A matters of Perspective: The Storytelling Power of Lenses
Blog Series Part 4 of 10
“The Crucial Role of Preparation in Cinematography”
Lenses are like paintbrushes, imparting texture and character to an image. From the modern clarity of German lenses to the characterful imperfections of vintage Russian glass, lenses offer a spectrum of textural choices. They are tools for creating unique textures, color saturation, contrast, depth of field, and bokeh that are special to each story.
The right combination of camera body, lenses, and filtration is key to achieving the desired look, making this decision crucial during prep.
Lens tests are vital; they’re a step I urge all aspiring cinematographers to take. I invite you to watch the lens tests I’ve conducted for the films “Fall Back Down” and “The Island Between Tides.”
Lens Test For “Fall Back Down”
Lens Test For “The Island Between Tides”
Canon FD Lenses (Vintage)
Canon FD 24mm T1.5
Japan / 1964
Canon FD 55mm T1.3
Japan / 1964
Canon FD Characteristics:
Pleasing Aesthetic: The lenses delivered a rich, vibrant color palette, giving a vintage and surrealistic feel due to fluorite crystal usage.
Distinctive Flare: Exhibited beautiful flaring with amber, gold, and magenta hues, and reduced ghosting effects.
Bokeh Quality: Produced a natural, diamond-patterned bokeh that remained consistent up to T4.
Veiling Glare: Noted for a creamy glare effect consistent through T4.
High Contrast Performance: Exceptionally well-performing in high contrast and heavy backlight situations, offering a unique quality compared to modern lenses.
Contrast Retention: Maintained contrast effectively, though at a lower level than modern lenses, contributing to a character-rich vintage image.
Focus Fall-Off: Smooth and aesthetically pleasing fall-off in focus.
Sharpness and Correction: Sharp and well-corrected, even at wide aperture settings.
Resolution: Good overall resolution, with the 24mm lens appearing sharper than the 55mm.
ZEISS Supreme Radiance Lenses
Zeiss Supreme Radiance 25mm T1.5
Germany 2019
Zeiss Supreme Radiance 50mm T1.5
Germany 2019
Zeiss Supreme Radiance Lenses Characteristics:
Cinematic and Creamy: Produces a smooth, film-like quality in images.
Balanced Sharpness: Offers sharp imaging while retaining enough character for a versatile, high-speed cine prime lens.
Skin Tone Rendering: Excellently renders skin tones, enhancing the natural beauty of subjects.
Bokeh Quality: Features gorgeous fall-off and appealing bokeh, adding depth and visual interest to shots.
XD Function for Metadata: Equipped with the XD function, allowing for the capture of metadata, which is beneficial for post-production processes.
MasterBuilt Lenses
MasterBuilt 25mm T1.4
USA 2019
MasterBuilt 50mm T1.4
USA 2019
MasterBuild Lenses Characteristics:
Gradual Focus Fall-Off: Offers excellent center sharpness with a gradual fall-off, complemented by ultra-fast apertures.
Distinctive Flare: Produces pronounced rainbow flares with depth, yet maintains a soft quality.
Skin Tone Rendering: Renders skin tones with a pleasing softness, enhancing natural beauty.
Bokeh and Softness: Features clear center softness with a fall-off similar to the K35 lenses.
Modern Mechanics: Solid, contemporary mechanical design for reliable performance.
Contrast Levels: Appears more contrasty than other vintage lenses, enhancing image depth.
Focus Characteristics: The focus fall-off is slow and extended, offering a unique look but may feel unusual.
Physical Attributes: Notably large and heavy, making them more cumbersome to handle.
Silver Coating Concerns: The silver coating is visually interesting but may raise concerns about potential bounce reflections.
Tribe BlackwingG7 Binaries
Tribe BlackwingG7 Binaries 27mm T1.9
Germany 2019
Tribe BlackwingG7 Binaries 57mm T1.9
Germany 2019
Tribe Blackwing G7 Binaries Lenses Characteristics:
Customizable Tuning: Offers the option to choose the level of tuning and de-tuning according to personal preferences.
Quality Build: Features excellent housing and mechanics, ensuring durability and smooth operation.
Low Contrast: Exhibits very low contrast with lifted shadows for a distinct visual style.
Gentle Highlight Roll-Off: Highlights are softly rolled off, contributing to a smoother image transition.
Sharpness: Maintains a good level of sharpness, suitable for various filming requirements.
Bokeh Quality: Produces an intriguing bokeh effect, especially noticeable when the lens is wide open.
Focus Breathing: Displays some focus breathing, but it is subtle enough not to be overly distracting.
Intense Flaring: Known for intense flaring, particularly the lenticular rainbow halo pupil flares, which can be overwhelming depending on the scene.
Bokeh & Flare:
Anamorphic lenses are renowned for their distinctive oval bokeh, which can add a layer of visual intrigue to your film. These lenses are also known for creating characteristic horizontal lens flares, which many filmmakers utilize for their cinematic quality. The type of flare produced by a lens is influenced by various factors, including the lens coating and design. Vintage lenses, for example, often produce more pronounced flares due to the types of coatings used in the past and the "aging" of the lens elements, akin to a fine wine developing richer character over time.
Lens flares can be employed intentionally to enhance the storytelling, atmosphere, and thematic depth. In some narratives, they can symbolize power, hope or a character's resilience, or be used to convey a sense of atmosphere, like the intensity of the sun or the sharpness of artificial light. However, it's important to use them judiciously; overuse can distract from the story rather than contribute to it.
Shot on Vintage Canon FD 55mm wide open aperture (T1.3)
Modern lenses often include anti-reflective coatings, such as nano-crystal coatings, to reduce unwanted flaring. However, no lens is entirely immune to it, especially when faced with intense light sources like the sun. To mitigate lens flare, you can use a mattebox or lens hood, choose prime lenses over zoom lenses due to their fewer internal elements, and adjust the shooting angle to control how light hits the lens. Each of these methods helps manage the flare while still allowing for creative expression when desired.
Depth of field
Depth of field is yet another cinematic tool. The lenses you select significantly influence your control over background blur. A wider aperture, like T1.2, can render everything but the eyes out of focus, while sensor size and lens type—telephoto versus wide, anamorphic versus spherical—also affect depth.
“Nicolas Noël 2”
Anamorphic vs. Spherical
The artistic decision to use anamorphic or spherical lenses is important, deeply influenced by the narrative scope and visual style of your film. Anamorphic lenses are synonymous with a cinematic feel, casting scenes in the expansive 2.39:1 widescreen format that's ideal for grand, sweeping visuals. They possess a unique character, particularly in close-ups, where they imbue the frame with a palpable sense of depth, almost as if the characters reach out from the screen.
“First Family”
However, anamorphic lenses come with their own set of challenges. They can struggle with close focusing and may introduce distortion in wide-angle shots. Additionally, their design inherently constrains vertical framing, which can be a creative hindrance in certain compositions.
“Opération Police”
In contrast, spherical lenses are the paragons of flexibility in cinematography. They are capable of capturing both vast landscapes and the minutiae of a scene with equal clarity. These lenses maintain the integrity of image proportions and sharpness, enabling precise, detail-rich storytelling. Their versatility extends from the broadest of vistas to the most intimate of close-ups, making them a robust choice for a wide array of cinematic endeavors.
“Stranger in your Home”
The Impact of Focal Lengths
In cinematography, the impact of focal lengths on storytelling is profound. Telephoto lenses, known for their long focal lengths, can transform a close-up into a voyeuristic experience, positioning the viewer as a detached observer. Conversely, wide lenses bring the audience into the heart of the action, fostering a sense of closeness and engagement with the characters.
Showcasing the practical use of focal lenses in the 'First Family' story.
In the film's early scenes, we’ve used 50mm and 75mm Cooke Anamorphic lenses to create a sense of distance in the audience's view of Anna, fostering an observer's perspective and setting the narrative's visual tone.
Wide Lens CU
In the crucial scene where Anna steps into the building, we transitioned to using wide lenses for the close-ups.
This deliberate shift in lens choice serves to draw the audience deeper into her personal space and experience, effectively immersing them in the nuances of her world at that moment.
Long Lens CU
In the same scenes featuring the agent, my choice of a 75mm lens was instrumental in maintaining a sense of emotional distance from Anna.
This decision, while not technically aligning with conventional frame matching, was pivotal in storytelling. It underscored the agent's detachment, effectively highlighting her separation from Anna's reality and perspective, thereby serving the narrative's intent and deepening the story's emotional layers.
Similar frame with different focal lengths can narrate distinct stories, influenced dramatically by the chosen lens. This crucial choice reshapes the audience's perception and emotional reaction.
Conclusion
In summary, whether you're embracing the flare for its cinematic qualities or seeking to minimize its impact, understanding the technical and artistic aspects of lens flare is essential for every cinematographer
