Hey guys! Welcome to the Anamorphic Cookbook! It’s finally here!
My name is Tito Ferradans, which I know it’s not the easiest name in the world,
but I believe you can manage. I’d like to begin by thanking you very much for joining this course,
and thanking Altas Lens Co. for teaming up to get this started. It was a real challenge for
me to put all this content together and the main reason was because I wanted to make sure
it would be a breeze for you to understand all the material and instructions contained here.
Over the next little while I’ll be guiding you through the process of building your
own anamorphic rig and understanding how to get the best out of it. It’ll be a powerful
tool in your workflow and help you achieve more cinematic images. Anamorphic has been Hollywood’s
sweetheart since the 1950’s and it’s not slowing down any time soon. Atlas made cine anamorphics
way more accessible when they started in 2017 and we’re seeing more and more lens alternatives
with the passing months. So jump on this train now and get a headstart on your competition!
If you’re in for that, this is the time when you like the video and subscribe to the channel.
WHO'S THIS "CHEETO" GUY?
You might be familiar with my work on this channel already, reviewing lenses and teaching mods.
If you wanna jump right into the class, skip to the time displayed on the screen.
But so everyone is in the same page, here’s a little about me and why I’m teaching this
course. And I look forward to hearing about you too in the members’ Discord group:
I’m from Brazil, where I got a bachelor’s degree in Film Production at one of the
best universities in the country. My graduation work was a webseries pilot aimed to do a sort of
“trial by fire” of an anamorphic workflow for an independent, low-budget production. To this day,
my project is used as a reference for what students can develop in their last semesters.
From there I moved to Vancouver, Canada, and did a one-year program on Visual Effects,
which taught me very important skills that I could blend with my previous anamorphic knowledge.
Then I went back into film production at Langara College - third time is the charm! Afterwards I
got into the independent film scene and worked on dozens of small films as a cinematographer
plus provided consulting for a bunch of others all over the world in terms of shooting anamorphic.
In 2015 I started this channel about shooting anamorphic on a budget
and my main motivation was how hard it was to learn about these awesome lenses. It’s
been many years since then and I’m still the only person talking about it consistently,
always more in a neutral and academic fashion.
What I usually do on the channel is NOT what we’re gonna do on this course. In this course we’re
gonna be jumping straight into what I believe gives you the best bang for your buck when it
comes to shooting scope. While in regular videos I refrain from recommending something as “the best”
or “a must buy”, you’ll come out of this course with a very clear list of what to look for, and
where to find it - that is if you don’t already start buying parts for your rig as we go along.
Over the last five years I tested out a huge variety of anamorphic lenses,
adapters, accessories and rigs for this channel. I saw a lot of gear that “sort
of” works in testing but fails on actual shoots. With that experience
I’ve been able to narrow my sights onto the best options out there.
I’ve always been an active member in the anamorphic community, both on Facebook and EOSHD,
and I work super hard to answer all the questions I get on instagram as well as on the channel.
My ultimate goal is to see more and more small-budget projects shooting scope, and making
knowledge about the subject easily accessible. There’s a lot of confusion about where to start
and, no matter how smart you are, figuring it out on your own
is still gonna take a ton of time and money - which is what we want to avoid here.
A few years back I started doing consulting calls and helping folks build their own setups,
tailored to their budgets and shooting styles, all with great success.
I also answer specific questions in exchange for symbolic donations through the #AskMeAnamorphic
page on my blog, with hundreds of questions answered. I have provided lots of feedback
and have close connections with brands that are just as passionate about anamorphics as I am,
like our sponsor Atlas Lens Co and pretty much all other anamorphic makers out there!
THE COOKBOOK STRUCTURE
Now let’s go over the structure of the course, what’s in each module, along with all the extra
support you can get from being a member of the channel! Yep, being a member gets you access
to an exclusive Discord server and discount PDF versions of each module. You can join through the
button right under this video or the first link in the description! If you’re not a member and you
just got to this point, there’s way more content available to unlock right now by signing up.
The Anamorphic Cookbook is currently structured in eight modules although we might go under
some changes depending on funding. So is the life of keeping content free for you!
Modules 1 and 2 are sponsored by Atlas Lens Co and the other ones are still open. This is module one
and we’ll start off after this video with why anamorphics boost your production value
through the roof. That is followed by the history of the anamorphic format
and how it became popular in Hollywood, then move on to the structure of anamorphic lenses and what
makes them different from your regular lenses. The last topic covered in the first module is the
meaning of aspect ratios and how they changed over history, as well as how we perceive production
value differently based on a film’s aspect ratio. Do I look extra expensive right now?
Module two dives deeper into anamorphic optics. I’ll start by explaining the
differences between lenses and adapters, and how that affects the approach to your setup.
Then talk about cine vs prosumer lenses, and prosumer vs consumer, think Atlas vs Vazen,
or Vazen vs Sirui. We’ll discuss their upsides and limitations. The next topic
is the different focus types among adapters and lenses, followed by the difference in stretch
factors and how that impacts the resulting images. The last topic in module two is the dilemma of
owning versus renting gear. Is it better to own a DIY setup, even if more budget-restricted? Buy a
cine lens like Atlas, or prefer to rent a full set of Atlas, or Arri, or Cooke? We’ll get to that!
The third module is about cameras - after all they play a very important role capturing the
footage and there’s many aspects of the camera that affect your workflow
and setup. I’ll start with a topic that is shrouded in misconceptions: anamorphic modes.
When do they matter and what advantages do they offer, if any? That’s followed by cropmarks
for cameras that don’t offer anamorphic modes or when you want more flexibility
in post. I’ll talk about sensor size and focal reducers, and how there’s also some confusion
on those subjects. Then we move on to monitoring the footage, how to get it desqueezed on set
to make sure you’re looking at the right framing. You’ll hear me say it a lot:
any camera can work for shooting scope. That said, a couple cameras out there smash the competition
and take into account many important aspects of anamorphic shooting that are often overlooked.
Then we move into the last module before intense shopping.
Module four is a little bit shorter and it focuses on spherical lenses or spherical blocks.
They’re a key component in both an anamorphic lens and a DIY setup. I’ll go over how the
spherical part of any scope has its own personality and that they might or might
not be a good match for anamorphics. We’ll talk about coatings and how they correlate to flares,
talk about bokeh, aperture blade counts and getting smooth ovals. Then a little
bit of math mixing focal length, recorded sensor size and anamorphic squeeze factor.
I’ll talk about how to avoid vignetting and not set yourself up for failure by choosing
focal lengths that don’t really go with the squeeze factor and sensor size you want to use.
Lastly, all this math reflects in focal length equivalence, which makes a lot of people confused.
If I’m using a 1.75x squeeze anamorphic on a 50mm lens, cropping to a 4:3 Super 35 sensor, what’s
my actual field of view?! We’ll look into that and I’m providing a calculator to simplify your life.
Once we are clear on cameras, sphericals and how anamorphics work, Module five is all about buying
your anamorphic glass. I’ll go over the choice of taking lenses to build a set, so you don’t have
mismatched looks every time you swap your taking lens. True or false: the size of the scope affects
how wide you can go. We’ll talk about that, how to minimize your setup and maximizing your coverage.
There are several focus types, which one should you aim for, and how to deal with it? Then,
when buying used lenses, there’s always a chance they need some love and tuneup. We’ll talk about
what to expect in terms of image quality and if losses are to blame on the scope or taking
lens. We’ll talk about astigmatism and flares and their importance to the anamorphic look,
and then move to variable diopters and what’s best for your setup. Variable diopters turn double
focus systems into single focus, but they also add weight and are prone to vignetting. Lastly,
some thoughts on budget for this whole enterprise and pointers to where to find all the pieces and
how to search for them - searching the right way can land you sweet deals and save big bucks.
Module six is entirely about how to get this scope and bulletproof it onto a setup that works for a
production setting. We’ll talk about alignment. We’ll discuss jackets to make it look nicer and
give it a visual consistency. Do you know how much the distance between each lens in your system
affects the final image? Once that’s covered, we go into support, making
sure your lens is straight on the rails and avoiding the mostly unknown keystone effect.
We finish off this module by a quick run through on how to swap taking lenses and not disassemble
your whole setup. Plus how to rig clip-on matteboxes effectively. I hope to also add an
episode here about balancing heavier setups on a gimbal since lots of scopes get super front heavy.
Now that we’re all built, in Module seven we shoot.
With everything perfectly rigged up, there’s a few things to watch out during the shoots,
such as confirming infinity focus and accounting for focus shift when using
super fast apertures. Plus understanding and using diopters to maximize the performance of your lens.
I’ll talk a bit about lens breathing and how to deal with image stabilization.
Module eight wraps everything up by covering how to handle the footage in post production,
ensuring a proper desqueeze regardless of stretch factor,
as well as how to set up any aspect ratio and cropping, since you’re not getting a perfect
match every time. I have a calculator to help with that too! The last little bit of advice
goes into fixing issues that you might only notice after you’re done shooting,
such as small misalignments and anamorphic mumps - the effect of when your actor’s face looks
wider than it should! Or, how some people like to say it, their faces are shaped like a pumpkin.
Then we have a closing chapter and you’ll see how far you’ve gone from where you stand now!
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
It’s a lot of ground to cover, and some subjects are super confusing. That’s why Members of the
channel can book Q&A calls. There we can connect and discuss what’s going on the current module,
plus address questions and issues you might encounter from the lessons.
These calls are the perfect moment to share your thoughts
and learn from each other. If you run into an obstacle or feel unsure of what to do next,
just ask on the server, or book a call and you’ll get a clear goal to move towards.
Besides the classes and calls,
you can download PDFs that summarize and organize all the content for each module
in short form for quick reference - you can’t use command/ctrl + F on a video but you can on a PDF!
On top of all that, by being a member you’ll have a link to join our private Discord server
in which we can talk and solve issues if calls are not your thing. It’s a great platform for
quick communication and sharing information. So if you come across any issues after a call,
you can just shoot the question in the server and I’ll chime in about it. The server is
also a great place to build connections and meet other people that have the same interest as you,
on the same path. Some of my strongest friendships came from meeting people on the same path as I was
and we still talk every day about lenses, although we’re half the world away.
The last thing I wanna talk about in this video is that some classes have
additional external-reference links. These point to video essays, projects, documentaries and other
short-format content that supplements what was talked in the class. They are not mandatory,
but they will equip you with some extra knowledge. There’s no reason to pass on these opportunities!
Ok, I talked a lot and we aren’t even started on this journey.
Now that the logistics are out of the way it’s time to dive into what we came here for.
I hope you are as excited about the Anamorphic Cookbook as I am! Subscribe to the channel to
get updates on the videos as they come, or become a Member to get the full experience!
On the next episode I’ll make the case for why anamorphics boost your production value
and allow you to charge better rates. Thank you for watching,
see you on the next video, Tito Ferradans, out.