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NOAM KROLL

NOAM KROLL

NOAM KROLL

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Films

films

Watch My Surrealist Short Film ‘Brother Sister’ – Shot RAW On The Blackmagic Cinema Camera (EF) & Posted In FCP X/DaVinci Resolve

A few months back I decided to make a short film called ‘Brother Sister’ that was loosely based…

2012 Feature Film ‘Footsteps’ Amongst The First Films To Be Released On BitTorrent Bundles

Last week I wrote an article about BitTorrent’s new platform called ‘Bundles’ and how it’s changing the face…

Sundance Submission – Shot On Blackmagic in RAW & Cut on FCP X

First off, I would like to thank FCP.co for kindly sharing this article on their site this week.…

Music Video Shot on RED Scarlet

I just finished post production on a music video for I directed for “The Jessica Stuart Few”. The…

Ups & Downs of Shooting a Feature With the GH2

Going into production on my second feature film “Splitting Bethany”, I had a tough time deciding which camera…

Splitting Bethany – Feature Film Shot on GH2

I am in the final stages of post production right now for my upcoming feature film – Splitting…

Gear List For My Feature Film – Split

I am currently in production for my second feature film titled Split. The film focuses on the dissolution…

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noamkroll

noamkroll

Filmmaker & Creative in LA 🎥☀️🌴
New blogs, podcasts & newsletters each week +
Post-production tools @cinecolor.io 🍊

It’s all about lighting. #filmmaking #cinemato

It’s all about lighting.

#filmmaking #cinematography #artemis

At first glance these shots both look like they ca

At first glance these shots both look like they captured daytime light on earth, but only the original from 1972 actually did. It’s one reason these shots captured 54 years apart look so different.

#cinematography #cinematographer #photography #nasa #artemis

Spielberg famously shoots many of his movies witho

Spielberg famously shoots many of his movies without any shot list or storyboards. With the exception of some of his effects heavy work like Jurassic Park or Raiders of the Lost Ark, most of his films are improvised on set - at least in terms of coverage style. This creates more spontaneity, and lets him work more from instinct without overthinking it.

These are just 5 examples of films he made with no shot list at all:

1. DUEL
2. THE FABELMANS
3. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
4. SCHINDLER’S LIST
5. AMISTAD

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Tungsten lighting is one of the secret ingredients

Tungsten lighting is one of the secret ingredients that made EX MACHINA look so good. While 99% of productions opt to use LED sources, cinematographer Rob Hardy took a more vintage approach. He used warm, tungsten sources almost exclusively throughout the entire film, which brought an unmistakeable human touch and warmth to the otherwise sterile and futuristic environment. The goal was to use the light to bridge the gap between Ava’s synthetic body and her human-like consciousness.

He also set up over 15,000 tungsten “pea bulbs” that were built into the sets. This helped create a more gauzy and atmospheric look:

“I think smaller units have a softer feel. When you have a numerous amount of them and you put them through enough diffusion, they tend to give a certain kind of light. I don’t want to feel like I read the lights. I want it to feel like it emanates from the frame rather than it being placed there. I liken it to the difference between Vermeer or Rembrandt. With Vermeer, you look at those paintings and you can see the source of the light and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re incredible paintings. However, if you look at Rembrandts, you can’t really tell where the source is, but it has an amazing mood and I find it much more subtle and much more interesting, and for me personally it elicits much more emotion.”

- Rob Hardy

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Steven Spielberg brilliantly stole these shots fro

Steven Spielberg brilliantly stole these shots from The Wizard of Oz when he was making War of The Worlds nearly 70 years later.

The original Wizard of Oz scene is legendary for its innovative use of color. To make it appear like Dorothy’s world was changing from sepia to color, the filmmakers painted the sets and wardrobe beige, and used a body double for Judy Garland so they could shoot the full sequence in color, but still make the interior feel black and white.

Spielberg recreated this sequence shot for shot, but rather than entering a beautiful technical world, his version introduces a bleak, chaotic color palette that represented the destruction cause by the alien invasion. Being the master storyteller he is, he didn’t simply lift the idea, but instead payed homage to it while making it his own.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Huge congrats to SINNERS DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Huge congrats to SINNERS DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw for taking home a well deserved Oscar for best cinematography. This film was uniquely shot on a mix of 15 perf IMAX film and 5 perf Ultra Panavision 70, creating a juxtaposition of large format 1.43:1 footage and extremely wide 2.76:1 frames that make for a truly original look, especially when viewed on an actual IMAX screen.

The film also makes brilliant use of telephoto lenses, petzvals, and other custom optics that make for some of the best shots of the year.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer #oscars

Color palettes of all 5 Oscar nominees for best ci

Color palettes of all 5 Oscar nominees for best cinematography.

The first 3 movies (One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein) all share heightened stylization, and at times dip into the teal and orange look. While the other two films (Train Dreams and Sinners) are much more naturalistic with earthy tones and a more organic look.

All are beautifully shot, but the more natural palettes are more my preference when making films, and Train Dreams stands out as a personal favorite from the year. How about you?

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Christopher Nolan accidentally discovered the fina

Christopher Nolan accidentally discovered the final edit of The Dark Night in post, when he noticed a single lens flare from a film light. These couple of frames ultimately determined the final sequence of cuts, in what Nolan described as an “unusual choice that just felt right”.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Love it when filmmakers use the “film out” pro

Love it when filmmakers use the “film out” process to give digital footage an analog touch during the finishing stage. On PROJECT HAIL MARY, cinematographer Grieg Fraser shot on Arri Alexa 65 and Mini LF digital cinema cameras, but then printed the footage onto real film stock so it could be re-scanned before creating final masters. This gave the best of both worlds, the flexibility of digital on set, and the color quality and grain structure of film in post. He also used this technique on several other films including Dune and The Batman.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Kubrick was a master at breaking the 180 degree ru

Kubrick was a master at breaking the 180 degree rule. This scene from THE SHINING is a prime example, where the eyeline almost invisibly switches from left to right. Normally this would be a jarring cut, but because Jack Nicholson is perfectly framed in the second shot, your eye traces right to him from the butler, and it feels unsettling without being a distraction. Kubrick also frames certain shots increasingly tighter to create a claustrophobic tone.

Another recent example of this can be found in PLURIBUS. In this case, a transitional shot is used to cleanly break the 180 degree plane, as the eyeline is directed almost exactly at the camera. This pivotal shot allows the cut to feel seamless while “jumping the line”.

I used this technique myself on an upcoming film, and learned a lot from the process. Will share some more examples soon!

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

SINNERS was brilliantly shot with a mix of two uni

SINNERS was brilliantly shot with a mix of two unique formats: 15-Perf IMAX film and 5-Perf Ultra70. This resulted in a juxtaposition of images that were extremely wide aspect (2.76:1) and extremely tall (1.43:1), helping to better tell the story visually. Just one of many incredible choices by DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw who took home the Academy Award this past weekend.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Spielberg is known as a master of the “oner”.

Spielberg is known as a master of the “oner”. Often combining multiple shot sizes and frames into a single take. He does it so seamlessly you don’t even realize it’s happening. This is just one of countless examples.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Huge congrats to SINNERS DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Huge congrats to SINNERS DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw for taking home a well deserved Oscar for best cinematography. This film was uniquely shot on a mix of 15 perf IMAX film and 5 perf Ultra Panavision 70, creating a juxtaposition of large format 1.43:1 footage and extremely wide 2.76:1 frames that make for a truly original look, especially when viewed on an actual IMAX screen.

The film also makes brilliant use of telephoto lenses, petzvals, and other custom optics that make for some of the best shots of the year.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer #oscars

Color palettes of all 5 Oscar nominees for best ci

Color palettes of all 5 Oscar nominees for best cinematography.

The first 3 movies (One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein) all share heightened stylization, and at times dip into the teal and orange look. While the other two films (Train Dreams and Sinners) are much more naturalistic with earthy tones and a more organic look.

All are beautifully shot, but the more natural palettes are more my preference when making films, and Train Dreams stands out as a personal favorite from the year. How about you?

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Love the brilliant innovation on AD ASTARA by cine

Love the brilliant innovation on AD ASTARA by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. To make it truly appear as if the footage were shot on the moon, he rigged up two cameras to capture identical frames. The first was a 35mm panavision film camera, and the second was an infrared Arri Alexa.

This allowed them to shoot in bright daylight, which created shadows consistent with real moonlight, and then process the footage in post to replace the sky using the infrared footage. The result was a far more authentic look than they could have achieved with traditional film lighting.

This approach was later refined by Hoyte van Hoytema for the extensive night exterior scenes in Jordan Peele’s NOPE, one of the best recent examples of the day for night technique.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Almost picture locked on our upcoming film (Jack &

Almost picture locked on our upcoming film (Jack & Christine), which will hit festivals soon. Was such a treat to direct these amazing actors - @nikkilorenzo @iamlukebarnett and the legendary John Hawkes. We did multiple table reads to workshop the script, and I ended up writing 24 drafts to get it just right - a lot of tinkering but necessary to add the layers and depth the story hinged on. Excited to share with all of you soon.

Huge thanks to our crew including @andychinn @theryanvan and of course @tvacom for supplying the best gear. Not to mention our amazing producing team @iamrichhandley and @launch.releasing

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Crazy the difference in color and mood between the

Crazy the difference in color and mood between the original EYES WIDE SHUT Blu Ray and the Criterion 4K restoration. Some have debated which is more effective - with the restored version being cooler, higher contrast, and more vivid overall. Which do you prefer?

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer #colorgrading

Love seeing experimental shots executed at this le

Love seeing experimental shots executed at this level. On CHALLENGERS, an entire glass floor was rigged so the actors could perform on top of it with the crew and cameras underneath. Shots like this could easily be written off as “unnecessary” to the story, or seen as an unneeded expense - but those extra details are what you remember months after leaving the theater.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

Perfectionism is the ultimate form of procrastinat

Perfectionism is the ultimate form of procrastination.

It’s always better to create than wait.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #artist #creativity

One reason THE DARK KNIGHT is so effective is than

One reason THE DARK KNIGHT is so effective is thanks to Chris Nolan’s brilliant homage to HEAT. The coverage style, framing choices, and mood all call back the 1995 classic while reinventing it in a different genre.

Great example of art influencing art.

P.S Not sure who made the background video / split screen, but if you know tag them below.

#filmmaking #filmmaker #cinematography #cinematographer

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