Post Magazine

March/April 2021

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1357405

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 26 of 35

CAMERAS & LENSES www.postmagazine.com 25 POST MAR/APR 2021 Dynamic Rentals supporting rental houses with large-format camera inventory Burbank, CA-based Dynamic Rentals is helping camera rental companies meet the needs of their clients by serving as a resource for large-format cameras that they may not have in their own inventory. The company works as a partner to local, national and international rental businesses, sub-renting cameras to them so they can fill requests. Anna Schmidt, who serves as chief of staff at Dynamic Rentals (www.dy- namicrentals.com), says the company is currently home to more than 70 Sony Venice cinema cameras, as well as 60-plus Arri Alexa Mini LFs. Dynamic Rentals estimates that a rental company may cover as much as 20 percent of their equipment by renting from outside companies — many times local competitors. Those competitors can upcharge for use of their gear, or even bid on the same job, now knowing it's available. To combat those business practices, Dynamic Rentals only works with rental companies, and not the productions themselves. "That's a big piece of our identity, and a value to rental companies," Schmidt explains. "We don't compete with them to take their business." Beyond their LA headquarters, the company has representatives in Atlanta, New York and the Asia/Pacific market. In response to the challenges presented by the pandemic, they recently created long-term rental and long-term leasing options that allow rental companies access to large-format cameras, as well as a number of incentives. "If they can make a longer term commitment to us, then we can give them a better price," she explains. "That's how our business works: not being a middle- man, who is jacking up the price...Since they are committing to us for a longer period, they get different incentives: free shipping one-way, locked pricing, they can add additional units, or swap units in and out if something is not working. It's like a subscription." Dynamic Rentals is currently working with Arri, Codex and Fujinon for long- term leasing. The Marksman Robert Lorenz's latest movie The Marksman owes much of its look to DP Mark Patten's choice of Cooke lenses, which helped to maximize the majestic scenery of New Mexico during its opening sequence. The thriller stars Liam Neeson as a rancher/former Marine, who must help a young boy (Jacob Perez) escape a Mexican drug cartel. "I've always used Cooke when I can, all the way from the original Speed Panchros to the newer glass," says Patten. "For this film, I really wanted to capture the expanse and vistas of New Mexico. We were shooting digital and I wanted it to have a warmer feel, so I shot the New Mexico sequences on ana- morphic Xtal Xpress, hubbed out of Panavision in Albuquerque." The JDC Cooke Xtals (pronounced "crystals") are vintage front-element anamorphic lenses. Originally spherical lenses made by Cooke in the 1930s, they were rehoused and modified with anamorphic elements by Joe Dunton in the 1980s, and are prized for their unique visual character. And while they were able to capture the stark beauty of New Mexico, anamorphic glass was not best suited for the next section of the film. The nature of the shoot is that the story starts in the big vista landscape of New Mexico and then turns into a road movie," explains Patten. "Focus issues meant the Xtal Expresses would prove problematic in that section, but we were going to need something that could match those lenses for the rest of the film. We tested some original Speed Panchros, but we could not get a matching set. However, Panavision had just bought a couple of sets of the new Cooke Panchro/i Classics, which Cooke Optics produced to match the original Speed Panchros, that matched perfectly." The Marksman was shot on Alexa Minis, and Patten says the low-profile nature of the new lens set was a distinct advantage when the cameras were positioned on the cars. The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Lee Daniels' longtime cinematographer Andrew Dunn teamed up with the director once again to create The United States vs. Billie Holiday, a feature that chronicles the life of the legendary jazz/swing singer. In the 1940s, the US targeted Holiday in a growing effort to escalate and radicalize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her ballad "Strange Fruit". Dunn shot on film, using 50-year-old anamorphic widescreen lenses to echo the aesthetic of the 1930s and 1940s — the height of the Jazz Age. His goal was to establish the look and vibe of the period without it feeling nostalgic. While her protest ballad "Strange Fruit" is the heart of the film, Andra Day, as Billie Holiday, performs many of her memorable songs. Dunn gave each perfor- mance a different visual approach, and camera movements were tethered not just to performance, but to her emotional state. "Film has the texture and depth, with a certain patina, a quality and movement within its structure, which brings subjects to life," says Dunn, who chose 50-year- old glass, anamorphic lenses — Panavision 'C' series, alongside their 'E' series. "These lenses did not go back, quite to the time when Billie Holiday was alive, but not too far off," he notes. "There is an intimacy about them. They have a view of the world like no other available today."

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Post Magazine - March/April 2021