THE FILM TECHNIQUE
Tycho is known for a distinctive photographic-design aesthetic through his projects known as iso50. We wanted to run with his aesthetic and build upon it cinematically to sculpt a story. We tasked our DP, Joe Picard, to develop some unique cinematic techniques to achieve new looks in camera..
We shot the “audience” narrative — within the visible light spectrum — using a standard RED Epic camera package and de-coated zeiss super-speed standard prime lenses. We thrived on capturing majestic wide-angle shots that enhanced the beauty of our locations and complemented those shots with an assortment of textural macros and long-lens compressions to drive home an intimate experience with our characters.. The de-coated lenses brought us very close to the “Tycho aesthetic” in-camera.. The lenses gave us creamy lifted shadows with muted yet saturated colors, distinctly rich bokeh, and pools of soft focus with crisp focal points. This was a great starting point for our colourist at Glassworks to take it to another world.
We captured the infrared “POV” narrative through the usage of infrared and full-spectrum photography, we custom modified a second RED Epic camera to enable this unique aesthetic. Placing stylized filters over the lens gave a dreamy, highly-affected look that emphasized we were looking through our heroine’s eyes. Lastly, in grade we experimented greatly with channel mixing and advanced processing to render a variety of remarkable looks. We had the guys at Keslow Camera dig out all their old filters from the black and white film days. We used some of the most saturated ones we could find to shift the visible part of the spectrum in a different direction from the infrared colors to create more color contrast and emphasize the surreal nature of our character’s vivid trip..
We wanted to create a whole new look with which to shoot the band, something that would tie the story together.. We started experimenting with infrared lighting and discovered that the IR emitter in the Microsoft Kinect projects a starfield-like dot pattern not unlike what a 3D render of point cloud data looks like; with our full spectrum camera it became photographic.. Some of the lens flares we were able to make with the Kinect are unlike anything we've ever seen before - creating super dense moire patterns and 3D-like caustic inversions of lens geometry. The set was totally dark, aside from a red laser - we could not see anything except while looking through the cameras viewfinder. Operating a camera in this situation was like a real manifestation of virtual reality. The band also couldn’t see each other and couldn’t tell who or what the camera was looking at - which ultimately made the performance feel very raw..
THE PRACTICAL FX
We experimented with an array of different practical effects to generate the visuals for the triangle and circular tunnels.. What was used in the video is a video projector pointed at the camera with some laser cut acrylic shapes directing the light, and of course heavy amounts of haze and light being informed by animated graphic patterns.. They ended up creating massive library of practical footage based on Tycho's signature shapes, utilizing a variety of techniques such a burning Steel Wool embers through a chrome tube, heaps of chemical reactions and some spinning embers to create circular volumes, in addition to the projection tunnel techniques.. Sadly, not all of the footage was used in the edit so Connie Kim put together a super-smoove edit of what was hot, and a thorough breakdown on his Bedtimes.xxx website..
Tycho - See Credit List
Production Company: Ground Control UK
Executive Producer: Michael Stanish
Director: GMUNK
Director of Photography: Joe Picard
Concept: Bradley G Munkowitz, Ian Colon, Joe Picard
Line Producer: Andrew 'Demansky Devankeys' Devansky
Assistant Director: Ian Colon
Edit: Bradley G Munkowitz, Ian Colon
Post Facility: Glassworks UK
Colourist: Matt Hare
Flame Artist: James MacLachlan
Camera Assistants: Magaera Stephens, Noah Hassie, Dakota Wilder Smith
Grips / Lighting: Tej Verde, Dakota Wilder Smith, Patrick Walsh
Props design and fabrication: Conor Grebel, Mike Williams
Practical FX design: Conor Grebel, Mike Williams
Female Lead: Hannah Helena Bjørnø
Male Lead: Eone Darke n’ Cray
Costume Design: Jasmine Hamed
Makeup Art: Melissa Capistrano
Process Photography: Dan Cowles, Maris Curran, Dakota Wilder
Process Editorial: Cyrus Tabar
Camera Rentals: Chater Camera, Keslow Camera
Equipment Rentals: Little Giant Grip & Electric
Extra Special Thanks: Ground Control, Autofuss, Bot & Dolly, Ghostly, Tycho
for Ghostly International
May 2014