Frame by Frame – BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Frame By Frame

Year – 2018
Decade – 2010s
Cinematographer – Chayse Irvin (imdb link) (official site)
Director – Spike Lee (imdb link)
Aspect Ratio – 2.39
Distributor – Focus Features; Universal
Genre – Drama; Period 1970s; Best Picture Nominee
Cameras – Panaflex Millennium XL2, Arricam Lite, Aaton Penelope, Arriflex SR3 (16mm)
Lenses – Spherical; Zeiss Super Speeds MKII, Zeiss Master Primes, Panavision Ultra and Super Speeds, Panavision PVintage
Format –  35mm; 16mm
Film Stocks – Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, Kodak Eastman Double-X Black & White Negative Film 5222 and 7222, Kodak Ektachrome 100D
Production info – 31 days of principal photography

Categories
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Eye Lights
Car Shots
High and Low Angles
Two Shots
Three Shots
Low Key Lighting
Police Station
Highlights
Eyelines
Phone Calls

The Movie
Based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, a black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1970s. The unlikely undercover mission began with Stallworth establishing phone contact posing as an interested new member, first with the local chapter and eventually with the organization’s “executive director” David Duke (played by Topher Grace). The sting ultimately became a two-man operation – with Stallworth (played by John David Washington) handling the phone calls and fellow detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) standing in for Stallworth for the face-to-face interactions.

The film earned Spike Lee his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

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frames 16mm, frames 2.39, frames 2010s, frames 2018, frames 35mm, frames aaton penelope, frames arricam lite, frames arriflex sr3, frames best picture nominee, frames chayse irvin, frames drama, frames focus features, frames Kodak Eastman Double-X Black & White Negative Film 5222 and 7222, frames Kodak Ektachrome 100D, frames Kodak Vision3 5207 250D, frames Kodak Vision3 5219 500T, frames Panaflex Millennium XL2, frames panavision pvintage, frames panavision ultra and super speeds, frames period 1970s, frames spherical, frames spike lee, frames universal, frames zeiss master primes, frames zeiss super speeds

Frame by Frame – Three O’Clock High (1987)

Frame By Frame

Year – 1987
Decade – 1980s
Cinematographer – Barry Sonnenfeld (imdb link)
Director – Phil Joanou
Aspect Ratio – 1.85
Distributor – Universal
Genre – Comedy
Lenses – Spherical
Format – 35mm

Categories
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Character Introduction
Inserts
High and Low Angles
Rack Focus
Cross Dissolves
Full Shots
Profile
Silhouettes
Unusual Camera Perspectives
Venetian Blinds

The Movie

A “new student” profile piece for the school paper turns into an adolescent nightmare for a timid reporter (Casey Siemaszko) when the story’s subject (Richard Tyson) challenges him to an after school showdown. Siemaszko spends the remander of the day attempting to escape the confines of the school before the final bell tolls. Director Phil Joanou – who was just 24 when production began, making him younger than both his leading men – saw the film as a pubescent nod to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.

“The original script was called After School and was very much a John Hughes style comedy, very broad with lots of slapstick. When I came on I had really loved Martin Scorsese’s movie AFTER HOURS (1985). If you compare Scorsese’s film with my film, you will see that I was heavily influenced by AFTER HOURS, as in I stole a ton of stuff from it! In the film, Griffin Dunne is trapped down in SoHo and no matter what he does, he can’t escape his fate. It’s very similar to 3 O’CLOCK HIGH in that this kid is trapped in high school and no matter what he does, he can’t escape. The original script was much more about him having to confront the bully, and I added ”Well, what if he tried everything he could think of to get kicked out.” The ticking clock and the trapped hero were what I brought to 3 O’CLOCK HIGH. I also tried to make it much more of a black comedy as opposed to a straight-ahead teen comedy.” – director Phil Joanou, from an interview with Money Into Light

Shot on location in Ogden, Utah over 33 days, Three O’Clock High failed to make back its $6 million budget while in theaters. It’s developed a bit of a cult following over the years – culminating in a Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory – and has been a favorite of mine since childhood. Roger Ebert, however, was not a fan of the stylishly shot movie, awarding Three O’ Clock High one star and condemning it as an extension of Reagan era American machismo.

Hollywood teenage movies have been edging toward fascism for years. There once may have been a time when nice kids got ahead by being nice, but in today’s Hollywood, muscle and brute strength count for everything. – Roger Ebert, from the Chicago Sun-Times

 

Tags:

frames 1.85, frames 1980s, frames 1987, frames 35mm, frames barry sonnenfeld, frames comedy, frames phil joanou, frames spherical, frames universal

Frame by Frame: The Deuce – Season 1 (2017)

Frame By Frame

Year – 2017
Decade – 2010s
Cinematographers – Vanja Cernjul, Pepe Avila del Pino (pilot)
Director – various
Aspect Ratio – 1.78
Distributor – HBO
Genre – Drama; Period (1970s)
Camera – Panasonic VariCam35, Arri Alexa (pilot only)
Lenses –  Spherical; Panavision PVintage; Panavision Primos (pilot only)
Format – Digital; Shot in V-Log in HD (1920×1080) resolution with ProRes 4444 compression

Categories
Night Exteriors           Car Shots                       Frames Within Frames     Bars
Silhouettes                   Wide Shots                    Full Shots                            High Angle
Title Cards                   Mirrors                           Shafts of Light
Mercury Vapor Streetlights                              Sodium Vapor Streetlights

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The Show
The legalization of pornography alters the lives of the denizens of New York’s seedy 42nd Street circa 1971.

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frames 1.78, frames 2010s, frames 2017, frames arri alexa, frames digital, frames drama, frames hbo, frames panasonic varicam 35, frames panavision primo, frames panavision pvintage, frames period 1970s, frames spherical

Frame by Frame: Insecure – Season 2 (2017)

Frame By Frame

Year – 2017
Decade – 2010s
Cinematographer – Ava Berkofsky (official site) and Patrick Cady
Director – various
Aspect Ratio – 1.78
Distributor – HBO
Genre – Drama
Camera – Arri Alexa
Format – Spherical

Other Key Words
Location – Los Angeles                    Short Siding                         Headroom

Further Reading
Interview with cinematographer Ava Berkofsky from Mic, which details Berkofsky’s approach to lighting the varying skin tones of Insecure

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Frame Grabs, frames 1.78, frames 2010s, frames 2017, frames arri alexa, frames Ava Berkofsky, frames drama, frames hbo, frames headroom, frames los angeles, frames Patrick Cady, frames short siding, frames spherical

Frame by Frame: The Stepfather (1987)

Frame By Frame

Year – 1987
Decade – 1980s
Cinematographer – John Lindley (imdb link)
Director – Joseph Ruben (imdb link)
Aspect Ratio – 1.85
Genre – Horror
Lenses – Spherical
Format – 35mm

Key Words
Shot-by-Shot Scene Breakdowns                    Camera Moves

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The Movie
A seemingly bland suburban realtor (Terry O’Quinn) marries into a widowed family and reacts violently when the clan doesn’t live up to his ideal of family values.

A link has frequently been drawn between the violence in the horror films of the 1980s – particularly the slasher flicks of the era – and the decade’s shift toward moral conservatism. When characters flaunted the tenants of the religious right that flourished under Reagan, their demise was swift. Have sex and you die. Take drugs and you die. Joseph Ruben’s clever low-budget thriller The Stepfather is one of the few films to intentionally and explicitly make that connection, presenting a portrait of unhinged patriarchy raging against the white middle class male’s dwindling influence that still feels relevant 30 years later.

Check out the movie while it’s streaming on Amazon Prime.

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frames 1.85, frames 1980s, frames 1987, frames 35mm, frames camera moves, frames horror, frames john lindley, frames joseph ruben, frames scene breakdowns, frames spherical

Frame by Frame: Hell on Wheels – Season 1 (2011)

Frame By Frame

Year – 2011
Decade – 2010s
Cinematographer – Elliot Davis (pilot), Marvin Rush (all other Season 1 episodes)
Director – multiple
Aspect Ratio – 1.78
Distributor – AMC
Genre – Western
Camera – Arri Alexa
Lenses – Spherical
Format – Digital

Key Words
Silhouettes           Low Angles            Scene: Campfire              Candlelight
Day Exterior        Night Exterior       Desaturation                   Close-Ups
Wide Shots           Firearms 

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The Show
A freed slave (Common), an unscrupulous magnate (Colm Meaney), and a Confederate soldier hellbent on revenge (Anson Mount) are among the characters in this Western detailing the building of the first transcontinental railroad. The show ran for five seasons an AMC.

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frames 1.78, frames 2010s, frames 2011, frames amc, frames arri alexa, frames candelight, frames close-ups, frames day exterior, frames desaturation, frames digital, frames elliot davis, frames firearms, frames high and low angles, frames location campfire, frames marvin rush, frames night exteriors, frames scene breakdowns, frames silhouettes, frames spherical, frames western, frames wide shots

Frame by Frame: Friday the 13th (1980)

Frame By Frame

Year – 1980
Decade – 1980s
Cinematographer – Barry Abrams (imdb link)
Director – Sean S. Cunningham (imdb link)
Make-Up Effects – Tom Savini (imdb link)
Aspect Ratio – 1.85
Distributor – Paramount
Genre – Horror, Slasher
Lenses – Spherical
Format – 35mm
Other Key Words
Point of View
Shot-by-Shot Scene Breakdowns

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frames 1.85, frames 1980, frames 1980s, frames 35mm, frames barry abrams, frames horror, frames paramount, frames point of view, frames scene breakdowns, frames sean s cunningham, frames slasher, frames spherical, frames tom savini

Frame by Frame: Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

Frame By Frame

Year – 2018
Decade – 2010s
Cinematographers – Kramer Morgenthau (IMDB link)
Director – Ramin Bahrani (IMDB link)
Aspect Ratio – 1.78
Distributor – HBO
Genre – Sci-Fi
Cameras – Panasonic VariCam 35 (3840×2160 UHD with AVC-Intra compression) for the main cameras; Zenmuse X5S on a DJI Inspire 2 drone for wide aerial shots; GoPro Hero4 Black for point of view shots
Lenses – Zeiss Super Speeds for the main lenses; Panavision Primo zooms and Lensbaby Composor Pros (for flashbacks) were also used
Format – Digital; Spherical
Miscellaneous – According to American Cinematographer magazine, Morgenthau favored the 29mm and 40mm Super Speeds and typically shot between a T1.4 and a T2.0. Director Ramin Bahrani’s visual references included Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and The Trial.
Other Key Words
Opening Credits             Color               Flashbacks             Point of View              Night Exteriors

Further Reading
American Cinematographer magazine’s feature on the film, from the June 2018 issue
CinemaTechnic’s history of the Zeiss Super Speeds
Interview with cinematographer Kramer Morganthau from Panavison’s official site

Tags:

frames 1.78, frames 2010s, frames 2018, frames color, frames digital, frames flashbacks, frames go pro, frames hbo, frames kramer morganthau, frames lensbaby composer pro, frames night exteriors, frames opening credits, frames panasonic varicam 35, frames panavision primo zooms, frames point of view, frames ramin bahrani, frames sci-fi, frames spherical, frames zeiss super speeds