Panavision, a designer, manufacturer and provider of state-of-the-art cinema lenses and high-precision camera systems, will host two seminars at the 2015 Camerimage International Film Festival, which runs Nov. 14-21 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Panavision’s Cinematography Workshop will feature demonstrations from Markus Förderer (Stonewall), Eduard Grau, AEC (Suffragette) and Ellen Kuras, ASC (A Little Chaos) shooting various scenes that compare spherical, anamorphic and larger sensor formats. The workshop will be held November 17 from 11-1:30 pm in the MCK – Orzel Cinema.
Later in the day, festival goers will have a chance to hear from Panavision’s Dan Sasaki, VP of Optical Engineering, on the technical and artistic characteristics of Panavision’s anamorphic and large format lenses, including Ultra Panavision 70. The discussion, which runs 3-4:30 pm, will give the audience a chance to see the different aesthetic options, hear about the technical aspects of each format, and ask questions.
Camerimage attendees will also have a chance to visit Panavision in the Opera NOVA exhibit area and see an array of optics including a sneak preview of the new T Series anamorphic lenses, which are designed exclusively for digital cameras. Also on display will be an expanded offering of Primo 70 lenses, which are optimized for large sensor digital cameras.
Additionally, festival goers will be able to get up close with the Millennium XL “Millennium Falcon” camera used by Dan Mindel BSC, ASC on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the Ultra Panavision 70 camera and lenses used by Robert Richardson, ASC on The Hateful Eight.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More