Justin Ahrens
Sarah Ahrens
Kara Ayaram
Tim Damitz
Bob Davidson
Susan Herda
Kerri Liu
Katrina Strich
Intern
Guest Blogger
I have to lay some ground rules on this post: I am a visual media creator and tech geek. Talking about this stuff gets me cranked up, but it can make other people’s eyes glaze over. So, if you have a passion for image creation and technology, read on; otherwise, you may find that your Facebook status needs updating or there is a book you need to catch up on.
As a photographer and filmmaker I have always been after the “look” in my imagery. I know a visual image will not stand up without a good story behind it, but I have always tried to create beautiful imagery to go along with the story. When I talk of the “look” in digital motion images, what I mean is that the image looks like traditional motion film. There are many things that give images a film-like quality, but one of the major ones is a shallow depth of field. Shooting with video cameras has a drawback that there is a large depth of field. Almost everything is in focus. Without going into too much of a technical explanation, it has to do with the small sensor size of most digital video cameras. To get this shallow depth of field on one of these video cameras, we would go to great lengths and attach what is called a depth of field or “DOF” adapter. It is basically a device that allows us to use traditional 35mm lenses by attaching these lenses to a box with a spinning ground glass in it onto which the lens focuses its image. The video camera would then focus onto the ground glass. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Well, try lugging one of these set- ups half way around the world, all just to get the “look”. Trust me, it is not an easy thing to carry around.
Well, now to the exciting stuff…
