Shooting Storms on Film

Filmmaker Martin Lisius shoots a storm at sunset with his Arriflex Super 35mm film camera.

Since founding Prairie Pictures' StormStock in 1993, filmmaker Martin Lisius has insisted on capturing content on the highest quality motion picture formats available. To prepare for the coming of HD video, he began filming storms and climate on Super 35mm motion picture film in 1998 with an Arriflex 35-3 II camera using Kodak Vision film stocks. Once HD came on-line in 2005, Lisius transferred what he had capture to that new video format with the help of award-winning colorist Steve Franko in Dallas, Texas. In 2019, Lisius accessed the negatives he produced between 1998 and 2008 and transferred those to 4K at Colorlab in Maryland.

Hurricane Katrina making landfall, South Dakota's deadliest tornado, and massive severe storms are just a few of the topics that make up the film collection.

"Shooting on film requires more concentration than shooting digital," Lisius said. "Because it costs money every time the camera is activated, I am mindful of what I have composed in the viewfinder. It has to be a strong subject and exposure, focus, and all other technical aspects have to be perfect."

Because storms are fast-moving, Lisius built a lightweight, "run-and-gun" rig with a manufactured Nikon mount to accept lightweight stills lenses. "I used what I learned as a news videographer in my earlier years to create an ENG-style film camera that was quick and easy to use in the field."

In addition to its ability to accommodate the changes in video resolutions, Lisius said 35mm film requires a rugged camera that can withstand a lot of abuse. "Unlike some video cameras, my Arriflex shot in hurricanes and torrential rains without failing. It really was built like a 'tank'."

All of the Super 35mm film content shot by Lisius is available for license at StormStock.

Watch "Storms on Super 35mm Film by Martin Lisius" on YouTube.