman who trained at Ealing Film Studios, the seminars saw a record attendance with some visitors travelling as far as from the North of England to attend.

As well as sponsoring the Lighting Skills Centre, ARRI (GB) also had a booth at this year’s show, where for the first time lighting kits, grip, filter and accessories could be actively purchased, all at a discounted rate exclusively available to the attendees of VideoForum.

Attracting visitors to the booth was a special prize draw offering the chance to win a free place, worth £625, on an ARRI Lighting Academy three-day course. The lucky winner was Focus Puller Alex Reid, who was drawn by Dave Lock and VideoForum Director, Henri Cash, at the end of the show.

The ARRI Lighting Academy, run in association with Bill Curtis Associates, is based at ARRI (GB)’s Highbridge premises in London. Now in its third successful year, it provides a three-day intensive, hands-on course that puts emphasis on practical lighting theory for the film, television and creative industries. Winner Alex Reid attended the course in April of this year and ARRI (GB) spoke to Alex afterwards to find out how he got on.

A H I T F O R A R R I (G B)

Dave Lock presenting Alex his certificate on completing the three-day course held at ARRI GB headquarters, Highbridge

Andrew Prior, Digital Camera Manager, of ARRI Media show the delegates the benefits to the D-20

Dave Lock, Martin Carnell, ARRI UK Sales Manager with Henri Cash VideoForum Show director picking the lucky winner to win a place on the ARRI Lighting Academy

Held during February at Earls Court,

London, VideoForum offers a vibrant and

exciting start to the year for the UK

market. As the annual technology event

for everyone involved in creating and

distributing TV programmes and video

content, this year was the most successful

to date with over 8,500 visitors through

the doors during its three-day duration.

6 8 L i g h t i n g

Jon Fauer, ASC produced, directed and photographed some 200 hours of dialogues with cinematographers who work in narra-tive films for television and the cinema, docu-mentaries, music videos and commercials. All of them were asked why and how they became cinematographers, who influenced or motivated them, the origins of the “looks” they have created, and whether new techno-logies and techniques affect their work. The film premiered to an at-capacity crowd two days earlier at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

The concept for CINEMATOGRAPHER STYLE originated more than three years ago when ARRI Inc. President Volker Bahnemann suggested that Fauer film interviews with cinematographers for a 10-minute DVD to augment a book he was updating.

“Our goal was to take the audience on a journey into the hearts and minds of many of the world’s most gifted cinematographers,” Fauer says. “Most of them were reluctant to be on the other side of the lens, but they were all amazingly articulate.”

ARRI agreed to provide funding and equip-ment, Kodak volunteered to supply the film, and Technicolor offered lab and telecine services. Various other companies and indi-viduals offered their support, and many people urged Fauer to interview more cine-matographers and expand the 10-minute DVD into a feature length film. Fauer shot on ARRICAM systems with Kodak Vision 2 film.

CINeMATOGRAPHeRSTyleScreensatAcademyofMotionPicturesArtsandSciences

The art and craft of filmmaking was celebrated at the Academy of Motion

Pictures Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn theater in Beverly Hills on

June 27 with a special screening of C INEMATOGRAPHER STYLE for cast,

crew and industry professionals. The 90-minute documentary weaves a

collage of commentaries by 110 cinematographers from 15 countries into a

multi-faceted story about the universal art of telling stories with moving

images. The event was hosted by ARRI, Kodak and Technicolor.

The camera negative was brought into digital post-production via an ARRISCAN film recorder in 3K resolution which was then downsampled for the 2K digital inter-mediate process at Goldcrest Post New York. The project was then outputted back onto film at ARRI’s Burbank facility through two ARRILASER film recorders. Additional prints of the film were made at Technicolor.

“I felt cinematographers talking about art ought to be recorded on 35 mm film that audiences can also see projected on a cinema screen,” Fauer says. “I also thought it was important to conduct the interviews on a proven, archival form of media that will be accessible to future filmmakers and historians decades and hundreds of years from now.”

Fauer is a New York-based director/cinema-tographer, whose body of work ranges from documentaries, dramas and commercials. He has authored a number of technical books for filmmakers and students.

CINEMATOGRAPHER STYLE will eventually be released as a DVD, and Fauer plans to use it as background for a book. A substantial portion of profits from DVD and book sales will be donated to the American Society of Cinematographers education and build-ing funds.

To learn more, go to www.cinematographerstyle.com

Bob Fisher and An TranFred Goodich, Stephen Burum, ASC and Laszlo Kovacs, ASC

F.l.t.r.: Woody Omens, ASC congratulates Volker Bahnemann while director Jon Fauer, ASC takes in the praise

F.l.t.r.: Bill Bennett, ASC; Jon Fauer, ASC and Allen Daviau, ASC

Journalist Bob Fisher (left) and Grover Crisp, VP of Asset Management & Film Restoration for Sony Pictures

F.l.t.r.: Bill Bennett, ASC; Volker Bahnemann, Angela Reedwisch of ARRI Film & TV Services

Patty and Russell Carpenter, ASC

6 9N e w s a r o u n d A R R I

Title Production Company Director DoP Equipment

AFRIKA, MON AMOUR Moovie the art of Carlo Rola Frank Küpper ARRIFLEX D20, 435, Lighting, Grip entertainmentDAS PARFUM Constantin Filmproduktion Tom Tykwer Frank Griebe ARRICAM ST / LT, 435, 235, 3-Perforation, Lighting, GripDER RUSSISCHE GELIEBTE ndF Ulrich Stark Peter von Haller ARRIFLEX 416, Lighting, GripDIE WILDEN HÜHNER Bavaria Film Vivian Naefe Peter Döttling ARRICAM ST / LT, 3-Perforation UND DIE LIEBE

EIN PARADIES FÜR PFERDE Degn Film Peter Weissflog Lothar E. Stickelbrucks ARRIFLEX 416EINE STADT WIRD ERPRESST TV60Film Dominik Graf Alexander Fischerkoesen ARRIFLEX 16SR 3, Lighting, GripHERR BELLO collina Filmproduktion Ben Verbong Jan Fehse ARRICAM ST / LT, 3-Perforation, Lighting, GripICH SEHE WAS, Ostlicht Filmproduktion Hagen Keller Philipp Kirsamer ARRIFLEX 16SR 3, Lighting, Grip WAS DU NICHT SIEHST... KOMMISSARIN LUKAS VI + VII Olga Film Thomas Berger Torsten Breuer ARRIFLEX 416, Lighting, GripTHE NATIVITY STORY The Northern Progress Catherine Hardwicke Elliott Davis Lighting, Grip Company Ltd. PRINZ EDUOARD, MAX MINSKY X Filme Anna Justice Ngo the Chau ARRICAM ST / LT, 435, 3-Perforation, UND ICH Lighting, GripRENNSCHWEIN RUDI RÜSSEL 2 Relevant Film Peter Timm Achim Poulheim ARRICAM ST / LT, 435, 3-PerforationTANGO, TANGO Roxy Film Thomas Kronthaler Christoph Chassèe ARRIFLEX 416, Lighting, Grip4 GEWINNT SamFilm Joachim Masannek Benjamin Dernbecher ARRICAM ST / LT, 435, 3-Perforation

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Title Production Company DoP Equipment

THE GOLDEN AGE Working Title Films Remi Adefarasin BSC ARRICAM ST / LTTALES FROM THE RIVERBANK Riverbank the Moive Ltd John Ignatius ARRIFLEX D-20MISS MARPLE SERIES III Granda Media Group / LWT Sue Gibson BSC ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 AdvancedAFTERLIFE II Quite Scary Films Ltd Andy Collins ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 AdvancedBEAN II Haricot Films Ltd Baz Irvine ARRICAM ST / LTTHE ALLOTMENT Warp Allotment Ltd David Luther ARRIFLEX D-20BLAIR Mentorn David Katznelson ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 AdvancedI HATE MY JOB I Hate My Job Ltd Tony Miller ARRICAM LTHUNGER Tightrope North Ben Smithard ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 Advanced / ARRIFLEX 41628 WEEKS LATER DNA Films Enrique Chediak ARRIFLEX 16SR 3 Advanced / ARRIFLEX 435

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Title Production Company Director DoP Gaffer Rigging Gaffer

28 WEEKS LATER DNA Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Enrique Chediak Alex Scott MUTANT CHRONICLES Mutants Limited Simon Hunter Geoff Boyle Ossie Jung FLAWLESS Delux Productions Michael Radford Richard Greatrex, BSC Peter Goddard HOGFATHER The Mob Film Company Vadim Jean Gavin Finney, BSC Terry Hunt Steve CortieDEATH AT A FUNERAL Death At A Funeral Ltd. Frank Oz Oliver Curtis, BSC Paul Toomey Andrew WatsonMISS MARPLE LWT Nicolas Winding Refn Sue Gibson, BSC Terry Hunt THE TRIAL OF TONY BLAIR Mentorn Simon Cellan Jones David Katznelson Warren Ewen / Otto Stenov MANSFIELD PARK Company Productions Ltd. Iain B Mcdonald Nick Dance Darren Harvey HUNGER Tightrope North Terry Mcdonough Ben Smitthard Stewart Drummond TALES OF THE RIVERBANK Riverbank The Movie John Henderson John Ignatius Larry Park Pat MillerBUZZ ON THE MOON Tiger Aspect Rupert Edwards Nina Kellgren, BSC John Colley SALLY LOCKHEART MYSTERIES BBC Brian Percival Adam Suschitzky Stewart King (RUBY IN THE SMOKE)

Title Production Company Director

AM ENDE KOMMEN TOURISTEN 23 / 5 Filmproduktion Robert ThalheimDAS LETZTE STÜCK HIMMEL Sperl & Schott Film Produktion Jo BaierDAS PARFUM Constantin Filmproduktion Tom TykwerDER RUSSISCHE GELIEBTE ndF Ulrich StarkDIE AUGEN MEINER MUTTER d.i.e. film Nuran D. CalisDIE FAMILIENANWäLTIN, STAFFEL 2 Sony Pictures Ulli Baumann / Christoph Schnee / Richard HuberDIE SONNENFELDS TEIL 4+5 Post One Christina KabischDIE VERZAUBERUNG Olga Film Wolfram PaulusEIN FREUND VON MIR X Filme Sebastian SchipperHERR BELLO collina Filmproduktion Ben VerbongKOMMISSARIN LUCAS VI+VII Olga Film Thomas BergerLIEBESFLÜSTERIN collina Filmproduktion Jakob SchäuffelenMR. SOFT Brainpool TV Ralf HuettnerMYLANA Dedo Weigert Film Roman ShyrmanPRINZ EDUOARD, MAX MINSKY UND ICH X Filme Anna JusticeROSAMUNDE PILCHER – SOMMER DER LIEBE FFP New Media Thomas HezelTANGO, TANGO Roxy Film Thomas KronthalerTATORT – A G’MAHDE WIESN Moovie the art of entertainment Martin EnlenUNTER VERDACHT VIII Pro GmbH Isabel Kleefeld4 GEWINNT SamFilm Joachim MasannekWEISST WAS GEIL WäR SamFilm Mike MarzukWEISSBLAUE GESCHICHTEN III Aikon Media & Technology / Lisa Film Helmut FörnbacherWIEDERSEHEN AM FLUSS FFP New Media Stefan Bartmann

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Customer Title Production Company Agency Director DoP

Mc Donald’s WM STORE e+p commercial HEYE & Partner Agust Baldrusson Sebastian Blenkov

Mc Donald’s WM BURGER CCP, HEYE & Partner

Burger King OLI KAHN ZEIGT GRöSSE Lucie_p .Start Manuel Werner Christian Rein

Sozialdienst katholi- TERMIN GAP Films Xynias Wetzel Philip Haucke Pascal Remond scher Frauen

WWK Werbeagentur MäRKTE AM MORGEN Serviceplan Stefan Tischner

Microsoft WINDOWS AUTOMOTIVE Cadrage Cadrage Christof Gurland

Allianz FORMEL 1 R.TV Film & Fernsehen Tobias Heppermann Thomas Stokowski

SOS Kinderdorf 6 DöRFER FÜR 2006 e+p commercial Wolfgang Groos Armin Goliano

Brustkrebs Deutsch- BATHROOM HEYE & Partner HEYE & Partner Jonathan Helmer Alexander Sachs land e.V.

Deutsche Bahn WM-BAHN CARD e+p commercial Ogilvy & Mather Mark Tiedemann Michael Schreitel

Ferrero GARDEN e+p commercial HP Albrecht Söhnke Wortmann Britta Mangold

Stabilo SCHRIFTBILD First Frame Serviceplan Norman Hafezi Bernd Wondolek

ING DiBa MARKENFILM Helliventures Wüschner Rower Baier Joachim Hellinger Dieter Deventer

Saturn SIEBEN redblue Marketing

Cortal Consors PLATZ DA Serviceplan

Playmobil SOMMER 2006 e+p commercial Reiner Holzemer Peter Aichholzer

Bayerischer Rundfunk BAYERN 1 Frist Frame Lissner Rappel Werbeagentur Marc & Mike Kristian Leschner

Zweifel Chips ESKIMO & MASSAGE GAP Films Advico Young & Rubicam (Zürich) Nic & Sune Richard Mott

BFB GAP Films Advico Young & Rubicam (Zürich) Stefane Coito Pascal Wegner

Landliebe LANDLIEBE (diverse) e+p Leo Burnett Raymond Bark Joachim Berc

Hipp BABYSANFT Hager Moss Commercial Serviceplan Shizue Erwan Elies

KFH Bank HELP CAMPAIGN Gulf Media

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Title Production Company DoP Gaffer Equipment Serviced by

STEP SHOW Gotta Step Productions Scott Kevan Brian Gunter ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC FL 435 3-Perforation

REGGAETON Ellen Gordon Productions Zoran Popovic ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC FL

UNTITLED SCOTT HICKS Castle Rock Stuart Dryburgh Gene Engels ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC NY

MUSIC & LYRICS BY Music &Lyrics By Xavier Grobet Mo Flam ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC NY

I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE Will Rexer ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC NY

UNTITLED NOAH Stonehenge Entertainment Inc. Harris Savides ASC John Velez ARRICAM LT ARRI CSC NY BAUMBACH

PRIDE & GLORY Avery Declan Quinn ASC Bob Sciretta ARRICAM ST/LT ARRI CSC NY

COMMANCHE MOON CBS / HBO Alan Caso ASC Steve Litecky Lighting, Grip Illumination Dynamics

THE FLOCK Bauer Martinez Studios Enrique Chediak Steve Litecky Lighting, Grip Illumination Dynamics

NO COUNTRY FOR Paramount Roger Deakins ASC, BSC Chris Napolitano Lighting, Grip Illumination Dynamics OLD MEN

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Title Production Company Director Service

THE PERFUME Constantin Filmproduktion Tom Tykwer DI, VFX, HD-Master

TRADE Claussen+Wöbke+Putz Filmproduktion Marco Kreuzpaintner DI, VFX, Title, HD-Master

SCHWERE JUNGS bob Film Marcus H. Rosenmüller DI, VFX, Title, HD-Master

HUI BUH Constantin Filmproduktion Sebastian Niemann Scanning, Recording, HD-Mastering

DER FREIE WILLE schwarzweiss filmproduktion Matthias Glasner Title

VIER TöCHTER Claussen+Wöbke+Putz Filmproduktion Rainer Kaufmann HD-Master, Titel, Filmrecording

OH WIE SCHöN IST PANAMA Papa Löwe Filmproduktion Martin Otevrel HD-Master, Titel, Filmrecording

SPECIAL Hofmann & Voges Anno Saul DI, HD-Master

WOLFSTRAUM DFFB Potsdam Maria-Anna Rimpfl HD-Master, Titel, Filmrecording

AUFTAUCHEN Erber & Koch Felicitas Koch HD-Master, Titel, Filmrecording

MONEY MAKES A MAN Ceska Prod. Jirí Chlumský Scanning, Recording, HD-Mastering

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TV- / DVD-Release EINE STADT WIRD ERPRESST TV60 FilmMUTTIS LIEBLING Teamfilm WienDAS BESTE AUS MEINEM LEBEN Pro GmbHALLES AUSSER SEX Lunet EntertainmentDIE ARMEN MILLIONäRE sansetDIE LIEBESFLÜSTERIN collina FilmTRAUMHOTEL AFRIKA Lisa Film / Post OneUNTER VERDACHT VII – EIN NEUES LEBEN Pro GmbH

Title Production Company

Theater ReleaseSPECIAL Hofmann & VogesHUI BUH Rat Pack

WELCOME TO AMERICA Claussen+Wöbke+Putz Filmp.WM DOKU 2006 Shark TV WIXXER II Rat PackCHARLESTON & VENDETTA Blue PenMONDMANN Toccata Film4 GEWINNT SamFilmAUFTAUCHEN Erber & Koch FilmproduktionWWGW SamFilm

Title Production Company

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