What did the cinematographer think of "The Brutalist"? A discussion between cinematographers Kosuke Yamada, Misaki Hikosaka and Shuhei Yamamoto [CINEMORE ACADEMY Vol.37]

Distance Focus

Q: The resolution of digital cameras has been increasing steadily in recent years. What does it mean for a photographer to use a high-resolution camera?

Yamada: It depends on each work. There is also the question of whether or not resolution is necessary for the work, but with regards to "Brutalist," I think you wanted to value the resolution of the film. Digital high-resolution images tend to look a bit raw, but I think you were looking for something different from that in the resolution of film.

Q: When I think of high-resolution film, I think of the 65mm film that Christopher Nolan uses in his IMAX cameras. However, since the production budget for this film was about $10 million, it seems that the high resolution was achieved by using 35mm film effectively.

Yamada: When used horizontally, 35mm film rotates about twice as much as when used vertically, but I still think it's much cheaper than 65mm film.

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Q: High film resolution also has an impact on depth of field.

Hikosaka: It looked like it was difficult to focus (laughs). There were some parts that were out of focus.

Yamada: Even in the long shot it was pretty blurry (laughs).

Yamamoto: But since it's film, that's kind of comfortable too (laughs).

Hikosaka: Even if it's out of focus and vague, that's what adds to the flavor.

Yamamoto: With digital, the blurry effect can be very sharp and can sometimes look a bit unpleasant, but perhaps thanks to the film, it came out really well.

Q: Is it more difficult to focus as the resolution increases?

Yamada: It's difficult. Also, with film, the image is not reflected on the monitor as is, so you can't adjust it on the monitor. The focus puller* has to adjust it by eye and distance. It must be quite difficult for people of this generation.

*Focus puller: A camera assistant whose main job is to adjust the focus.

Q: In the scene where Laszlo is giving his presentation, the camera zooms in on Harrison and his son, who are standing next to each other. Even though they are both standing next to each other, the father is in focus while the son is slightly out of focus.

Yamamoto: I think it's probably a really fine line. There is such an exquisite depth of field. It's very difficult to get it just right.

Thoughts on film photography