'Lucy', Luc Besson's latest film, with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, filmed with Sony's F65

Thierry Arbogast, director of photography on 'Lucy', reveals in this interview some of the secrets of filming Luc Besson's latest film that is being released these days.

Lucy, the latest film by Luc Besson, with Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman and filmed with the Sony F65, is now hitting the screens. Thierry Arbogast, AFC and director of photography for this film and many others by Besson, shares his experience shooting with the F65.

What made you choose the F65?

So far, Luc has filmed very little in digital: just a few takes here and there for technical reasons and never a full film. For Lucy, she wanted to launch. Therefore, we started testing with the three cameras at the moment, that is, the Epic, the Alexa and the F65.

After test screenings, we all agreed that the F65 was visually superior to the other two cameras. During grading, we always ended up combining the three cameras, but the natural image of the F65 won us all over.

During the screening, it was Luc who spoke first. He had no doubt that it was the F65 that stood out from the rest. He was very attracted to the color fidelity and reproduction of skin tones. The colors were really there; We could recognize the blue of the sweater and the colors of the skin seemed very natural.

But we actually recorded with all three cameras for different reasons, mainly due to space issues.

At what sensitivity did you use the F65?

I worked with the nominal sensitivity of the camera, that is, 800 ISO. And I think the sensitivity of the F65 is sufficient when I display it on the monitor at 800 ISO. We have carried out the tests in Pigalle, at night and with the three cameras. I noticed that the sensitivity of the F65 and the Alexa were very similar, while the sensitivity of the Epic was much lower.

How did you present the F65?

As a general rule, the digital imaging technician or DIT controls the iris with a remote control. Before the shot, we analyze the desired effect and, together, we agree on the best exposure. For example, I tell it if I want to let the shutters go very fast or not, the black level and where the key light is, among other things.

Then, if iris changes are needed during the shot, he takes care of them by keeping an eye on the curve of the monitor.

Did you record in 8K?

No, we work in 4K. We were aware that we had a racing car, but we didn't want to step on the accelerator too much. For this film, 8K was not needed, especially considering that it will be released in 2K in most theaters.

Of course, there are exclusive screenings planned in 4K, but the premiere prints will be in 2K. The special effects department was very satisfied with the 4K files we provided. I think 8K would have increased your calculation time considerably.

8K is obviously a good thing in itself because, as we always say, it's better to start too high and go lower, and of course we could have gotten a better 4K file from an 8K file. From the preparation phase of the film, I insisted that Luc shoot in 4K. At that time, the first 4K displays and televisions were starting to appear. 4K dynamic range is already here, perhaps more in the United States than in France, but it has started.

What do you think about ergonomics?

Luc always frames his films. He could give a better opinion than me.

But like the Genesis or the F35, we're not talking about cameras that are very ergonomically appealing. And it's obvious that we would have preferred a camera that was more compact. However, its design makes the F65 much more balanced on the shoulder than a RED.

For some shots where we wanted to record with a Movi, we used the Epic. It is a surprising camera, especially for its lightness. Despite its rounded shapes and impressive appearance, it is a fairly light camera and I suppose this is thanks to the materials with which it is made. In my opinion, its weight is practically identical to that of an Alexa, although its volume is obviously very different.

What was the grading process like?

It must be said that we were dealing with three great cameras and everything went very well. Furthermore, when you work with a good grader, you can always eliminate the differences between them.

Although their chromatic interpolation systems are not the same, and despite the other differences, we had no problem harmonizing them.

If we wanted to summarize their respective advantages, we could say that the Alexa has the best dynamic range, the F65 offers the best color reproduction and the Epic is the lightest.

Did you use the built-in neutral density filters?

Yes, they were very helpful. They are extremely quick to use and eliminate the glass surface on the front of the lens. From time to time we were a little sorry that they started at ND0.9. Sometimes we would have liked an ND0.6 or an ND0.3. However, Sony's choice is understandable, because high-density neutral filters are mainly used only when there are large changes in light. In fact, Thierry Arbogast is right. There is less than a kilo difference between the weight of these two cameras (13.5 kg for the F65 and 12.6 kg for the Alexa, both equipped with two RAW recording modules).

Were you recording at 120 fps?

We had very few high-speed shots, just a few for special effects. We shot crowds at 100fps and at very fast shutter speeds of up to 45 degrees to avoid rotation issues. And here, the sensitivity of the camera helped me a lot. The sequence was recorded in a studio, where we recreated daylight. I had a 24 kW HMI for the sun and two 18 kW HMIs in the background to cover a 250 m2 set and it was at maximum aperture. I would never have been able to do that with a less sensitive camera.

What lenses did you use? Did you think it was necessary to filter?

As a general rule, Luc never filters with diffusers. You like a sharp image, without the need for a diffusion filter. Therefore, I tried to choose lenses that were not too hard, such as the Cooke S4, which are very soft, round and flexible. They are not aggressive at all.

And since Luc loves zooming, we also had a zoom lens, a Fujinon Alura 18-80mm, which is a really effective lens. The advantage of the zoom lens is that when set to 80mm the image is a little softer than with an 80mm fixed focus lens.

Most of the time, I prefer to work with soft supports. For the camera, I prefer the softness of RAW to the hardness of a compressed file since this softness allows us to search for information.

Do you have any complaints about this camera or is there something you would like to see?

I can't wait to have a digital camera capable of ramping, you know, the idea of ​​changing the pace of recording while simultaneously compensating the exposure with the shutter. For this film, we were thinking of doing it but the F65 doesn't allow it.

I also like the idea of ​​upgradeable cameras, like the EPIC, which has become the Dragon. Nowadays, camera components are mainly electronic and evolution in this area is permanent. In this sense, it would be nice to offer the possibility of changing these components, while maintaining the packaging.

The only thing I would like to criticize about this camera is the size of its sensor because I prefer large sensors. The bigger the better. The F65 is equipped with a Super 35mm sensor (24.7mm x 13.1mm). I would have preferred a 4:3 sensor, or even a 24 x 26mm. Therefore, I am impatiently waiting for the “70mm” camera from Sony.

Interview by Pierre Souchar

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YibFcTkJu3U[/youtube]