On Location- "Boonaa Mohammed - Green Card" - Music Video

Shot with our SI2K mini package, and small slighting kit. Double diffused the light source giving a very soft wrap around the artist and popped his eyes with a little catch light. Boonaa is an incredible artists and kept this approach very simple to let his presence shine through. The video posted does not have the final color correction applied to it.



Commercial: "Boonaa Mohammed - Green Card"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Stock: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Director: Hassan Jama
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

On Location- "Nokia Surge" - Commercial

Great time working with Rob Piltchowski and Frame Discreet Cinematographer John Price. I was camera assisting on the job and had an fun time laying out the circular dolly track and rigging the camera for some high angle shots. Commercial can be seen here.. and I even made a cameo :D

Nokia Surge

Commercial: "Nokia"
Camera: Sony V1U
Stock: 1920x1080
Director: Robert Pilichowski
Cinematographer: John Price

On Location- "Unity Charity"

Some more behind the scenes from the Unity Charity video that I'm working on.
Runnin' around with the SI2k mini camera following around one of the craziest creative power bboys in Canada.

These kids are so lucky to have him as a mentor and a friend.

Promotional Video: "Unity Charity"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Director: Mike Prosserman/Justin Lovell
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

On Location- "The Bay"

Internal video for "The Bay". Thanks to Storymasters for getting me involved. They're a progressive company doing documentary and corporate films. I've worked with these guys a number of times and am always impressed with their approach to corporate videos. They leave me with a lot of creative freedom to attack it with a more cinematic approach to lighting and movement. Owner Randy Woolgar is fantastic with his directing and just.. well.. he just gets it.

Project: "The Bay"
Camera: XD HDCAM
Format: 1920x1080 30P
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Yukon Breakdancing - on location

Having a background in breakdancing, shooting dance films and traveling around the globe for documentaries led me into this wicked project... I was flown up North to find myself shooting breakdancing on helicopter landing pads in the mountains.

The project was to document the 'Klondike Heat Bboy Battle'. There was also an intensive 1 week breakin'/popping/locking/hip hop workshop happening. My job was to document the event and help create a promo video for the Yukon based GWS bboy crew.

Shot on the SI2k camera, with a skeleton crew it was a real challenge. I also taught a photography workshop and the girls I taught came out to help with the shoot and learn about lighting and cinematography. Thanks girls, you were awesome!

Thank you Andrea Simpson-Fowler for getting me involved in this project.. you rock!

Project: "Yukon Breakdancing"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Super 8 shirts - Limited Edition

Custom Design by artist Mark Cabeuna
Limited run.
For the low low price of $15
(I'm not making anything on these, done just for the love of it).

All kinds of crazy color combinations available, including red, blue, black, grey, white, cream & neon green.

Email info@framediscreet.com with the size you want and I'll let you what colors are still available. Going like hot cakes!

New World Samurai - Promo Spot #1

Click to download MP4

Profiles 1 v.1 Promotional spot #1 for New World Samurai/Karma Studios. Shot on location in Canmore, Alberta. Fun project to work on, being allowed to explore the inner workings of an impressive tattoo studio & gallery. The artists at NWS are awesome. Really pumped about the images I was able to create with the T-0.95 lens, beautifully shallow depth of field and soft vignette. Lit by sculpting the natural and existing lighting with an instinctive documentary approach. Thanks to Steve Cosens for the inspiration to shoot this style.

Music Composition by the talented Byron Wong.

Camera: Panasonic GH-1, Schneider Xenon 25mm 0.95

Format: 720p, 59.94 AVCHD - interpreted to 23.98 Cineform

Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Super 8 Transfer Samples- 500T 7219

Super 8 500t (7219) - Shot in Toronto at Troublez bboy Jam @ Ryerson Campus

Transfer: Frame Discreet

Camera: Canon 1014xls MODIFIED to Super duper 8 (aka Max 8) with c-8 wide angle adapter - hence the vignette. Unmatted, full frame

Super 8 Transfer Samples - 200t 7217

Super 8 200t (7217) looking beautiful as always...

Transferred here for Mimmo & Naz

Shot on a Canon 1014XLS

Cinematography Workshops- Yukon

After a crazy turn of events, I was invited to teach a Frame Discreet cinematography/lighting workshop in the Yukon this summer. The workshop was for younger students interested in learning more about filmmaking. The workshop focused on natural lighting, lenses and basic photography concepts.

The images above are from some of the practical lessons, evaluating bounced lighting/no lighting and the different feelings you can evoke simply based on lens selection.

The gals taking the workshop were super keen and I'm looking forward to our follow up workshop to see what they create with their new knowledge!

On Location- "Unbearable Prospect" Performance

Teamed up to shoot the Gadfly dance crew on their acclaimed performance of Unbearable Prospect. It's an amazing showcase of the crew's versatility and combination of street dance styles. This was a special sold out one night only comeback performance after the show's success last year.

We shot the dress rehearsal on our SI2k Mini with our EZFX jib arm. The allowed me to be right in front of the stage without any restrictions on blocking viewers. Stuck to the 5.9mm wide Angenieux lens and drifted around the front of the stage capturing some really gorgeous movement.

I love shooting dance movement and working the flow of the camera movements to speak with the choreography. I was a operating the remote head while jib operator Tony Del Rio guided movement of the jib up/down/left/right. Another awesome time for the FD crew!

Project: "Unbearable Prospect"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 2048x856 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Transfer Samples - super 8 / super 16

Montage of footage from Kelly + Maya's visit to Toronto. The super 8 footage has a soft glow and diffused effect to it. Shot at 18 fps super 8, transferred at 15fps for a slight slo-mo feel. 16mm was shot at 24fps, transferred at 18fps to also have slight slo-mo. Nice for a 'memory feeling'.

I rate the 3374 b/w high contrast at 150 ASA for best results. If I want it a little more contrasty (blow out the highlights a little more, bleaching the skin tones, I'll rate it at 100-125).

Camera: Beaulieu 4008 ZMII 6-66 schneider zoom, Bolex super 16 - 16-100 Switar zoom
Stock: Ektachrome 64T, 250d V3 (7207), 3374 high con
Processing: Exclusive Film and Video, Niagara Custom Lab
Transfer: Frame Discreet - colourist Justin Lovell
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Transfer Samples - super 8 64t

Pass the Cart II
A project put together by the members of the filmshooting.com forum.

Consists of 5 E64t Cartridges that have toured the world. I was fortunate enough to be involved, and this is CART #2. I shot the last film with 2 fellas in Toronto.

Had big goals for the project, but ran out of time... In the end I bucked down, set a date and convinced myself I was going to shoot it that day, make or break, no matter what. We had it all planned out, storyboarded on DSLR, and last minute the actress had to pull out as we ran out of time to shoot.

In comes plan B, shot rehearsal tests on a sony EX-1, 6 times for timing review; then rolls in the beaulieu 4008 to shoot it for real. We cut out a lot of shots which would have rounded out the toronto landscape a little better, but I was worried about it being at the end of the cart and losing a shot because I might not have the full 10'.

Ours is the last film of the 4.

On Location- "This Movie is Broken" Short Film - Bruce McDonald

A few more behind the scenes shots from Bruce Mcdonald's latest film. I was loading the 35mm Konvas for fellow Frame Discreet Cinematographer John Price. Micheal Leblanc came in to operate 2nd camera on a few days and Misha Petrenko even made it out as a key electric. Always a pleasure working with the FD crew.

Photos courtesy of Leah Barley- thanks :)

On Location- "ZEN STRETCH" Fitness Video

Got a call looking for a Jib Operator/Owner to help shoot a fitness video on ZEN STRETCHING a technique shown by Chris "Bodhi" Batista. I had no idea what I was getting into when I got the gig. Check the link, it's pretty impressive how this technique can really affect your body.

We shot with 2 cameras covering 10, 20 and 40 minute versions of the video. One camera on our dolly on a longer lens, the other camera our Jib arm with 10' extension and Remote Head. I monitored the camera movements with the joystick control and video goggles while Tony Del Rio operated the jib arm movements. Constant communication between all three of us was important to ensure that we weren't shooting similar frames and more importantly so that we weren't overlapping our zooms to change framing (makes for a happy editor).

Got a great tan hangin' out on the beach, and got a free instructional from Chris (using Tony as an example) on how to stop an attacker coming at you. Hillarious and scary watching that little demonstration.

Fitness Video: "Zen Stretch"
Cameras: Sony HD XDCAM
Format: 1080p, 29.97
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell / Chris Langenzarde

On Location- "GADFLY" Short Film

Another great project that we're pitching for funding. Collaborating with the super talented dance group Gadfly. The short delves into the minds of each dancer in their rehearsal space 30 floors up from the city core. Covers a mix of street dance, breaking, house, hip hop, and contemporary. Dance style changes are hidden by strongly motivated by camera movement and sound design. I love collaborating with dancers. The creative possibilities choreographing dance and camera movement together gets my heart thumpin'.

Short Film: "Gadfly"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 2048x856 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Director: Justin Lovell/Mikkel Zall
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

SI2K Camera Package for Rental

Justin Lovell's new SI2k mini Setup at Frame Discreet (same camera used to shoot Slumdog, and inserts on Ironman 2, Sherlock Holmes.. etc..) Alternative solution to shooting RED cam.

Rental Packages start at $400-$1000 depending on your needs.
Package only rents with a Frame Discreet Cinematographer on set (insures no technical issues).

Arri Matte box, Petroff DV cameras Universal Support, Dv Multirig, Cinearm Noga arm, Xenarc LCD Touchscreen 702TSV.
Records to a solidstate 12" touch screen Toshiba Laptop. 40gig = 1 hour of 2k in cineform RAW QT or AVI.
Not bad, lightweight. :)
Backpack with lenses and batteries for ultra portability in 2k.
Currently supporting cmount lenses 5.9mm t1.8, 25mm t-0.95, 50mm t-0.95, 16-100 t-1.9 Zoom + others... Nikon or PL Lenses can be adapted.

Sound- H4N Zoom recorder -separate system SD OR straight to Hard Drive married to video file.

Contact us for info. info@framediscreet.com 416.803.1101

Enjoying another sunny day...

On Location- "Unity Charity"

Helping to create a new introduction video for Unity Charity. An awesome group that travels to high schools promoting 'hip hop against violence'... which is all about striving to create positive influences for kids who might otherwise end of drifting along, or stuck in the wrong crowd.

Shot all documentary style handheld, we followed around TK - 2008 Funk Fo Yo Feet popping champion and 30 second rubex cube master. He can also be seen on last year's "So You Think You Can Dance Canada."

Thanks to The Fantastic Poppers for letting us in to light the jam and film the battles!
Got some really sexy shots inside of the venue, which was the old Trinity Church on Bloor. Hard natural sunlight was shining through the giant windows as the sun was setting, giving off a beautiful warm glow. Got some amazing flares and sillhouette shots off my 5.9mm wide angle angenieux lens as two dancers battled it out... gorgeous!


Promotional Video: "Unity Charity"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Director: Mike Prosserman/Justin Lovell
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

On Location- "Josh Reichman- Our Whole Life" - Music Video

Very cool concept video by Frame Discreet Cinematographer Michael Leblanc. Based on the painterly, poetic photography by Edward Steichen, Leblanc is compositing Josh into his still photographs. In some cases, his head will be replacing the heads in the photographs. Also to be inserted is a dancer, some walking shots and some recreated images to have slight 3d drifts. A very interesting bit of textural work involved to pull it all off, however we have an excellent VFX artist on board to give it some real life. FD cinematograper Guy Godfree was gaffing this job, helping out tremendously in matching the lighting from the photos to our live set. This SI2k not only does live reference keying, but it also allows you to 'onion skin' or 'overlay images' so we could match the exact framing with the reference images... super handy!

Music Video: "Josh Reichman"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Format: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 23.98
Director: Michael Leblanc
Cinematographer: Michael Leblanc

On Location- "Nokia" - Commercial

Fun little Nokia commercial spot directed by the talented Rob Pilichowski - soon to be known for his "all out war" bboy documentary. We shot the spot all on green screen with the SI2k mini. Having the spot meter on the camera interface is awesome for keeping a constant even exposure on the green screen. Also nice to have this feature when you're playing with variable frame rates and shutter speeds because it allows you to keep the exposure bang on no matter what variable you change. It tells you the exact IRE level wherever you tap on the screen. Post guys and colorists will love ya for that one.

Managed to get in a fun little game of footy after the shoot when fellow Frame Discreet cinematographer, Barry Cheong, dropped by to say hello.

Commercial: "Nokia"
Camera: SI2K Mini
Stock: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 29.97
Director: Robert Pilichowski
Cinematographer: John Price

On Location- "This Movie is Broken" Short Film - Bruce McDonald

Ever been onstage at the Harbourfront in Toronto for Broken Social Scene with 6 red cameras filming the event? I have.. and it was awwweesoommee! Grateful for the experience to work again with Bruce and a very talented group of cinematographers and focus pullers. FD crew Mikhail Petrenko, John Price, Michael Leblanc and myself were all on hand lighting the after party and rockin out on the main cameras on the main stage. Afterparty was all rigged with china balls with 60W bulbs which barely gave enough exposure. They were immediately swapped out to 40W bulbs as soon as we wrapped shooting to maintain a darker enviroment for the guests. We also had a few 1k lights bouncing light around off walls and heavily diffused, to bring up the ambient light.


Video: "This Movie is Broken" - Short Film
Camera: 6 Red Cameras, 35mm Konvas, Canon 814XLS Super 8 & HVX-200 (for the afterparty)
Format: Red Raw 4k 23.98
Director: Bruce McDonald
Cinematographers: Mike Leblanc & John Price

On Location- "Tomasi" Music Video

Shot in the beautiful Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Mikhail Petrenko did another gorgeous job lighting these tight spaces. We chose to shoot SI2k over the Red Camera for its small size and ability to be moved around quickly and easily. In one case - being tight for time - we had to get an over the shoulder shot of the model as she sat on the bed watching TV. We simply gripped a Cstand with a magic arm and armed it out behind the model with the SI2k on the end. Quick stable and easy setup that could have taken much longer with any other camera capable of 2k resolution! The shoot ran a little longer than usual, but we had the FD crew rockin' it with a great team enjoying every minute of it (even as standins for the performers...haha)!

Music Video: "Tomasi"
Camera: SI2k Mini- Angenieux 12-120mm, Switar 10mm/25mm, Schneider Xenon 50mm t-0.95. Recording to Solid State Toshiba Portege M750
Format: 2048x1080 Cineform raw
Director: Jeff Chan & Ludovic Chovino
Cinematographer: Mikhail Petrenko

On Location- "Beautiful Monster" short film

An interesting short film where we combined 16mm 3374 high contrast film (for a 70's documentary feel) and 35mm 5218 for a slicker contemporary feel as the film evolves at the end. Had a great time on set with the FD crew, Michael Leblanc and Misha Petrenko. Attached frames are from the film stock/camera test showing the 3374 film stock rated at 160ASA cross-processed at Niagara Custom Lab. Transferred here at Frame Discreet. 3374 is an awesome black and white film stock that can be purchased from Kodak in 2000' minimum orders for under $200! That's 1 hour of shooting time, an affordable REAL film look!

Video: "Beautiful Monster" Short Film
Camera: Eclair NPR 16mm & Konvas 35mm
Format: 16mm 3374 / 35mm 5229
Director: Tony Romano
Cinematographer: Michael Leblanc

On Location- "In The Woodworks" Pilot for Comedy Channel

Pilot episode for a tv series with comedian Daniel Woodwork. Challenging to shoot with limited crew and budget, but was a blast once we got it all going. We were following the comedian around as he pulled pranks on people on the street. His standup work is stellar, and this was his first kick at doing filmed street comedy. Below is a quote from the director`s email to me:

Good majority of this stuff will be man-on-the-street. Obviously, from a logisitical standpoint, the shooting will have to have somewhat of an ENG approach, but stylistically I'm thinking dirty, verité, mostly handheld. Lots of snaps and whips. Kuras' work on Dave Chappelle's Block Party is a great template.

l made great use of my DVRIG Pro stabilizer and handgrips. I love that rig, makes walking handheld so much smoother and no sore joints at the end of the day!

Video: "In The Woodworks" Pilot Episode
Camera: HVX-200
Format: 720p 23.98
Director: Zach Derhodge
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

On Location - "Body CSI" Olympic spot

Continuing from our RED/SI2k Shootout... We sent the Cineform RAW footage to BIG for a VFX compositing test. They loved the footage! Said it was beautiful, and super easy to work with. They were able to use the raw footage with the look applied (which puts it into a non destructive 'normal' color space for an easier key). We shot today and everything went flawlessly. It was a super relaxed shoot with Mikhal (Misha), Leblanc and myself, all from the Frame Discreet cinematographer collective hangin out. The VFX fellas from BIG were on set to oversee the setups and they were stoked to see how easy the SI2K mini is to work with. I'm looking forward to working on personal projects with these talented guys!

Commercial: "Body CSI" Olympic Spot
Camera: SI2K Mini
Stock: 1920x1080 Cineform Raw, 29.97
Director: John Turner
Cinematographer: Mike Leblanc

On Location - "Timber Timbre"

Music video for super talented Timber Timbre. Shot on short ends of 35mm with the beautifully loud Konvas 35mm. Great little camera, a little cumbersome getting used to the viewfinder - it doesn't orient itself when tilted so the image turns sideways... try walking handheld super slow wrapping around someone with everything sideways.. yeesh! All poetic natural lighting, with 2 mirror boards to help us out as the light was failing towards the end of the day.

Video: Timber Timbre - Demon Host
Camera: 35mm Konvas
Stock: 5218 500t Vision 2
Director: Scott Cudmore
Cinematographer: Mike Leblanc

Red / SI2k Comparison

We recently invested in a SI2k mini camera- same one used on Slumdog Millionaire. We're bidding to shoot a commercial project for the Olympics. A comparison between the RED one and the SI2k was eminent. We were kindly loaned Toronto based Ben Goldenberg's RED ONE and had our footage processed by the friendly fellas at RED LAB Toronto. Walt @ Red Lab had us in and colored the footage with his technical eye. The Si2k has a slight bit more latitude, finer grained noise in the shadows and most importantly a easier workflow on set and in post. Though to be honest, the images from both cameras were quite comparable, but not film.

Currently in development to use the SI2k mini for film scans of super 8 and 16 to 2k.. shhhhh...
Can you spot the Si2k mini in the pictures?

On Location - "The Path to Shaolin"

An awesome project to be on. I learned a lot from the them about training, spirituality and willpower. A story about one man's journey from Saskatchewan to become accepted in China as a non-Chinese Shaolin Master. Truly an incredible journey that Tim has undertaken. Just found out Equator HD bought the doc and is currently airing it so watch out for it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO8dF4aZmc0
http://www.equatorhd.ca/may09_pathtoshaolin.php

Video: Path to Shaolin
Cameras: Sony Ex-3
Director: Leif Kaldor

Scout Leader - RED Music Video

Click to Play

Interesting video shot by our own Michael Leblanc. Another great concept by Scotty has some dramatic slow paced wire work involved. Dreamy and wierd. Supervised color correction session held @ Frame Discreet to handle the RAW files. Slight film grain applied to help take the edge off the slick video feel.

Director: Scott Cudmore
Cinematographer: Michael Leblanc
Camera: Red One
Colorist: Justin Lovell @ Frame Discreet

Cinematographer Collective - New Member - Mikhail Petrenko

Most recent addition to our Cinematographer Collective - Mikhail Petrenko (usually going by what he calls his friendly name, Misha). Super guy with a very passionate approach to cinematography. When he's not shooting films, he's honing his eye with still photography, trudging around in natural landscapes studying the light. He often tells me about his dreams to create a free cinematography based school where people can learn and teach in an open environment flourishing with new ideas. http://mpetrenko.com/

On Location - Footy (SI2k Mini)

Another cool project headed up by Frame Discreet. I was cinematographer on the shoot with fellow Frame Discreet cinematographer, Mike Leblanc operating. Everything was shot POV style mounted onto a helmet (except for a couple stylized jib/dolly shots). Tony Del Rio directed the spot and it was shot on our SI2k Mini head recording direct to a touchscreen tablet laptop. I had the VGA port off the laptop cloning the monitor which was then converted to a wireless composite signal. The composite signal was rigged into our MYVU video goggles for Mikey to compose his shots. I monitored the laptop running alongside him. Only had a couple of hickups. One being battery power for the laptop (we had two batteries, however we were only able to charge them on the recording laptop). The other hickup was with a loose connection on an RCA cable that lost us 30mins in troubleshooting. Besides that, everything went great! Kept with the natural flourescent lighting, having a few bulbs off to create pools of light and accented it with our kit of 3 1k LED lights (www.flolight.com). Fantastic because each 1k only draws 100W of power. Power outlets were scarce, so we actually had batteries charging, and 3 lights all running off the same circuit, no problem :)
Shout out to production photographer Sam Grant for his stills. Thanks to Aalis @ Tiger Direct for his magical rush orders on components and laptop.... and Special thanks to Ari and Steve at Silicon Imaging for the ongoing support and skyping to make this shoot a success!

Justin

Camera: SI2k Mini - Toshiba m750 12" tablet laptop - Switar 10mm, 25mm, Angenieux 5.9mm, Schneider Xenon 50mm, MYVU Shades 301 (w/ VGA>RCA adapter)
Format: 1920x1080 HD
Stock: QT Cineform RAW to internal 120gb Solid State HD
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

Super 8 Transfer Samples- "Sheila's Day Off"

Super 8/RED Short "Sheila's Day Off".

A great little short film shot on both RED camera and super 8. Seasoned actress' Heidi Tan and Amanda Lewis co-produced this project-- Amanda Lewis' directorial debut. Taking a challenging approach Richard Fiander shot all the super 8 on ektachrome 64t. A tough stock to use for interiors because of its slow speed. Most people would choose to shoot this with the negative 200/500 ASA film stocks for the extra latitude and speed. Richard ended up pushing the processing in certain shots to be able to maintain exposure. Good on 'ya for taking a less conventional approach!

Camera: Rollei SL85 & RED
Format: Super 8mm
Stock: Ektachrome 64t
Cinematographer: Richard Fiander

On Location- Swagger of a Rockstar

Music Video collaboration with Director Jason Gosbee & RED Camera Package from Toronto local Ben Goldstein (redshorts@rocketmail.com).
Shot most of this in 4k, except for the sections we wanted at higher frame rates. Having to keep in mind that when you shoot at 3k or 2k you are cropping in on the sensor and losing some of your field of view. Lots of help from 1st AC Mike Dawson made the day fly by smoothly. Another tip of advice, when exposing for darker skinned people your green screen ratios may have to be adjusted. I was often opening up nearly 2 stops from incident readings to get a healthy exposure on the darker skin tones. A little extra fill light also helped to maintain detail. I'll post the video once it is released!

Video: Quinn-Maybach - Swagger of a Rockstar
Camera: RED 4k, nikon primes
Director: Jason Gosbee
Cinematographer: Justin Lovell

On location- Greenhouse

Greenhouse - an inspirational short film that looks at greening Toronto's social housing community. from SHSC GLOBE on Vimeo. (sorry, squeezed 4:3 ratio)

On location shooting with Director Christy Garland and Producer Kathleen Smith (not in photo). Thankfully I had some of our cinematographer collective helping out with lighting - Barry Cheong and Misha Petrenko. Was a great time working with the crew over the 7 day shoot. Made great use of Barry's Kino-Flo package and my EZFX Jib arm for some cinematic intro shots around Toronto.

super 8 transfer stills

More recent transfer samples from filmmakers Deniz Berkin (ektachrome 64t and frame discreet frequenter David Mason (200t negative).
All super 8 transfers to 720 x 486 8 bit uncompressed blackmagic codec.

Thanks for getting us involved in your projects!