Digital Cinema Show Archive

by DCS | Apr 20, 2022 | Videos | 0 comments

Having served the Industry since 2003, the Digital Cinema Show continues the Society’s mission of empowering Filmmakers with knowledge of cinematic tools and techniques. We gather the best of our content into an entertaining, and regularly scheduled web series covering not only the latest in Cinema Technology, but also subjects such as Film Finance and Distribution, as well as the techniques to craft an effective motion picture narrative. In addition, we present profiles of Filmmakers and Industry luminaries along with visually illustrated tips on both the art and science of motion pictures.

Now Streaming: Episode VIII – Visual Effects

In light of several sequels and re-releases of pioneering classic visual effects features such as “Blade Runner” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, we thought it might be a good time to dig into the subject of Visual Effects.

Our very special guests include Visual Effects Pioneer, Douglas Trumbull, renowned Director, Cinematographer, Visual Effects Producer, and CEO of Stargate Films, Sam Nicholson, ASC, Paul Kobelja, of VER, Visual Effects Cinematographer David Hardberger, and renowned Cinematographer and President of the ICG, Steven Poster, ASC.

Your Host is Cinematographer and Founder of DCS, James Mathers, David Mahlmann served as Production, Cinematographers contributing to this effort included Cameron Cannon, Cricket Peters, Dwight Lay, and Sean Murray along with Key Grip, Mitch Gulbin. Post Production Editorial and Graphics were handled by Christopher Scott Knell.

We could not provide this content without the continued support of our sponsors, and in particular Panasonic, who brings us the VariCam family of Digital Cinema Cameras including the new EVA1, a 5.7K handheld cinema camera with Dual Native ISOs of 800/2,500 recording to low cost SD cards with 14+ stops of dynamic range.

See this latest and all previous episodes on Vimeo here: https://vimeopro.com/digitalcinemasociety/digital-cinema-show

Digital Cinema Show Episode VII Now Streaming including an interview with Russell Carpenter, ASC and a documentary tribute to the late Entrepreneur, Photographer and Philanthropist Wayne Schoenfeld

Episode VII of the Digital Cinema Show has now been posted and is available to view from the DCS website. We begin this episode with an interview Academy Award winning Cinematographer, Russell Carpenter, ASC. Russell gives us heartfelt advice, gleaned from his long and illustrious career shooting such movies as Titanic, Ant Man, and True Lies, about how he has learned to deal with both rejection and success. He also stresses the importance of showing respect for one’s fellow filmmaking collaborators and the need to maintain a relaxed atmosphere on the set where Actors can feel safe to create their best performances. The interview was part of the 2017 DCS Cinema Lighting Expo, which took place at the IATSE Grip’s Local 80 stage in Burbank on March 4th.

Next, we pay tribute to a wonderful man who passed away recently by sharing behind the scenes coverage of his final project. Wayne Schoenfeld was not only a successful entrepreneur, but also a gifted photographer and philanthropist. When faced with the dim prognosis that he likely didn’t have too much longer to live, Wayne returned to the art form he loved and used it in service of others. You’ll hear Wayne, in his own words, reflect on his life as he created his last two series of photos entitled The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Final Judgement. (Be forewarned if you’re offended by it, that there is some nudity in this coverage, which Wayne explains in the piece is integral to his art.)

We could not provide this content without the continued support of our sponsors, in particular OWC, manufacturer of innovative SSD, storage and connectivity solutions designed to improve the performance and extend the life of the technology used by today’s demanding Production and Post professionals.

We also need to acknowledge our many volunteer DCS crew members including Producer David Mahlmann, Cinematographers Cameron Canon, Cricket Peters, Dwight Lay, Sean Murray, and Mitch Gulbin. Special thanks also to the versatile Christopher Scott Knell for audio recording and post production services.

Digital Cinema Show Episode VI – A Conversation with Steven Poster, ASC

Episode VI of the Digital Cinema Show is devoted to an in-depth discussion with renowned Cinematographer Steven Poster, ASC. A past President of the ASC and current President of the International Cinematographers Guild, he has been responsible for photographing everything from Indie hits like Donnie Darko, and Southland Tales, to major studio features like Rocky V, Daddy Day Care, Big Top Pee-wee, Stuart Little II, and Someone to Watch Over Me. He is also credited early in his career with supporting Cinematography work on such classics as Blade Runner and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Sitting down with DCS Founder James Mathers, he recalls some of the breaks that propelled his career and reminisces about working on Close Encounters and Blade Runner with such esteemed collaborators as the late ASC Cinematographers Vilmos Zsigmond and Jordan Cronenweth, as well as with Directors Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott. He also gives us his take on new technology including HDR, High Resolution, and High Frame Rates, and how he is working to help members of IA Local 600 prepare for the future.

Many thanks to our DCS crew members including Producer David Mahlmann, Cinematographer Cameron Canon, and the versatile Christopher Scott Knell for all audio recording and post production services. We are also very grateful to the Panasonic Hollywood Lab who not only let us shoot this interview at their facility, but also provided us their flagship Digital Cinema cameras, the VariCam 35 and VariCam LT.

We could not bring you this content without the continued support of our sponsors, and in particular on this episode, Video Devices, a brand of video products by Sound Devices. It includes the PIX-E Series, which are the only recording monitors to offer simultaneous ProRes and H.264 recording.

All current and past episode are accessible from the Digital Cinema Show Vimeo page: https://vimeopro.com/digitalcinemasociety/digital-cinema-show

Digital Cinema Show Episode V: Kees Van Oostrum, ASC — John Putch — David Nowell, ASC

Episode V begins with an extensive interview with renowned Cinematographer and President of the ASC, Kees Van Oostrum. Recorded as part of this year’s DCS Lighting Expo, Kees shares his insights and experience regarding the benefits and pitfalls of using LED for motion picture lighting.

Next we visit with John Putch, one of busiest Directors in the business with credits ranging from Blackish, Rush Hour, Scrubs, Cougar Town, My Name Is Earl, Ugly Betty, along with features from the Atlas Shrugged, Beethoven, and American Pie series, as well a remake of the classic Poseidon Adventure. We find out about his own set of Indie features which he has accomplished to much acclaim with very limited crews on shoe string budgets.

This episode concludes with an interview excerpted from our coverage of the March 2015 DCS Aerial Cinematography Symposium with acclaimed Aerial Director/DP, David Nowell, ASC. He gives us a short history of Aerial Cinematography as well as what he see for the future. He also draws a comparison between the use of Drones and traditional manned camera operation with helicopters pointing out that the same basic safety precautions and personnel are required.

We could not bring you this content without the continued support of our sponsors, and in particular OWC Digital, manufacturer of storage technology designed to meet the growing needs of today’s Production and Post professionals with products like the ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 solution.

We also need to acknowledge our many volunteer DCS crew members including Producer David Mahlmann, Cinematographers Cameron Canon, Cricket Peters, Dwight Lay, Sean Murray, Mitch Gulbin, and Scott MacDonald. Special thanks also to the versatile Christopher Scott Knell for all audio recording and post production services.

All current and past coverage is accessible here: https://vimeopro.com/digitalcinemasociety/digital-cinema-show

Digital Cinema Show Ep. IV Now Streaming: Robert Yeoman, ASC • Peter Mavromates • Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC

Episode IV of the Digital Cinema Show has now been posted and is available to view from the DCS website. It features features an in-depth interview on Lighting and Composition with Robert Yeoman, ASC. He has served as Director of Photography on such features as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spy, Moonrise Kingdom, and most recently, the new Ghostbusters movie.

Next we check in on Post Production Supervisor and Post Producer for Peter Mavromates. Working with David Fincher he has been pioneering the use of higher resolution finishing on shows such as Gone Girl, House of Cards, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Our final segment of this episode features an interview with Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC, Oscar nominated Cinematographer of Atonement and Anna Karenina. He shares his feelings about camera filtration and why he feels it is important to lock in your look on set, as well as the differences he sees between filtering for Digital Compared to Film.

We also need to acknowledge our many volunteer DCS crew members including Producer David Mahlmann, Cinematographers Cameron Canon, Crickett Peters, Dwight Lay, Sean Murray, Mitch Gulbin, Scott MacDonald and Joel Lipton. In addition to Rainer Standke who edited our Mavromates interview segment, all audio recording and other post production were performed by the versatile Christopher Scott Knell.

Special thanks also to Schneider Optics for allowing to excerpt the Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC interview from their archives. All coverage is accessible from the Digital Cinema Show link on the DCS homepage or visit: https://vimeopro.com/digitalcinemasociety/digital-cinema-show

Digital Cinema Show Episode III: Interviews with Cioni, Goi, and Daviau

Episode III of the Digital Cinema Show has now been posted and is available to view from the DCS website. It features interviews recorded at the last Cine Gear Expo including with LightIron’s Michael Cioni discussing such technology trends as Anamorphic and the value of 8K. We also caught up with renowned Cinematographer Michael Goi, ASC. Michael is a past President of the ASC and one of the busiest guys in town, shooting and now directing some of the post popular shows on Television. He discusses the trajectory and his philosophy toward his very successful career. And to wrap things up we reached into our archives for a short interview segment with the legendary DP, Allen Davaiu, ASC. Allen comments on the archival value of having a film master with a story about the 20th anniversary re-release of “ET”.

We could not bring you this content without the continued support of our sponsors, and in particular Video Devices, the maker of the new PIX-E series of 4K Recording Monitors, who contributed toward this episode. We also need to acknowledge our many volunteer DCS crew members including Producer David Mahlmann, Cinematographers Cameron Canon, Don Platon, Conrad Hunziker, III, as well as for audio recording and post production, the versatile Christopher Scott Knell. Thanks also to Cine Gear Expo for providing the production venue for this episode’s interviews.

Digital Cinema Show Episode II — In Depth Interview with Robert Richardson, ASC

Episode II of the Digital Cinema Show is still available for viewing and features an in-depth interview with Cinematographer Robert Richardson, ASC. Conducted by DCS Founder James Mathers following a 70mm film print screening of “The Hateful Eight”, the interview delves into Richardson’s very notable career and some of the Directors he has worked with including Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone.

We also hear of the tremendous behind-the-scenes efforts necessary to bring “The Hateful Eight” to the screen in “glorious 70mm.” With the help of vendors including Panavision, Kodak, and FotoKem, the Filmmakers resurrected Ultra Panavision 70, a format no one had used since the mid-1960’s.

Premiere Episode with Andy Maltz, Larry Thorpe, and David Stump, ASC

Episode One features three interviews, the first with Andy Maltz, Managing Director of the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Andy sat down with us at Cine Gear Expo where he described the Technology Council’s varied efforts to help the Industry keep up with Cinema technology including the new Academy Color Encoding System, (ACES).

We also caught up with Industry Pioneer Larry Thorpe, a Senior Fellow with Canon USA, at the last CES convention. He had just been awarded Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement from the Television Academy for his body of work advancing digital image acquisition. Larry was there at the very beginning of digital cinema and shares a bit of that history with us, as well as what he sees for the future.

Episode One concludes with an extensive interview with renowned Visual Effects expert and Cinematographer, David Stump, ASC who joined us to discuss his new book, entitled “Digital Cinematography”.

All of the above listed coverage is accessible from the Digital Cinema Show link on the DCS homepage or visit:

https://vimeopro.com/digitalcinemasociety/digital-cinema-show