American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 10
Shot Craft By Jay Holben
The Generic Lens Test
The Importance of Testing
The process of testing is a major component of
the cinematographer's trade. It is a never-ending task of examining the latest equipment and
revisiting older tools with a fresh perspective.
In most cases, there are two types of tests:
generic and specific. One provides an overall
evaluation of a new tool (new to the marketplace
or new to you) and the other identifies a specific
creative or technical application for a project.
This installment of Shot Craft discusses a
generic lens evaluation that you may use when
you are trying to understand a lens' characteristics and performance. This approach familiarizes
the tester with the attributes of a particular lens,
agnostic of any specific application for a project.
Testing of this kind - which is adaptable to
many different types of equipment - is part of
how you build your mental Rolodex of tools you
can refer to when needed, because you have a
better understanding of how those tools work
and how they may be applied to solve a problem
or realize a creative vision.
Many cinematographers at the beginning
of their career are intimidated by testing and
often lament that they don't have access to the
required equipment due to their typically low
budgets. But nearly every equipment rental facility will allow a cinematographer to come in and
test equipment on their premises. It's the nature
of the business, and it helps them meet potential
clients. It may not be possible to test if your local
rental house is busy or the equipment is rented
to another project, but if they're having a slow
day, they typically won't refuse a test request. It
doesn't cost you anything but time.
Some cinematographers approach testing by
simply trying out the equipment - taking it into
the field and shooting something, or examining
it at the rental house. While this approach can
teach you something about the new tool, a more
scientific and methodical approach will reveal exponentially more. There's little use, for example,
in merely taking a lens out to shoot a sunset or
a model if you're not testing variations in each
shoot - to learn the different characteristics of
performance along the range of the lens. When
testing any piece of equipment, you should have
a plan for what you want to learn. You can get
in a car and test-drive it around the block, but
that won't tell you how the car will perform on
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American Cinematographer - April 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2021
Contents
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 1
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - Contents
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 3
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 4
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 5
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 6
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 7
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 8
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 9
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 10
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 11
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 12
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 14
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 15
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 17
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 18
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 19
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 20
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 21
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 26
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 27
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 28
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 28a
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 28b
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 29
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 30
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 30a
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 30b
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 31
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 32
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 33
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 34
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 35
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 36
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 37
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 38
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 40
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 41
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 42
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - 71
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American Cinematographer - April 2021 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - April 2021 - Cover4
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