EXHILARATING’’

Versatile
Camera
DP Eve Cohen
shot “Be
Somebody”
with a Canon
C300 Mark II.
Film Math: When
Is 2K Greater
Than 4K?
Understanding the trade-off between the formats
is key to unlocking the potential of cameras
By VALENTINA VALENTINI
@tiniv
A CINEMATOGRAPHER with all the money
in the world and three months to shoot a
movie would have a gear list that’s fully
organized and checked off. But if all you
have is 12 days on a microbudget, you have
to fight for the camera and technology that
will work for the picture.
Such was the conundrum faced by DP
Eve Cohen before production began on “Be
Somebody,” a tale of young love and discovery
between two opposites played by Sarah
Jeffery and YouTube star Matthew Espinosa,
which debuted June 10. Producers
How to
Choose
Each format
has its
strengths.
2k
• More dynamic
range
• Better recording
capability
4k
• Higher
resolution
• Better for VFX
were pushing Cohen to shoot in 4K because
they had been told the format’s higher resolution
yielded a better image. “But that’s
not necessarily true,” says Cohen. “It definitely
wasn’t true in our case.”
Cohen had reasons for choosing lowerres
2K technology, and they weren’t based
just on budget constraints. She argued
that when finishing the picture in postproduction,
2K would provide more dynamic
range — a measure of the ratio between
the highest and lowest light intensities —
and better recording capability.
The producers ended up using Canon’s
handheld C300 Mark II camera, which is
able to adjust to the format that’s right
for the project. Director Josh Caldwell,
also a Canon aficionado, backed Cohen’s
decision to shoot in 2K over 4K and was
instrumental as they negotiated with the
producing team.
There were also trade-offs in terms of
recording time, Cohen says. “You can record
4K internally to the cameras,” but that
allows less time per media card, and “we
needed more storage space.”
Cohen says she generally prefers 2K for
work that doesn’t require VFX. “I think the
2K 12-bit renders a better-quality image
than the 4K 10-bit,” she notes.
The decision paid dividends near the
end of the fast-paced shooting schedule —
84 pages in less than two weeks — when
Cohen had to ask Caldwell to shoot a scene
on his own. It was a middle-of-the-night
shoot, and they still had a small exterior
they needed to capture.
Cohen knew the director was an experienced
handheld camera operator, and
would be able to film the scene the way
he wanted. “But I was a bit worried about
it being exposed properly,” she says. “As a
night exterior, it was quite hard to light
without a full crew.” Still, she felt that with
the 2K camera being more forgiving in
lower light, she’d have enough wiggle room
to adjust the image later on if needed.
Indeed, post-production came to the rescue.
“We had quite a bit of grading to do,”
Cohen allows, “but it was easier to correct
because we had enough dynamic range.”
I favor dynamic range over resolution
for most projects that don’t have any
VFX or specialty shots.”
Eve Cohen
Productions
TITLE/DISTRIB PRODUCTION DIR. CAST
Girl Trip
Universal Pictures
It Part 1
Warner Bros.
Santa Clarita Diet
(series, Netflix)
This Is Us
(series, NBC)
Universal Pictures,
Will Packer Prods.
New Line Cinema,
Vertigo Entertainment
Netflix, Kapital
Entertainment
20th Century
Fox Television
Malcolm D. Lee
Andrés Muschietti
Victor Fresco
John Requa,
Glenn Ficarra
Queen Latifah,
Jada Pinkett Smith
Bill Skarsgård,
Jaeden Lieberher
Drew Barrymore,
Timothy Olyphant
Mandy Moore,
Milo Ventimiglia
SHOOT
START
LOCATION
6/30 New Orleans
6/27 Toronto
6/13
Santa Clarita,
Calif.
7/27 Los Angeles
Bookings
Movies Have Designs
on Carter, Tillman
Innovative Artists has
booked costume
designers Ruth Carter
(“Roots”) on Ryan Coogler’s
“Black Panther,” Kimberly Tillman
(“Battle Creek”) on Netflix movie
“Sandy,” and Monique
Prudhomme (“Bates Motel”) on
Stephen Chbosky’s “Wonder.”
The agency has placed editors
Mark Hartzell (“Agent Carter”) on
Cinemax’s “Outcast” series, Amy
Duddleston (“Dexter”) on ABC’s
“Conviction,” and DP Alex
Nepomniaschy (“Blue Bloods”)
on CBS’ “Doubt.” It has signed
line producer Adam Brightman
(“Quantico”) and editor David
Helfand (“The Mindy Project”).
JUNE 14, 2016 VARIETY.COM
139
DATA PROVIDED BY VARIETY INSIGHT. FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF FILMS IN PRODUCTION, VISIT VARIETYINSIGHT.COM