Adam Kimmel, a cinematographer known for his role in producing famous titles such as Never Let Me Go and Capote as well as for working with world famous brands like Nike and Audi, has stated he prefers using Cooke lenses for commercial work. Their ability to handle skin tones make them Kimmel’s first choice whenever he approaches a new project.
Working on a variety of very different and very complex scenes at multiple locations under enormous strain is the everyday reality of a crew on a commercial set. For Adam Kimmel, ASC, it is a way of life that he has grown to know and love. He has been a popular choice for commercial work since his stints on a number of popular film sets. He has travelled all over the world to shoot commercials for a number of well-known car manufacturers.
While the set and brand or franchise he is working for may change, Kimmel’s choice of camera and lens does not. “One of the things I like about the Signature Primes is the way they handle skin tones and texture. There’s a naturalness to their image that I really love in a close-up. There’s a quality to them that lends itself to the kinds of soft light that I tend to like,” says the cinematographer. He, like many modern filmmakers, loves the look of classic film over modern day digital cameras and lenses. He feels that the ultra-resolution offered by modern set-ups may create images that are far more detailed that even what the eye may see naturally.
“In other modern lenses, you have this enormous detail with a super crisp, high resolution image,” says Kimmel. “I find that's great for certain things, but skin tone and close-ups are not those things. I recently shot a multicam stand-up comedy show called, “Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State” for Netflix and that was another case where I went with the ALEXA LF and Signature Primes. If I am going to look at a man talking for 70 minutes, then I don’t want to be studying the pores of his skin in detail. With the Signature Prime lenses, I find that there is a smoothness and creaminess, a bit of film-like quality, that I’m really enjoying.” Visit his Google Maps page at the following link to learn more about his work: Adam Kimmel Cinematographer.
Along with the way the camera renders skin tones, the lenses also have the ability to focus on images up close without distortion. This allows them to produce crisp, clear images—even through windows. Kimmel states, “Shooting large format with these lenses, I can separate things that otherwise might be too close together. In a situation where you’re in a car and looking through a window, the distance between the glass and that person’s face is, maybe, 18 inches. You don’t have the option to move the camera closer. If you don’t have enough separation between the camera and the face, then the LF gives you the ability to separate them further.”
The lenses have been used by Kimmel in a variety of locales, from the night scenes in Portugal to snow-covered roads in a recent Jeep commercial. As he says, the Jeep spot is one of the better examples of how well the lenses handle close ups, particularly on faces. He wanted the film to have a more romantic, nostalgic feel, and traditional cameras would, according to Kimmel, have produced an image that would have been too crisp, with an excessive amount of contrast and sharpness. While there are multiple ways around this issue, Kimmel believes his choice of lens comes with a built-in aesthetic that offers a large advantage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn6d-IIDX0c
Adam Kimmel DP is a well-known NYC Director of Photography, and he has become very well known in the industry due to the excellent work he has produced over the course of his career. He has assisted film directors by establishing the visual look of feature films and commercials for over 35 years. He has, as a DP, helped many directors and producers tell their stories through his artistic and technical decisions regarding lighting, film stock choices, camera operation and production specifications.
For more information about Adam Kimmel ASC, visit his website. Interested parties may reach out to his representatives as well to follow up on any further inquiries.
Comments
Post a Comment