Nick Manley DOP GBCT - London Kills Production

Nick Manley DOP GBCT, spoke to us about the London Kills - Season 4 production and what he thought about the Vega Lenses whilst filming.

London Kills is a British drama series written and created by Paul Marquess. The story is based in London and centres around a group of UK detectives, who work to solve sophisticated murders.

The production was filmed using TLS Vega Lenses.

“The main feature I love about the Vega lenses is how fast they were. I shot majority scenes wide open at T1.5 or at T.2. Having the same front element diameter as my zooms was super useful when switching lenses and using a matte box.”

Nick then went onto explains how the Vega’s differ from other lenses he used during filming seasons 1 & 2.

“For me it was all about matching in with the TLS zooms I had on the previous seasons. I had previously used Zeiss MKIII super speeds on seasons 1 and 2 and for season 3 and 4 I used the Vega’s. The Vega's being (based on) Nikon glass were the closest match. There is a slight colour change with the extra glass in the zoom but nothing to trouble a grade. I mixed up zooms and primes on 3 cameras for some scenes and found by matching the primes to the zooms at T2.8 it gave me a nice flexible route.”

“Overall, I enjoyed working with the Vega’s, they are reliable, robust and they work far beyond their price point.”

Nick also told us about other productions he used the Vega’s on.4

“I have also used the Vega’s setting the look for a Drama series based in Northern Ireland, called Hope Street. I shot this full frame and in 4k, which the Vegas coped with very well. This was on a Sony as opposed to the Arri's on London Kills and I felt the Vega's gave a cinematic edge to the image. The Full Frame, with a potential T1.5 gives a super shallow depth, if needed, which enabled me to shoot on a 25mm in a small set and still throw the background out when necessary.”

And he couldn’t leave without leaving us a wonderful comment on our service -

“True Lens Services have been solid, their delivery and their service is always impeccable. Their bespoke purchasing always comes with friendly customer service. On this occasion I was able to order in advance , my lenses and cases were delivered on time for the start of production!”

Thank you Nick for the review on the lenses, it was wonderful talking to you.