14 CREATION
March 2018
ZEISS provides ‘ perfect tool ’ for visual effects
Digital technologies have transformed traditional filmmaking with innovative technologies in both production and post production , paving the way for a more versatile , cost-effective and advanced workflow . The ZEISS Compact Prime CP . 3 family is the latest offering from ZEISS to support creative and progressive filmmaking with an affordable , future-proof and premium quality lens set , while providing metadata-capable technology . Visual-effects specialist , producer and director
Scott E Anderson , who tested the CP . 3 XD lenses for his CASE 10-86 project , reveals more .
What are your thoughts on the quality of the images created by the CP . 3 ? Scott E Anderson : The images the ZEISS CP . 3 lenses create are pretty amazing . When I first talked to ZEISS we were talking about the new blacks , the sharpness improvement and what we would see . I have always liked the ZEISS look , and have shot a lot using ZEISS lenses from various eras on my still cameras . I even retrofitted some of my favourite ZEISS lenses to work on my modern digital cameras . I like the look — it has that signature look and feel .
In the Compact Prime line , it stepped way up from where the CPs started . There is nothing we did on CASE 10-86 that I was not just pleased with in the ability of the lens to capture the range of looks we were trying to get . We could only do so much in a couple of minutes of footage , but we tried to show the colour , the contrast and a couple different tones . The lenses just definitely delivered and the actors look great . As a director I was picturing something specific in my head and I was very happy with the final result .
Does the quality of the metadata meet your standards ? Anderson : The metadata seemed to deliver exactly as promised . We show the lens distortion on set , even pop it on and off through our monitor . For me , this was more out of curiosity as I know what I will see . But it definitely helps when having a client on set , or a creative who does not know lens characteristics like I do .
To me , having the combination of the focus information and the
The creative aspects of filmmaking is where we want to put our time and efforts , not on the technical aspects that no one sees . digital grid — the de-warping information — is going to be the most critical thing . Having that lined up and synced up perfectly is great for us . Seeing how it is laid out and our ability to get it from shooting into post is a tremendous workflow improvement . I am looking forward to when it gets plugged in through all the different connectors and all the different manufacturers . But I think we are off to a good start .
How does the eXtended Data technology in the CP . 3 XD help to save time ? Anderson : On independent film productions , where they really do not have the time or the resources , having the eXtended Data available makes a big difference . It also makes it much more efficient for me to walk in and quickly help them out . I know that we do not need an extra half a day of measuring that they do not have .
It will also help us with fix-it-shots . A lot of time on some of the films we see , they were not planning on a shot or a new idea came up and they want to add something to a shot or a plate that was not really on the original target list . Having that lens info in the metadata is a safety net , one that helps us in ways that are not obvious to everyone on the day .
As Case 10-86 was a test project , we tried to follow a process that would match that of the ZEISS CP market . We had a smaller crew , and a very limited VFX ( visual effects ) team . Here , it was a great advantage having the metadata captured by our onset DIT ( digital imaging technician ), and fed to VFX .
In VFX , the data for the foreground plates would be used in our camera tracking and in making the other elements fit into the foreground better . In looking at our shots , our hero element will drive the lens distortion , and any lens shading .
As before , that affects both the digital imaging and compositing . Because we have the metadata and from that the characteristics of the lenses , we can apply that in reverse to our elements that are going in our hero composition , making it frame-accurate and just easier to do .
It gives us more time to work on the creative side of things . The creative aspects of filmmaking are where we want to put our time and efforts , not on the technical aspects that no one sees .
How was the overall experience directing and managing the VFX for CASE 10-86 ? Anderson : Creatively , it was a lot of fun . We basically went from shoot to NAB in seven days . As far as the technical workflow for the film , there are a few more details .
We got the metadata both through a combination of our camera stream and the Ambient MasterLockitPlus . I think , eventually we will be able to get everything through either of those . This is great , because we can have the metadata included into our DPX files or RAW files via either system , depending on the camera set-up . It was also nice that a lot of the different grading tools were already showing
The ZEISS Compact Prime CP . 3 XD lenses not only capture lens data in real time , but also eliminates the need to measure lens characteristics , thanks to ZEISS eXtended Data technology .
the ability to de-warp and control the shading on set . This is great when you have questions to be able to quickly double check .
What we are trying to do with CASE 10-86 was to create something on a level of an independent production . Not a lot of productions have a huge budget for the type of work that I am known for . For this project , we were also working on a very tight time limit . We were therefore working with a lot of composites ; we wanted to match the characteristics from lens to lens and make our elements within one shot all fit together .
It was great fun . It is the kind of filmmaking I got in the business for . It is the kind of film a lot of our clients do and I think we really got to play some great new hardware — ZEISS CP . 3 Lenses . I got to play with some fellow filmmakers here at ZEISS and got to put together a piece that was both creatively interesting and really demonstrated a lot of what we are hoping to achieve with these lenses . ❑
* To read the full article , go to http :// lenspire . zeiss . com / en / zeiss-extendeddata /
For more information about the CP . 3 XD , go to www . zeiss . com / cine