Bones Season 5

Gordon Lonsdale, DP for Bones: Visually, the look of Bones is a lot of color with rich contrast, and then the look changes with the mood and dramatic theme of each episode. People watching at home, I doubt they will notice the difference this season with [the Sony F35]. A bigger challenge for me was I also was asked to lower my lighting budget, and that requirement largely dictated the choice of the F35. I needed a camera that was very light-sensitive, and this camera does that.
 

I asked the producers if they wanted the look to change, and they did not. So, with the production designer, gaffer, and key grip, we implemented putting more lighting into the design of the set itself. We replaced some motion-picture lights with practical lights on the set, and we went to less expensive lights for outside the windows. On location, I was able to cut our lighting package drastically, adding a lot of smaller lights I could plug into walls that did not require a generator. I kept a few big lights, but we decided we could get the same lighting from the whole package if we didn’t light as big an area. It was a challenge, but by examining how we lit the show, we were able to save money and still get nearly the same look.

To me, the properties of the F35 are close to film. If I let the camera have the most latitude possible for recording color imagery, shooting in [Cine Mode] and S-LOG, that gives me total control later on [in post]. I still have to light carefully on set, but in post, I can adjust color balance and the midranges to get more control over the image.[/quote]