Part 3 - the (close) Encounters Project

Posted by RW Groothuis · November 02, 2020

Original posting of this article was on 10 october 2010 (+ some updates )

About the ( close ) Encounters project

This is a ongoing *) project that started about 2009 and is called the ( close ) Encounters.

The HDR ( High Dynamic Range ) portrait panorama’s are made out of 63 pictures (minimal 9 exposures per angle, 7 angles so 63 images are used to make a HDR portrait panorama.

That makes taking the image with some thrill — it could be ruined due to the fact that if the people are moving the portrait could fail. That idea makes it fascinating for me to do it, Its always exiting to shoot. Warn the "customers" *) in advance: “we will see in the final image who moved, so do not dare to move!” Until now ( almost ) everyone has listened very good in the portrait shoots from the last years.

More background about this project please see here.

*) this is a non - commercial project

( close ) Encounters project - Part 3 - Tim's Vermeer

Update 1 March 2023

New exposition about Vermeer

and completely missed the fact that Tim's Vermeer full documentairy is already for a few years on youtube!

Update July 2020

a team of researchers discovers - through astronomy - Vermeer’s masterpiece ”View of Delft" original scene dated on +/- September 3, 1659 at 8 a.m. local mean time!

More info please see here.

Spotted two articles first a Dutch

Een sterrenkundige rekende uit wanneer Vermeer het licht zag, maar kan dat wel?

and

The controversy around Tim’s Vermeer is missing the point

Have my thoughts about some parts of both articles, but not have the time to defend myself to the 21st Century edition of the inquisition so leave it for what its is :)

How it started

How did this adventure started? Could not mention this extra information because some parts of it were secret until now.
Well got in contact with Tim Jenison earlier in 2009 regarding my Dutch Skies. Later he asked if I would know people in the Netherlands who can get him in contact with a film crew because he was planning a movie in the Netherlands (he’s from the USA).
So contacted a friend of mine Maarten Butter ( English version ) and so they got connected to each other.
Then forgot about it until several months later asked Tim if everything went ok. He actually already had a film crew (thanks to Maarten) and was going to shoot on 10 September 2009 in Delft at the Vermeer museum
Asked Tim if it was ok I could visit the shoot and he told me it was ok. Then it popped in my mind, “why not shoot a HDRI panorama portrait of the whole crew?”. Told it to Tim and he said ok too. Personally always interested in behind the scene’s so the people who are doing the real thing that are normally never visible.

The day of the shoot

Arrived 10 September 2009 early in the morning in Delft and walked to the Vermeer museum. The museum looked closed but the door was open. While entering the museum a woman ( Farley Ziegler – producer ) asked me a bit serious what I was doing there……. Told my name is Bob Groothuis and had a appointment with Tim Jenison…. Then she suddenly changed her serious look and shouted very loud “ hey guys this is Bob and thanks to him we are all together here now!” – indirectly arranged through Maarten Butter the Film crew. A unforgettable moment!
So the ice was broken and met Tim and the rest of the Film Crew. Pretty quickly Farley asked if I wanted to be in the in the documentary (the Dutch Brett Pret ;)) ! So play the assistant to Tim in one shot of the documentary!
The shooting needed to be done quickly because the museum would be opened for public later that day. Like always it cost more time to shoot al the scenes so at the end there was only very little time to shoot the HDRI panorama of the Tim, Farley and the film crew. But think the end result got to be one of my favorite HDRI pano’s I’ve ever shot (see below for more info).

Tim’s Vermeer

Title: Tim’s Vermeer

Plot Summary: Directed by Teller of Penn & Teller fame, the film follows Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, as he attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all of art: How did 17th century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”) manage to paint so photo-realistically,150 years before the invention of photography? Jenison’s epic research project ultimately succeeds as he uses 17th century technology — lenses and mirrors — to develop a technique that might have been used by Vermeer, supporting a theory as extraordinary as what he discovers.
Spanning a decade, Jenison’s adventure takes him to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces; on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney; and eventually even to Buckingham Palace, to see the Queen’s Vermeer.

The documentary was shown on several film festivals in the USA 2013.

Official publication was in 2014.

It got some very good critics ( just search engine it)

IMDB

Rotten Tomatos

A nice quote from a viewer published on the Rotten Tomatos website written by reviewer Kevin M. Williams:

"Did world famous artist Vermeer use technology to create his masterpieces? A fanciful consideration taken very seriously by a tech wunderkind and recorded by Penn & Teller to the enlightenment of all mankind. A documentary that'll force you to reconsider just what it is you think art is. Excellent stuff."

So If you not have seen the movie just see it's fantastic!

Inquiries

Tim’s Vermeer has been acquired for distribution worldwide by Sony Pictures Classics and will be released theatrically in the U.S. in Spring 2014.

If you need some more info about this documentary please contact:

Sony Classics

New movie on the horizon!

Guess there is a new movie in production when looking at the IMDB website

Tim's View of Delft (unconfirmed)

Storyline

After the release of Tim's Vermeer, Tim sets up an exhibition with David Walsh at the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania. Critics claim the painting method used in Tim's Vermeer couldn't have been used to create Vermeer's "View of Delft". Tim moves to Holland to prove them wrong.

Can't wait seeing it!

bottom line:

Its until now ( writing this on 1 February 2019) a complete mystery why here in the Netherlands the movie Tim's Vermeer is "silenced".

lets go to the HDRI Panorama!

This HDRI panorama portrait is one of a Dutch Film crew. Note that for Tim’s Vermeer there were more film Units/crews. If I’m correct there was another unit in the UK and the USA.

Below you can see the full panorama.

view 360°/VR

ATTENTION!:

when clicking on view 360°/VR another browser window opens so if nothing happens check the Block Popup window.

Will introduce the people on the panorama (from left to right)

Roel Ypma – Light
Farley Ziegler – High Delft Productions
Tim Jenison – High Delft Productions
Steven van Dijk – Sound
Richard Spierings – 1st Assistant Camera
Robert M. Berger – Director of Photography

Shooting an HDRI Portrait is one thing, another very important step is color correction and retouche. My good friend Peter did that for me. He’s a real master in color correction + retouche and to show you how it was before and after correction click on the image below. Peter can translate the clients wishes exact what they want without asking to much questions. One of the biggest hurdles was the sound boom a you can see because that thing is visible in more then 1 angles of the shoot. Another was the right arm of Robert the Director of photography. And much more correcting things happened to this image.

Before/After color correction - HDRI panorama portret recording from Tim's Vermeer film crew - Part 3 - the (close) Encounters Project

Big thanks to Tim Jenison and his film crew for the permission of taking the panorama and the allowance of showing it on this website & Peter for the color correction and retouche.

Last update 4 December 2020:

Next HDR panorama portrait adventure is not known yet. For sure there will popup a new one somewhere in the future.

Other Editions ( close ) Encounters

Note:

Not had the time to put all older ( close ) Encounters back online. Below you can see all HDR panorama portrait 's that are currently online. The rest will appear later.

More background about this project please see here.