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Isaac Chung

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Everything posted by Isaac Chung

  1. Right, this is for a Super 16mm camera. I could use the 18mm, but I would prefer the 16mm lens designed for the 16 format.
  2. please contact me if you have one you are wanting to sell. thanks isaac dot chung at gmail
  3. Both director and DP moved beyond some of their weaker tendencies; for GVS, he used to channel other filmmakers' methods too closely (Bela Tarr, Hitchcock) while losing some of his original voice; this film seemed to go deeper than the last ones because he gave himself greater trust. For Doyle, his visual style was always beautiful, but with each film, he's becoming more subtle. I think within the subtlety, he's stripping away to the essential substance of shots. From what I understand, GVS was interested in a more stylized film, but it was Doyle's recommendation that they tone things down.
  4. What a shockingly and absurdly negative review. The film shows the maturation of a director and cinematographer.
  5. I can do that, but there's a chance, b/c I'm pressed for time with my project, that I'll just go with whatever protocol is practically the fastest . thanks, isaac
  6. Thanks Dave, in other words, I guess there's not clear answer--that's actually somehow comforting. isaac
  7. I already have a telecine for my Super 16mm IP, but half of it looks terrible, so I will need to do it again. The question is, since the film is already blown up to 35mm and I have a 35mm IN, should I do the telecine with the 35mm IN? Will it yield better results? Sorry if this has been answered before--kind of in a rush and couldn't find any results on search. Thanks, Isaac
  8. I'm not sure; it came with the camera (which I purchased in February 2006), but it looks as though it was a recent installment.
  9. Just a notice that I'm selling my AZ Spectrum black and white video assist on Ebay. 10 day auction ending 4/9/07 item # 330104627340 thanks.
  10. Just an update that Duart gave me two sessions to correct the Da Vinci color correction and telecine from the first problem-plagued session. the good news is that duart was more than willing to cover the costs for the mistake corrections. the bad news is that after reviewing the new tape, there are new problems on the corrected telecine: frames that hang for 3 frames (causing everything to get out of sync) and frames that partially jump at the transition to show the area between two frames (it is hard to notice when played, but when going frame by frame, it's very problematic. Seeing that this is from the third correction, is this normal for a telecine? Especially for the sync to be erratic? Duart will probably try to fix it again, but at which point should one give up on a post house? For me, I don't have a choice since I can't pay for another telecine session. and as i was saying, i'm fine with mistakes, as long as customer service handles it well (which they didn't initially-- but they've been very good since that first incident). but when the mistakes don't stop, it's frustrating. I'm assuming that other people have relatively flawless telecine sessions, so perhaps everything will work out for you at Duart.
  11. It isn't offensive that Duart sent a problematic tape; it is offensive to be derided for asking about the issue. Rob's comment on DV issues is more informative than any of Duart's curt responses. These days, I think it's more common that people overlook condescension in any knowledge-gap situation, to "shut up" because information is a valuable commodity and creates hierarchy. Doing my own research, I found that the issue was a field order problem, and it should be re-transfered. So while I don't argue that the customer is always right, there are cases in which he or she is. What then? ("usually they are wrong so they deserve to be dismissed?") Returning back to the subject, if you value good customer service, in my experience, for video, Postworks is very forgiving of people with relatively "stupid" questions, but as I said, don't count out Duart for any film work.
  12. I agree to an extent. If, say, Apple delivers a product, it's assumed that the buyer should learn how to use the product in a proper way; however, if the product appears flawed, than the customer has every right to ask for technical assistance. I don't presume that with the delivery of a minidv dub, Duart needs to teach me how to use it, but then again, a minidv transfer is a minidv transfer--not particularly rocket science--if out of two tapes Duart delivers, one tape won't play back on a standard system, there should be some technical support. In the technical field, the customer is doomed from the beginning; if there's a problem, he or she is guilty until proven innocent.
  13. I'm currently completing a project using Duart for a feature film shot on Super 16mm. I've found the film department itself to be first rate, their technical support, financial cooperation, services, delivery, and personability. Steve B, Matt L., and my interactions with Irwin P., the head of the company have been overwhelmingly positive. BUT, I've had a number of issues with the video department and am led to believe that some of their staff are somewhat inept. Recently, I learned that I have to spend another day on a da vinci color correction session with them because the operator had set the wrong values for the grain reduction/motion blur--it was set too high (at the max, I believe), and every shot transition had a 1 frame fade. It's good that they realized that this is a bad mistake (and hence schedule a new session with me), but at the same time, this is an entire day that I could otherwise spend more productively--and their apology was, to say the least, flippant. Anyhow, I'm fine when people make mistakes, but not when they act as though it isn't their problem. Today, when I approached the video dept with another technical problem; one of their two dubs for me from Digibeta to Minidv Pal is not capturing correctly on FCP or through my deck (it looked like a field order problem). Instead of telling me how I might solve this issue in capture, two department people remained skeptical that I should have any problem at all. They treated me with condescension until one of them noticed that the second dub did playback differently on their monitor (the top of the frame had a blinking line with every frame); he said he'd try a new dub to see if that would go away but still seemed skeptical to the end. Perhaps someone on this board can educate me on what the issue was and how to resolve it. At my film school, there were techies who were jerks to anyone who needed help, when it was the techies job to help them. It's an unavoidable knowledge gap, but many of the technical workers don't seem to understand that most of us can't spend years learning all of the technical idiosyncracies of video. It was like that at Duart, but this time, they didn't even have any knowledge to offer with their condescension. I'm starting a new project on S16 but am not sure where to take it for post--perhaps Duart's film lab with Postworks for any video work (HD finishing, color correction, etc). Perhaps another poster could dispel my criticism--you should understand that this might be an isolated incident.
  14. I assume it always differs according to the area. I've traveled in many places where the State Department warns against but had no problems. But still, humility and calmness were important to have. A good friend of mine was in Sierra Leone for the entire summer for government work and didn't indicate any problems with personal safety. in Nigeria, you have a lot of violence on the coast b/c of the fight against the oil industry. a lot of places around the world are film/video camera averse (especially Africa), so shooting a documentary in places w/o permission in advance might get you into trouble.
  15. Thanks David, you're absolutely right. I talked with Duart at length about this process. The way to get the video master froma zero cut negative is to create a Super 16mm optical IP, which is roughly double the cost of getting an IP the traditional way.
  16. So this sort of process is never done? I ask because I'm in a situation where it might be my only option (budget wise). I'm monetarily backed into the corner to do a zero-cut super 16mm AB to a direct 35mm print. Telecine for the video master would need to be done with the print. Otherwise, a telecine of any zero cut check prints would have the one-frame fades at each cut. Considering that I won't be creating a 35mm IP, would a telecine from the 35mm print suffice at all? Max's comment makes it sound unusable; I guess I'm curious about the extent of the contrast problem. **I'm aware of the other options (straight cut, 16mm IP, HD transfer, etc--) just seeking an answer regarding this specific route.
  17. I wrote non-negotiable but decided I'm willing to sell this for $1250. Please let me know if you're interested. thanks. isaac dot chung (-a-) gmail dot com
  18. I mentioned in another post that I wanted to keep this lens, but b/c of my post production situation, I need extra money--unfortunately I'm parting with this. Visual Products offers this lens on their website for $1900. My lens was actually collimated and modified to Arri Bayonet by Visual Products in April 2006. The body shows little sign of wear, and the glass itself is faultless. Visual Products claims that this make can differ between lenses, but that mine is a very good one. ("Impressive" is the word they used) Overhaul, bayonet, and collimation cost me over $1000, and with the price of the lens factored in, I'm not trying to make any profit here; I believe $1400 is its fair worth. Please email me if you are interested; I can also send you photographs. isaac(dot)chung(a)gmail(dot)com Buyer to pay for shipping and paypal fees-- I live in NYC and would welcome any local buyers.
  19. I wrote on another board that I'd be shooting another project on this, but it looks like I need to raise money to finish my ongoing project instead. Though I hate to part with this camera, here it is: Eclair ACLII -Super 16 modified by Van Diem in England -Overhauled by Visual Products in Spring of 2006 for accuracy; they said the registration was excellent, and everything was in excellent order. -One feature film was made since then, shooting a total of 14 days and 45 rolls of 400' -Arri Stainless Steel Bayonet/Standard mount and of course C-mount. -Groundglass brightened by Visual Products and etched for s-16, with framelines for 1.66:1 and 1.88:1 -Kinoptick orientable viewfinder -AzSpectrum B&W Video Tap w/power cord. -HD Motor with 8,12,24,25,50 and 75fps, the motor that works properly with 400' mags--shot by me and well taken care of. -2X 400?magazines modified for s16, both are the French version with no scratching of the negative -Original anatomic grip with on/off switch and a 3? extension bracket. -Four pin xlr power cable with lighted inline digital amp meter -Four pin splitter cable for running camera and video tap off a single battery. -Cavision aluminum base plate w/15mm carbon rods. This base is actually for a video camera, it was fitted with spacers in order for it to be used with rented Chrosziel matte boxes. -Bescor battery belt pack that allows for 9 hours of use (don't remember the exact mAmps) -Black Pelican 1650 with wheels Buyer must pay for shipping and paypal fees It's pretty heavy, around 70+ pounds. The dimensions are (LWD in inches) 31.5" X 20.8" X 11.5" Please email me with any questions at isaac(dot)chung(a)gmail(dot)com all for $4700, non negotiable Thanks!
  20. I found that the airport was easier to maneuver by having the original box for the film cans. Not just the cans--the box that houses them. Depending on the number you are taking, you might consider taking the boxes too. I was able to talk my way through African airports by talking to the managers. Also, a French expat working one of the planes was very helpful. I hate to tell you, but it can be quite stressful with African security. They like saying "no."
  21. I spent July and August shooting a feature narrative film in Eastern Africa. you can contact me for any other specific advice if you'd like. I used 250D Fuji Eterna and stored the film in my living quarters without any problems. Inside, the temperature remained fairly cool, although outside, it would usually be in the mid 80s. My biggest challenge involved transporting the film stock in and out of the country; i ordered stock from south africa to be delivered, and it was almost lost. later, i went through a lot of trouble to get the film out of the country without any x-rays to Technicolor London. it's different with every country in Africa, but i found that managing bureaucracy was one of the other problems in shooting; i'd suggest working with locals experienced in film production for that. In rwanda, at least, everyone believed that filmmakers are loaded, and it's hard to get things done (permits, etc) when that's the case.
  22. I wanted to answer b/c I was in your position last year, asking about the lens- When I sent it in for a checkup, Visual Products told me that my particular lens was as sharp as the older Cooke Zoom for Super 16mm. I used it with an Eclair ACL2, and I had it converted to an Arri Bayonet mount; I don't believe mine was made for Bolex RX. I've heard that quality differs from lens to lens with this model, so it might be worthwhile to have yours checked and collimated. I highly recommend Visual Products. I used this lens for my first feature film, and I plan on using this lens and camera for my next one, despite more available funds.
  23. I believe I'm the true owner of that ACL camera. I bought it last year, and through the year, it continues to show up on Ebay and other site's classified sections. I'm thinking of selling it, but now I'm worried no one will take it seriously!
  24. Thanks; For the record (if anyone else needs the info), Tomasko rents his 16 Steenbeck for around 350 a month, with delivery at $150 each way (normally $200 each way, but he offered me lower). Isaac
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