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Phil Connolly

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Everything posted by Phil Connolly

  1. Generally you use things like fullers earth for dust effects, because you need it to be non flammable ideally, wood dust would be madness http://www.tvandfilmsupplies.co.uk/ecommerce/search/set-dressing/dust-and-debris/ Also it looks good and its not toxic but you still don't want to be wafting it about too much and getting people to breath it in even if it is non toxic. Inhaling any particulate matter in any quantity is going to be asking for trouble. As a filmmaker you have a duty of care for you crew and performers - so shouldn't be exposing them to anything that could affect their health. I think the situation in theatre is slightly different because the complaints i've seen about haze effects mostly relates to long running musical theatre shows and long exposure to haze effects (8 shows a week) can dry the thought and make singing more difficult. Its not dangerous per se but if your doing a long run musical for months/years with lots of haze effects and breathing in deeply cos your singing maybe theatre actors have a point. Maybe something like "phantom of the opera" where your swimming in dry ice and haze effects that might build up
  2. You don't really want to use any powder materials to make haze, since you risk respiratory issues or risk explosion with flammable materials like flour. Really your option is to use a smoke machine/hazer - either water based or cracked oil. Cracked oil can cause breathing problems as well - its ok outdoors, but problematic on interiors and banned in some venues since it can leave a residue. But it does last longer in the air then water based systems, the machines tend to make more smoke quicker. Also you can get gas powered handheld units that don't need powering (again good for exteriors) Water Based (rosco etc) - its the safest option - its vary rare that it can trigger any respiratory distress. It should still be flagged on the call sheet and risk assessment because there is a still slight risk of increased attack for some asthma sufferers(but less then oil based). It does not last that long in the air so you have to keep topping it up - although different fluid mixes have different hand times and some are better then others. Work hard to eliminate drafts etc.. Disco party foggers are harder to work with then hazers because the smoke is more lumpy and uneven and even with a hazer you usually have to do a bit of work to waft the smoke about to make sure its even. Higher end hazers can monitor smoke levels and top up. A hazer is a smoke machine with some fans in it to chop up the smoke and mix it with air more - so it looks less like smoke and more like haze. Generally the challenges of working with smoke is keeping is even so it looks like a smooth haze rather then lumps of smoke wafting about. And keeping it constant shot to shot. It possible to get great results even with a basic disco style smoke machine - but its time consuming. For every 5 minute take you might have 5 minutes of smoke wrangling - so schedule accordingly. I directed this music video (dop Leigh Alner) and we used a domestic smoke machine brought for £20: It worked but it slowed us down because the heating element was very small and would take a few minutes to heat up between blasts - so we'd have to wait for it to warm up between takes. The dust is mostly fullers earth but the beams mainly came from the party fogger and 2 x 2.5K hmi's backlighting. It was a small room so we got away with the smaller machine - as you can see from the behind the scenes the smoke hangs ok: So its a trade off really - shafts of light look awesome but you need to budget for the time and probably hire a couple of extra runners to with sheets of poly board to even the haze out. This is easier to do on smaller locations where you can close doors/windows. Big drafty interiors (and exteriors) much more difficult. If you don't get the haze even it stops looking like haze and starts looking like smoke and draws attention to itself. Other tip would don't use too much haze - you want just enough to make the shafts of light visible. To much and it risks being noticed and messing with your contrast too much.
  3. I got a similar look with a very locked off tripod and tape measure- I think we moved about 12 inches a frame on the push in bit at 1min 7 sec
  4. I think if your careful it would be fine - protect the highlights, work hard in the grade to match colour and contrast and possibly apply some grain. In general I think you can get away with quite varied images/textures these days if the story and film is interesting people won't notice. Audiences are increasingly used to it, but I can think of several films that mix formats/image quality in often quite jarring ways that are still successful films. Camera types would notice the difference but many people won't eg: If (1969) - Mixes colour and B & W film seemingly at random at times; part of the films mystique Run Lola Run (1998) - Intercuts 35mm and SD Mini DV - its for a story point but pretty jarring. Still I've screened this to many groups of students, most don't spot the DV Any BBC sitcom/drama between 1960 and 1990 ish - SD video 50i for studio work - 16mm for exteriors - evident on Fawlty towers, Monty Python, Blackadder, Only Fools and horses, Doctor Who, Keeping up appearances etc.. etc... Its properly jarring, but most people don't notice - content is king. Chris Nolan Films - Mixing spherical 1.43:1 IMAX with 2.39:1 Anamorphic 35mm - texture and contrast don't match - I find the aspect ratio jumps annoying - but again audiences seemed fine with it. Touching the Void - Super 16/HDCAM Slumdog Millionaire - mix of 35mm, DLSR, SI2K etc.. worked fine Tony Scott films.... I think as long as both formats are well photographed and the post production is appropriate and you try to avoid intercutting formats within the same scene too much. Its doable... I agree it would be better if you could stick to 16mm but if thats not affordable its better to have a completed film that perhaps isn't perfect in terms of consistency rather then not completing the film
  5. One thing to note might be issues with screenings. Although you could master to an 18fps digital file - to make DVD's, screen on TV's or DCP's for cinema etc... A more standard framerate of 24 or 25 fps may be needed. I've got a few 18fps bits on my showreel that I had to convert to 25fps , so I could intercut it with everything else. This does affect the look ,as well and kind of introduces a smeary artefact on top as it interpolates more frames. You might like it, but its worth noting its another thing to deal with along side the jerky motion you get with 18fps. I quiet like 18fps for the dreamy quality and the stock savings and extra exposure is a bonus. However I thin 18fps might be a bit slow for dialogue - might make lip sync look a bit loose. Its something I'd test before shooting lots. You might want to investigate (if you haven't already) Wong Kar Wai's use of step printing to work at slower frame rates. For the right application that could look great and save stock, e.g shooting at either 6,8 or 12fps and printing the fame multiple times - so the action runs at normal speed at 24fps projection but the motion is blurry and juddery
  6. Not the mention difference in style between Brian Tufano and Anthony Dod Mantle thats probably a bigger factor then the choice between Digital and Film. Tufano's work with Boyle was very special - nothing to do with shooting format, just two talented people working well together. If they'd shot on VHS it would have been worth watching. Shame "The Beach" brought an end to the collaboration. I like Anthony Dod Mantles work as well - but there was something Iconic about the original Trainspotting
  7. It looks very nice and the first couple of eps were pretty good. In the UK it just appeared in my Netflix feed so I gave it a go and will probably keep watching. Not sure I'd seek it out otherwise - I wouldn't have taken out an additional subscription to watch it - but very happy its on Netflix
  8. Very niiiice, but a video can only truly be cool if it contains Morris Dancing:
  9. Regarding "the rules", like don't do the "making a frame with your hands thing.". Ignore that stuff, do whatever works for you its your set, we shouldn't be setting off fearing crew ridicule. On set the Director is usually presenting a version of themselves. I don't normally need to do hand frame thing, but I might do it when describing a camera move or demonstrating the shot to an actor. And that depends; some actors want to know about the technical side (what the frame is etc..) and others don't care less. There is no "wrong" behaviour for a director as long as you respectful to cast and crew and work safely. Everything else is about creating a mood and sometimes even conforming to director stereotypes might help. Although we don't always need to do the more formal calling turn over, speed, mark it, action - esp if your self shooting. A lot of actors like it, the rituals can make them more comfortable. I also find the word "action" cheesy but I use it because thats what the actors are used too. But if I'm doing a doco interview, I would never call action, I probably would also roll in secret and tape over the record light. Horses for courses really
  10. I'd second Directing Actors by Judith Weston - its a really great starting point to get you to think about performance and understanding actors. But other then that its quite difficult to teach and learn directing. Success really comes from practice and experience. Lots of good directors didn't train - e.g Nolan, Garth Jennings, Dougal Wilson, Shane Meadows - it was just practice and trial and error. Starting on small projects and building up. The trick is to try and push yourself with each project, try something new each time. I don't think there are lots of directing tutorial on line because its quite difficult to demonstrate it in the same way you can with say lighting. So you can watch interviews and presentations where directors discuss their process - but you don't see the way the operate on set. But also directing is really quite personal and everyone has quite different approaches. When I started directing I relied too much on other peoples advice and trying to copy filmmakers I liked. It took awhile for me to relax and let my own personality come through in my work. Thats the important thing as a director - deciding what it is you want to say and how your going to express that. Thats a personal thing and won't be found in tutorials. I teach filmmaking and I've found that you can teach the craft skills, the language of production, getting coverage and production management and workflow in a straight forward way. But teaching directing is less about being prescriptive but more about creating an environment for students to become inspired, try things out, make mistakes and mostly become effectively critical.
  11. Agreed on the macbook - I'm on my last one. It currently has HDMI and the SxS port letting me use an Aja I/O for SDI video. But the new generation of dongle town macs are a deal breaker for me. I've been hanging on because I really like FCP 7 - but thats become increasingly unworkable and I'm having to use prem more and more to cope with newer formats without transcoding. I did spot a slight sync issue in the cinema going off a laptop using headphone audio and HDMI ins. The projector (barco i belive) had a couple of frames delay, causing the audio to lead - so had to make a master with the audio slipped a couple of frames back. Probably better to go the DCP route. I've also increasingly found cinemas don't have competent projectionists. In the past you could get someone that would let you plug stuff into the projector and audio processor and now they fall to peaces at the mention of anything non standard. God forbid you try and get them to set up a custom lens setting so you can fill the screen properly. Using the non sync input for audio isn't great and won't necessarily have the dolby matrix applied. But it scares the cinema managment less.
  12. Yeah audio can be an issue with using the SDI or HDMI inputs. I did a screening at the local cinema with Macbook via HDMI directly into the project. To get the audio in we had to use the headphone out of the mac and use the "non sync" inputs on the cinema audio processor - by unplugging the CD player they had for walk in. sourround sound would be another problem
  13. Prores files can only be projected off a computer (e.g Macbook) - most cinema servers won't be able to project prores. However a lot of cinema projectors have HDMI and or SDI inputs so its not too difficult to jerry rig them to play Prores for special screenings. With a prores screening the colours might not be as accurate as DCP since the gamma of rec-709 is different. DCP is simpler since thats what cinemas are used to getting and in theory if your file conforms to spec it will work. 25fps isn't technically supported by the DCP standards committee so it might not work. However I've made a few home brew DCP's at 25fps that have played fine in cinemas. Its a risk but a lot of cinema servers are fine with 25fps even if its non standard. Both prores and DCP are going to look better then Blu Ray. But with careful mastering blu ray can look decent. If you can make friends with your local cinema I would do some tests, see what works for you.
  14. FCP 7 used to have a nice effect called radial blur that made some interesting effects. I made this music video and went to town on post diffusion: I may have overdone the Xmas lights
  15. One way to do it in post is make two copies of the clip and put them on two different video layers Apply a blur filter to the top layer and then make the whole layer semi transparent try 25% opacity. The transparent blurred layer will give you your bloom. You can experiment with different amounts and types of blur and level of transparency till you get the effect you like. If you want to get fancy you can colour correct the different layers differently for different effects or apply a luma key to the top layer so it just blooms the highlights rather then everything. I pretty much do this on lots of things if i don't have the option of camera filters. If your very subtle its perfect for taking the edge of digital footage without loosing too much sharpness
  16. I've been boycotting the Empire since they killed screen 1
  17. Real D isn't mechanical - it uses a LCD electronic polariser, no moving parts. Dobly 3D uses a spinning disk - The Empire used to use dobly in the past - so if they still do it could be that? If its single axis maybe something to do with timing? Mechanical vibration would have to be very specific to be perfectly on the vertical axis.
  18. It has the most flashy cinematography of any TV I've seen. If you define "flashy" as liberal use of Strobes. You literally couldn't want for any more flashing lights. https://media.giphy.com/media/xUA7b0pEURKGMjnjbi/giphy.gif
  19. There seems to be two schools of 1st AD shouty or calm, try to be the latter. Herding actors is worse then herding cats - so manuvering them has to be done subtly - because they still have to be in the right frame of mind. Ultimately your trying to achieve the best version of the story on time, on budget, safely. Ultimately its about good judgment, slavishly pushing the schedule through in a way that compromises the production for the sake of efficiency. The best 1st AD's contribute to the storytelling because they understand what is important to the story and hence worth giving the time too vs what isn't needed. When your behind and you have to cut elements - being able to help decide what elements to keep and what to cut are a big plus. As a director when I've had a great 1st AD its been a joy not just for the organising drill master stuff. But those moments when you can't see the wood from the trees or having a crisis of faith, the dop is off in a huff, the actors are away smoking, you need your first to help ground your vision. The best first I've had on a film could be considered a true collaborator. Its generally traditional for the camera department and AD department to be at war(Dop always needs 10 minutes more to adjust things, 10 minutes is actually 30 mins etc...). The best first AD's have excellent DOP managing skills
  20. An attempt to stay relevant now that IMAX don't make cameras. Pure branding nothing more
  21. Maybe it was an ex IMAX MPX screen rather then a new format. MPX was a 70mm system IMAX produced with a smaller projector designed to be retrofitted to multiplex auditoriums. They were intended to show DMR blowups so never had the full 1.43 AR of proper IMAX. Screens were typically 1.8:1 ish depending on the room http://www.lfexaminer.com/20100421shrinking-imax-screens.htm It never really took off because it fell between two stools - e.g the full expense of 70mm IMAX but with smaller multiplex type screen.
  22. Generally companies want to rent to people that know what they are doing, won't break the kit and will pay on time. I've never been asked to be a company to hire, but normally on an initial personal Hire I've been asked to provide references and pay a security deposit, plus ID's and proof of address are needed. A company would have to provide the same information to get on the books. It can be a bit of pain to sort out all the documentation - but once you are on the companies books your good. I don't have a company now but I am rep'ed as a Director by a company and thats streamlined the process - by getting them to handle kit bookings even on personal projects. Generally a trust worthy freelancer would be looked upon in the same way as a company. To be honest in someways not being a limited company might be better for a hire company because it would allow them to come after you for debts. With a limited company you can walk away from debts sometimes by winding up the company. As others have said you could spend time at the Hire company learning the camera or just hire a 1st AC that can load it for your project. So if its a project your Directing or DOPing then just hire in the camera side skills you need. Years ago I did a personal project on the prototype Arri D20 - I think there were about 2 in existence at the time - in order to make them happy I needed £400k of insurance and they needed to meet my 1st AC. But they are just protecting their investment and every issue can be resolved.
  23. Yeah silver screens are just the worst - they always look strange. The work ok in IMAX screens because the screen is so big, you have a larger sweet spot.
  24. Most 3D systems are between 10% and 30% light efficient. So in the worst case (dolby 3D) the combination of filters, glasses and alternating L and R images loose nearly 90% of the available light. So if you need X number of lumens to light the screen in 2D - to get the same brightness (depending on the system) you need 4 to 10 times as much light for 3D. So you can imagine your typical cinema is not going to spend the money needed to get the correct 14 fl in 3D, hence why most 3D films are timed for a more realistic 3-4fl. Its not just a cost issue but also down to the available projectors - the most powerful digital projectors can take a 6KW lamp. When Avatar was premiered in the London Empire using Dolby 3D on a 52ft screen it needed 4 x 6KW projectors to get the image up to an acceptable brightness. While is possible to stack projectors for a premier its not practical for day to day running. 2D these days can look dark either because the projector lamp is underspeced for the bulb or the 3D lens is left in place, this is typical for Sony projectors because its very time consuming to swop out. Also 3D has ruined 2D. Since most 3D systems require a highly reflective silver screen to retain polarisation. This also affects the way 2D films looks. Since its so directional they only reflect light back on on axis. So you could be sitting in the centre of the auditorium and watch a bright 14ft image. Then if you move down to the seats at the sides you become off axis and the brightness can drop significantly. With a silver gain screen, fewer seats are in the sweet spot of maximum illumination. Also Silver screens make it very difficult to get even light distribution - so you often see a noticeable hot spot or vignette. Dolby 3D doesn't need a silver screen, but its so light inefficient - few locations installed it because of the problems getting to to work on larger screens. Alongside the pain of collecting and recycling the expensive glasses. Laser projection of course is the answer, its brighter and the 3D systems are much more efficient - making it possible to get 14fl in 3D on large screens. Also they use a 3D system that doesn't require a silver screen - so win win. But its still prohibitively expensive and as such there are probably less then a couple of hundred screens worldwide. Most cinemas these days seem to be run austerity measures these days, minimum staff, poor build quality, poor maintenance, bad food, far to many adverts. Either this is because the chains are getting too greedy or the margins are just being squeezed by alternative content. Either way the cinematic experience seems to be getting worse. Its fine for Chris Nolan to say cinema is better and if your in one of 3 - 70mm IMAX screens left in the UK, it probably is much better. My local cinema is playing Dunkirk in a small room in 2K. With a trapezoidal screen: I kid you not the keystone is so bad from the poor booth placement, its resulted in a non rectangular screen, smelling of damp with seats that a good deal less comfortable then my ikea dining room chairs.... Think I'll stick to Netflix
  25. Its well worth your effort (and effort is the correct term). Just to see how far Lynch has pushed television - its not like anything you've seen on TV before at all. In terms of the visuals its very mixed and think thats intentional - you have some scenes that are very flat and static, almost mundane visually. Combined with many shots held much longer then comfortable. But then you have other shots that are full on Lynch abstract that are as bold visually as anything you will have seen in film or television. Episode 8 is both infuriating and genius in equal measure. More me its just a joy to see something each week thats going to be surprise - although I'm loosing patience with the whole Dougie Jones storyline (but thats probably the intention)
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