Ahead of Cine Gear Expo 2019, Cooke presents its new website, shotoncooke.com, which grants filmmakers new and unique online resource of real-world examples of projects shot with the various Cooke lens families. Check it out to get some filmmaking inspiration.
Educational video resource based on Cooke’s glass
Cooke Optics has picked up the slack and created a video website based on lenses. As Cooke explained, the goal of the site is to become an insightful, educational resource presenting professional content created with Cooke lenses from around the world, championing great cinematography and highlighting interesting case studies. As stated by Cooke: “We wanted to produce a dynamic resource for reviewing Cooke lenses that highlight the attributes and qualities they produce.”
The website presents sequences from feature films, television programs, documentaries, short films, commercials, and music promos, with sub-categories within commercials for fashion, automotive, food, beauty, and travel, to show how a certain lens family used in a particular way can help to enhance the visual style of a project. Film and TV categories will also be sub-categorized as the amount of content grows.
We wanted to produce a dynamic resource for reviewing Cooke lenses that highlight the attributes and qualities they produce
Filter videos by lens type
This is the first online video resource that allows you to search and filter the desired content by the specific lens type. For instance, you can search for films that were shot specifically on the Cooke 5/i, Anamorphic/i, miniS4/i, Panchro/i, S4/i, S7/i and more as you can see in the screenshot below. The lens search option can help you find video reference based on the glass that shot them and thus enables you to choose the right glass to tell your story. Moreover, it’s a great resource that can shed more lights on how a specific lens type could influence imagery.
You can search for films that were shot specifically on the Cooke 5/i, Anamorphic/i, miniS4/i, Panchro/i, S4/i, S7/i and more
Production and Technical information
In addition, the site features technical details about each clip, such as the cinematographer’s name, camera model, aspect ratio, lens series, and focal lengths, as well as the production information such as the director, colorist, post house, rental house, and relevant hyperlinks (Vimeo, Instagram, Website and etc.). There is also space for the submitting cinematographer to describe why they chose Cooke lenses on the project, and how important they were to the look and feel of the featured production. That’s a piece of rare and most educating information. For instance, DOP Oliver Curtis BSC describes his lens choice on a project that was shot on ARRI ALEXA Mini with the Vintage rehoused Speed Panchro:” For this shoot, the key was detail plus feel. I needed glass that would faithfully reproduce the detail on the clothes and accessories but that would also not be too clinical and contrasty, and that would flare when required. Something suitable for skin tones and the overall warmth of the styling and art direction”. Now that’s a great piece of information. I wish every DP would do that on other video platforms as well.
For this shoot, the key was detail plus feel. I needed glass that would faithfully reproduce the detail on the clothes and accessories but that would also not be too clinical and contrasty and that would flare when required. Something good for skin tones and the overall warmth of the styling and art direction
DP Oliver Curtis BSC describes why he chose the Vintage rehoused Speed Panchro for his project
Submit your work
Cooke emphasizes that cinematographers are invited to submit work that they feel best reflects the quality of their cinematography and the attributes of the lenses they chose. The Cooke team will then select the most interesting examples to include on the website. Anyone interested in submitting content for consideration to #ShotOnCooke should email shotoncooke@cookeoptics.com
Final thoughts
Great initiative by Cooke. I wish other lens manufactures we’ll also do the same. There is a merit for informative video platforms like ShotOnCooke that are based on knowledge and not just on streaming quality. Filmmakers always would like to know more about the cameras used, codecs, glass, and DP’s insights.
Go to shotoncooke.com and let’s know what you think. Would you like to see ShotOnArri/ ShotOnZeiss as well?
