Eric Steelberg ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 I was shooting some screen tests of actors for an upcoming feature. Yesterday we shot 11,000' of 35. That was a bit more than the producers had planned so for today I arranged for a Genesis, since no F900s were available. Operating it was very easy. They've made it to be as easy as film, put a tape in and hit record. There aren't many things you can fiddle with. Only thing I noticed was the heat coming from the SRW1 on the side of my face while recording. The fan shuts off when you hit record. Wasn't uncomfortable, but was noticeable. Used a Primo 11-1 out front which gave us a great versatility. Favorite thing about it...35mm depth of field. Liked it so much I shot wide open all day. Such a weird thing to see in an electronic viewfinder. Didn't have chance to test latitude but seemed to handle the contrast of my scenes very well. Didn't use a lightmeter, just the waveform. I had rated the 5218 from yesterday at 400 so when I fired up the Genesis all I had to do was use the same stop and it was perfect. Look forward to using it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 12, 2006 Why are they shooting 11,000' of 35mm for a screen test? If you were going to test the acting, you'd shoot regular video -- you'd save 35mm for lighting & wardrobe tests on the actor to see how they look on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Fritzshall Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 Only thing I noticed was the heat coming from the SRW1 on the side of my face while recording. The fan shuts off when you hit record. Wasn't uncomfortable, but was noticeable. Is there a certain amount of time you can shoot for before it overheats with the fan off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Steelberg ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Author Share Posted August 12, 2006 My guess is yes, the fans would eventually turn back on if the system was close to overheating, but I don't know how that long would have to be. David.. Yes, I know. I had told them HD would be their best bet but the company had 3000' left over and thought that would be enough...even though I said it never would. They wanted it to be as close to real as possible, even though it's just ending up on dvd. Oh well, do what I'm told. By the way...were u there last week doing the Astronaut Farmer pick-ups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 12, 2006 My guess is yes, the fans would eventually turn back on if the system was close to overheating, but I don't know how that long would have to be. David.. Yes, I know. I had told them HD would be their best bet but the company had 3000' left over and thought that would be enough...even though I said it never would. They wanted it to be as close to real as possible, even though it's just ending up on dvd. Oh well, do what I'm told. By the way...were u there last week doing the Astronaut Farmer pick-ups? These producers don't sound very budget-saavy. If this is just for DVD, they could have shot the screen tests on an SDX900 or Super-16. As you know, there's a difference between a test to see how something renders in the final shooting format versus a test of a dramatic scene and how the actors will play it. Obviously if they are shooting more than 11,000' (which is already like 2 hours) they must be shooting actual scenes or something. Yes, I was there at Panavision two weeks ago prepping for the "Astronaut Farmer" pick-ups. It was tough for the AC's because at the last minute (as we were leaving Panavision), we got two days lopped off of our pick-up shoot but the list of shots didn't get smaller, so the solution was to run three units simultaneously on one of our days, so at 4:30PM on a Friday, I'm calling my AC to tell him to prep a third package and set of lenses for it! Seems silly to work a longer day with more crew & equipment & overtime -- because it probably works out the same, budget-wise, as shooting an additional day with a smaller crew overall. But for some reason, psychologically, the studio would give us the go-ahead at the last minute if we had a two-day schedule instead of a four-day schedule. It sucks because I love lighting and shooting inserts, but on "Astronaut Farmer" they always ended up being done by a second or third unit person without much supervision from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Steelberg ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Author Share Posted August 12, 2006 Yes, they were shooting actual scenes with lighting changes, but just against balck. Was very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arni Heimir Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 I would have thought that the Genesis was in more use over the f900s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted August 12, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 12, 2006 I would have thought that the Genesis was in more use over the f900s No, they got over 100 F900's originally and most of them are out on multi-camera sitcom shows for most of the year. They are midway through building the Genesis cameras, I think 40 to date -- they may stop at 70 or so. The Genesis is something like three-times the rental cost of an F900 I believe. Until now, the existing Genesis cameras have been booked on some big shows with large packages -- "Superman Returns" took seven, "Flyboys" took four, etc. They are much in demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arni Heimir Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 It is wise not to produce too many Genesis cameras. If Red will ever materialize, who knows. What is the situation with the D-20. Are they also manufacturing as many of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Max Jacoby Posted August 13, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 13, 2006 Arri Rental has currently 7 D20s in Germany available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Brad Grimmett Posted August 13, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted August 13, 2006 It is wise not to produce too many Genesis cameras. I think Panavision has a pretty good idea of what they're doing. I don't think they're too worried about their vaporware competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Steelberg ASC Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 According to Panavision, the only thing preventing them from producing more is a lack of Primo lenses to service the new camera in addition to all the other film cameras they have around the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Metzger Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 It is wise not to produce too many Genesis cameras. If Red will ever materialize, who knows. What is the situation with the D-20. Are they also manufacturing as many of them? Just found out they are $5,200 a day at the lowest, and go up to $6,500. Lens and accessories not included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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