April 2006 Issue

Rich Underwood with Arri 435

Interview with Rich Underwood (bold)
by Christine Bunish

Film remains a very active market, and rental houses have geared up to meet the needs of those shooting commercials, features, documentaries and television programming.

Rentals maintain busy pace
ARRI CSC has seen a trend whereby customers renting the Arricam ST (Studio) sync sound camera add the new small, lightweight ARRI 235 "grab camera" to the package for quick handheld shots and ease of use in tight situations, reports Ed Stamm, general manager of the Fort Lauderdale office. "The 235 is also being recognized as a versatile production camera in its own right," he adds, citing a big Walt Disney World spot which mounted four 235s on a roller coaster. "With hard-mounting points built into the camera body, you can set it up in many unusual configurations," says Stamm.

ARRI CSC has introduced Zeiss Master Primes series lenses which Stamm believes will be popular with DPs for their "new design in glass technology. It's a faster series, a T 1.3 series like the old Zeiss Super Speeds," he explains. "The quality of the lenses has grown exponentially. They have a reputation for an even, flat field and very good color rendition and when you pull focus the image doesn't change size or dimension." Stamm doesn't see any major new or improved equipment coming this year, especially after ARRI's recent Arricam ST and 235 launches. "We might see another addition [from ARRI] in 2007," he forecasts. "Film has stayed exceptionally versatile through all the HD hubbub," he says. "Film's high-resolution capabilities means you can throw it into digital postproduction, manipulate it and bring it back to film in 2K or 4K resolution. That kind of makes film more powerful."
At Cinequipt in Minneapolis, S16mm remains "quite popular," reports President Brian McGraw who offers S16 shooters the ARRI SR3 and Aaton A-Minima. "Everyone who left S16 for HD now knows where HD fits in their toolboxes, and they're coming back to S16," he observes. "They know which tool fits which job." S16 shooters also like the new Kodak film stocks. Cinequipt, which services the spot and Indie film markets, received the ARRI 235 last November and customers are eager to just "try it out" or rent it for "run 'n gun" applications, says McGraw. The rental house also offers the new Angenieux Optimo S35 zoom lens which is proving very popular. "I'm very pleased with the market," McGraw says. "Two year ago film was very weak, but it has definitely strengthened and is going in the right direction. The overall film industry is busier." He sees more "smaller, lighter, faster" lenses on the horizon. "The world moves at hyper speed and lenses have been the last to catch up."

The venerable Otto Nemenz International is headquartered in Los Angeles with agents in Honolulu (Hawaii Media) and Salt Lake City (Redman Movies & Stories). The rental firm's customers come from commercial, TV and feature arenas. "Hot in all markets" are Arricam ST (Studio) and LT (Light) cameras with both models "in heavy demand," according to General Manager Alex Wengert. In addition, the ARRI 435 MOS camera is "still extremely popular, especially for commercials," he reports. Otto Nemenz hasn't been able to keep its ARRI 235s on its shelves. "It's great handheld or thrown on your shoulder, but some people are using it as their main camera on a shoot," Wengert notes. "If you don't have to go high speed, it's a good choice. But it may be a little too light for Steadicam which likes a little more heft in its cameras." Otto Nemenz has modified its Moviecam Compact cameras to include Arricam Studio viewfinders and evolved an integrated video tap and updated electronics, Wengert reports. The company also offers the ARRI Master Primes basic series of lenses. Following a busy fourth quarter 2005, the new year started "hot and heavy," says Wengert. "Some jobs are going HD, but there's enough film work to keep 50-60 cameras going at a time," he notes. "We're still buying new film cameras as they come out." He's not sure what camera innovations lie ahead but is looking for new Zeiss lenses later this year as well as more lenses from Cooke and additional smaller, lighter zooms from Angenieux.

Shooters speak out
Los Angeles-based DP Howard Wexler believes film camera manufacturers "are doing a great job recognizing that people still want to capture with film. For the most part film cameras are very user friendly today." Wexler prefers to shoot with Eclair and ARRI cameras. "They are all a little different in how they fit your shoulder, hand, against your eye. But I think [camera makers] are getting together and trying to set standards for things like eyepiece size and diopter settings." He cites ARRI, in particular, for developing cameras that enable shooters to "get into smaller places and still capture high-quality images." Wexler saw his feature work tilt toward HD acquisition last year. "I did three HD features and one 35mm feature," he reports. "The producers of the 35mm feature, who are both former actors, were adamant about shooting film. They have watched themselves on 40-foot screens and think there's a difference in the cosmetic appearance of actors shot on film. For me, film is a better medium for people-related stories. A film camera with no cables and no monitors makes a more intimate setting than a digital camera." If it were possible Wexler would like to have a way to customize a film camera to his body type -- eye, shoulder, hand. "They are only sized for one person," he notes. "It would be great to find a size that fit you."

Rich Underwood, a freelance director/cameraman based in southern California, rents film cameras as needed and tailors them to whatever the job requires. He typically employs an Aaton with full lens complement for 16mm projects and ARRI 535 or 435 cameras for 35mm jobs. Underwood is happy with the state of the film equipment market. "In the film world there's such a large choice of gear for almost every job imaginable that it's hard to say there's something I wish I had. I can find the camera and tools for 99 percent of what I want to do. Anything beyond that requires special tooling, and I can have it made. But on a day-to-day basis I'm not running into any roadblocks. In the video world, on the other hand, there are lots of debates and discussions about what people wish could be better." Underwood notes that "we all look for improvements in film stock: more sensitivity and less grain. But they're pretty darn good now." And in the lens category he believes "everyone would like to see faster speed in zoom lenses." Underwood also teaches advanced cinematography as an adjunct professor at San Diego State University. "The university's commitment is to film," he says. "Both undergraduates and graduates can take my classes. At least one project every semester has to be done on film, and a high percentage of students chose S35mm. Many do all three of their projects on 16mm or 35mm. They team in groups for their narrative projects and raise funds to buy short ends of film at any price and process their film in groups. Film keeps excitement and competitiveness very much alive."

Matthew Williams, a DP based in Los Angeles, shoots both film and HD. "What seems to be happening is that people have tested the waters with digital and found that it works for certain things but not for everything. So a number of them have come back around to film. The key is to use the right tool for the job. You have to go into any job open minded until you hear the parameters." Over the last year Williams has shot mostly commercials and an IMAX feature, Wired to Win, about body physiology and the Tour de France bike race, on film. This spring he will begin shooting a $5 million period-piece feature which also opted for film because of its flexibility and the availability of specialty accessories. He believes the "new Arricam is finally the equivalent of a Panavision system" and adds that, "you can do a Panavision project or an ARRI project with complete confidence because, probably for the first time, the lenses are on an equal level. With Cooke Primes and Zeiss Master Primes there are no worries anymore. You can choose your camera package based on the size and attributes of the job." Williams likes the ARRI 235 which he says "you can use almost like a little digital camera. ARRI was very smart to come up with something that size. Now they have a system from A to Z, from the highest end with the latest digital focusing to the 235 which is so useful in a lot of situations. People should be pleased with what's out there right now." But there's still room in the market for new zoom lenses. Williams calls the Panavision zoom "the best -- you can shoot a whole film on it if you have to. It sets the benchmark. It's hard to find any equivalent."