thefilmbook - edited by Benjamin B » anamorphic

Panavision’s New Ultra Vista Lenses

BenjaminB — Thu, 31 May 2018 14:54:42 +0000

Panavision Ultra Vista image

Panavision has announced ULTRA VISTA a new series of large format anamorphic lenses, with a press release, and a striking vimeo demo. They are announced for release in 2019.
Some key features:

Image Size
– The Red Monstro 8K sensor is 8192 x 4320 pixels, and is 40.96 x 21.60 mm
– Ultra Vista lenses cover 7472 x 4320 pixels, which should be about 37mm wide.

Comparison of sizes of Red Monstro sensor, Ultra Vista format, traditional anamorphic

2.76:1 Aspect Ratio
– Ultra Vista is designed for an ultra-long 2.76:1 aspect ratio
– This is of course the same ratio created by the classical Ultra Panavision System 70 lenses, that were recently used on “Hateful Eight” and “Rogue One”

1.6x Horizontal Squeeze
– Traditional anamorphic lenses have a 2x horizontal squeeze
– Vintage Ultra Panavision System 70 lenses have a 1.25x horizontal squeeze
– Ultra Vista lenses have a 1.6x horizontal squeeze, creating distinctive bokehs with a little more elliptical distorsion.

Ultra Vista bokehs

Large Format Anamorphic
The Ultra Vista lenses are great news for filmmakers. They offer large format anamorphic, with a bigger squeeze then traditional Ultra Panavision, and therefore more of an anamorphic feeling, and stretch the format to an ultra wide window on the world.
Theoretically the Ultra Vista lenses should also work on other Vistavision-sized sensors, like the Alexa LF and Sony Venice, with the possibility of different aspect ratios…

Bravo to my friends at Panavision for expanding the anamorphic palette !

+++

LINKS

vimeo.com: Ultra Vista video demo

thefilmbook on ascmag: Large Format: Ultra Panavision 70

panavision.com: Panavision CineGear Product Announcement

+++

Ultra Panavision 70 projected at Cinegear

BenjaminB — Sun, 07 Jun 2015 11:58:00 +0000

—

Test footage in Ultra Panavision 70mm for The Hateful Eight was presented by Panavision’s Dan Sasaki with moderator David Heuring at the Cinegear show on June 6.

The footage was shot in anamorphic 65mm and projected in 70mm film. The 1.25 anamorphosis results in a stunning 2.76:1 aspect ratio.

Panavision has been working with director Quentin Tarantino and DP Robert Richardson to refine Ultra Panavision 70 camera systems and optics for their project, 60 years after the format’s creation.

“Quentin wanted an epic Western, something that hasn’t been seen in forever, that would really wow people”
Dan Sasaki,
Panavision VP of Optical Engineering

By all accounts the 70mm anamorphic film projection dazzled the spectators at Cinegear. It’s great to see this wonderful format used in 2015 !
The screen photo is from DP Bill Bennett’s twitter feed, who commented: “Crazy beautiful.”
(@CineBill)

Links:
hollywood reporter: Cine Gear Expo: ‘Hateful Eight’ 70mm Test Footage Dazzles by Carolyn Giardina
wikipedia article: http://bit.ly/wikiUltraPV70
+++

Matt Reeves about 1.85 & Virtual Ape Cost in DAWN of the PLANET of the APES

BenjaminB — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:57:32 +0000

–

The director of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes reveals 2 interesting tidbits in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) online dialogue:

1. Reeves wanted to shoot anamorphic, in part because of the narrower depth of field.
But Reeves was told he couldn’t shoot anamorphic because the lenses didn’t match closely enough for 3D work.
He then decided to frame 1.85, so that he would use longer lenses for the same horizontal composition than if he had shot widescreen, and therefore achieve less depth of field.

2. Reeves roughly estimates the cost of a 5-second shot of virtual apes to be 50-60 K dollars. The apes were rendered with performance capture by Peter Jackson’s New Zealand VFX facility, WETA.

The cinematography is by Michael Seresin

+++

links

via Germain Lussier at Slash films

http://bit.ly/1lMZfml

Reddit:
AMA with Matt Reeves & Michael Giachinno

http://bit.ly/1nRav57

+++

Scorpiolens anamorphic footage

BenjaminB — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:00:12 +0000

—

Our friend Jon Fauer has posted a video shot by the folks at Servicevision in Barcelona, demonstrating their new anamorphic lenses. The footage shows the 35mm, 75mm and 100mm at T2 and T2.8, and was shot with an Alexa. (The AC, by the way, is very good at those wide open stops.)

The 35mm doesn’t appear to have much distorsion, and the lenses look clean wide open, but the thing that struck me the most were the bokehs, which were pleasing but more spherical than the ellipses I’m used to.

I look forward to seeing these lenses projected on a big screen.

+++

I will be very interested to see the other lenses. Servicevision has announced a series of 14 lenses, ranging from 20mm to 300mm.

+++

Links

vimeo video

Servicevision info

+++

London test of Cooke anamorphics

BenjaminB — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 21:56:22 +0000

London tests shot by John de Borman of the new Cooke anamorphics.
Unlike the Paris tests, this footage includes the 40 mm.

watch on Vimeo

Link

+++

Paris test of 2 new Cooke anamorphic lenses

BenjaminB — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 06:09:49 +0000

Cooke has posted a video of anamorphic tests shot in Paris by cinematographer Patrick Blossier.

The video starts with an introduction by Cooke CEO Les Zellan, followed by Paris footage shot with the new Cooke 50 and 75 mm anamorphic lenses. The tests were organized by our friend Danys Bruyère and his team at TSF in Paris.

I was surprised not to see any footage shot with the Cooke 40mm anamorphic which Les showed me at IBC last September (along with the 75).

In the video, Les states that, unlike with film stocks, digital cinematographers only “have 4 chips to choose from“, and that anamorphic is a way for DPs to differentiate their images.

+++

The test includes an interesting comparison of a 40mm spherical lens with a 75mm anamorphic, showing the difference between the spherical & anamorphic look with a similar horizontal field of view, and the difference in bokehs.

click for bigger image

+++

The video footage is on Vimeo

link: http://bit.ly/1k26qaJ

+++

Anamorphic flares in TOTAL RECALL

BenjaminB — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 14:45:39 +0000

Total Recall was shot in 5K with a Red Epic camera & Panavision anamorphic lenses. It is interesting to see what anamorphic lensing looks like with the Epic.

I love flares, I love anamorphic & I love the characteristic horizontal flares from lenses with front anamorph elements. This blue-green streak has become part of the cinematic vocabulary, as exemplified here.

—

Director Len Wiseman’s remake stars his wife Kate Beckinsall & Colin Farrell, with cinematography by Paul Cameron.

The original 1990 classic by Paul Verhoven starred Sharon Stone & Arnold Schwarzenneger, and successfully evoked the confusion between reality and dreams.

These images are from the trailer.

+++