Web Drama Regeneration Director of Photography Ge Rongyun on Angénieux Optimo Primes: Great Image Quality, Lightweight, Complete Focal Range

Can five strangers attending a memorial service on a deserted island piece together the life story of a “scam artist” through their memories? And what’s the truth beneath it all? Directed by Shen Ao, the series Regeneration injects freshness into the mystery genre, earning a spot on the trending lists of streaming platforms like Youku and Netflix.

At the initial stages of the project, Director Shen Ao thought of his long-time collaborator, Director of Photography Ge Rongyun. At that time, they were shooting No More Bets, where Ge was the B-camera director. After finishing that film, they talked extensively about this project, laying the groundwork for their efficient creative endeavour.

Restricted by a small shooting space and multiple camera setups, Ge Rongyun chose the lightweight yet uncompromisingly high-quality Angénieux Optimo Prime (OP) lenses.

There have been many mystery drama series in China in the past two years. What kind of tone and lighting did you set for Regeneration?

Regeneration is not a period piece, nor does it contain any detective or action elements. It’s simply a contemporary mystery drama. While breaking down the script, we noticed that the main character is consistently repressed throughout the series, so we opted for a gloomier overall atmosphere. Additionally, we emphasized the actors’ skin texture and overall sharpness and grain, and the actors didn’t wear any makeup on set.

The lighting in Regeneration is primarily diffused, with minimal intentional lighting. I told our lighting designer, with whom I have worked for a long time, that I didn’t want Regeneration to have a yellow, oily, or overly rich tone. So we reduced the colour temperature difference between the key light and the fill light or contour light. For example, if the key light is at 3200K or 2800K, I would look for white light at 4300K, 4800K, or 5600K to neutralise it, avoiding an overly yellow or oily appearance on the face. I believe creativity must be loyal to the script and consider the audience’s perspective on how the main character can deceive all these people.

After determining the visual style, how did you select your shooting gear? Why did you decide on the Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses?

We had already decided early on to use the ARRI full-frame camera, and Beijing Cinerent Group’s Lihe recommended the Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses to us. I hadn’t used Angénieux primes before; over the years, my main impression of Angénieux was still their zoom lenses, from the old 25-250mm to the 24-290mm. However, after comparing, we found that the transparency and resolution of Angénieux Optimo Primes were excellent. What mattered to me most was its size. Many of our shooting spaces were tight, and sometimes multiple cameras were needed, so we had specific requirements for the lens’ mobility and size. Considering everything, the imaging quality of Angénieux primes met my needs, and it was lightweight, so why not?

I was indeed very satisfied after using it. And the zoom lens we used this time was also Angénieux’s 36-435mm and Type EZ2, a perfect match. I had encountered issues in the past where Angénieux zoom lenses paired with other primes caused colour inconsistencies, but the Angénieux Optimo Prime and Zoom lenses were a great match. I will choose this combination again in the future.

Which focal lengths do you commonly use in shooting?
I rarely use the wide-angle lenses. The widest I used this time was 24mm. The frequently used focal lengths are 50mm and 75mm, with the mid-range lens most used. When emphasizing facial details, I used 135mm or even 200mm. I really like that the Optimo Prime has a complete range of focal lengths.

This is your first time using Angénieux Optimo Primes; what projects do you think they might be suitable for moving forward?
I can only say what I want to shoot next. I’ve shot mystery themes and would like to explore more artistic or commercial, realistic themes. For artistic themes, I think Angénieux Optimo Primes captures greens beautifully, so for artistic projects that need to showcase external environments, I think Angénieux Optimo Primes could be a good choice. For projects with a strong documentary feel, I would choose Angénieux zoom lenses, with Angénieux Primes as the best pairing. In commercial projects, the sharpness and wide aperture of Angénieux Optimo Primes can meet the requirements for low-light scenarios in large action scenes, and its lightness allows for shooting from various angles.

What do you think are the focal points of films, series, and advertisements?
From pre-production and personnel selection, to post-production and promotion, I think the differences between series and films have become less distinct. The traditional difference between films and series lies in the visual focus. Films emphasize the relationship between space and characters; they not only present the characters themselves but also establish a reasonable environment for the story. Therefore, films may lean towards wide-angle lenses, getting closer to characters, primarily using medium shots. Series, on the other hand, have much smaller screens, and people usually watch them while doing other things. I believe series should amplify the actors’ positions and importance within the environment, thus emphasizing facial details to convey emotions while selectively ignoring the impact of the environment on the characters.

I think advertisements are vastly different. Advertisements follow a different logic; it’s about aesthetics, exaggeration, impact, style, and tone. Films and series are about narrative, which need to be restrained as they blend many elements together.

DP Ge Rongyun’s representative works include Regeneration and Our New Life, and he served as the B-camera director for the film No More Bets. He has extensive commercial shooting experience and has won the Best Photography Silver Award at the Golden Lion International Advertising Awards.

Photo credit: Director of Photography Ge Rongyun