Rob Wilton

Hi everyone, I'm doing a shoot next week abroad, and unfortunately I don't have any time to test :( I was wondering if anyone has used both the Weisscam HS-2 MKII and the Phantom Flex 2K - and knows which camera has better latitude? I've used the Phantom Flex 2K but not the Weisscam. We will be shooting in a studio environment, so the size of the Weisscam shouldn't be a problem. Thank you for your help! best Rob Wilton DoP

Hey guys, I'm prepping a job in Bangkok and the rental house has this monitor: 18" Bon monitor http://www.bon.co.kr/eng/products/models.html?model=bsm183h has anyone had experience with this brand or monitor? just wandering how it compares to say a TvLogic 17"...don't have that much time ahead to prep :( thanks! Rob Wilton Cinematographer www.robwilton.co.uk

Dear Cinematography.com, I've been tasked with creating a heatwave effect in front of a macro high speed shot of a coffee bean falling through the air. I've used a flame bar before, to create the effect, but it's been so many years I've forgotten the ins and outs. Unfortunately I don't have any time to test this. Does anyone know - do some focal lengths work better than others for this heatwave effect? Does a lighter or darker background make a difference? How does lighting affect the effect? Thanks again for your time and help! yours gratefully, Rob Wilton DoP

Hi Phil, thanks for your reply. We'll be shooting Alexa - 2K LogC ProRes 4444. I'm not sure as to the look, I'm just camera operating! best Ro

Hi there, I'm just curious what color space one would recommend in a 17" Sony PVM OLED monitor, when prepping for a feature to be screened in cinemas? The choice is EBU, SMPTE-C, ITU-709 and OFF. OFF seems to strong to my eye, 709 is for television... I guess a lot of it depends on what the colorist grades in, as well as what the delivery is, but did anyone have any thoughts on this? thanks in advance, Rob Wilton Cinematographer

Hey everyone, I have an ad coming up where I have to shoot a top shot/bird's eye view of a large pot of boiled water, with the camera lens pointing directly down at the pan. Of course the steam from the water will rise and fog the lens. Does anyone have any tips that can help me to avoid fogging? Using a longer lens a being higher up is out of the question as there is a slight jib move going up. I thought of a hairdryer blowing the steam away before it hits the lens... thanks for your help, any tips would help! Rob Wilton / DoP www.robwilton.co.uk London based

Hi everyone, just wandering if anyone knows where I can download a sample of the .cines files? I'm shooting an ad with the Phantom Flex and wanted to see if my colorist's hardware is compatible with these files. all the best Rob

Hi there, has anyone out there used the new Angenieux Optimo anamorphic 56-152mm? how do they perform say wide open (T4) in comparison say the spherical 28-76mm? thanks Rob Wilton

Hi there, I'm selling my 1/4 and 1/2 Tiffen Black Diffusion FX filters. Size is 4x5.65. Both filters have been used only once, and are in mint condition. They come with their respective pouches. £200 per filter or £375 for both. I'm based in London, but can ship internationally. Rob Wilton rob.wilton@gmail.com www.robwilton.co.uk

Hi everyone, I just saw the Dark Knight Rises in IMAX here in London. I have to say the IMAX footage looked absolutely stunning, almost HD-ish in its clarity - but in a good way. Quite a couple of shots out of focus though! But every IMAX scene popped out. Im really looking forward to the next 65mm/IMAX film to be screening in 65mm/70mm. The Master maybe??? In comparison the anamorphic 35mm footage looked really soft, too soft for my liking. The size of the screen is quite large, largest in the UK as was announced.....but large enough to make 35mm anamorphic look soft? Could it be the fact that it was blown up to a 70mm print? I know they used older anamorphic lenses, C and E series. Would they result in a softer image, compared to say a cinema spherical lens, even though the image resolution is increased because of the anamorphic squeeze? Anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? cheers Rob Wilton

Dear all, Im about to shoot a TV spot and the client has requested to use the Epic. They want to take advantage of the resolution to crop some shots in post, specifically for VFX. The would probably used After Effects or REDCINE-X to reframe/crop these shots. I though would prefer to shoot on the Alexa because I like the look more. Is there a similar programme like REDCINE-X for Alexa footage shot in ARRIRAW? Specifically anything that debayers, allows reframing and exporting to 1920x1080. thanks for your help, Rob Wilton

Hi there, I was wandering whether its possible to recreate the effect of this picture - in camera! - where a face goes through water and remains exposed but the liquid layer stays black. Black cloth and sidelighting??? I wont have time to test it before the shoot, and I thought I would fish for some ideas.. any tips are very welcome, thanks! Rob Wilton

Dear all, Im filming a music video where images will be projected onto the band members. We're thinking of using this projector - http://www.epson.co.uk/Projectors/Epson-EB-1915. Unfortunately I wont have time to test the RED or EPIC that Im thinking of renting, with the projector. Does anyone have any experience whether the camera will have any issues (i.e. similar to strobing on a computer screen) with the projected imagery? thanks for your help Rob

If I remember correctly they did move as we panned. And yes when the lead singer covered the frame more, the blobs would disappear.

Dear all, shooting with the RED camera (mysterium chip), Ive come across strange red blotches on my footage on occasions when I flare the lens. Does anybody know anything about this? and does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get rid of it? I shoot a lot of music videos and flaring the lens is quite a common thing to do, but theses blotches dont look pleasing enough to the eye for me style it out. They pop up now and again and I cant seem to understand how. Here is a screenshot I took from a music video. Not the best quality image, but you can see the red blotches. And thats only really with daylight coming in, not even a light pinging down the barrel of the lens.... any suggestions are welcome cheers Rob

Dear all, Im shooting a short film with the Beaulieu 4008 zmII, and I dont have anytime for testing unfortunately!! Never a good situation.... Im very confused as to the metal plate that slides in and controls the 85 filter. There is no indication on the camera what the filter does, and the instruction manual is very cryptic about it too. My question is simply, when I slide in the metal plate, do I cancel the 85 filter, or do I enable it? (The camera doesnt respond in terms of colour change in the viewfinder or lightmeter change either, even though it should???) thanks for you help kind regards Rob Wilton

Dear all, Im just getting my head around as to looking for work in the London industry. Can anyone recommend and DoP agencies in London? Im just starting out, really, finished film school last year, but Ive done some work for Sky TV. thanks a lot! Rob Wilton

Dear all, my director wants to shoot a night interior party scene He suggested to use the Sony Z1, yet in my experience the Z1, nor the other camera Im familiar with - the HVX 200 - work well in low light levels. Do any of you have any suggestions for cameras that might work better in such conditions, yet fall under roughly the a similar budget range? thanks a lot for your help, regards Rob Wilton

Dear all, Im testing pull processing, does anybody have any examples of pull processing in films that I can reference? Ive been referred to some of Vilmos Zsigmond's films: Heavens Gate, Mcabe and Mrs. Miller. But those were pre-flashed not pull processed. Is the difference that obvious on screen? thanks for your help Rob Wilton

Dear people, Im shooting a short in Italy next month, all exterior, during the course of 8 days. The story takes place during 1 day. Im looking to keep the continueity of the look pretty similar. From looking at any film or TV show though the direction of sun is never really maintained. Shot/ reverse shots are sometimes all backlit for example. Apart from shooting my wides during the morning and the afternoon to get some contrast, are there any tips to shooting in a situation like this? I have reflector boards and a small butterfly at my disposal. thanks! Rob Wilton

Dear all, do the Cooke S4 lenses need a 6x6 inch mattebox, or will they fit with a 4x4 inch mattebox? I'll be using quite wide lenses - 9.5mm and 12mm thanks! Rob Wilton

Dear all, Im shooting with two sets of lenses on a shoot, the other set going to the second unit. Does this happen often? I understand lenses differ in sharpness from brand to brand, but apart from the flares, will there be any other obvious difference in look (i.e heavy colour cast) or anything? I think we'll be shooting with Cooke lenses and Zeiss lenses. thanks! Rob Wilton

Dear all, is there a big difference in look between the pull process in development vs. lowering contrast and saturation to suit in the TK - if in both cases youre ending up on tape? thanks! Rob Wilton

Dear all, Ive looked through the archives but cannot find much information on this specific topic. If its there could anybody post a link for me, I would be very grateful. What I basically want to know is whether a full or partial skip bleach process on the negative will have any long-term effects? Someone I know who works for Kodak warned that the negative will become unstable and slowly turn black within months.. Its sounds strange, because I read that Minority Report had bleached bypass on its neg... Thanks for your help! cheers, Rob Wilton

Dear all, my director has given me some references for her film and it includes these two pictures by Jan Saudek. How would one go about getting a look as similar as possible to these pictures? Especially the skin tones.. I imagine things colour and diffusion filters......... Is something like this achievable in post-production, using for example secondary colour correction in post? thanks so much! regards Rob Wilton