Josh Henderson

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help. When I looked at the helmet again, there was no way to add a light inside - the dome was far too wide, and string lights would slow us down too much. The solution that we chose was to use no fill most of the time (there were nice moments when the suit reflected onto their faces). The director decided that he wanted no reflections so we placed the reflection as far into the dark of the helmet as we could for the shot so that the reflection can be removed in post. We also tried a few back lit shots with low level fill and a couple where we edge lit the actor in a profile shot and refracted the light through the visor in a close up. We sacrificed the hard HMI key for (interestingly enough) a Sky Pan with a white reflector which has the hard bare bulb but with some wrapping ability at the distances we were working at (10-15 feet roughly). I rated the RED at 160 ASA which gave some very crispy whites on the suit without blowing them out (only the reflections blew).

Not out of left field at all. I've thought of using them on other projects before, and I tried buying an LED set after this past Christmas, but they had already cleared out. My only concern is to fill the convex surface with reflection highlights.

Hi I'm currently in prep for a dramatic short that takes place entirely in space suits - no shuttle, no station, just floating in space. Will be shot on RED One. At the moment, the plan is to have one very hard light (ie the sun). We've talked about in helmet lighting, but aren't sold for the look in this case. So far my thought is to fill from the edge - either top/bottom/left/right to minimize the reflections. I guess the question is: does anyone have any tricks for fill light through a reflective surface?

Well we completed the shot and everything went off without a hitch. Whites gave some questionable advice and both the DP and myself looked at the weight ratings and asked a second time if everything would be alright (they said it would) and after a third prompting, Whites realized that it wouldn't work in their suggested manner (a Filmair meerkat or similar with a remote head and an Arri 35BL3) Then some things were sorted out, and dropped the remote head from the list. The final setup was: - Hotdog Dolly on standard straight filmair track (from Whites) - AeroCrane with 4' of extension arm (the rest was used on other shots but there was a bulkhead) (Whites) - Ronford F7 2 axis head - Preston Wireless follow focus (from DJ Woods) - Video Tap (from Complete Film Rental as was the rest of the camera package) - I think we were on a 25mm lens It was a bit of a tight fit because of the heating/cooling bulkhead and the length of the backarm, but we worked it out. The actor just had to contort/cheat a bit to get into the shot. The DP has told me that he and the director like the finished shot. Job done. Well except for reshoots (but that's other scenes). -Josh

Thank you to everyone who has responded. To answer questions from members: Location or Stage? We're on location, in a restaurant. Frame? Enough to get the width of the table, so I suppose the people are a sort of dressing. I believe that it is a row of 2-4 person rectangular tables. We're in Toronto, not New York. First off, the truss dolly looks like it is the best option. I spoke with the DP and he agrees with me on that. However, I don't know if we'll be able to get truss up in the space. I also like the option of flexibility with the dolly + jib + head, and I'm confident that both would work for what has been asked. Consequently, I'm going to still consider both the truss dolly and dolly + jib + head for the meantime. Hopefully I'll be able to scout the location before the end of the month (everything so far has been described to me). I might even be able to post pics. Thanks again, -Josh

Hi everyone, I've been asked to find out the right way (cheap not necessary) to do this shot. The shot is in a restaurant, and it dollies straight down the entire length while looking straight down over the patrons' tables. There can be absolutely no play/wiggle on the arm. The camera is a 35mm Arriflex (don't know the specific model). The best setup I've been able to talk out with the DP is a jib attached to the boom arm of the dolly and a L bracket to mount the camera facing straight down while the dolly travels on track off camera. We have access to a Fischer 11 and a FilmAir jib, but we've found the boom arm on the Fischer to be wobbly. Would using a wider lens be enough to make it work even if wobbly? Should we go get a different, more stable dolly/jib combination? Would a dance floor work in this situation? Would adding a gyro head of some sort work in this situation? And just to reiterate: absolutely no wiggle should be seen in the shot. I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks in advance. -Josh

Don't get me wrong, I understand bagging technique, there's just so many opinions. I go back and forth with the long leg vs real counterbalance. I may start wrapping the bag around the column from above the long leg and put the weight towards the back. There's enough in this thread for a book :P Much of this also applies to light stands.

I agree with the opening method on the shoulder. Shoulders are also a good way to carry two c-stands with legs forward, the weight disapears and you only need to grip/balance with your hands. Whipping around metal like the "drunken method" is asking for trouble. Once you hit something using the drunken method, that'll be the last time you'll want to do that (not from experience, btw, just foresight). Cable under a stand always looks extremely dangerous to me, and I fix it whenever I see it. Righty-tighty. Long leg forward. Already said. Sandbag placement on c-stands seems arbitrary to me - I always mix it up for flavour. With long leg under the weight, most of the work is done, the bag is just adding mass. I like red bags vs black ones for visibility, and then maybe place it on the side that people pass by so they can see it and/or can't loop their foot under the leg. If balance really becomes a problem (ie wind), you need a larger stand than the c-stand, with a larger base and bag the supports as far out as possible. If you don't need to use the entire length of each riser stage, don't do it, the stands are stronger with the metal overlapping inside.

Sorry, I'm going to hijack the thread a little. I'm also looking at going to Rockport Main in Sept for the Feature Film Lighting class. I feel like I'm fretting about unimportant stuff. I scored a 47 on their test which puts me at a level 4ish, but I feel like more of my knowledge is from books and less from practical (that's how I feel, it may not be true :P but I'm coming from a video world, and that's one of the reasons I want to take this class). How much do they assume the students know going into the class? What equipment do they have to work with? I'm actually going to call them tomorrow morning for availability, questions, etc. -Josh

Thanks for your response, Christine. I hadn't thought to check there for some reason... May I ask what job you have now? Would I be able to interview you? The search for DoPs is only a self imposed critera, and it would work out to my benefit to interview someone who is on the path to become a DoP. -Josh

Hi, My name is Josh Henderson and I am currently attending Ryerson University in Toronto. I am looking to do an interview with a few DoPs/Cinematographers in the Toronto area. Specifically, I am looking at career trajectories, experiences, and the current market's influence on jobs. This topic is of particular interest to me since I'm looking to become involved in Cinematography for my professional career. If you or anyone you know is available, I would greatly appreciate a one-on-one interview. My profs prefer in person, but under the circumstances, telephone is also an option. For everyone who has read this, thank you for your time. Josh Henderson Student Radio and Television Arts Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada