If knowing shot angles are the language of film, bending the light into the camera is the regional accent. What does that mean for a cinematographer? Lenses!
Let's toss in another metaphor: Lenses are the "eyes" of our creative endeavors. And if lenses are the eyes, then they have to be, as the saying goes, "The window to the soul" of the movie.
Now, okay... I better be careful. When cinematographers have a chance to talk lenses, things can get a little crazy and long-winded. I’ll try to keep it under control and simply let y’all know about one aspect of our shoot that was really exciting.
We used a photography system that was a weird little niche in the 1970’s, but turned out to be absolutely perfect kit in order to emulate the old-fashioned lensing seen during the 30’s and 40’s.
It’s called the Pentax Auto 110 System. The remarkable detail about the system is that it’s compact. Like, super miniature compact!
These tiny lenses may seem ridiculous, but their performance is exactly what we needed on “A Gift For All Ages.” During the film we have 3 fun, silly, and romantic montage sequences. It was for this filming that we broke out the vintage glass and mounted them to our camera.
The subtle details of how the image is rendered really adds to the dreamlike quality of the visuals. Soft edges and interesting light refractions are very typical of Golden Era Hollywood movies, and we were able to capture the same.
These are the moments and frames that made the creation of our film so entertaining and fun. We know this energy will be a part of the viewing experience as well. Join us here, subscribe to our newsletter, and let your friends and family know about our classic-film-project!
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