Artist: Karen Jonz
Director & Cinematographer: Camilla Cornelsen
Camera: Arri SR3 16MM camera with HD Hypertap II
Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed MKIIs, Canon 7-63 T2.6
Film Stock: Kodak Vision3 500T Color Negative Film 7219
1) TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND, HOW DID YOU GET STARTED MAKING MUSIC VIDEOS?
Before working as a Director or Cinematographer, I was a still photographer. I started in the 2000s, assisting my dad, who is also a still photographer in Brazil. We would use medium and large formats, lighting everything with continuous light (no strobes). It was a great learning experience that I could apply to shooting on film later on.
In 2012 I started working as a cinematographer, and although I knew more or less how to light a scene, I needed to learn how to move my camera. I did a few summer classes in Barcelona and London that were a great introduction to the moving image. A few years later, I started doing DP for other directors' music videos. And I also had a band from 2007-2014, so I knew what it was to be on the other side of the cameras too!
It was only a few years ago that I got into directing music videos. I feel you need to have a connection with the music, the artist, or a 'carte blanche' to be able to really express yourself.
2) HOW DID YOU AND THE ARTIST LAND ON THE CONCEPT FOR THIS VIDEO?
Karen and I are friends, so she invited me to direct this music video, which is her first solo.
As it was her first appearance to the public, our idea was to portray different personalities of her own, and that's why we chose to shoot it in basically 03 different locations.
Karen is a mother, a world-champion professional skater, and also a musician - so it was interesting to try to blend this all together in a subtle way - in one scene, she's doing crochet, and in the other, sitting in an abandoned bus stop.
3) WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO SHOOT ON 16MM FILM?
As I'm Brazilian, and moved to LA only a year ago, I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that it is way easier to shoot film here than it is back in Brazil. Here you have the equipment, film, lab, team - and it's not that different in terms of budget from shooting digital.
Besides the look, I love the process of shooting on film. You have to really think things through, and everyone concentrates to give their best performance on the first take. You only do more takes if you really need it.
4) THE FILM HAS TONS OF COLOR. TELL US ABOUT THE GRADE AND HOW KODAK FILM PLAYS A PART IN THE FINISHED LOOK?
I usually try to value the individual colors of Kodak film, meaning that I don't try to print a heavy look on top of it. I think this is part of the magic of it all: taking advantage of the chemical process and using colors in their purest form.
The colorist that worked with me on this is a good friend, Fernando Lui, from Marla Colour Grading. He is also Brazilian and has a lot of experience working with 35mm and 16mm - which I think is fundamental when working with film, so you don't bring a digital mentality to it.
5) THE LOOK IS VERY SHARP. WHAT LENSES DID YOU CHOOSE?
We used the Zeiss Super Speed MKIIs, and the Canon 7-63 for the zoom shots. And yes, even I was a bit surprised - in a positive way - by the sharpness of it all. Also, I must thank our great focus puller, Joe Aliberto, who did an excellent job nailing every shot. And Spectra Film and Video, which did the beautiful 4k scanning.
6) HOW WAS WORKING WITH THE HCR NEWLY UPGRADED ARRI SR3 WITH HD VIDEO TAP?
The whole setup was mind blowing. I had already worked with film - 16 & 35MM - but never had an upgraded camera with a modern video tap. The monitoring on the the HCR Arri SR3 was sharp, nice resolution, and we never lost signal. It was almost as if we had a digital camera monitoring. I recommend it to anyone who has a bit of anxiety over shooting with film.
7) WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE FILMMAKERS SHOOTING ON FILM FOR THE FIRST TIME?
Don't be afraid, and take this opportunity to organize and plan your shooting wisely.
Forget your phones and focus on what is happening in front of you - that way, you can enjoy more and more of this magical art we do!
More links to Camila's work:
https://camilacornelsen.com
https://www.steptstudios.com/directors/camila-cornelsen
https://www.instagram.com/camilacornelsen
