Daniel Madsen

I?d test to see whether the projector runs at a consistent speed. If it does, it is only a matter of selecting an exposure time that is divisible by the frame rate of the projector.

Dedo lights are quite sourcey. I'd suggest bouncing it into something- maybe a white card on the dash board or ceiling. Shooting in black and white, you will also find yourself using a more conventional lighting scheme (ie. key, fill back light) to get proper seperation. There is not one type of color filter that insures a contrasty image. It all depends on the colors that dominate the scene.

Another good deal that I found, Sekonic L-558 C L558 Cine L558C Flash Light Meter New 5 in stock

Do any of you insist that the camera be physically placed before you begin lighting (not just a discussion about framing)? I always tell myself that is the way I'll precede lighting a scene, but I never do.

I interned at a rental house and the willytech just sat on the shelf. I couldn't even put the thing together. Its design is needlessly complicated.

No, you have to account for inductance, making the current required a little bit more. Check out "The Lighting Technicians Handbook" by Harry Box. He talks about how to calculate power factor which takes the inductive qualities of HMIs into consideration. Overandout

3200K. Halogen lights use a tungsten filament but use halogen to decrease sublimation.

This topic was discussed extensively in reference to Janusz Kaminski. Try a search.

If I were you, I'd call up Rosco and Lee and ask for some swatch books. They're free and a good tool to have on set. I know Lee makes their extra durable gels out of polycarbonate rather than polyester, and I'm sure GAM, Lee and Apollo each have their own special recipe.

I got a rental catalogue on CD from Panavision that includes a variety of calculators for cinematography. Also, Panavision has a catalogue designed for one of the newer ipods, but I don't know if it includes a calculator. It would be neat if it did. I've heard of people programming cheap graphing calculators for DOF, hyperfocal distance, runtime... etc.

This is the way I’ve done it in the past. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Angel’s method, though two slates are required to do it quickly. If you're not using two slates finding the slate distance for a given focal length might be time consuming. Anyway, my method… 1. Bump each camera, that is shoot the slate with each camera separately. This is just so the editor knows the correct scene and take number. 2. After cameras are rolling do a common marker (say it- “common marker”). Make sure to face the blank side of the slate toward the camera. This tells the editor that this slate is for syncing only. 3. Wait for camera operators to call “set” 4. Action

An MTF Chart is used to express the resolving power of a lens in terms of contrast and resolution. These types of charts are not too uncommon. If you do some research you will find that some lens makers place emphasis on contrast while others, resolution. MTF charts are discussed in some of the old ASC manuals.

During my vacation I was thinking about making an AC box to fit on the front of a tripod head. Does anyone have any design suggestions? What type of bracket would you use to secure the box? Thanks

How many small trees do you cut down on the typical shoot? ;)

I hear good and bad things about the school. They have some solid teachers for one. Blain Brown who teaches there has written a couple great books on cinematography. LAFS Students have told me the administration is lacking, but it seems like this is the case at most schools (mine too). One thing I can tell you is LAFS students know how to run a set- fast, efficient, organized. They would run circles around most students at Columbia College Hollywood, a film school I attend in the Valley.

A silver screen- explain exactly what you mean by that. Thanks

There are plenty of manuals for the f900 online. Check out panavision Austrialia.

Lets say you are shooting HD but don't have the luxury of an HD monitor- what information (color, contrast, blacks/white) from an SD monitor can you reply on to predict image quality? Peace

Has anyone found the H1 viewfinder especially inaccurate? What do you do to deal with the problem? Lets say too, that you don't have a HD monitor. Thanks for the help.

Any competant cinematographer should have a utility belt rivaling batman?s- light meter, color meter, frequency meter, compass ( preferable a GPS system), laser pointer, viewfinder, contrast viewing glasses, palmpilot with the latest cinematography software and jetpack to name just a few tools.

You can design different types of brushes in photoshop to signify different lighting instruments. I made a bunch of different brushes for lights, subjects, their intermediate positions and the camera. Works well for me.

You need to shoot a grey card.

what's a ladderpod? I wasn't able to find a pic at modernstudio.com. Best

When an old cinematographer was asked "how many years have you been a DP?" he replied "I've been a DP for thirty years but twenty of those years were spent waiting on sound."

My friend found all the film he shot under fluorescents (the exterior shots were fine) to be two stops underexposed. Could this be a problem with the light meter he was using? Under what lighting condition do meters become unreliable?