Cine-Xenar Lenses Add Style to Deeb's Rosco Bandana Music Video

When the Mississippi-based band, Rosco Bandana called on director John Deeb to do a second music video for them, the directive was to create something more narrative. "Rosco Bandana songs tell a story," Deeb says. "They tackle issues in music. The idea for 'Woe Is Me', is to see the entire band in jail and the lead singer being led down the hall to the electric chair. As we pass each member, the video flashes back in time to reveal what got him or her there. Through these vignettes, we get a sense of the crime each one of them supposedly committed, and it is revealed that they all used the same revolver. At the end, the lead singer is caught with it.

"To add style and beauty to these images, I chose the Schneider-Kreuznach Cine-Xenar lenses paired with the Sony FS700 camera, a simple battery-powered Litepanels lighting kit, and a small one-ton grip package," he explains.

The entire shoot was done over two long days at various Florida locations. "We had a lot of low-light, moody images and super shallow shots -- and at one point, a genuine 100-year-old train was in the scene," Deeb explains. That's where the primes' T2.0 speed came in handy. Plus, he adds "When you close them down, the bokeh is nice and smooth. They are super beautiful."

And when it came to close focusing, Deeb is equally enthusiastic. "On numerous occasions in this video, we had dolly shots that racked from super close focus to one to 10' away, and the shots looked amazing. I also just love the look and feel of these lenses. It's hard to put your finger on it, but they have a really great look."

It was that look that sold Deeb on the lenses two years ago while on a commercial shoot in Atlanta. "I bought a set and have been using them on just about every production since. They worked great on a series of TV spots we did for the Atlanta Braves, and, recently, we shot with the new Sony F55 in a raw 4K mode. The Cine Xenars performed wonderfully."