David Fincher and Justin Timberlake Team Up for 'Suit & Tie' Music Video Shot on RED EPIC Monochrome | No Film School

I mentioned we might be seeing a comeback for real black and white, and it looks like we've got one of our first examples on a big scale. We knew David Fincher was working with RED's new black and white camera the EPIC Monochrome, but it wasn't clear exactly what that production was. His new Netflix series House of Cards was shot on regular RED EPICs, but now it's been confirmed on REDUser that Justin Timberlake's new music video for Suit & Tie featuring Jay-Z was shot with the Monochrome. Click through to check it out.

The video was shot by frequent Darren Aronofsky collaborator Matthew Libatique, on 5 RED EPIC Monochromes at an ISO of 3200. Yes, 3200 ISO! That's one of the huge benefits of the monochrome camera. Many were still unclear about why anyone would want to shoot black and white when they could just convert the footage in post even after my explanation. It's probably worth stating again, however, that the color filters over every sensor are what give us colors, and the information is incomplete with Bayer pattern single sensor designs, and must be debayered in post-production to recreate what the camera would have seen had there been a color for every pixel.

With EPIC Monochrome, that color filter is removed and every pixel is now accounted for, giving you perfect resolution (up to 5K with the current EPIC), and better sensitivity. In this case, RED claims the sensor can now be rated at 2000 ISO as compared to around 800 normally. On this video, however, the team decided to push the camera almost another stop to 3200. That is another advantage of capturing in black and white with this camera: noise is finer and less noticeable.

What I've noticed with this camera is that highlights roll off in such a beautiful and organic way. It's the kind of effect that you get with real black and white film (not to mention film in general), and it's just another reason why I think this camera is so special.

It's certainly not useful for every shoot, but the gradations from light to dark and the noise/sensitivity benefits deliver a spectacular image.

Link: Justin Timberlake by David Fincher via Monochrome Epics -- REDUser

red david fincher redepic blackandwhite monochrome b&w

What's the Hype With 'Interstellar' Revisiting Cinemas After a Decade in 70mm IMAX?

Here's Why You Need to Revisit 'Interstellar' in 70mm IMAX

Celebrate the love and hope at the center of Nolan's space epic in the format it was meant to be seen.

If we know anything about Christopher Nolan, he likes to go big. Nolan started with smaller-scale stories (as many of us do) with early noir adjacent works like Following, Memento, and Insomnia, then started going and staying big with his illusionist drama The Prestige. Since then, the scale has been various degrees of massive, with the biggest scope in his time-and-space sprawling epic, Interstellar.

While Interstellarmight not be everyone's favorite Nolan outing, there's no denying it's an impressive feat of filmmaking and his most emotional—if watching Matthew McConaughey's Cooper desperately try to reach his family through quantum space-time doesn't make you cry at least a little bit, what's going on, dude?

With Interstellar'sIMAX release, it's a great time to shed some tears in a public setting in one of the most prestigious film formats around. As we mentioned in our film gauge piece, Nolan loves shooting on film and utilizes 65mm intentionally to provoke a tone of massive scale. In that regard, Interstellar was made for 70mm IMAX. That goes without saying, dawg. That being said, other factors make Interstellar a perfect movie to revisit in theaters while you can.

Let's break down the release further below.

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