Digital Cinematography

Dancing with Phantoms
By Staff
Jul 21, 2008, 13:43

Director/cinematographer Ben Dolphin recalls a DGA demo for HD that took place about ten years back, when the projection systems were still in their infancy. ''They projected HD on a screen, and, well, it looked like TV on a big screen,'' says Dolphin. ''I said as much, and their response was, 'Oh, no! You're film-biased.' To which I said, 'No guys, I'm quality-biased.'''

His bias remains unchanged today, but the range of tools he employs has broadened as technology develops further. Dolphin's cinematography skill sets include Steadicam and motion-control, but he is best known for work shooting liquids and high-speed, for which he's developed very specific lighting schemes. Shooting film below 500 fps he may use a ''1.5 to 1 ratio of HMI over Unilux,'' he explains. ''There is crystalline sharpness with the powerful Unilux strobes, while the HMI light introduces some degree of motion blur for appetite appeal and prevents the image from becoming medical-looking.''

Click cinematogrphygadgets.wordpress.com for the whole story.

© Copyright 2003 by United Entertainment Media, Inc.