Lighting

The Americans Wraps Season Two

Thu, 05/22/2014 - 16:20 -- Nick Dager

Every production relies heavily on its support equipment. The camera crew behind the hit FX TV series The Americans, which just ended its second season, understands this very well. The show’s cinematographer Richard Rutkowski, and camera assistants Brendan K. Russell and Rory Hanrahan, rely on Anton/Bauer batteries and chargers, Litepanels LED lights, and OConnor fluid heads and tripods for their reliability and durability during stage and location shoots, which helps keep the show on pace and on budget.

Softy Lite Designed for Today’s Cameras

Tue, 05/13/2014 - 12:30 -- Nick Dager

Cameraman Maxim Ford has designed a new LED soft light for digital movie making and photography, designed by a cameraman for camera operators and calls it Softy Lite who said "With the explosion of low budget dramas using new digital movie cameras like the Canon D5 and Sony F3 I wanted to make an affordable light that would have the potential for great drama lighting.”

Test Pilots

Thu, 01/23/2014 - 15:20 -- James Mathers

The industry doesn’t do as many pilots as in years past, which is a shame, because they can be a valuable format for testing not just story ideas and actors but new technology. In my role covering new cinema technology for the Digital Cinema Society I am often offered gear to test and evaluate, everything from new lighting units and cameras to various digital cinema recorders. Since I need to keep busy earning my living as a director of photography, I honestly don’t have time to run scientific tests, so I prefer instead to use the gear in real world productions I’m hired to work on. You could call me a technology test pilot. I get a better sense of how these tools perform where the rubber hits the road, and it’s a good way to help out the productions I’m working on, pulling in items they might not otherwise be able to afford. The perfect opportunity to put many of these items through their paces came up recently when I was asked to shoot a feature length pilot for a new action/adventure show aimed at young adults entitled, Tribe of the Wild.

Rising to the Dark Challenge of Lighting a Horror Film

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 12:23 -- Nick Dager

Horror films have a certain style: cramped quarters, heat, now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t or did-you-really-see-it. Lighting for the suspense, and horror of the genre is always a particular challenge but one that cinematographer Steve Romano believes he handled nicely the indie feature The Girl, which was directed by Jennifer Blanc-Biehn.

Robert Palmer Takes on the Wilds of Colorado for Horror Flick

Tue, 11/05/2013 - 16:04 -- Nick Dager

For writer/producer/director Robert Palmer, the idea behind I Am Alone, starring Gareth David Lloyd, began as a simple horror film video diary, but as the story developed, Palmer and partner Michael A. Weiss realized that the concept behind this project would allow them to push the boundaries of both reality TV and horror films.

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