The idea originally was to be able to shoot a very ambitious music video using the
IR Chrome without it looking too gimmicky. I didn’t want to shoot something in Infrared just because it was cool. It needed to serve the story, be grounded and clean. Of course, mimicking the old Aerochrome look was a great motivation.
By then, I had been doing infrared photography for 2 years so I was familiar with the major problems I was going to face when it comes to shooting infrared in video: lack of flexibility in post-production, hot-spots, skin tones control, clothing control and good
IRND’s.
After doing a lot of tests I was not able to find good 4×65 IRND’s (remember we’re in 2019, before Kolari made their own I think). I was already in touch with Panasonic because I knew I was going to use a Varicam camera – since it had an easily removable IR-cut and its reputation at the time was great in terms of codecs and color science – and an engineer who wouldn’t tell me what Panasonic use as their internal IRND’s in the EVA1 just told me to try the Nissi filters. Well he was right, they were flawless.
Now the hotspots issue turned out to be not much of a big deal with the IR Chrome. So I was not too worried. Post-production was slightly more scary. I was afraid of not being able to maintain good skin tones while also keeping the environment interesting and avoiding heavy masking. But it worked out.
Also, I wanted my characters to stand out, so I made sure to dress them up in white and Yellow in order to avoid them blending into their environment.
The shooting was chaotic as my two leads (the two young twins) became ill on day 2. So we had to postpone the rest of the shoot. Still the most stressful shooting of my life.
Atlas Lens provided me with a set of Atlas Anamorphic (their 1st generation) and when I had to do my re-shoots, Keslow Camera provided me with an Angenieux 56-152 Optimo and a jaw dropping set of Soviet Lomo anamorphic from the late 70’s. They were not rehoused, so they were very heavy and impractical because of their various sizes, but my god how beautiful…
Anyway, we shot at UCLA for all interiors, in the LA rivers and the iconic Sepulveda Dam for their escape, and all over California really for the rest the video. We shot the most important parts at the Malibu Creek State Park. I was scared we had to postpone the shoot because summer was coming up quick and the foliage was drying up. We ended up getting gorgeous hues of yellow, pink and red because of that, so it was a happy accident.
We had a lot of heavy machinery, like a huge camera car for all the running bits. Steadicam for the more contemplative shots and me on the easy rig for more intimate sections. I was also blessed with a fantastic crew and producers of course!
Props to my crew for achieving this crazy zolly-travelling shot when she is running away at dusk – AC was pulling, driver driving the camera car, steadicam operator strapped at the back and me handling the zoom.
Unfortunately I can’t find the full list of the credits now but here is what I have, if you need/want the full list let me know:
Director/DOP: Lambert Grand
1st AC: Kristi Hoi
Gaffer: Leo Sfeir
Key Grip: Vittoria Campaner
Steadicam: Tobias Winde Harbo
Producers: Monika Ivonne and Adam Kruger
Special Thanks: Kolari Vision, UCLA TFT, Keslow Camera LA, Atlas Lens Co. and Panasonic.
Thesis statement:
Infrared photography, whether it’s on film or digital, has always been a very niche part of
photography. We saw that during the 20th Century black and white infrared film was creatively
used to create a day for night effect. We also spoke about the Aerochrome Film by Kodak which
was pretty popular with filmmakers and photographers. However, Infrared never became a
popular trend. It was probably too experimental and too difficult to access.
With digital cameras, infrared feels more accessible and it is my hope that more people will
understand its potential and in a near future, will consider it to be a tool that they can use,
experiment and play with; just like they would with any other tool that is available to them. Being
able to control color that way, sometimes without the need for heavy post processing, on set is key
to me.
I spent months trying to shoot a music video in the most cinematic way possible using a modified
camera and a very specific filter (Kolari’s own IR Chrome). Even though the technology used and the concept itself was quite
experimental, the finish video doesn’t feel experimental or weird. I feel I managed to apply this
experimental technology into a story that feels stronger because of it. As with any piece of art, what
matters is what the audience feels, not what they understand (even though your understanding of
something does influence your emotions). I remember showing the finished music video to my
sound designer in a random classroom, and afterward, a random student who was sitting behind
