Fun With Anamorphic

Life Drawing

Anamorphic

Many of the films I loved the photography of were captured anamorphically. It took me a while to figure out that the anamorphic lens was the common thread through all those films, from the early cinemascope films like Bigger than Life, through the early Dirty Harry films and John Carpenter to Paul Thomas Anderson. I've read quite a bit via the internet about the different formats, such as the Super 35 that David Fincher favours, and although I love how a few of his films are shot (particularly Seven and Fight Club) there is a flatness to that wider image. I was going to purchase a wide angle lens like the Tokina 11-16 (for my crop sensor 550d) and just crop it to cinemascope, but the pinch and pull distortion of the wide angle is not what appealed to me. The anamorphic lens has it's own characteristics - I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE JOHN CARPENTER! I bit the bullet and purchased an old anamorphic Proskar lens off of Ebay, just to give it a go. I've been eyeing up locations to film once I receive it. It could either be terrible or great, but we'll see.

Storyboards and Layout

Completed storyboards for Lars Skare's 'J.Doe'. Really happy with how the work came out and the crew were pretty bowled over with the storyboard, had a great reaction to it. Such a relief. Got to go along on the shoot as an observer. I loved being out on a shoot. Went along on both days of filming, exteriors day 1, interiors next day, full days both.

A lot of food for thought about possible setbacks and complications that can arise, and the pure logistics - transport, food, shelter and warmth. Particularly sound in an exterior shoot, passing cars, aeroplanes etc. The actors performance would be fine, but there would be take after take just get good sound. I've experienced that before with sound recording, you go somewhere you think is quiet, a wooded park, only then, when you really listen, do you realise how much noise we live with - cars mainly. A park in the Southwest can sound like the streets of New York.

I also based a layout for submission on the screenplay. I don't have much experience of painting, so this was my chance to get my head round it - colouring mixing etc. The final piece is traditional, built up from water colour, through gouache to arcylic, then scanned and tidied up in Photoshop. My painting skills leave a lot to be desired, but I'm happy with the composition. It was a great chance to work with colour.

Practice for storyboarding

Advertised myself as a storyboard artist to the Film Production students. Got 5 responses so far, more than I was expecting. One project is a thriller set in a forest so I popped out the other day and started thumbnail sketching trees and leaves, developing my texturing with the pencil. Leaves, tree trunks and mud, that's what makes a forest, if I can find a way to portray those simply then that's all I need. There are so many kinds of trees, if it's a thriller, I guess they want spooky trees, as opposed to In the Night Garden Trees. Really I need some reference material from the director, maybe a film that's an inspiration for composition. I keep thinking of the forest in Miller's Crossing for some reason.

I'm trying to develop a sense for working on tonal planes within a composition. Maintaining clear plains seems to create depth, even if the elements are simple. My pencil work gets too fuzzy, lacks definition. Started trying to work in red pencil, then tie it down with lead pencil. It's the method we'll be using for cleaning up animation, and it's the method suggested when I read about storyboarding.

I've been looking at different white pens, be good to have something opaque to add highlights back in. Something with no mess no fuss, that I could just carry in my pocket.