(AUSTIN, TX, July 27, 2006) Over the past year, Jimmy Lindsey, the 2nd unit director of photography on director Robert Rodriguez's blockbuster films "Once Upon a Time in Mexico and "Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams," has shot several independent films using Fujinon HD lenses. "Eulogy," a short film directed by Todd Coleman, is the most recent project.
Shot in Austin, Texas, "Eulogy" was a mix of HD and Super 16mm. The story revolves around a central character named Ray, whose brother, Tommy, recently died. Periodically the film flashes back and forth with perspectives from the living and the dead. A Catholic cathedral serves as the primary backdrop for Ray's story and these wide, open interior scenes were shot in HD with a Panasonic Varicam and a Fujinon HA13x4.5BERM wide angle HD ENG lens. Tommy's handheld flashbacks were captured with Fujifilm's new Super 16mm Eterna 250T stock.
Lindsey was very impressed with the optical performance of the Fujinon lenses. "They have a fantastic range, minimal breathing and are very fast, so I can shoot at really low light levels and keep textures rich without any noise in the shadow detail," Lindsey said.
Another recent independent film photographed by Lindsey was director Erin MacMillan's "Zero Hour." The project was shot in 2005 with a Panasonic Varicam and Fujinon HA13x4.5 and HAc15x7.3B Cine-Style zoom lenses. "Zero Hour" is a psychological thriller about a group of people who sign up for a seemingly harmless medical experiment, and end up spending a 24-hour period fighting for their lives. Filmic challenges shooting "Zero Hour" included capturing the large number of actors in small and dark interior spaces, which is why Lindsey shot with as small a camera as possible. "One of the things I like about the C series of Fujinon Cine-Style lenses is they are very compact, so we can keep the camera small and unobtrusive," Lindsey said. "I shot the entire film at a 2-stop. There were many shots with an actor close to the camera and another actor very far away. The minimized optical breathing when pulling focus aids in creating very cinematic images."
Another key reason Lindsey shot "Zero Hour" with Fujinon lenses was that they enabled him to shoot in a widescreen aspect ratio and not worry about resolution loss. "When you're shooting at 2.40:1, you're doing an extraction from a 1.78:1, which means you're throwing away pixels and part of your overall resolution," Lindsey explained. "It's important to have lenses with a very high resolving power, so you can afford to lose those pixels."
Other recent independent film efforts for Lindsey include: Kyle Bergersen's "Love Comes to the Executioner," shot in Butte, Montana; and the late director Jonathan Brandis' "The Slainesville Boys" shot in Dripping Springs, Texas. Both "Love Comes to the Executioner" and "The Slainesville Boys" were captured with a Sony F900 camera and a Fujinon HA10x5.2BERM HD ENG lens.
In addition to working as 2nd Unit DP on Robert Rodriguez's films, Lindsey also served as camera operator on 2005's "Sin City" and "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D."
For more information on Jimmy Lindsey, visit www.jimmylindsey.com.
About Fujinon
Fujinon is a major manufacturer and distributor of optics and lens assemblies for the broadcast, digital cinema and industrial markets. The company's line of television zoom lenses are used in virtually every segment of the broadcast industry, including electronic newsgathering, studio and field production, and high definition television. For more information about Fujinon broadcast and communications products, call (973) 633-5600 or visit our web site at www.fujinonbroadcast.com.
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