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Lenses with "triangular" bokeh in Taxi Driver
  • kronstadtkronstadt

    I've been watching the "Taxi Driver" again and noticed that in the night scenes the background lights that appear in bokeh are of a semi-elliptical and semi-triangular pattern. I've never seen any lens produce such a weird "semi-triangular" bokeh. I've seen "Round" bokeh (Canon, Minolta etc), Hexagonal (Nikon), but not this weirdly appealing triangular pattern. Does anybody know which lenses Scorsese used for Taxi Driver?

  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • Mark_the_HarpMark_the_Harp

    @kronstadt Don't know the answer to that - but you do know that you can create your own bokeh of whatever shape you want? Use cinefoil on the front of the lens pierced with whatever pattern you want (heart, square, snowflakes, whatever). I've seen lots of engaging video done like this. So triangles won't be a problem, if you want the "look" without paying a fortune in lenses.

    You can get good shape cutters in craft shops - they're basically paper punches which do a certain shape, and voila, perfect bokehs! Eg like this http://www.everkelly.com/2010/04/picture-this-heart-shaped-bokeh/

    I'm guessing Scorsese doesn't use cheapo domestic camcorders...but they do produce a weird triangular bokeh - the aperture is a sort of v shape with a sliding element which moves to make it smaller or larger, and produces strange triangles.

  • GabelGabel

    That slightly triangular bokeh is of a wide-open Zeiss Mk I Superspeed and you can find it in a few other films. My Lomos has a slight triangular shape when wide-open, becoming circular once stopped down.

  • kronstadtkronstadt

    @Mark_the_Harp wow, I didn't know about this. Pretty cool trick. Thanks for the tip.

    @Gabel thanks for the pointer. I heard of Zeiss' superspeeds and went on to read more about them. Incredible lenses. Costs about £1200+VAT to rent a set of 5 for a week - definitely out of my budget. I guess that's why even the night scenes in Taxi Driver look quite naturally lit, while the film-stock choice makes it grainy and "dirty" like streets of NY. Which Lomo lenses have you got?

  • GabelGabel

    @kronstadt: Yeah, rather pretty lenses, but ACing them can be a pain. When you have a base ISO of 800 you don't really need to go below T2.8, and T1.3? That's just being mean I think! But they do look pretty and nice and sharp when stopped down (the way I liked it). But back then film was rathed at 125 ASA and even when wide-open it would be pushed, hence the grain.

  • B3GuyB3Guy

    SuperSpeeds are great, used 'em for a semester project out in L.A. (in fact I as the sound tech pushed the director to insist on cinema lenses.) We only had a $2K budget, so we just got an 18mm and a 50mm. The whole film was set at night, lit very dark (also with some outdoor available light stuff). The Super Speeds saved our butts, because we didn't have the funds for extra lights. We had the ARRI kit from school, that was it. Shot on digital (FS100), the softness of the SuperSpeeds really helped it look more cinematic and less clinical. BTW, we also managed to get a porta-jib, a club location, a limo, and SAG actors. Our producers rocked.

  • GabelGabel

    @kronstadt: The Lomos I have are OCT-19 mount, standard speed sphericals, an 18, 22, 35, 50 and 150, with all but the 18 and 150 (which are T3.2) being T2.4, I also plan on adding a 75 soon. Lovely lenses I must say.

  • robmneilsonrobmneilson

    My 40mm lomo has noticeable triangular bokeh wide open...though I have not noticed it on my others!

  • OedipaxOedipax

    The documentary film Zoo that came out a few years ago also had the triangular bokeh - I've noticed the DP uses them on many of his projects. Highly recommend the film if you're not put off by the subject matter, it's beautifully shot.

  • Manu4VendettaManu4Vendetta

    Camera Arriflex 35 BL, Zeiss Lenses (IMDB).

  • last_SHIFTlast_SHIFT

    Ahhhh the 70's what a wonderful time for cinema!

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