Projects
F3 SPARKLES ON DIAMOND COMEDY DoP Gary Tanner on how he created a distinctive look and feel on Open Mike’s comedy pilot Kenny Diamond
The stars of Skeletons, the comedy which won best new British feature at last year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, could soon be coming to a screen near you. That is if their latest TV comic creation Kenny Diamond gets the green light. Shot on a PMW-F3, hired from VMI, DoP Gary
Tanner was able to create a look and feel that combined high production values with a distinct style unusual for TV comedy. “I am always very conscious that
the camera is not the star – it
needs to be as unobtrusive as possible,” he says. “The quick operation and easy handling of the F3
meant that the equipment could keep out of the way of the actors and let them get on with their work.” The camera’s stellar performance in low light
was particularly useful on the pilot with a limited lighting budget. Tanner relied instead on the sensitivity of the 35mm sensor to acquire footage
using natural light. He comments: “Shooting in the gloomy interior of a car, it was surprising how well the F3 coped with the harsh back light. Really it was only the full glare of the sun that caused blown highlights and personally I find that pretty forgiveable.” Beyond the size of the sensor, Tanner is quick to
point out its similarities to the PMW-EX3, making the move from one to the other painless. But under the bonnet the F3 lies an entirely different beast. “The resolution of the F3 is in another league and its depth of field gave me incredible control over the picture – my colleague described it as ‘shooting in the style of the French Connection.’ The pay off is that the camera is unforgiving of poor focusing technique, requiring an DoP with some experience who can adjust to demands of a full-size sensor.
Summer 2011 theproducer 21
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