Panavision and its family of companies return to the EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival from November 9-16 in Torun, Poland, with an immersive, end-to-end experience for attendees. Torun’s newly renovated Karczma Damroki facility, across the street from the Jordanki Festival Center, will be transformed into an interactive festival space called PanaVillage and will showcase the integrated technologies, products, and services from Panavision, Panalux, Light Iron, LEE Filters, and Direct Digital.
“We are giving filmmakers the opportunity to experience our broad array of tools in a simulated production environment,” says Kim Snyder, Panavision president and CEO. “Our global team and product experts look forward to engaging with attendees in a hands-on experience with our end-to-end offerings.”
At the PanaVillage, guests will interact with Panavision’s complete ecosystem of cameras and lenses, lighting, filters, gels, grip, and remote systems. Visitors will be able to fully control and monitor an 8K Millennium DXL2 large-format camera mounted on a SuperTechno 30 crane, using an innovative new wireless fiber technology with a range of more than a kilometer (0.6 miles). Mounted in front of a Primo 70 lens, Panavision’s LCND filter offers six stops of variable density. Guests can remotely adjust the camera, iris, and LCND filter while monitoring 4K video inside the PanaVillage on a LINK HDR Cart. Panavision and Light Iron’s LINK HDR system, which debuted at Cine Gear Expo Los Angeles earlier this year, is now being utilized on feature and episodic projects. PanaVillage guests will experience how the Panavision LINK HDR cart and Light Iron LINK HDR dailies and finishing services put the power of creating HDR images into the hands of all creatives – including cinematographers, editors, and colorists – throughout the entire imaging chain.
While inside the PanaVillage, attendees will have the opportunity to experiment and craft unique looks using the DXL2 camera and the more compact DXL-M system. A selection of large format lenses, including the T1.4 Panaspeeds, will be available to frame the scene. Guests can illuminate the scene and control the lighting with a variety of Panalux and third-party options. LEE Filters’ full collection of lighting gels, including the expanded range of Zircon LED gels, will be available to further modify the scene.
PanaVillage visitors will also encounter LEE Filters’ ProGlass CINE IRND range of neutral-density filters and the LEE100, a lightweight, high-performing 100mm photographic filter mount system. Experts from Direct Digital will be on hand to discuss stills and motion rental services. Guests looking to purchase consumables and merchandise can find the Panastore in the main Jordanki Festival Center. Additional micro-workshops hosted by the Panavision group will be programmed throughout the week and real-time details will be shared on Panavision’s social media accounts.
This year, Panavision is proud to sponsor a cinematic retrospective from EnergaCamerimage Lifetime Achievement Award recipient John Bailey, ASC. On November 12 at CinemaCity, Bailey will present insights from his impressive career, spanning more than 40 years with credits including Ordinary People, The Big Chill, In the Line of Fire, American Gigolo, A Walk in the Woods, Mishima, and The Accidental Tourist. Panavision’s longstanding relationship with Bailey resulted in the 2004 creation of the AWZ2, or the “Bailey Zoom,” the first modern zoom to use anamorphic elements in front of the lens.
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