Matt Workman

Thanks Mr. Greene. I looked for the same info and came up short. I didn't know MTV had a best cinematography award. I was under the impression most people don't know what that means. Cheers, Matt

That is a huge camera.

Hi, I'm shooting a music video this weekend and it will feature a signifigant amount of ice. I was planning on keying the artist with a chimera, but I want to highlight the diamonds as much as possible. In a video like "Grills" by Nelly did they use any special lighting techniques? I am pretty decent with Shake so I can always add a fake sparkle/lens flare but I thought I'd ask if anyone has any other ideas. Maybe some commercial DP's. Thanks. Matt

I was working on a feature with a cat and it freaked out and charged the camera, lol. I just covered the lens. Situations with large animals that could easily kill you: elephants, horses, buffalo, snakes, etc. I'm all for telephoto lenses, second unit DP, or CG. Matt

Doing in tie-ins in some states is straight out illeagal anyway. Give me a generator anyday. :ph34r: Matt

I have found it harder and harder to find good movies that are worth the theater ticket. We have a Dollar Theater in NY so that lessens the blow, I just saw Superman Returns. Lately I have been getting a lot of scripts that are anti-war. One director told me that he has been shopping around his script and that production companies are being flooded with anti-war scripts. But I haven't heard about any being funded. I'll be interested to see if any studio films come out with a conscious and a message. It seems unlikely but perhaps a good indie will make it through. The Departed shouldn't be on the same list as Click. IMHO. Matt

That is a great set. What kind of power did that barn/stage have? 2.5k HMI, 4 Space Lights, Kinos = How many Amps? You did a great job of making a small set look much bigger. I liked the day/night looks. I'm quite scared off the singer in the day scene. Can't watch it again. Cheers, Matt

I agree with the "toggle" method. But if you are concerned about consistant WB then presets are a good way to go. I always get worried when I custom white balance. What if we come back to this scene? :huh: Matt

Nice review. I didn't realize the D20 had a full frame sensor. Its going be awhile until I ever see the D20 or the 416 for that matter. Keep us updated on the good Steadicam posts. Matt

I'm not the director or DP and I'm not trying to second guess your style for the film but: If she is walking from EXT where she is unaware of the DEATH waiting inside I would make the EXT warm and the inside cool. Hint at the moonlight with a subtle 1/2 blue rim light in the EXT but use a street light to give it an overall warm and SAFE feeling. When she walks into the house of death then drop the warm light and go all moon light. Having moonlight bounce of the floors and underlighting the face is always scary. This is a more theatrical treatment. Mixing green in place of orange tungsten is fun too. Can you tell I do mainly music videos? Just a thought. Matt

Tim: I bought the Lees from good ol Visual Products, so I'm not sure when they were made. But they are electronic and they are old. If you are saying they are from the 90's then I feel better already. Though I'm selling them pretty soon. Hal: Fan test sounds good. But I don't think I'd diagnose any lighting problems with it. It may have worked with for your sample: magnetic ballast vs. newer Arri Universal Ballast, but unless you have a Lee to test too then I'm still out an answer. It may be easier to use a 2k or 5k (tungsten) and just get a huge generator. Tungsten lights are so easy. Thanks. Matt

I have worked for several companies in NYC and one or two have given a similar offer to be the official production company (insurance, payroll, etc.) if the budget allows. i.e. they get paid. They already are paying for the insurance and other corporate options, this is just extra money, connections for them. What they want varies on different projects. If the project has a chance at national exposure they may want their name on it somewhere, but most likely if you are going to them it won't. So they will take your money, credit free. Matt :ph34r:

Hi Justin, I have been working at my schools theater department quite a bit. I'm taking a class on lighting and electricity and I'm working as an electrician. I get to see the lighting designers plot which is always interesting and I'll be hanging and focusing for about 2 days straight. I think "theater" lighting can be used in a derrogatory way in film sometimes. Think: super-blue moon light, spot light reveals and dims, super saturated color washes, rotating cookies, dichronic filters etc. I've been learning a lot about working in a studio and various motivations for lighting in regards to narrative and mood. I think that if you understand light in any fashion you can transition into shooting. Check out some of the pictures from my school black box theater. Its similar to the Soundstage @ NYU. http://www.mattworkman.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=21 University of Rochester : Todd Theater NYU : Todman Soundstage Similar raceways and dimmer boards. Same type of flats. Different lights though. Matt :ph34r:

The big list of books is a little intimidating. I liked: - New Cinematographers (for the pretty photos and recent DPs) - Contemporary Cinematographers: On their art (fun read) Related: - Set Lighting Techicians Handbook (Good reference for self-Gaffing) - Camera Assistant : A Complete Professional Handbook (Good reference for self-AC) Also: - Breaking In : How 20 Film Directors Got their Start & The Mind of the Modern Movie Maker. These two are about directors but several of them started as DP's. - Strike the Baby and Kill the Blonde (You will know every term in this from a week on set but its fun anyway) These are my favorites so far, I'm still reading more. Matt

Good info. I would expect the newer Arri-Sun HMI's with Flicker-free ballasts to be fine with ungoverned power. I'm trying to figure out if some 1980's Lee HMI's with electronic ballasts would have a problem. The do not have different settings like 60hz/50hz/FlickerFree. They just have on and off. I'm hesitant to just try it out, for obvious reasons. If anyone knows their specs or can ask their grandfather if they know I'd be interested. Matt :ph34r:

I can't speak for BIG BUDGET productions but on micro-budget or low-budget shoots ADR is not usually budgeted at all. Meaning 95-100% location sound. Sound people have shotguns, lavs, dual-ambient, etc. mics to deal with varying conditions and can most of the time nail usable dialogue. The only time I have encountered ADR is for shooting in a cars, extreme wide shots, noisy exteriors, voice overs (obviously), shooting near water, action, etc. Although your post is "ADR in large budget features" your real question is about shooting low budget with an Arri S vs. a sync camera. I can't think of any producers that would recommend MOS shooting. ADR requires more time for the actors ($), script sup ($), sound recordist ($), etc. Modern cameras are "sync" for a reason and older MOS ones have barneys. Foley and sound design is a different subject. Just my opinion. Matt :ph34r:

Pansonic makes an HD onboard monitor, for the Varicam. But I'm sure it would work with the HVX with the right cables. It has a waveform also. Its around $5k. Matt

Crap. I wondered how the background was so perfect without any spill. Cheaters...bloody cheaters. Thanks Mr. Greene. :lol: Matt

How do you light the background seperately from the actress like in the Kanye West "Gold Digger" video? I've seen a very similar style in fashion and product photography. I want to replicate this style for a music video. Matt

If you are shooting a television or computer screen you need to change to 1/60 or 172.8 or whatever. Also if its really dark out and you can't light we've switched to 1/24. French film does this a lot. Matt

Are you getting the M2 with PL Mount? If so I'm really interested in seeing the results. Matt

I was under the impression that you needed a crystal synch (read: rented from a grip/elec company) generator for HMI's regardless of the ballast type. For HMI's with electronic ballasts can you use a cheapo put-put from Home Depot? Thanks. Matt

Rock Hard Films http://www.rhfilms.com/ I'm interested in who has been shooting Ray Kay's music videos. He is a photographer and probably could shoot them himself if he wasn't so busy directing. His recent videos are really great looking. I have to believe that he plays a large role in directing the lighting as well. Matt

I've heard of spiking the actor, so I guess calling it spike tape makes sense. I use gaffers tape, about 5 different colors. To distinguish the actor's marks. They also have reusable sandbag markers. Paper tape would work too, actually anything works. For dolly shots there are a lot of tricks but I've seen regular 2" orange/green tape with the feet written on it. Matt :ph34r:

Hi, I'm interested in what other AC's are using to calculate DOF, splits, etc. in the field. I have worked with 1st's who use the SameCine-II. http://cinemasupplies.stores.yahoo.net/sammkiidepof.html Also people use the palm pilot program. Which one are you using and why? - I think the Sam is rebust and doesn't rely on batteries. - But using the palm pilot, you can store the CAM data and its a little more intuitive. Thanks Matt