Shooting on XD in the middle of the desert

Andrew Langcake · October 14, 2008

Hi,

I have a day shoot planned for late summer / early autumn (fall) in the middle of the Australian outback, more specifically the desert.

Now, the scenes are supposed to look hot and harsh, but my cinematographer is concerned about issues such as high contrast and high-exposure from the desert sun. His solution so far has been to push me towards film but unfortunately our budget just won't allow it.

Instead, we'll be shooting on a Sony PMW EX1 XD cam, and I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how best to go about a day shoot in the middle of the desert using this piece of equipment. What kind of polarising filters would people reccomend? Is the null density filter worth considering (I used the ND filter on a Panasonic DVX on a similar shoot last year and the effects were quite impressive, but I'm unsure is it would translate over into the XD cam as I've never used XD before).

Essentially I guess what I'm asking is, since we are getting the camera for free, are there cheaper ways to get around the drawbacks of desert conditions than switching over to film?

We'll also have a couple of reflectors, a 3 red-head kit, a dedo kit and a kino diva light with a generator on location.

This is my first post on this site, so sorry if I haven't given you all the information you require, and thanks to anyone who can help.

Cheers,

Andrew.

Daniel Sheehy · October 15, 2008

...I have a day shoot planned for late summer / early autumn (fall) in the middle of the Australian outback, more specifically the desert...

A mattbox with a polariser and set of ND's would serve you well.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Daniel Sheehy

Andrew Langcake · October 15, 2008

Thanks for your help Daniel, I will definitely investigate those options.

Cheers!

Jonathan Bowerbank · October 17, 2008

The "N" in ND stands for "Neutral"

I should hope your cinematographer already has a plan for using a pola and ND filters where necessary. The only issue with the EX1 is that stupid microphone sticking out over the lens makes it difficult to attach a mattebox, so you'll have to make sure whoever your renting from has that. And try to get a "swing away" mattebox, it'll benefit your AC greatly, making it easier to change out filters.

Diego Lazo · October 22, 2008

Don't forget ND Grads. Desert terrain is very reflective so it is useful to have some ND Grad (I'll have 3,6 and 9 just in case) to attenuate soil reflection.