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No I said to paper the upper windows so it would be very soft.
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You could add some kind of backlight. It depends on how you like it. A row of softlights will be a very commercial wrap, placed behind the archway, probably via goalpost. Of course a push from window-side would be more natural, probably done on a stand or arm. A double-net outside is great because it only has to reduce the camera's background, leaving the window light to act on the scene naturally. But it does soften the image. So conversely, the ND on frames is a cleaner solution, but It'll reduce the skylight that would naturally act on the scene.
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Really interesting to ready about your suggestion here David. so you'd have separate sources for the bottom and top windows basically and the top windows would slightly harder? A couple questions: is the shoot multicam? how many on your g/e team?
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Looking to buy a Magliner Jr here in NYC. Doesn't need to be new or pretty. Would be great if it came with a mitchell mount + tripod hooks. Let me know!
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So underexposure is the thing now, hey
Danner Gardner replied to Karim D. Ghantous's topic in General Discussion
This feels more natural to me since the highlights have room to breathe and aren't taken down below 60IRE. -
Joseph Nobile joined the community
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The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) will celebrate the 35thASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on April 18, 2021. The annual ceremony will be streamed live from the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood, with plans for a simultaneous in-person component to be determined at a later date. “The ASC Awards recognize the finest work of the year and its exceptional creators,” notes ASC Awards Co-Chair Dana Gonzales. “We look forward to celebrating the exceptional visual art of the many talented cinematographers contributing to the stories that are entertaining us through these unprecedented times.” The organization has also officially opened the call for entries in four television categories: · Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial · Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Non-Commercial · Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series · Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for TV The deadline to enter is January 8, 2021, by 5 p.m. PST. To qualify, shows must have a premiere date in the United States between October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. The shift in the eligibility period reflects adjustments for the new awards date. Entry forms can be filled out online here on the ASC website. In addition to the TV categories, the ASC Awards recognizes outstanding cinematography in feature films and documentaries. The Spotlight Award, introduced in 2014, recognizes cinematography in features that typically screen at film festivals, internationally or in limited theatrical release. The ASC Documentary Award recognizes exceptional cinematography in nonfiction filmmaking. ASC members nominate and vote on winners in both categories. Movies that qualify for the Academy Awards® under their new eligibility guidelines for 2021 will also qualify for the ASC Theatrical Award. A complete timeline for the 35th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards, can be found here on the ASC website. There are currently 415 active members of the ASC, who have national roots in some 20 countries. There are also 260 associate members from ancillary segments of the industry, and eight honorary members. For additional information about the ASC, visit www.theasc.com. # - Yesterday
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Hi, I’m trying to find if anyone happen to have an old service manual or anything similar on how to take apart the F35. I am in the midst of getting my own but I want to be able to figure out how to service it myself. And potentially replace any broken parts (such as fans and so on). //C
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I stopped hiring gaffers a while back because I was doing smaller shorts and features where there was mostly house power and no need for electrical distribution. I was asking production to only hire "Swing" as our G&E crew. There were no gaffers, grips, no electrics. No best. Nada. Just swing. This meant no hierarchy on set. Zero middle management, zero discussion. Just hands. Which is exactly what I wanted. Just hands moving units where I wanted and needed them. Obviously this would never fly on an IATSE shoot but for non-union simple 1 ton jobs, it was a real breeze. I'd never attempt this on a regular set or something where there are lots of trucks and huge areas to light.
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Hey David, As someone who talks/works film every day of my life, I have to say for the record, having discussed making new cameras for YEARS with both professional's and beginners, I don't think very many people are willing to pay for them. I just talked with two top union AC's last night as they were picking up my camera and actually discussed building a new 16mm camera to them and they kinda laughed and said nobody would use it because there isn't enough support and part of me agrees. I'm also an engineer, I've developed and designed many pieces of tech for the broadcast industry. I also know the XTR prod pretty intimately and have done nearly every service on it besides removing the movement. I've talked with a few other techs/engineers including Pierre and we've all come to the conclusion that a new camera could be made, but there would need to be some unique developments electronic wise and the optical viewfinder complexity would probably need to go away. So where Pierre is very receptive to working with someone using Aaton's patents, the camera would need a major re-design and re-tooling. My concern with the project, and for that matter any other "new" film camera projects, is how do you sell enough, to keep them serviced for the next 20+ years? You have to keep the cost down, but even if you DO keep the price down to $20k or so, how many people will invest? 20? That's simply not enough market penetration to be worth the risk for the purchasers. As a business model, it's a non-starter and that's why I kinda backed down from the prospect, simply because I've talked to so many people and the demand for such a camera is pretty virtual. Lots of talk, but not a lot of money. Now in terms of an Ikonoskop design, I don't see the benefit. You can buy them used online for peanuts (when you can find them) and they don't have much to offer that doesn't exist already. Just look at Logmar and the Super 8 camera they made. They only made 50 and they didn't sell all of them, some sat on the shelf at Pro 8 for a few years. The hobbyist super 8 market is way bigger than the hobbyist 16mm market believe it or not. This is why Kodak hired Logmar to make a new camera, because they saw the market. It's why the 16mm market is tricky... it's why nobody has entered it. So what do ya do? Honestly, if I had money, I'd make new components for cameras that already exist. New mag's, new electronics, better video taps, different battery solutions, maybe even adaptors to convert current cameras to digital viewfinders. There are so many possibilities and frankly, there is a MUCH bigger market share of people who own cameras already and need parts, than people who don't own cameras and need cameras. The biggest problem with film cameras is what happens in 20 years when all the current top techs are gone. When all the people who used them professionally, are retired. When the cameras are in the hands of young filmmakers wanting to create a unique image and there is no more support? To me, that is a much bigger problem to solve and it would be impossible to tell those people "hey buy my new camera instead", they simply don't have the money. They do have the money to buy a used super 8 camera or low-end 16mm camera on eBay for a few hundred bux because that is the biggest market. Some could even get spend upwards of 10k, but when you get much over that, the interest wines and people wind up using plugins to make their digital cameras look like film. So you either compete in that Lowe end market, which is what Kodak tried to do with their super 8 camera and seemingly failed, OR you go a different direction and try to support what exists with accessories, parts and knowhow to provide owners of classic cameras with what they need to continue shooting. So where I agree with you a beautiful new XTR camera with modern electronics, 2k camera built-in which records to card with no ground glass, would be amazing. I simply don't feel the price could be low enough to make it marketable enough. If you got some ideas on how to do that, I'd love to talk with ya directly.
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Sure, that might be fine. Right time of day and just a white bounce will work.
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Thanks David, This is super helpful. How big do you think the HMI's need to be through the lower window? Would 3 4k's do it? I never thought about the menace arm over the balcony. The living room is small and we'll have 2 cameras so keeping things off the ground is ideal. That along with the Covid protocols of having everyone socially distanced. The more space we have for crew the better.
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A camera with quick swap pressure-plate-mags is not possible in that price range. Really think of simpler A Minima or a beefed up Ikonoskop.
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The second higher window above the couch would make a good source, I'd consider papering it and hitting it from high with an HMI on a condor -- maybe you could even rig a diffusion shelf at the bottom of the upper window so the HMI light spill downwards is softened. I'd consider some hard ND gels for the lower window or gels stretched on wooden frames that can be popped on and off, otherwise consider a double net scrim several feet back to diffuse and darken the view a bit more, as long as it stays out of focus in the wide shots. I'd also have some big HMI's through diffusion frames in the yard to add more light straight through the lower window when possible. Inside you could work with Litemats, etc. Similar approach for the kitchen though if you can keep the stand out of the shot, a ceiling bounce from a daylight Source-4 Leko would be useful. You might see if you can fit and hide a wallspreader above the kitchen dining table to add LED softlights for the kitchen counter or top light over the table. A wall spreader that runs both above the living room window and 90 degrees across the fireplace wall might be helpful if you have to hang some lights inside. Or at least be prepared to put a menace arm on the 2nd floor balconey to arm out a soft light. Same goes for the foyer, you might need an overhead in there.
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given that 200' rolls need to be respooled to be used, that might limit those mag's usage. Would be super interesting if you had 100/200' mags, along with the ability to take XTR mags (no idea if thats out of the question). none the less I'd be super interested in a new compact super16 camera as a customer regardless of what mag setup it uses. I know I'd be willing to pay something in the 10k range for a camera body, mags, and a spare parts kit for sure. Is there a buyer list you're starting? Are you planning an optical viewfinder or a low latency video viewfinder?
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My interest is less in having a very small camera for regular shooting, but more so to make it viable to travel, putting the camera in a backpack, with an extremely small sync-quiet camera. I'd really love that one off prototype 🙂
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This is a curious idea maybe worth a one-off prototype - commercially not viable, but it made me smile imagining a baby-coax mag for an XTR for shooting in very tight places. Nice Andrew :)
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Hello everyone, I have a TVC coming up and could use some lighting tips regarding a day interior (living room and kitchen) (pics attached). My question is how (or if) to utilize the natural light from the windows. More specifically how should I decide between the amount of natural light to use vs. using artificial lights. Or whether to even use natural light and just go artificial keep everything controllable. I have a sizable budget so have the freedom to bring in any lights I'd need and to pre-rig. It's an open white walled space so light will spill anywhere and while it needs to have a daytime feel I still want to bring in a little contrast to give the scene some shape. We are shooting 2 celebrities sitting on the couch talking to each other and looking at a TV off-screen. We only have them for 4 hours and the windows face NW. I'm advising to shoot mid-day so the sun is high in the sky above the house keeping the light fairly consistent from the window. Should I play it safe and build a tent outside, block the daylight and shoot HMI's through the windows in the living room (I would still let natural light go through the background windows in the kitchen). We have a lot of pre-light time so we'd be able to do that.. The last thing I want is to get a partly cloudy day and have the light keep changing. I like the controllability of that. With our limited window to shoot I won't have the flexibility to adjust. Another idea i had is to block out the windows high up on the wall and let light come in the lower windows. Then supplement with a bounced Skypanel or 2 inside to wrap around the front a little. Then line the fill side with floppies and duv for contrast. Sorry for the length post. I appreciate any suggestions.
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You mean the book is yellow? If so, I deal mainly with vintage archival material. It is yellowed, mildewed, or bug eaten. I've got some films that had bug infestation too. Can't post them here, limit is to low for photos. You never know what you will find when you crack open old film cans. https://archive.org/search.php?query=pig in a poke teoli -
Email sent.
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Camera's meter reading different to light meter
Stephen Gordon replied to Stephen Gordon's topic in Super-8
Thanks Mark - I've sent myself to the foot of our stairs. I didn't know, though, that that this was the exact difference to expect, so thanks for making that point clear and continuing my education! I've always found your posts among the most enlightening on this forum - your replies here have been no exception to that rule. -
David, your work seems extremely exciting and I wish you the best of luck. My personal dream for making an ultra compact camera: making a modified XTR magazine. I want an XTR magazine to basically be chopped in half, and the spool repositioned and bands shortened. Basically, an XTR mag a little bigger than an A-Minima mag that can only take a 100' load. I think this body would be very, very close to the size of a Minima, while being much more versatile in that it has an orientable eyepiece and could use 400' mags if the shoot called for it. I am not sure when I would be able to make good on this promise, but if this is something you think you could custom make/modify for me, I would pay for two. For me, 200' daylight spools begin to introduce additional annoyances that are Minima specific. They are not sold directly from Kodak, and so one needs to do some extra work to even get the film ready to shoot. Too much trouble for me. I'd rather have a couple of mags that are easy to load and just purchase factory sealed 100' loads.
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Leicina 8SV tips, possible repair leads in the US
aapo lettinen replied to Joel Chevallier's topic in Super-8
The parcel services like UPS are much more reliable than regular mail at the moment. I sent a camera motor to the States a month ago via UPS Saver and it took exactly the normal expected delivery time. On the other hand, mail has been extremely unpredictable nowadays (3 months for a small package from the USA to here and lots of variation between European countries. For example you can expect the shipping from Germany to Finland to arrive in about the normal time (something like from 6 to 10 days) but from Austria (the neighbouring country of Germany) it will take from 1 to 2 months. The orders from Ukraine have arrived very fast (maybe 7 or 8 days or so) but everything ordered from Russia will always take exactly 2 months to arrive. So if wanting to ship anything to the Europe, I would use a parcel service like UPS or FedEx and forget about using normal mail. The normal mail just does not work reliably at the moment. The Leicina cameras have a centrifugal switch which regulates the motor speed (or in the case of the Leicina SV, you have two switches, one for every camera speed). I haven't really tested calibrating these because I am only interested in converting these cameras to crystal sync which requires getting rid of the original centrifugal switch anyway. The motor is not very powerful so a mechanical problem will easily slow the camera down considerably. If the camera is not properly serviced then that could cause the problems (the film transport causing too much friction. For example the pulldown system has a wheel on which the claw system slides on and that can cause lots of friction if there is no lubricants on the surfaces at all. Of course the centrifugal switches or the motor can also be faulty but I would look for mechanical issues first :) -
Exterior at night, and under a tall mercury vapor lamp post in a parking lot. I will use 2 10' sections of 1 1/4" speedrail joined with the heavy Matthews connector, and secured to the combo stands with Big Ben clamps. Wish I could find an affordable truss system, but after looking around I determined I'm looking at several thousand $, even for one based on speedrail. We will sandbag the hell out of combo stands, and tie rope to each and secure to other vehicles behind the combos. I'll send pix of the final setup.
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C stands are definitely the wrong tool for any of that, so that only leaves your combos. Of course I can't actually recommend doing it that way, you really need to make that determination on site. Is it interior or exterior? Consider using or building truss for the goalpost.
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JB Earl, it would be nice to do it all on the combo stands, and I know I wouldn't have to worry so much about safety that way. And getting them further out from the car is also good. But to also hang the 8x8 frame from the same goalpost? It sounds like you're saying that I could attach 4 ropes of equal length to the goalpost and tie them off to the corners of the 8x8 frame and have the frame hang down enough (like 4 ft) that the 300Ds get enough spread before they hit the diffusion. Is that about right? I also have an 8x8 "silk" that came with the frame, and I think that would provide smoother light than 1/4 grid. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll go this direction unless I hear of something better. Cheers!
