Oppavsofaen.no Going Live

I shot some sequences for the Norwegian Socialist Left Party in spring, which are now live at oppavsofaen.no. You can choose from a list of names, relations and subjects to tailor your very own personalised speech with party leader Kristin Halvorsen and send to a friend via e-mail. The speech is automatically generated from a (wide!) range of names and sentences/speeches that Kristin performs on camera. The concept might not be revolutionary, but as a photographer it was an interesting project to take part in.

Web video compression and color grading is quite a pain in the a**, and maybe one of the biggest challenges for the web as a serious challenger to traditional TV (and even, some day, the cinema). I had a few sessions with the bureau about the final image and how they should compress it, and soon realized how much they have to compromise to reach the largest possible number of viewers. Broadcast television on the other hand is a more or less defined environment, where a minimum of quality is ensured between all the different TV units out there, and you have a reference for where you should put your colors and contrast.

With the latest version(s) of Flash and the introduction of H.264 compression, you can make some really good quality video with relatively modest bandwidth consumption. But not everyone has the newest version of Flash. And some people still use a dialup modem. And even if you pass those requirements, you still need a powerful computer to play back high quality video without glitches. For some applications you can go for the best possible setting and just rule out some of your audience, but for a political party (and I guess most other commercial uses), that's not even a remote option.

And the photographers cry at night.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. With the introduction of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, PC and Mac will finally have the same standard gamma setting. And maybe in some future development of Flash video, the client or server will be able to quickly scale down video to match the wide range of system configurations out there. Also considering the constant advancements in video compression, it gets more and more viable to make high quality, consistent, visual experiences available to the masses in the not to distand future. In the meantime, we're still allowed to dream of better days.

For this project we ended up using a quite new version of Flash, because H.264 is just that much better than it's predecessors. The clips are downrezzed to from 4k to 2k for editing, and finally 720p for publishing. A bit of compromise on both ends, and the result is quite acceptable in my opinion.

The sequences were shot on RED with Cooke S4 primes at Zone 5 Studios in Oslo.

Screengrab from Gitarfyren

As promised, a screengrab from the short film Gitarfyren (Guitar Fellow), directed by Viktor Enoksen and shot under the midnight sun in Tromsø this past week. (Colors manipulated in a hurry in Photoshop (gamma 1.8), alas, it might look too dark in Windows.)

The film was shot on a Panasonic AJ-HDX900 with a set of Zeiss DigiPrimes on DVCProHD-tapes. It was a really fun week, collaborating again with some of my oldest friends. Looking forward to see some edited material in the fall.

Moving Into Production On Gitarfyren

Spending a week in Tromsø to do final prep, and shoot another short film for young director Viktor Enoksen, called Gitarfyren (Guitarfellow, I guess, in English.) It's a quite fun project about those annoying people who crash parties with their guitars, puppy eyes and annoying singalong pop songs — and will become a sort of crossover between a zombie movie and a musical, with some exciting combat choreography by the eminent Kristoffer Jørgensen (who is now working with the upcoming Norwegian ninja movie Norwegian Ninja — check them out on Wreck A Movie.)

Needless to say, it will be a fun week before I head back to Oslo and start moving my stuff to Lillehammer, where I will spend my next three years studying the art of cinematography at the Norwegian Film School. Will try to post some fun screengrabs at the end of the week.

Ulstein Campaign 2008

The greenscreen industrial project I shot with Norwegian athlete Kristine Eikrim Engeset last year is now online over at Frost Media (Look for "Ulstein Campaign 2008", click on "Video" in the lower right corner). My footage is a part of the opening sequence where the athlete is getting ready to start, symbolising the mentality of the customer who design and build large sea vessels.

First Edit of New Showreel

Put up a first edit of my new showreel on the website. Feel free to have a look and give me some feedback. It would be very much appreciated.

http://www.runaroundfilm.no/jehf/showreel.htm

Behind the Scenes: "Eksperimentet" by Robin Jensen

Just a couple of behind the scenes-shots from a short film I gaffed in the fall. The title is Eksperimentet (The Experiment), it is directed by Robin Jensen, and shot by DoP Patrik Säfström. Go see the Norwegian documentary Jakten på Hukommelsen, which was also shot by Patrik, and being screened in Norwegian cinemas shortly.

2009 Thus Far

Quiet days around here now that my laptop is being repaired, but that just means I've had more time to read books and make photographs. Maybe I should get rid of the laptop all together.

Starting preparations for two new short film projects with directors Viktor Enoksen and Christian Loennechen whom I collaborated on respectively Under the Surface (premiered at TIFF 09) and Gullfeber (still in editing) last year. Both new projects look really exciting, and will be shot sometimes this spring with funding already in place. I've also been gaffing on a feature production at Exposed Film Production, a film by Severin Eskeland called Snarveien (Shortcut), as well as lighting some commercials the past few weeks.

Next week will see the official (but unfortunately closed) Oslo premiere of both Under the Surface and Besøk, in addition to a few other short films I've been lighting on at Frogner Kino. If you're interested in getting in, contact me and I'll see if there might be an available ticket.

Exciting times.

Pimp Our Commercial

Shot a short commercial for Oslo municipality this week, for a campaign called "Pimp Our City". The commercial is basically a rap video, and was directed by my new and talented friend Joakim Molteberg. Also had the pleasure of working with art director/production manager Raymond Johansen on this one. Including a couple of quick grabs below.

Karpe Diem - Vestkantsvartinga

Did a bit of lighting on parts of the new Karpe Diem-video called Vestkantsvartinga. I thought the concept was quite cool, aiming to remake the Fresh Prince in Bel Air opening sequence, as well as NWA's Straight Outta Compton in between all the rapping and whatnot. Turned out quite allright. The video was photographed by Øystein Mamen and directed by Andreas Hjertø. Have a look.

"Gullfeber" Is A Wrap

Short film "Gullfeber" is officially "in the can" (well, harddrive would be more appropriate). Here are a few grabs straight outta REDAlert (some contrast-adjustment applied):

Wrap Day Two

We've moved indoors for the three final days of shooting. Working in a barn is much more comfortable when it's pouring down outside, which of course makes the crew happier. Included yet another screengrab.

Wrap Day One

Completed first day of shooting on the short film "Gullfeber". Weather was terrible, but we managed to fight our way through all the shots we needed to do. Included a small screengrab.

Final Week of Pre-Production

Images from location scout

These are busy days, as we're entering the final week of preparations for the short film "Gullfeber" (translates to "Gold Fever"). The film is directed by Christian Loennechen and produced by Future Film and Ravn Wikhaug.

This will be my first opportunity to use the RED ONE on an actual production, and I'm looking forward to see how it performs in the wild. We'll be shooting one day of exteriors in and around a car on a deserted stretch of road, and three days in an abandoned barn where the main action takes place.

Images from location scout

The director wants to do a quite stylized look, and the challenge so far is solving it with limited light resources in a large location that requires careful power distribution. But we've still got time, and I'm confident we will be able to find good solutions.

First day of shooting is next Thursday, and wrap-time on Sunday.

Behind the Scenes: Unknown

Assisted gaffer (though mainly DoP) Martin Edelsteen on a music video this spring. Just got a few behind the scenes shots back from the lab. The music video was directed by Kristoffer Metcalfe as one of his final projects at the Norwegian film school, and was shot by fellow student and DoP Magnus Flåto. The band actually did not have a name at the time of shooting, and I still don't know if they do.

The video was set in a large house in Oslo where the band actually lived for a while, and featured a dead vocalist, a party with the band and a lot of dancing girls, large amounts of smoke, and a fake sun that was dollied in and out of takes. Fun. The entire thing was shot on the Silicon Imaging SI-2K.

All pictures taken during my "cross processing-phase":

Gaffer, choreographer and director reviewing a take

The band and the fake sun

Again, bandmember standing by the piano

Gaffer and camera assistant

Self-descriptive

The director relaxing between takes

Stella Mwangi - The Dreamer

Did some gaffing for DoP Eirik Tyrihjel on the music video for "The Dreamer" by Stella Mwangi. Shot on RED in Nydalen Studios, Oslo, a few weeks back. Take a look:



The video is directed by Andreas Hjertø, and produced by MTG Music.

Showreel 2008, 1st edition

Finally got around to putting together my 2008 showreel. It is a bit fragmented because a lot of the material is still in editing, so I aim to make a second edition a bit later with whole sequences. It's all on my website. Big thank you to Daniel Hansen who let me borrow his music.

Behind the Scenes: "Siste stopp" by Eilif Bremer Landsend

Had some time to snap pictures while gaffing on the short film "Siste stopp" by Eilif Bremer Landsend this summer. The film is written and directed by Eilif, with Torkel Riise Svenson doing the cinematography.

We had four days of production in Tromsø in July, shooting in a hospital, on a bus and on top of a mountain. The film is about the journey of a sick old lady, towards her final destination (English for "Siste stopp"), with distinguished actor Henny Moan playing the main character. Watch out for this one at Norwegian festivals next year.


Director and cinematographer discussing the shot


Director Eilif Bremer Landsend


Cinematographer Torkel Riise Svenson


Shooting on the bus


1st assistant camera Viktor Enoksen


Main actor Henny Moan, watching the take


Sound recordist Christian Caspersen


Checking the gate


Happy director

Fresh Out Of The Can

Had a busy summer gaffing shorts (3 in total), but also had time to squeeze in some cinematography for director Viktor Enoksen on his short film "Under the Surface".

The film is about all the stuff that passes through our head, even when we're awake. We follow into the mind of our main character, and get an impression about his life, as he's making breakfast for his kids in the morning.

Putting up a few stills from the onelight-scan of the S16mm material (all, of course, uncorrected):

Looking For Graphic Artist

We're in the final stages of a short film production, and looking for a graphic artist to join the project.

The film was shot last summer, all studio, partially green screen. We need to get in touch with a graphic artist who would like to work with the backdrops for the green screen part. We've got some ideas of what we want, but we're also open for ideas and suggestions. Bottom line is we're in a fictional world where anything is possible, so it's not quite realism we're looking for. Michel Gondry has been sort of a visual reference during pre-production.

There is unfortunately no money in the project, so anyone interested would have to do it because they like the project, and could use the final product for their showreel.

Here are some uncorrected grabs from the final edit of the film:







The film is directed by Marte Magnusdotter Solem, while I am cinematographer, and assisting Marte with the visual part of post production.

If this sounds like your kind of project, contact me, and I'll give you more information about the film and the production.

Short Film Bonanza

Wrapped a new short film production this weekend with upcoming director Faisal M. Osman. The film was shot on location in a nightclub on Oslo's westside, as well as exterior locations on Grünerløkka. Named "Zippo", the film will be edited in the coming weeks, and hopefully premiered in March.

With no time to rest, I'm jumping straight into a new project with director Reinert Kiil, shooting interior scenes Sunday, and exterior scenes in two weeks for his new short "Den utvalgte" (working title).

Both films will be aiming for festivals this summer, so keep your fingers crossed.