Matt Workman

Here is an interview I read a few days ago. http://www.greencine.com/article?action=vi...p;articleID=168 Chris Doyle is a pretty interested guy. The behind the scenes doc on Lady In the Water has some pretty funny scenes with Chris running around. Cheers, Matt

I semi-feel like a jackass for responding to my own question but here is what I've found: - Altman makes a 400w Blacklight Fresnel and a 400w Blacklight Floodlight. - There are also 48" Blacklight flourescent tubes I've never worked with black light and we don't really have the budget/time to test. I'm trying to get: 1x Altman Blacklight Fresnel 2x Altman Blacklight Floodlights 8x 48" Blacklight Flourescent tubes I'll have a regular tungsten kit to boost this up if I'm not getting the exposure I need. I'm still searching for a bigger theater/event or movie rental house in NYC who rents these types of lights and price quote. I have a feeling they might be two to three times as expensive as their tungsten counterparts. Still very interested to hear other's opinions and experiences. Cheers, Matt

Hey Guys, I have a music video coming up pretty soon where the director was interested in a black light scene. Where is a good place to rent movie quality black lights in NYC. I think theater companies stock smaller ones. What kind of flourescent paint should production design use? Anyone with first hand experience with this I'd love to hear your input. Thanks, Matt PS: I'm going to google search for a few hours

I like Tim's idea with the PARs. Kevin Zanit owns a truck load, shown in a previous thread. I'm thinking of using a few on my next feature. To add one more factor to this is power kick outs. I own a few HMI's (electronic ballast) and I lost power several times and the fuses on the ballast blew. This doesn't happen on Tungsten lights. You can turn them off just by unplugging it, probably not the best idea on a 5k. HMIs need more TLC but if you can keep them happy they are like we've said WAY more efficient. For a quick and dirty shoot you are probably better off with 1K open faces or something ilke that, especially without a Movie Gennie. I'm pretty sick of powering my HMI's from crappy house power and having it die mid shoot. Its expensive. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Thanks guys. Very helpful. I haven't been doing very much Day exterior stuff. - For a soft bounce can a silk work? - What are the different types of griff and what are they generally used for? There is probably a website out there that sells them all. I'm still a little in the dark about when to use monster HMI's or monster bounce/mirror 12x12 or 20x20. I'm not quite working at that budget yet but I don't think its too far away either. Specifically in a heavy sun backlit situation the silver lame or a stronger/softbounce seem fine. But I wouldn't mind punching a large HMI through opal. I guess HMI's are more expensive with the generator but I kind of like the HMI approach better. What are the factors you consider when approaching DAY EXT shoots. I saw some DAY EXT behind the scenes shots on Akeelah that had an 18k above a picnic table of kids. That seemed to make sense. Somewhere in there were some questions. Thanks again. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Hey, I just did a music video in NYC that was mainly EXT and the director brought his SunBounce kit. It came with a 6x6 silk and a 4x6 shiny/white bounce. Check out their site to see what I'm talking about. http://www.sunbounce-usa.com/products.html Also this is a set photo I've used 6x6, 12x12, etc. silks and solids but what material would you use for the shiny reflective stuff in a 6x6? I want to request this for my 6x6 on my next feature and I don't know what this would be called at a g/e house. Thanks, Matt

My HMI's are Lee. They are electronic ballast. I suspect they have problems because I keep feeding them crappy power. Low-budget, what can I say. I've had the power kicked out and the outlet blown many times and I think the ballast has had it. If production could afford a reliable generator then I wouldn't have to use my own HMI's. Kevin - The PARs look really great. I used them a lot for theater but I've never used them on a movie set. For some reason I always want to see Arri or Mole, but I guess there isn't a reason why these wouldn't do the trick. LOL I love the KZ on them. I was thinking of spray painting my name on my pelican cases. You have changed how I have been thinking about light packages. Thanks. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Who says director is an upgrade from DP? <_< :P My advice (naiive nonsense) is to DP as much as you can on the side but work as an AC/Electric on bigger shows to shadow and learn. This is my plan as of now but it sounds like I should try my hand a being a stage manager. :lol: Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Hey Tim, Most of the time the AC is hired by the DP. You should really ask DP's what they look for. Or if you are a 2nd or Loader by the 1st AC. For the last music video I did in LA, where I couldn't interview the AC's in person I had to rely mainly on the resume and phone conversation. - AC's should only list jobs done as an AC. It is annoying and confusing to see jobs they worked as a DP/Gaffer/Grip/Director/etc. Its cute but irrelevant. - Listing other DP's and 1sts they have worked for is also great. The film industry is very small and if you start listing names of working DP's you will eventually find a common ground. - I like to see the jobs sorted by date, the most recent first. Listing the DP/Film Production/Camera for each also. - A little personal statement like "I thrive under pressure and I love the smell of 7218" is always cute. The resume only gets the first call. I hire based on how well I think I'll work with them. In the case that another DP I know has worked with them I will give that DP a call. i.e. don't list DP's that don't like you. These are just my thoughts, there are no rules. Hope that helps. Cheers, Matt :ph34r: PS: I've seen AC's lately who have websites. I like me a good website with set photos. Although the AC I hired in LA didn't have one, just a monster text resume. Hey Aram, if you read these forums.

I own two HMI fresnels. 575w and 1200w. They are great and I've made money with them BUT THEY ARE SO ANNOYING. My 1200w ballast has been back in the shop constantly and it needs to go back before my next feature. They are pretty rugged Lee HMI's w/ electronic ballasts from VP, most likely sold from an old Panavision auction. HMI bulbs turn green and aren't cheap. Also packing HMI's for travel requires more thought than with tungsten heads. For bigger HMI's we take the bulbs out if its going to be really rough. I need to take better care of them :huh: I've used ther 1200 PARs and Fresnels. For a hard rim light or a strong spot light feel the PAR is the best. The Fresnel is nicer for an even spread. Though some PARs come with a nice set of lenses, including a fresnel lens. My 2 cents. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Ken Mineha My personal M2 has been well maintained and I make sure everything is running well before everyshoot. So focusing on the ground glass is pretty consistant. Back focus with the HVX is usually around MF13-14. I have the RR follow focus so pulling w/ marks is made a little easier. No hard mount. No reason. Just haven't bought one. Nikon mount. The ONLY mount you need. If you feel like balling out of control with the M2 you should still buy the Nikon mount and get the new Zeiss Nikon Manual lenses. PL Mount stuff just doesn't seem right to me on the M2. As for the sensitivity and the grain, just keep the camera at 0db and be ready to use a LOT of light. It always feels like you are over lighting the scene, if you are trying to expose at stop, but watch the 80% Zebras or Waveform to make sure. Redrock is dropping some serious accessories. I'm most looking forward to the mattebox for my low budget stuff, then I'd buy some pana-sized ND grads. The MicroX and MicroRemote look very interesting also. Cheers, Matt :ph34r: :ph34r:

CHRIS Yeah the HVX/M2 is effectively 50-100ASA. So at night you can imagine... We had basically one 1.2k HMI which needless to say isn't enough. Wait until I put up the rest of the footage from Breakaway. We have some nice 500T night exterior. ADAM What are you doing for the summer? I'm shooting a feature in NYC in July. We already have some former and currrent RIT kids working on it. I would love for you to grip/electric on it. I wish I didn't mess up the post title. "Goot Times" sounds German or something. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Good Times Drama/CarShots/Party - HVX/M2 Battle Footage Dir. Mike Dispenza DP. Matt Workman DP Reel http://www.mattworkman.com/dp-v2/work-goodtimes.html Set Photos http://www.mattworkman.com/2007/gootimes/ Like the title implies this short has some sexy drama camera work, some upstate NY car process shooting, and some crazy party documentation. All in one short film. The final film will be posted on its very own website. Keep cool CINE users. Cheers, Matt :ph34r: :ph34r: PS: Thanks to fellow CINE member: Dave Regan and Adam Butterworth and any other crew members stalking these forums.

Hey, I'm putting together a lighting kit for a small feature coming up and I am planning on using mainly small soft lights. There is a lot of small room dinner/tv scenes so I was thinking of getting a kit with the Chimera 20" China and the Pancake. Shown here: What lights are they using and what kind of stand are they using? http://www.filmtools.com/chimeralantern.html I was thinking of mainly using the Mogul Light socket with practical bulbs like these: What lighting fixture are they using in this photo also? http://www.filmtools.com/nehoba2532qu.html Thanks for the help. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

The music video is still in production/post-production. Lots of green screen pickups, background stuff, and editing. Video Static featured the production online @ http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2007/week18/...#entry-33464554 Todd very generously chose a photo with me, KRS, and himself in it. I wish I struck a better pose, I'm horrible in front of the camera, which you might see if they post the behind the scenes doc where I got interviewed...ewww. Definitely link to the video when its out. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

My first professional gig was being a 2nd AC on a Cine-Alta feature, it was fun. "Zombie Strippers" huh? Best come back with some set photos ya hear?! Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

This thread needs to be wiped clean except for the first original post and about 2 others. Come on... <_< I'm not a big movie producer or DP but I think that the stills and the early video clips are really amazing. This is only an alpha version also! I'm interested in what they were doing for lighting. Is there any info for these particular batch of photos? I'm glad they used the Cookes because it isolates what is effecting what. If they used the Red Lenses then you could talk all day about if the results were from the camera or the lenses. But that day will come soon I'm sure. Cheers, Matt

I just cut a DP reel from the footage we got back so far. We still have about 3-4 more days of shooting but I was really excited about getting something online. The color corrects are temporary but mainly I just desaturated the whole thing. There are a lot of places I see for improvement, feel free to point them out, but this was my first time shooting on super16mm. I would have liked Zeiss Super Speeds and I wish I didn't have to operate so I could have tweaked the lighting more. But I'm happy with it for the most part. Breaking Away - DP Reel http://www.mattworkman.com/dp-v2/work-break.html We processed at PWNY : Spirit -> DVCAM. The colorist did a really great job. Mainly correcting out the blue out of the night EXT stuff. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Try not to take this stuff into the personal realm, if it can be helped. You alienate other peopel who might have something of stock to say. I've been working with a lot of film students lately and I can easily say that the camera means NOTHING when it comes to the quality of filmmaking. I've worked with the same crews on a super16 short and a HVX/m2 short and its about the same. We had the same amount of experience in producing, acting, directing, lighting, etc. etc. In my opinion the film industry is defined by the HUSTLE. Even if they threw a Panavision GII and a 18 ton grip truck at us we would still be the same crew of guys. Its the same deal on the professional level. If the production team has that HUSTLE then they probably already secured funds for 35mm or RED or whatever is top of the line. I've seen plenty of bad/mediocre 35mm footage from a photography side and like everyone else I've seen my share of bad 35mm films from a production side. I agree with Adam's original post. Although I'm excited in seeing the new RED just like I'm excited about working with the Thompson Viper, Arri 416, Aaton Xtera, and Arri D20. Movie budgets aren't $100 million because of the camera package. I'll conclude by saying read the production journals that report on Sony Pictures new marketing campaigns and Miramax's new feature line up and you'll see quickely that they don't mention the RED camera. The film industry is straight business. All films are business, only a few are art. If they big guys can make money by shooting with the RED they will, like Fincher. Cheers, Matt

Would it be an option to shoot with all Daylight Sources to get an overall neutral look and then add the 1/2 CTO look in DI?

All great advice so far. I will add ( and you probably know this already but... ) on the Cine-Alta you can have different lens profiles for each Digi-Prime. I just worked with a F900 from Abel Cine Tech where the Engineer setup a different file for each Zeiss Digi-Prime. On set the cadence of: change lens, change filter, backfocus, change lens profile, was a little longer than I liked. We only had one AC, so with a 2ND and after the first week of a feature you might be flying. In my humbliest opinion on Prime Versus Zoom, I think that in HD the extra speed of the Digi Primes T1.6 and whatnot can eek out the slightest amount of DOF compared to the T1.9 zoom. But in reality getting the precise ND filter to stay wide open is quite a chore and not meant for run and gun stuff. Also the DP 5mm is a nice lens. Also if you are trying not to get into positive Gain levels having the extra 1/3 to 1/2 a stop can be helpful in many ways. Lighting and Post work. A plus for run and gun night shooting. I would usually prefer the option depending on shots like Eric was saying. We had some 16' ladderpod shots where I wish we could have just nudged the zoom instead of waiting 5 minutes for a lens change. :unsure: What kind of monitor are you using with the F900R? Who are you guys renting from? Have a good shoot. Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

"Apple would like everyone to believe that buying $1000 software makes you an editor. Or a sound editor. Or, now, a colorist." Come on Apple knows what they are doing. FCP, Shake, and Color are now very affordable and its giving it to anyone who wants to give it a go, whether or not they are "talented" enough to use it or not. If we work with an editor or colorist it isn't becuase their system cost $100k or $1k, its because they do good work and most likely because they are cool people. The same mentality works with RED and DP's. Just be excited to play with the new software and cameras! Cheers, Matt :ph34r:

Hey Guys, Yeah the shoot was as smooth as I've ever seen. Good producing and good crew. The steadicam operator was Jon Meyers (www.jonmyers.tv) He was really really great. I'll definitely update this thread when the video drops. Cheers, Matt

KRS-ONE feat. Marley Marl "Hip Hop Lives" KOCH Records Dir. Todd Angkasuwan SET PHOTOS http://www.mattworkman.com/dp-v2/setphotos.html This weekend I DP'd a music video for a personal hero of mine, KRS-ONE. This was my first professional trip to California (being a NYC kid) and I had nothing but great experiences. The camera package was from Abel Cine Tech Burbank, most of them were at NAB. We shot on the Sony F900 with a full set of Zeiss Digi Primes. We also brought out a full studio setup with a Panasonic 17" and 8.5" monitor. We shot the entire video in LA at GMT Studios (www.gmtstudios.com). The stage was a 40'x40'x18' two wall green cyc. We had access to pretty much whatever lights we felt would be needed. The workhorses of the kit were: - 5x 6k Spacelites - 1x 10k Fresnel - 3x 5k Fresnels - 4x 2k Fresnels - 1x Wall-of-Light - 4x 4'4bank Kinos We had a pretty complete crew and the stage manager made sure that we were setting up the distrobution correctly. Instead of renting a Fischer 10 like we planned we got an amazing steadicam operator to come on for 3 hours. KRS was very entertaining and because he was feeling the treatment he was very excited for most of the set ups. There were guest appearances from lots of hip hop moguls, but I was unaware of most of their presences because I was lighting the whole time. The original budget was for 35mm but because the project ended up going entirely green screen we decided that HD made the most sense. I enjoyed lighting by monitor and waveform. I used Michael Nash's advice about keeping the greeen screen evenly lit by +/- 10 footcandles. With the spacelites I kept the wall at around 45-55 footcandles for most of the shoot. The 10k had a large chimera with 40 degree litetools eggcrates. I wanted to have a 30 degree and 50 degree but oddly enough they only had the inbetween. The wall-of-lite turned out to be a little to big for the relatively small light it put out. We would have had to build a speed rail rig to get it into position and we didn't have the time for that. The video is supposed to air on MTV/BET/VH1 but I'm not involved that process. Once the video is released I'll have a shiny h.264 quicktime on my site. There is also a behind the scene documentary that will be released with the video, hopefully. SET PHOTOS http://www.mattworkman.com/dp-v2/setphotos.html Cheers, Matt

When light designing with venetian blinds I would take a look at rooms in the house and note how natural (sun/street lights) fall on the walls. Quite often when people put up movie lights through blinds they come at funky angles and get distorted or the shadows are too large. Its obviously a matter of taste but I like keeping the blinds tight and level. That usually means keeping the lights pretty high and at least 10ft from the window. If you have cranks or mombo/combos on wheels its easier to adjust to get the right tweaks. I've spent the better part of an hour messing with two HMIs because we had to stem up and stem down to move them around, plus focusing, geling, and bagging. Careful with hazers, you'll have the fire department there to help you pack up your equipment if you don't check the alarms. Matt :ph34r: