Adam Kimmel, ASC Discusses Signature Prime Lenses And Commercial Work

February 25, 2020 - /PressAdvantage/ - Adam Kimmel, a cinematographer, known for his role in well-received films as Never Let Me Go and Capote, as well as for working with world-famous brands like Nike and Audi, spoke about his use of the new Arri Signature Prime lenses for some of his more recent commercial work.

Shooting difficult scenes in multiple locations under enormous strain are the everyday reality on many commercial film sets. For Adam Kimmel, ASC, it is a way of life that he's known and loved for most of his life. He has been a popular choice for commercial work since he was starting as a cinematographer and has always returned to commercial work in between feature films, traveling all over the world to shoot commercials for all the major players.

In quite a few recent car commercials, he's been using the larger format Arri Alexa LF and their signature prime lenses. "One of the things I like about the Signature Primes is the way they handle skin tones and texture. There's a naturalness to their image that I love in close-ups. There's just a quality to them that lends itself to the kinds of light that I like for certain things," says the cinematographer. He, like many modern filmmakers, still loves the look of classic celluloid film, and for some shoots, he feels that the ultra-high-resolution offered by modern set-ups may create images that are far more detailed than what we want to see. So for those projects, he likes having the ability to emulate the softer, more natural feel associated with the film, even when shooting with digital capture.

"In some other modern lenses, you have this enormous detail with a super crisp, high-resolution image," says Kimmel. "I find that's great for certain things, but skin tone and close-ups are not those things. I recently shot a multi-cam stand-up comedy show called, "Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State" for Netflix and that was another case where I went with the ALEXA LF and Signature Primes. If I am going to look at a man talking for 70 minutes, mostly in tight shots, then I don't want to be studying the pores of his skin in detail. With the Signature Prime lenses, I find that there are smoothness and creaminess, a bit of film-like quality, that I'm enjoying." (He also lit that show less conventionally, using no-follow spots or front light instead building a big softbox over the stage and incorporating some practical lighting into the set design.) Visit his Google Maps page at the following link to learn more about his work: Adam Kimmel Cinematographer.

Along with the way the lenses see skin tones, they also can work closely without distortion. "Shooting large format with these lenses, I can separate things through the depth of field that otherwise might be too close together. In a situation where you're in a car and looking through a side window, the distance between the glass and that person's face is, maybe, 16 inches. If you don't have the option to move the camera closer to throw the glass more out of focus, then you can create the illusion of less distance with a shallower depth of field. If you don't have enough separation between the window and the face, using a large format gives you the ability to separate them further."

The lenses have been used by Kimmel in a variety of locales, from the night scenes on the coast of Portugal, to snow-covered roads in Estonia for a Jeep commercial. As he says, the Jeep spot is one of the better examples of how well the lenses handle close-ups, particularly on faces. He wanted the film to have a more romantic, nostalgic feel, and to stay away from anything that was too crisp or had an excessive amount of contrast and sharpness. While there are multiple ways around this issue, Kimmel believes his choice of lens comes with a built-in aesthetic that offers a significant advantage.

Adam Kimmel DP is a well-known NYC Director of Photography, and he has become very well known in the industry due to the excellent work he has produced throughout his career. He has assisted film directors by establishing the visual look of feature films and commercials for over 35 years.

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For more information about Adam Kimmel, ASC, contact the company here:

Adam Kimmel, ASC
Adam Kimmel
(929) 323-4441
[email protected]
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New York, NY 10003-5236

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