Rich Steel

One Kit sold, one left to go.

Back in the day Sony manufactured BPL-90 Lithium V Locks. Excellent Batteries, I've got 3 of them but because of those new restrictions they stopped manufacturing them now...Bugger.

If it's a camcorder like the HPX500 always take it as carry on. I've had a bad experience in the past with checking in a camcorder in a custom foam insert in a peli 1650 case and when I got it at the other end the lens had sheared from the b4 mount, so I always carry on if it's a camcorder. Another interesting factoid is that Ryan Air UK and Europe based (cheap and nasty airline) ask you to sign a waiver to say they aren't responsible for the loss or damage of any Broadcast/expensive items checked-in. When I asked what happens if I refused to sign the waiver, the reply was "find someone else to fly with".

You'll need to get a Carnet for Customs Purposes. I've shot all over the US and Canada and had to have a detailed Carnet of all the equipment I had. 9 times out of 10 the Customs Officer I had to deal with at point of entry/exit had no idea what a Carnet was and I ended up having to show them what they had to stamp and sign. Carnets are needed pretty much everywhere in the world unless you frequent places like certain parts of Russia, Pakistan and India where dollars speak more than paper work. When your flying back into the states you'll need proof that the equipment was indeed sourced and purchased in the states (hence having a Carnet) if you don't have a Carnet, your going to need proof of purchase (within the states) and until you can prove it, Customs have every right to impound the equipment until it's all checked out.

Sorry you got the wrong end of the stick there. The grading looks very good I was meaning the actual "Post-its" (3M types) stuck all over your set. Not actually overwhelming Post correction. I found them distracting, being set in the future and all. Will we really be using them that far in the future????

Can't help but notice the overwhelming "post-its" stuck everywhere around a good looking set. Was that meant?

Oh Dear, It looks like my British humour/satire has lost it's translation mid atlantic and that you guys are all getting upset and huffy...oops! and I'm astounded at the lack of understanding of sarcasm, those crazy Canadians and Americans. Maybe that's why Obama is such a crap leader of Canada....;)

at the very least....

Here, Here

Whatever. My point seems to have missed it's capitalist mark.

Why can't we say "this is what I do" why should I change. Most of the greatest artists who ever lived died pennyless. Real/true artists have never been creative or inspiring for THE MONEY, yes it helps but it's deeper than that, isn't it? If anyone is saying they are way too busy just now I'd take that statement with a very large pinch of salt.

Nikon D300 c/w Nikon/Zeis ZF 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm. I should really look at getting some sort of auto zoom lens. But the ZF are never off the damn thing.

I've used both and for some reason, on both occasions I got a semi transparant light grey (color) banding/rim rounding the subjects I was keying. And to make it worse, at the intersection where say the bottom of the neck met with the shoulder I got a double dark square at the join. The only way I managed to get rid of the grey Halo (for want of a better word) was to have the talent stand against the material, which then makes any backlighting impossible. Don't know if the systems have sorted this problem out but would be interested in seeing what you think. As for lighting, correct, you don't need to light the blue or green screen but you do still need to light your talent and you will need a fair distance from camera to talent to stop the green/blue LED's lighting your talent.

Conversion from watts to volts or an amp to volt conversion. It is not really a conversion as such but a formula where any two values are needed to be known to enable the third to be calculated. I remember the formula as WAV (wave; hi there!) - Watts = Amps x Volts By dividing both sides of the formula by amps you get - Watts / Amps = Volts ... the amps / amps on the right hand side canceling each other out to leave volts. and by dividing both sides by volts you get - Watts / Volts = Amps ... the volts / volts on the right hand side canceling each other out to leave amps. Example:- q. What is the biggest electric fire that can be run on a 13 amp fused plug in the UK? a. Mains voltage in the UK is 230v so Watts = 13 x 230 = 2990 watts or just under 3kW So if your UK based then YES you can run the HMi off a standard 13amp ring main.

I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time joining. There are some benefits to joining, like cheaper Public Liability Insurance, a host of free legal services, discounts etc etc etc.

I second that opinion. But maybe add a wedge plate to the head.

That's a real shame. We should petition Rogers to (A) RECONSIDER and (B) HAND OVER THE DETAILS OF THE INDIVIDUAL (S).

Mains voltage in the UK is 230v so Watts = 13 (amp) x 230 (volts) = 2990 watts or just under 3kW. As far as I'm aware there is no such thing as a 2Kw HMi but there is a 2.5Kw, so you could run one of those off a standard 13amp mains ring. It's not a massive space your trying to light (10ft x 10ft) and it's not clear if you will have any windows in your shot. If you don't have any windows in shot and you have very little money I'd run with a 1.2 HMi and some open faced units bounced.

I'm assuming your just using natural daylight as you haven't mentioned the use of any particular fixtures. I'd personally use a dedolight DLH4 Fixture with a projection adaptor but I'm in the fortunate position of owning it. There are numerous ways of doing it though. Do you have access to any lighting kit? if not, again there are lots of DIY ways of achieving the look. Here's a link to some great examples: http://cinepad.com/filmnoir/blinds.htm and here's another pretty good link to tell you how to achieve it: http://www.videomaker.com/article/13548/

That's a very good point David makes here. Don't be afraid to move furniture and fixtures around to help create a better frame/composition. It also gives you more opportunity to create some separation from the background.

My set were in feet not meters. Still a very good price for 4 Variable Primes mind you. They also look a bit more beat up than the ones I had.

I'll be selling 2 Kino Flo Diva kits shortly. Both kits have the following: 1x Diva-Lite 400 (c/w Universal Ballast) means you can work globally. 4x KinoFlo True Match Daylight tubes 4x KinoFlo True Match Tungsten tubes 1x Gel frame Holder 1x Honeycomb Grid 1x Flozier Diffuser (one missing) 1x Offset bracket 1x Lowell Uni-66 Lighting Stand Asking for $900 (US) EACH + SHIPPING. If you want both units I can sell them with a large PeliCase 1660 (Black) for $1900 (US) + Shipping I've costed this out at B&H and it would cost you $3149.63 + Shipping BRAND NEW. So you'd be saving over $1200 (US). However, I fear shipping a case this large globally may be expensive but you'll still be saving a tonne of cash especially if your UK based. Would be willing to swap for the following: 3x Dedolight DLH4 Channels (complete) or 1x Cool Lights 575 HMi Channel (complete) or Nikon ZF 18mm T3.5 Lens + £££££

Thanks for that. Looks like I've just added a couple of T1 to my lighting kit.

Eyes Wide Shut used them. I noticed there are 2 on ebay for sale. I sold them to the guy for $10,500 for both lenses a couple of years ago. He's now wanting over $14,000 for each one. I told him if he changes his mind I'd gladly buy them back for the $10,500 I sold them for. Haven't heard back from him.

Didn't Deakins win last years Cinematography Oscar? I'd like to think Anthony Dod Mantle would get it for the fantastic images on SlumDog but hey we'll just have to wait a while to find out.