Director of photography Art Adams knew he wanted to look through cameras for a living at the age of 12. After ten years in Hollywood working on feature films, TV series, commercials, music videos, visual effects and docs he returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently shoots commercials and high-end corporate marketing and branding projects. When Art isn’t shooting he consults on product design and marketing for a number of motion picture equipment manufacturers. His clients have included Sony, Arri, Canon, Tiffen, Schneider Optics, PRG, Cineo Lighting, Element Labs, Sound Devices and DSC Labs. His writing has appeared in HD Video Pro, American Cinematographer, Australian Cinematographer, Camera Operator Magazine and ProVideo Coalition. He is a current member of the International Cinematographers Guild, and a past active member of the SOC and SMPTE.
A gaffer once called me a “picky lighter.” I take pride in that designation, but I also take pride in working fast. Here’s a new soft light trick I’ve been thinking about. I have one goal when it comes to…
Do sensors have a native color balance? What does that even mean? I’ve got a theory… read on! When the original RED One M camera was released, RED stated that the native color balance of the sensor was 5000K. At…
Monitors can be contentious things on set. Here’s how I make them work for me, rather than the other way around. Toward the end of my career as an assistant, I worked on a TV series with Brianne Murphy, ASC.…
Recently I shot some comparison tests between Sony’s older SGamut color space and their brand new one, SGamut3.cine. For several years I’ve been fascinated by camera color rendition. Every camera manufacturer, just like every film manufacturer, has their own look—their…
Log and raw are not the same thing, and they are good for different things. Here’s how I differentiate the two… The first thing we need to do is define one against the other. Raw and log are occasionally used…
Color is something that has fascinated me for a long time.This is what I’ve noticed about trends in cameras over the years. When I started out in this business as a camera assistant every film stock had a signature. Companies…
I recently saw a protoype Arri Amira for the first time. I really, really like most of what I saw, but some of it needs a rethink. I know the gang at Chater Camera exceptionally well, and in spite of…
How do you make a light look soft yet cut it as if it were hard? By using a light that’s both hard and soft at the same time, of course. A director recently sent me a reference image and…
The butterflies that I stop and look at are usually very large and made of grid cloth. Here’s what I use overhead in daylight exteriors, and when. Making actors look good outdoors can be really difficult. When possible I try…
Ever wonder how a company’s background and philosophy affects product development? Let me tell you a little something about Arri and Alexa… I’m a geek. I read cinematography, videography and color textbooks for fun. I’m awful at math so I…