American Cinematographer - July 2011 - 72

Filmmakers’ Forum
A year or two later, I met Conrad Kiel at Photo-Sonics and became one of his technicians. For the next 13 years, I worked on everything from commercials to features, learning about the mainIn the early 1990s, when I was working as a first assistant and tenance and application of high-speed cameras. stage manager at Perpetual Motion Pictures in Pacoima, Calif., I first The basic concept of high-speed cinematography is to slow saw a Photo-Sonics high-speed camera. I became enamored with its down action you can’t see with the human eye. The technique mechanical aspects, and, driven by an insatiable appetite to learn all began as an industrial and military application, and then people forms of cinematography, I resolved to dig deeper. started to apply it to feature films — first for miniatures, to give them scale, and then as a narrative tool to enhance drama. It also quickly became a favorite in sports and advertising. Most normal variable-speed motion-picture cameras max out around 120-150 fps, which means anything above that qualifies as high speed because you’re dealing with specialized equipment. Two of the cameras I used a lot in the beginning were the Photo-Sonics 4C and 4ER, the Ferraris of film cameras. The 4C ran up to 2,500 fps, which means the film is going through the gate at over 102 mph. The 4ER would max out at 360 fps, or about 20 mph. That’s an incredible feat of engineering: 4-pinregistered with 12 pull-down claws. When you look at the movements in those cameras, it really is like looking at the engine of a Ferrari. The 4C and 4ER are still in use, but they are being phased out in favor of their digital equivalents. (More on that later.) The first thing to know about high-speed cinematography is that it’s an expensive proposition. Thanks to digital cameras, film stock isn’t much of a factor any more, but shooting more frames per second means more light, and more light means more money. More light also means that the cinematographer has to learn to look at light in a different way. If you’re used to looking at 100,000 watts of light on a person’s face, your eyes can adjust, and you know what looks right. But if you’re only accustomed to shooting 24 or 48 fps with a 1.2K HMI or a 5K, cranking up 100,000 watts of light is like suddenly finding yourself in a Ferrari when you’ve been accustomed to tooling around in a Volkswagen. The key is to know your basics. When I’m on a set, I know I’ll need at least a pair of 20Ks for my key light, a pair of 20Ks for fill, and a couple of 10Ks for edge lighting — and that’s for a small shoot. For a Nike ad featuring Kobe Bryant, I lit half a basketball Top: For an HBO spot directed by Angus Wall, Jim Matlosz shot the uncorking of a champagne bottle with a Photo-Sonics 4C camera and two 20K Mole-Richardson lights. Prop rigger Tom court with at least six 20Ks (seven if you count the Margules is shown here on set. Bottom: Matlosz (left) with director Richard Yelland. one positioned straight overhead) and two Mole 10K
72 July 2011 American Cinematographer

Shooting High Speed By Jim Matlosz

Photos courtesy of Jim Matlosz.

American Cinematographer - July 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2011