Painting with HD
High Definition enthusiast and DoP Joe Dyer originally trained in Fine Arts,particularly portraiture, and developed all the artist’s painstaking devotion to image.
That devotion has stayed with him through an enviable filming career as an award-winning director-of-choice to such stars as Brian Adams, Kylie Minogue,Take That, Annie Lennox, The Cure and many others, as well as co-director with Annie.
Says Joe: “Predominantly, I was a film cameraman, but now that music budgets have collapsed, the medium is increasingly HD, because of its cost-benefits.”
“There are no development costs, and as for post-production, it’s a godsend: the process is so versatile, that any change is possible. You finish recording, you put it on computer, and then you start adding your post-production effects straight away.”
“Softening filters and other cosmetic effects are out: you don’t have to commit yourself in advance to effects which the client may not finally like . Now you apply them in post-production.”
“And the detail HD captures is tremendous - it doesn’t need enhancing. I am known for lighting and with film I preferred to over-expose, allowing more information onto the negative. But with HD I under-expose, to preserve detail in the highlights.”
“HD is also very effective in low-lighting. As the Impressionists said, ‘There are many colours in the shadows.’ ”
“The transition from film to video to High Definition has been very positive : HD is an electronic medium that can give you a very painterly look. With a high-quality monitor of the picture- which film lacks - you can treat the whole process just like a blank canvas: it really is just like painting.”
