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Short Film

Familiar

Richard Mason is the Familiar to a hideous ancient vampiric creature living in the bowels of an isolated mansion.

“Of all the projects I have shot, this is the most standout which screamed Cooke lenses. From the vintage feel to the painterly look on our wide shots.”Mike Staniforth , Director of Photography

Shot on Cooke Anamorphic/i S35 – Familiar

Lens/Camera Information
Lens series: Anamorphic/i S35
Focus lengths: 32, 40, 50, 75 & 100mm
Camera: Arri Alexa mini
Format: Digital
Director of Photography: Mike Staniforth
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Production Information
Production: Familiar
Director: David Ellison
Colourist: Jorge Ortiz
Producers: David Ellison, Mike Staniforth
Production Company: Singularity Films
Post Production: Deluxe 
Distributor: Alter
Rental House: Media Dog
Awards: Winner of over 55 awards

DOP Mike Staniforth on the lens of his choice:

We chose the Cooke anamorphic because David, the director, had envisioned a vintage, painterly look to the film. The visuals were inspired by the original PlayStation 1 horror game, Resident Evil. Within David’s references were a lot of Chiaroscuro paintings, particularly Caravaggio.
The Cooke’s paired with the Alexa Mini, alongside high contrast tungsten lighting, gave us the look we were after right out of camera.

Our colourist, Jorge Ortiz from Deluxe in Barcelona, added another layer of horror to the image by pushing the colours further to where we wanted to go in relation to the original PlayStation game.
The 75mm was our favourite lens but we did love the 100mm for portrait moments in the film.
Of all the projects I have shot, this is the most standout which screamed Cooke lenses. From the vintage feel to the painterly look on our wide shots.