November 3, 2020

Coffee is for closers and film emulations are for Voters.

IMP25 was created by shooting Tri-X 400 in a controlled lighting environment populated with color and value calibration cards, and then reshooting the same scene, in the same lighting conditions with a Sony A7s. The Rodinal 1+25* processed film negatives were then observed side by side to a tethered A7s while calibrating an in-camera Picture Profile to match the scene. Identical aperture, shutter speed, and physical lenses were used during these comparisons and adjustments.

How to shoot it: Ideally, use an A7s so you can get the versatility of the those big fat photosites coupled to that super small body. The original, unstabilized A7s (and unstabilized A7, and A7r) have slim bodies that are much more pocketable and pleasing to use. Set controls to (M)anual with ISO set to Auto. Choose your shutter and aperture to taste, as the auto ISO will compensate and let you freely shoot. A7s grain is good when it happens. The high sensitivity sensor and IMP25 film emulation will take care of the rest. We like spot metering. Over or underexpose to taste.

*Rodinal 1+25 is a developer dilution of 1 part developer to 25 parts water. We prefer this specific dilution for both its contrast and affect on sharpness. Similarly, we have found Kodak’s HC110 developer, using dilution B, to offer close results when pushing 400 speed film to 800.


AKA Jane Roe

The FX original documentary AKA Jane Roe has such an incredible range of focus, capturing it in an overall on-air package proves to be a specific challenge. Narrowly, this is a film about one woman’s story and how it affects an entire county. And yet zoomed out, this is a story concerning a country’s overall conversation about equality, choice, and internal politics. We appreciated the creative challenge this presented and the opportunity the kind folks at FX provided us.

Several concepts were explored with the final look being a photographic reinterpretation of imagery. We used unique and novel lensing techniques to recapture live action series footage and additional US Supreme Court location photography. Custom intermediate lenses crafted of polycarbonate and acrylic were created and combined with fast aperture primes to reinterpret and reframe sequences to be further manipulated via compositing and editing.

Links to Stills and Credits.