Hal Smith

"Good" and "Cheap" are two words that never go together when talking about camera lenses. About the only economical option is to use older still camera lenses in EOS adapters but they only work manually, you lose many of the camera's automatic functions. Search for EOS adapters on eBay to see what's available. Any quality motion picture lens from Cooke, Angenieux, and Zeiss is going to be expensive plus most of them require radical modification to the camera body. The Canon lenses that come with camera kits are never their best lenses. When I bought my 7D, I chose to spend $1,000 and get a Canon EF-S 17mm-55mm F2.8 IS lens with it. It's a very high quality zoom and I use it 90% of the time.

The "Shakycam" is obviously a deliberate choice. I used to shoot ethnographic film. I can handhold a Bolex/ArriS/Beaulieu R16 without accessory handles, braces, etc. better than what you see in "Black Swan". I know the operators on it were perfectly capable of professional class handholding so it had to be what Aronofsky wanted. I shot some fast moving hospital footage recently with just my 7D, no handles, cages, whatever. A friend who worked in the Mexican film industry years ago asked me what dolly I used. Yes, young Padawan, the Force will steady your hand.

If you're going to be driving, bring a GPS and buy an Atlanta street map. I lived at Sewanee, TN for six years and trips to Atlanta were always accompanied by getting lost. There must be at least fifteen Peachtree something or others. Then there's the time I got directions to Doraville from a local on the phone...and drove all the way around the I-285 loop looking for Doughville. I realize you Georgians are all currently rolling around the floor LOL.

I got some great footage of the Grand Canyon shooting handheld in a Eurocopter with my Canon 7D with an EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS on it. Have you considered one of the small Canon video camers with image stabilization?

Richard just told you: Toronto. Michigan cities that thought they'd get into the movie business by hosting productions are starting to tank because of their budget problems. Allen Park thought they'd become Hollywood Downriver. Their finances are so bad that the Mayor apparently has decided not to run for re-election. There may be a strong relationship between rats deserting a sinking ship and politicians choosing not to run for re-election. :D

This page on Abel Cine's webpage should be helpful. It was created by Mitch Gross who works there and posts here from time to time. Field of View Calculator

For students reading this thread, here's a link to a safety article from the construction industry concerning operating equipment around overhead powerlines. Article

To add to John's thoughts: What voltage bulbs are you buying? Many bulbs come in slightly different voltages. For instance the HPL575/750's come in both 115 and 120 volts versions plus an "X" long life variety. If your power is close to 115 and your buying 120 volt bulbs you'll get a warmer color temperature. Worse yet, the "X" variety are really 130 volt (or so) bulbs, they get their long life by running the filaments cooler. As John recommended, get a digital voltmeter and check the voltage at the lamp under load. When you run lamps off a dimmer, you MUST use a true RMS rated voltmeter to get an accurate reading due to the distortion of the power waveform caused by a dimmer. The only case where that's not true is variable transformer (Variac) or ancient resistor plate type dimmers.

Great video, I found it before you posted here...do I get a gold star? The only thing I'd add is that it's helpful to think of shooting with a DSLR as if it was loaded with color reversal film. That helps to keep one conscious of lighting ratios and color temperature in real time. By the way, your "dreary slug of a voice" really is quite good. You sound exactly right for the subject matter: Dry and straightforward. I'm also a bit of a patsy for a refined British voice.

Shane Hurlbutt's blog has information on CS5 & 5D/7D's. CS5

No one has mentioned teaching quality. I'd worry about that first and spend a lot of time asking graduates how helpful the faculty had been in helping them achieve their goals. I got a first rate Master's Degree education at a second rate school because my department (Physics) was staffed by several MIT Physics PhD's using my school as a test bed for a new curriculum. I got an MIT education for a city college price.

AMEN! The EF-S 17-55mm F2.8 is my 7D's weapon of choice. Canon came very close to "L" series quality with that design.

If he ever works again it'll be with a couple of his "girlfriends" in the Valley. Title undoubtedly will be "Two and a Half Women" with the "Half" being a Munchkin porn actress. © Hal Smith...I'd better take dibs on the title right now! ;)

My wife, the LADC/LPC (Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor & Licensed Professional Counselor) took one look at the interview and offered "He looks, acts, and talks like he's on Meth." Sure would explain why he's so quick to say he's sober but doesn't talk about being clean.

I think you have a bad CF card(s). If you're in the US, go to Walmart and buy a 4 or 8GB Sandisk Ultra to test your camera. It's rated at 30MB/S which comfortably exceeds Canon's requirement. Always buy CF cards from a reputable seller like BH Photovideo, Adorama, Walmart, etc. There are hordes of counterfeits being sold on markets like eBay and at discount stores.

HP Dreamcolors calibrate nicely...but also cost more than $2K US. Among other virtues, it's a true 10 bit design. Dreamcolor

A gathering of Chinese philosphers? Oh...That's a Circle of Confucians.

Roger Deakins might draw a few, he's usually part of the publicity for Coen Brother's films.

Actually the SAG rates for low/no budget films are quite reasonable. I make a lot more money per day as an Engineering Consultant than SAG actors get on low budget contracts. Yes, A-list actors make one hell of a lot of money. It's my impression that most of them are pretty darn good actors, that's how they got noticed in the first place. The fact that their names alone are enough to put people in theater seats is valuable to producers.

The quickest way to get an image to scream VIDEO is to clip the highlights. If you want the dark areas to read, put some light in them.

No, the green spike is generated by the green spectral line in the mercury vapor arc that is the electrical basis of operation of a fluorescent. It "leaks" through the phosphors on the inside of the glass envelope.

Affirmative on the capacitive divider thought, it might be more complex involving the capacitance of the generator's frame to ground, etc. but you've got the right idea. The amount of capacitance will determine just how much current flow. Modern digital voltmeters (DVM's) usually have input impedances around 10 megohms (1X10^6 ohms). Since the meter's impedance is so high, a very small amount of capacitance will support readings like yours. Unfortunately there's no way of knowing from a DVM's readings just what the capacitance is and whether or not it's large enough to support a dangerous amount of current. Bottom line? If you get any reading assume it's not safe.

I've been a little nervous about why I haven't received my Kodachrome slides back from Dwayne's. I called today and was informed they're processing it in the order it was received. I overnighted mine to them on the 29th (they got it at 9am on the 30th) so it'll be processed with the last batch. Krystal told me they're working on orders received on the 29th so if you sent yours in at the last moment like I did it'll be a few more days.

RV6 and RV7 (the two adjustable resistors connected to the 18/24 frame per second switch)look like they should adjust the two speeds.

There's a huge store of knowledge that's been accumulated on the Canon HDSLR's. If you can stretch your budget, I'd strongly recommend a Canon T2i. You'll find many times more practical information on using that camera and it's 7D sibling over the Sony and Pentax models you mentioned.