"GLADIATOR" Look needed

[Hayes Roberts]

For a big budget "Gladiator look"-what would be a great scene file recipe to start with. I know Paolo's TC3, and Steve Noe's Panamatch are cool-any ideas or tips?

[Ash Greyson]

Most of that look is derived from a steep shutter angle, 45° or 90°. You can emulate that with a high shutter speed, dont go TOO high or you will get some veritcal smearing...



ash =o)

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Hayes Roberts

For a big budget "Gladiator look"-what would be a great scene file recipe to start with. I know Paolo's TC3, and Steve Noe's Panamatch are cool-any ideas or tips?

Both of those scene files will give you a very true approximation of "reality," and a fairly wide latitude to colour correct to your liking in post.
However, if you are looking for an "in-camera" scene file to approximate the look of the colliseum scenes, I would suggest starting with my "CROSS-PROCESSED COLOUR REVERSAL" scene file.
If you want more warmth, increase the "R" value in White Paint and decrease the "B" value.
The blacks might be too deep for Gladiator, so they could be brought back up into the -3 range, and you could bring the knee back down from 100% for more highlight control.

As for the motion, a 45° shutter was used in Gladiator to achieve the strobed look. Since standard 180° is 1/48th, you would half it to 1/96th for 90°, and half that to 1/192 for 45°. 1/200th shutter speed should be close enough to achieve the look.


American Cinematographer Article on Gladiator

[Brian Duke]

Hi Tim,

Can you post that recipe into the other recipies? And maybe a more accurate recipe? I LOVE all the different match ups you guys do for differnet movies.

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Brian Duke

Hi Tim,

Can you post that recipe into the other recipies? And maybe a more accurate recipe? I LOVE all the different match ups you guys do for differnet movies.

The scene files I originally designed emulate some of the most popular techniques used in cinema in recent years, but really should only be used as a jumping off point.
I've listed inspirations for the files, but I don't want to get too specific and have people download and think that simply loading a scene file will give them a certain look.
Much more goes into a look. ie: lighting, shutter, exposure, lens choice, etc. This is why I always recommend testing and experimentation before your shoot day. There are so many ways to tweak the look and I encourage everyone to play around with all of the controls and see what you can come up with.

With that said I have been creating many more scene files and saving them on SD cards while I shoot. These are mostly tweaks made to my existing files that work in certain situations (like one I have for nightime under high-pressure sodium lamps and another for metal-halide.)
I also tend to design a new scene file for each film I shoot, depending on the post worklows being used and ultimate destination (internet, DVD or 35mm.)
When the films I've been shooting are eventually released I will probably post some of these files for interest's sake.

[Hayes Roberts]

Thanks gents-I will kick it with these ideas. thanks Tim

[Brian Duke]

Originally Posted by Tim Dashwood

I will probably post some of these files for interest's sake.

And you know I'm interested =)

I'm not a DP, so setting colors etc on the camera is completely foreign to me. Don't know how to do color black/gray charts etc. So specifics to me is much more of a help. Of course lighting lens etc will make a difference. Thanks again Tim