I think most of you know that I’m in love with Rosco LitePads. They’re a lightweight, smooth, crisp solution for LED cinematography (and they play well with fresnels and kinos).

As soon as you use them for the first time, any future gig without them will put you in a situation that forces you to think to yourself, “Shit… should’ve rented litepads for this…”

Try ‘em out! They’re most likely waiting at a rental house near you. For Philadelphia DPs, get them from Keystone Pictures.

- Jason Plays With Light

PS if you can’t watch this video, http://vimeo.com/30917755

Part 2 of a quick & dirty grade of some frames from a short I DP’d this week called “Baggage”. It’s a Columbia Grad student film about a woman who turns to boxing after attempting to overcome an attack in her recent past.


7D. Nikon Glass. Cinestyle Workflow. LUT & Grade in FCP.

Writer/Director/Producer/Magician: Madeline Shapiro
1st AD/Unicorn Hunter: Elif Ayan
Gaffer/AC/All Around Mad Man: Hugo Kenzo

DP: Jason Druss 

Rentals & Lighting provided by Stone Steps Rentals w/ David Garcia & Collin Miller in Philadelphia PA.

Part 2 of my screenshot upload from “Baggage”. For Part 1 (first 10 frames) visit my post (http://jasondruss.tumblr.com/post/15026603843/just-a-quick-dirty-grade-of-some-frames-from-a)

Part 1 of a quick & dirty grade of some frames from a short I DP’d this week called “Baggage”. It’s a Columbia Grad student film about a woman who turns to boxing after attempting to overcome an attack in her recent past.

7D. Nikon Glass. Cinestyle Workflow. LUT & Grade in FCP.

Writer/Director/Producer/Magician: Madeline Shapiro
1st AD/Unicorn Hunter: Elif Ayan
Gaffer/AC/All Around Mad Man: Hugo Kenzo
DP: Jason Druss

Rentals & Lighting provided by Stone Steps Rentals w/ David Garcia & Collin Miller in Philadelphia, PA.

For Part 2 (remaining 10 frames) check out my other post! (http://jasondruss.tumblr.com/post/15026889063/part-2-of-a-quick-dirty-grade-of-some-frames)

One of the last rumors you’ll hear before your HD-SLR becomes obsolete. They might call it the Canon EOS 300C… http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/11/canon-eos-300c-cr1/ PS who think’s it’s gonna be a mirrorless sensor? Canon’s never done that before… ahhhhh!!! I’m freaking out with excitement! I wanna put up one of those crazy silly GIFs but I don’t know how so I’m typing ahhhhh!!!!
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One of the last rumors you’ll hear before your HD-SLR becomes obsolete. They might call it the Canon EOS 300C…

http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/11/canon-eos-300c-cr1/

PS who think’s it’s gonna be a mirrorless sensor? Canon’s never done that before…

ahhhhh!!! I’m freaking out with excitement! I wanna put up one of those crazy silly GIFs but I don’t know how so I’m typing ahhhhh!!!!

Here’s another bunch of still frames from the first feature film I’ve photographed, “My Friends” Let me know what you think!

Directed by: Kreshnik Seseri

Cinematography: Jason Druss

I Hate Blue Light (Or, “How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Trust The Art Department”)

Hi Tumblr, I’m so thrilled we’re getting better acquainted.

I mentioned last week that I’ve been DPing a very low budget feature on the weekends this month. I’ve been looking at some shots that I’ve been capturing and I think I’ve hit a small point of lighting maturity. I realized that I hate my obsession with blue light.

Usually, when I’m lighting a night-time interior, I’ll flood the room with 650 fresnels covered in CTB (blue gels) for moonlight, and then I’ll hit the talent, and practical lamps with 300w fresnels and some CTO (orange gels) to create a spectrum of cool to warm light. I’ll keep my camera’s color temp around an average of 4200K—4800k. Then, I shape this light around whatever is going on in the story during the scene we’re shooting.

After randomly viewing some great films (Revolutionary Road, Melancholia, The Ides Of March) I realized that I’m doing it wrong.

Most of these Arri Fresnels I’m using are already balanced at a daylight color temperature (5600K aka sun/moonlight) and by putting blue gels on an already naturally daylight balanced fixture, im creating something that seems kind of obnoxious, fake and silly.

I think, what I should be doing, is staying away from these blue gels and keeping the orange ones. That way, when I move my camera’s color temp to a better 5600K, the moonlight will actually appear as natural light versus this shitty blue situation. At the same time, the warm orange fresnels will maintain their illusion, seeming as if they’re coming from imaginary or on-set practical lamps placed by the art department.

In conclusion, if I want fantastic shades of blue and cyan in my image, I shouldn’t approach it with crazy blue gels, I should rely and collaborate with an art department to make those colors visible for my lighting department to play with/against.

Let me know what you guys think, feel free to reply. Tell me if you think the stuff I’m making now seems obnoxious, or if you have any tips on balancing color temps that stay creative, yet realistic.

Yours Truly,

-Jason Plays With Light

Hey Tumblr,

Sorry I’ve been away for so long, I’ve been ultra busy shooting a fantastic indy movie titled, “My Friends”. It’s a crime drama, and it’s my first time working as a cinematographer on a feature film!

Here’s some screenshots for all the geeks. Spread it around if you like it :)

Workflow: 7D, Nikon AIS Primes, Arri Fresnels, Technicolor CineStyle w/ LUT and Color Grading in FCP

-Jason Plays With Light

Canon 4k S35 Camera for $15 Grand?

Hello all my lovely camera geeks out there,

Our friends at Wide Open Camera have been spreading some buzz about a possible 4k red and sony killer from canon. They’ve been virtually silent in the big chip camera game since the 5d and 7d, and it looks like their planned event on November 3rd in LA could be Canon’s highly awaited return to beat the hell out of the competition.

It would be a mind blowing mix of the HDSLR revolution they accidentally started with following the example that RED has set with higher resolutions as an industry standard.

Additional rumors say that there will be multiple models, a entry level EF mount camera, and a professional PL mount model. The EF will probably attack the panny AF100 & the sony FS100. The PL looks like it’d be gunning for Red and Arri.

What do you think? Realistic? Bullshit? A gift from the cinema gods?

Contact for more tech rumors, opinions, speculations and debates.

-Jason Plays With Light www.jasondruss.com

Get a Set of Amazing Prime Lenses Without Blowing Your Budget

This goes out to all the cinematographers and photographers who are frustrated with the high cost of DSLR lenses. Glass is extremely important in any shooter’s arsenal, and can dictate your ability to tell your story based on your focal limitations.

A few weeks ago the only glass I had was a Canon EF 50mm 1.4. It was nice. I shot a lot of narrative and corporate projects with it, including this little number. http://vimeo.com/17030694

Not only was it extremely annoying to have to physically move the camera back and forth to achieve a wider or closer shot, but I had no control over my depth of field. If I wanted a close up of an actor’s face, with just a little bit of bokeh, I couldn’t do it. The 50mm blew everything in the background out of focus, and I realized that I needed a 24mm or wider lens to achieve the look I was going for.

My one lens parlor trick was unacceptable, and I had to find an affordable solution.

So I started looking at some vintage glass in a camera shop, and I found some GREAT used Nikon AIS Manual Primes from the 1970’s. Here are some advantages of these lenses.

1. Metal, Solid, Sturdy as Hell Construction

2. Manual Iris Ring and Focus

3. Smooth Like Butter Focus Pull

4. Precise Focus Marks.

5. Very Wonderful Silky Look

6. Most All Primes Have a 52mm Front Diameter, So You Can Share Filters

7. CHEAP

After trading in my Canon 50mm, I ended up with a set of 5 Nikon Manual Primes. A 24mm 2.8, 35mm 2.0, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 2.0, and 100mm 2.0

After having the lenses, I logged into B&H to get the essential accessories that would allow my new old glass to function.

(5) Bower Tulip Lens Hoods ($5 Each)

(5) Cinevate Nikon F to Canon EF Adapters ($40 Each) (You don’t have to buy one for each lens, but I like the convenience of maintaining speed on set and not having to switch adapters all the time. The choice is yours.

(1) Giottos Lens Cleaning kit ($12) (Because you will have to scrub the shit out of those lenses)

All in all, I spent no more than $1,000 and got a great set of primes that can move with me to whatever camera system I evolve to in the future. I obviously wouldn’t put these things on a RED, but they’ll sure as hell do the job for any DSLR or Large Sensor Camcorder. Just make sure you carefully inspect the lenses before you buy them. Make sure there’s no strange sounds when you pull focus, look out for dust and artifacts inside the lens itself.

If you’re in the Philadelphia area, I get all of my essentials, toys, gear, rentals, and geek fixes from the following stores. I’ve never had anything but the best help and service from them, and you won’t get ripped off. Trustworthy. Go in, say hi, and tell them Jason sent you.

Webbcam (On 12th and Vine) www.webbcam.net

Le Camera (In Cherry Hill & Princeton, NJ) www.lecameraonline.com

I’ll have a test shoot online in the next week for ya’ll to watch. In the meantime, ask me anything about the glass, or advice on what to buy to make your rig into Phillip Bloom’s wet dream.

(Jason Druss www.jasondruss.com) (Twitter: JasonDruss)

Check out this awesome preview of the Arri Alexa’s upcoming 120fps upgrade (ProRes 422). Of course it looks wonderful, because it was shot on the Alexa, but if Arri wants to compete with RED, they’re gonna have to raise the bar a little bit and start pushing ArriRAW a bit more (or at least 4:4:4). 120fps in decent HD is cool, but 90fps of Raw 5K blows it out of the water (especially at half the size and at a cheaper price point).

Ok, fine, I’m just jealous because I don’t have an Alexa. I’m gonna keep using my 7D until the sensor melts…

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