Jim Matlosz:  Life In The Fast Lane
High Speed Expert

From Muybridge’s horses to exquisite water droplets, high speed photography has fascinated scientists, advertising agencies and artists for over 100 years.  And, as the tools improve,  increasingly powerful options are being handed to cinematographers who are using them to create phenomenal imagery in previously unexplored ways.

Jim Matlosz is a recognized expert and one of the most experienced high speed cinematographers around; he’s been working in high speed since 1993. His long  list of credits includes commercials, music videos, short films and museum installations, from McDonalds coffee all the way to Lincoln Center. 

In mid-2006, through mutual friends at DNA, Matlosz became involved with a public space project directed by David Michalek, “Slow Dancing.” Installed on exterior panels outside of Lincoln Center during the Summer of 2007,  “ Slow Dancing” features magnificent hyper slow motion footage of dancers and choreographers from around the world. Helping Michalek bring his vision to fruition was a challenge on many fronts:  the equipment, production, storage, and post-production all pushed boundaries of the workflow as it existed. After extensive camera tests and one false start, the team chose to use the Phantom HD camera from Vision Research.  “The support that we got from Vision Research was unbelievable.  The first day we used their camera, Phil Jantzen, Cinema Project Manager for Vision Research, personally brought the camera package to the set in Manhattan.”

The “Slow Dancing” portraits are shown three at a time, chosen at random, and at any given time are displayed on multiple screens. The footage of the artists was captured in ultra high speed at 1000 frames per second, creating images that sensually and exquisitely illuminate the beauty of the dance and the dancer.  During post-production, (more) 
(continued)
the footage was remapped to 3000 fps at Plaster City.  Editorial and color correction were completed at Digital Arts in New York.

Shooting at the William Wegman Studio in Manhattan in a space usually used for stills, the production was a bit cramped with leaping, whirling dancers.     Limitations were managed, and Matlosz set tungsten lights (HMI’s are often not the best choice for high speed) to end up with soft, diffused lighting. Since the dancers hail from every corner of the globe, photographing their skin tones correctly was critical.  In addition, the hyper-slow motion and final display requirements meant that the performances had to be near perfect.  This made video playback on the set an invaluable tool, allowing the dancers to redo any performance that was less than what they wanted it to be. 

From the outset, storage and memory were a consistent source of concern since high speed footage requires extensive storage.  The camera memory is an internal Vram (volatile memory), which means that if the camera is unplugged, it’s gone.  Matlosz noted, “We were limited to 12 gigs or 5 seconds of record time at 1000 fps in 1440 x 1080.  The resolution was no problem, and we knew that we could shoot for five seconds. So, the tech would count down to zero, call ‘action!’, and after 5 seconds the camera would stop on its own.  During the dance, David would count out the seconds for timing and the dancer would be prepared to finish on or before that ‘5!’ “  The result of the collaboration in “Slow Dancing” is stunning.  Creator, dancers, cinematographer, and the entire team brought their particular talents to the process; and used the latest technology to make art.

For Matlosz, there’s more high speed ahead.  He’s just finished spots for Li-ning with Shaquille O’Neal in slow motion film, as well as a viral campaign for Nike “juice” shot at 6600 fps.  Soon to be seen as pre-show in cinemas is a campaign for New Balance featuring pristine 300 fps close ups of athlete’s running, training, hoop-shooting feet.  Matlosz commented on his long-time love of slow motion, (more)
(continued) “High speed, or slow motion photography, continues to amaze me.   Time and again I’m awestruck at the beauty of motion.  Each time I photograph something new, I learn and experience a new awakening.  The digital medium has allowed me to experience more and more of that, oddly enough, at a faster pace.  I still love the look and feel of film but one cannot deny the comparable quality and immediacy that digital acquisition brings us.”

For Jim Matlosz, beauty isn’t timeless, it’s slow.

For more information, please visit these sites:
Jim Matlosz - dpmatlosz.com
Vision research – visionresearch.com
Apple:  apple.com/pro/profiles/michalek/
Slow Dancing: slowdancingfilms.com

Written by Christine Purse - October 2007

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