Daniel Madsen

One thing a DP has going from them in a location like this is dark production design and a large room. With dark production design it's easier to maintain contrast with softlight. Yes, you still need to control spill but if the walls and everything else is a ways from your subject and your subject is the brightest object in the room you have a lot on your side.

For lighting interviews I'm partial to a chimera. They're especially nice because they don't take up as much space and are modular. I'm looking at the Westcott Spiderlite TD6 which accepts compact fluorescents, nice because the source itself is large (all those low wattage bulbs) and so the diffuser can be closer to the light. Space always seems to be at premium and I prefer to put extra space behind the subject to create separation rather than behind the camera with lots of stands, flags and lights. Shooting an interview at F/1.9 80mm might be frustrating.

Having theatrical lights like pars and ellipsoidals in frame would convey a theatrical theme. Also, I think you could use a hard backlight without contaminating the low specularity of the overhead. The overhead could also be goboed off to create a round source. Multiple round overhead sources of different colors would help your theme. I would probably enhance the spotlight effect in post using a vignette.

Hello: Is there any difference in image quality when you use gain while shooting vs. pushing the image/increasing image brightness in post? Thanks, Dan

if you're into corporate propaganda......

how many cows will die for your sexy little satchel?

hi everyone, the contract did read that I was responsible for the equipment. However, the contracts were exactly the same for everyone in the G&E department, but only my and my co worker's checks were withheld on the ground that we did the check in/check out. I told the producers- for the same reason the other people were paid, I should be paid too. they didn't buy that. Dan

I would shoot at 144 degree shutter to make the exposure time (1/60 sec) the same as the refresh rate on your projector.

A show that I worked on is withholding my last weeks paycheck because of the amount of equipment lost and damaged during the production. The L&D isn’t one person’s fault, but the best boy electric and I are being held responsible implicitly through the withholding of wages. My contract does say that I am responsible for the equipment, but it’s very general and is no way different than the deal memos signed by other people on the crew. It certainly doesn’t say you are responsible for paying for what you broke. The thing is, no crewmember would ever work on a film again if they knew the cost of L&D would be subtracted from their paycheck. My question is, is the production in anyway justified in withholding payment? We were working off a five ton with eight G&E peeps of varying skill levels. In addition, because the producers think they are on solid ground legally, they consider Grip Nation’s blog and video slander…. http://gripnation.blogspot.com/ Any legal insights appreciated. Best, Dan

Hahahaha......you slay me.

I think it’s true that people look for life in the image of life (that is, symbols of a fulfilling lifestyle). Of course people are going to be let down by Hollywood. Hollywood manufactures the images that by design no one can live up to. Don't we ensure this as camera people? Let's face it- we're not providing a great service to humanity. Haskel tries and I really appreciate it. download and read page 142 for insight into image and ideology. http://www.daysofwarnightsoflove.com/

In my experience the monofilament is placed behind the lens. There are two reasons for this... 1. If you put it on the front of the lens the filament is likely to be illuminated even when there isn't a light source shining down the barrel. 2. The filament is right up against the image plane and therefore produces a hard colored shadow (i.e. fake anamorphic flare) If you do place the monofilament behind the lens keep in mind it has to be positioned perpendicular to the lens axis and takes an extremely long time to position correctly. Luck.

This isn't as good as playing around with the camera, but menu guides like this one exist for every build. http://www.xlfilms.tv/2008/shared_images/X...Menu_Map_v1.pdf Also do a "Red" search at http://www.wonderhowto.com. There are a lot of good though pretty basic tutorials. Enjoy over breakfast. Dan

An option: D is the distance between the camera and the rear projection screen, which should also be the distance between the camera and the point at which the skidding car comes to rest when you shoot the background plate ( B ). The advantage to rear projection is the car can be “rocked” when the car appears to be hit. I recommend rocking the car with a 2x4 and an apple box. This alone won’t be enough so jar the camera as well and consider some green screen blood splatter ©. You may actually want to be inside the car (not outside like the illustration would suggest).

What is your opinion on using a HD one light 35mm transfer for both TV presentation and the creation of an EDL? I’m trying to avoid the cost of a scan, DI and film out. This is for a 35mm project, finished photo chemically for a theatrical release. Dan