Instructor David A. Ford goes over the capabilities of the 35mm lens adaptor.

Gotham Digital recently inaugurated a new series of affordable, hands-on classes designed to allow participants to learn the techniques and tricks of HD production.

The premier seminar, Gotham Digital Shootout, offers a hands-on look at the most cost effective tool for high-end digital cinematography: the 35mm Lens adapter. With reduced depth of field, more film-like reproductions of skin tones, softening and color these adapter systems give the high-production value look of film to HD footage.

Under the tutelage of accomplished directors of photography David A. Ford and Edwin Martinez, the class works with the Redrock Micro M2, Letus Extreme 35mm and Brevis MP.1 35mm lens adapters in a variety of lighting conditions and camera rigs, allowing them to experience first-hand the strengths and limitations of each. After the seminar, each participant receives a copy of the footage they shot, allowing them to compare results at their leisure and demonstrate effects to others.

Duncan works with the Redrock Micro M2.

HD: The Resolution of the Future
High-definition (HD) is an increasingly popular route to go when producing media. The high-quality image is shot at a resolution that resembles film far more effectively than previous video and the effect can be further augmented by the use of accessories such as the 35mm lens adapter. Shooting in HD also introduces a workflow much simpler than using film; shots are stored digitally as files, allowing for easy copying and distribution to editors or for a near-instant viewing of dailies. Gotham Digital's classes aim to allow participants to integrate seamlessly with the new technology and pipeline whether they're grizzled veterans or just starting out.

Course information, dates, and registration can be found online at Gotham Digital's workshop page.

David recently completed shooting Joyce Draganosky’s Happenstance for HBO Films using the 35mm adapter. His past credits include three Emmy Award winning documentaries, Ric Burns’ Eugene O’Neill and New York: A Documentary Film as well as Florentine Films’ Divided Highways and producing/directing Gidy Up! On the Rodeo Circuit for MTV’s LOGO. David is also a successful signed producer/Director with Image Bank, the largest stock footage supplier in the world and also teaches cinematography in the Columbia University Graduate Film Department.

Edwin is a cinematographer and educator integrating his passions by creating and promoting social awareness and societal improvement through films, video and education. He has shot numerous films including the award winning independent feature film What Alice Found selected by several film festivals including the Tribeca and the Sundance Film Festivals, where it won a special jury award. In 2003, he received a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a Gates Millennium Scholar. Edwin is also working on various film projects including Eyes Open, The Fourth Purpose, a documentary exposing inadequacies in the American education system; Rachel Is, a feature length documentary about a mentally retarded woman’s struggle to become independent; and To Be Heard: a feature documentary following the lives and struggles of a group of teenage Bronx poets.