1. About You & the Project
My name is Konráð Þormar, and I'm a cinematographer based in Iceland. For the past four years, I've been specialising in shooting on film, both 35mm and 16mm, and exploring the unique qualities and creative possibilities of the medium.
Rainbow is a music video in which we follow a couple as they go about their day. Brynja and I first met on a previous music video I shot for her, which was directed by someone else. After that shoot, she invited me for coffee and told me about her idea for this project.
Brynja has worked extensively with 35mm still photography and wanted to capture that same feeling and aesthetic in the music video. I brought my friend Jun on board as producer, and we quickly assembled a crew. We ended up shooting the entire video over a beautiful, sunny Sunday in February.
2. Why Shoot on 35mm Film?
We shot on Kodak's new VERITA 200D film stock before its official release. We managed to get our hands on three 400ft rolls. At 4-perf and 24fps, each roll gives us approximately 4 minutes and 20 seconds of footage, meaning we had around 12 minutes of film in total. We knew we had to be very deliberate about what we wanted to capture.
I think one of the beautiful things about shooting on film is that it forces you to work within certain limitations. You have to be more specific with your decisions, which ultimately pushes you to work more creatively.
3. Why the Arles Lenses?
I remember seeing the Arles launch video and immediately knowing they were lenses I wanted to get my hands on.
A large part of our budget was already going towards the film-related expenses: purchasing stock, processing, and camera rental. There is only one 35mm film camera, an ARRI 235, available for rental in Iceland, so we had to be mindful of our costs.
Luckily, a friend of mine owns a set of DZOFILM Arles lenses and was kind enough to lend them to me for the project. I knew I didn't want lenses with too much character. I was looking for something clean, warm, and fast, and the Arles checked all those boxes.
I particularly love that they're T1.4. Although I shot most of the daytime scenes between T2.8 and T5.6, having that extra speed was incredibly useful for the night scenes, where I could shoot wide open while still maintaining excellent sharpness. To me, they feel like a beautiful blend of Cooke's warmth and the sharpness of ARRI Master Primes.
4. Pairing Arles with Film Stock
This was actually my first time shooting on this particular Kodak stock. It was brand new, and I hadn't had the opportunity to test it beforehand, so I was going into the shoot somewhat blind.
Combining the Arles with the new Kodak stock turned out beautifully. The lenses gave me the warmth and beautiful skin tones I was looking for, and I felt the combination worked really well together.
5. Challenges of 35mm + Arles
Shooting on film can be quite stressful. You never know exactly how the scans are going to turn out, whether something might be underexposed or out of focus. I think that if you want to shoot on film, you have to learn to be forgiving of the medium and embrace its imperfections.
We had a 58mm Helios on set for a few very specific moments, but I couldn't properly read the T-stop on that lens. That made me a little uncomfortable, as I wasn't entirely sure whether those shots would turn out usable.
The build quality of the Arles lenses, on the other hand, was excellent. They felt very sturdy, and knowing I could trust the T-stop markings gave me a lot of confidence. There are already so many variables and stress factors when shooting on film. Having lenses you can rely on makes a huge difference, and the Arles definitely gave me that confidence.
6. Favorite Frame or Moment
There are a few moments that really stand out to me. The close-up of the rainbow reflected in the eye was particularly special. It was also the first time on set that we actually created the effect. We had tested it during prep, but I wasn't entirely sure how it would translate once we got to the actual location, so I was really happy with how it turned out. I also love the shot of the sun setting in the reflection.
The blue scene is another favourite. When you've shot a lot on film, you tend to develop a good eye for exposure, although I always rely on my light meter. In this particular moment, however, we were running out of time and had to move quickly.
I put on the 21mm, opened it up to T1.4, and went for it. At the time, I felt like I was right at the edge of what I could get away with exposure-wise, so I was very happy with how it turned out.
The dancing sequence is also worth mentioning, as the entire effect was created in-camera.
7. Advice for Other Filmmakers
I think shooting on 35mm film with the DZO Arles is a fantastic combination. 35mm film can be expensive, so finding the right balance between your camera package, lenses, and film stock is important. The Arles offer a beautiful image while allowing you to be mindful of your budget, which can make a real difference when putting together a film project.
My advice would be to embrace the limitations of film, plan carefully, and trust your equipment. Don't be afraid of the unexpected moments either. Sometimes those are the ones that make the final film special.
8. What's Next?
I also shot another music video for Brynja on 35mm, this time using some old Kodak VISION 800T stock dating back to the 1990s.
As a general rule, when shooting expired film, you often compensate by overexposing approximately one stop per decade. However, higher-speed film stocks tend to degrade faster, so I had to rate this particular stock somewhere between ISO 25 and 50, which meant overexposing it by around four to five stops.
I'm definitely going to be using the Arles on future projects. I'm excited to do more testing and explore what else I can achieve with them. I'm also very excited to see what the future holds for DZO.