ABSTRACT
Choosing a lens is the first step in a process that ends with a recorded image, and plays a crucial part in the final look of a film. Experienced cinematographers understand they have to know exactly how every step involved in the image creation process can affect the final product, from how a particular codec will render minute details in an actor’s costume, to the way a given format will respond to over and underexposure, and anything in between. When cinematographer Ellen Kuras devised the look for Ted Demme’s Blow, the story of George Jung, an incredibly successful cocaine smuggler, she decided to give each time period covered in the film its own distinct visual style, based on key image references from each decade. Her visual strategy included using different film stocks, lighting styles, lab processes, color palettes, filtration, camera movement language, and even different lenses for each section of the film.
