Bryan Fowler

Hi guys, I'm looking for some super cheap glass. Something in the 35 to 50mm range. I see some stuff on eBay from the Ukraine for pretty cheap, but it's 80 or 135mm. Anyone have thoughts on some cheap glass sources? I realize it's going to be rough glass, but that's ok for what I need it for. Thanks!

I'm looking for a used, but in good working condition, set of tripod legs. I have a 1030s head already. Sachtler or Oconnor would be at the top of the list, but I'm open. If you have some that you'd like to sell, PM me here (or better yet, email me) Be sure to include your asking price with best guess on shipping if you can. I'm in TN Zip 37363 Thanks! Bryan

Well Sanjay, that's because you are a nice person. =)

My normal grip just brings me what I need. I don't ever have to specify. But when I working with a new guy I use 1st, 2nd, top. And if it's a student, I just ask him to go get Tad. =)

Back when I tinted windows for money, heating and curving film was a pain. And took a while. Sometimes we took the window out, if it was easy. (Jeep cherokee) Other times we... brb doorbell.

You should see how excited Duke gets when storing rags!

I say "speed'olicious" or "let's do it!" I also get looked at oddly.

I think it's funny that I know most of the people in this thread. =) *waves*

If I had not have been "fired" by my x-girlfriend, I would have never found my wife. I thank my x-girlfriend for that dumping, and that was 12 years ago. =) these guys have given some decent advice. Don't discount it. Bryan

Hi Jaime, Welcome to the forums. There isn't a cut and dry answer for what you are asking. There are already lots of posts on budgeting, and tons of books on the subject. What might be easier would be to say "my budget is $5,250 (or $240,000) what can I get for that?" And even that has no easy answer. It's like saying, "how much will it cost for me to get a car. It needs to seat 2, and be able to drive on gravel every now and then." You can spend $2,000 for an old honda, or $400,000+ for an exotic car. Both will "work" Check out rates for personnel in your area online, and multiply them by 5. Don't forget days for prep. Don't forget post production, don't forget a colorist, don't forget effects, don't forget audio sweetening, and don't forget distribution. "you get what you pay for" still applies in the film world. =) I know that might not be what you were looking for. But I hope it helps. Bryan

Rich, I would imagine they might not be as consistent as the shiny boards I've used. Maybe not as durable, or easy to man(woman)handle. I'm sure they'd reflect light, and depending on the effect, they possibly would meet your need. It's hard to say from just a photo.

Ok, since it hasn't been said, Who is John Gault? before you point me up the thread, I shall state that this is a question not meant to be answered, but instead is meant to prove that I, contrary to what some may think, can and do read books.

True Max. Tim, Good luck selling them. I'm sure you will. You might even be able to keep one with the profits. I think the Red is great. It's allowed me to do things that film wouldn't be able to let me do. Bryan "I must be a greedy bastard" Fowler

Tim, Many REDs have sold on Ebay, and off ebay. Some for over 60% to people who want one now. It's not unethical, illegal, or misleading. People know what they are spending their money on. It's called supply and demand. You think supply and demand is absurd? I'd love to be in an ethical, legal, honest business of making $8,000-$15,000 I haven't seen any hype surrounding the Red. I have however seen lots of excitement. Did you mean to say excitement?

Tim, Did they give you an estimate on when they would ship? Bryan

[opinion] actually... I think it's worse than nothing [/opinion] I think it's interesting commentary on people, and entertainment expectations when they demand their money back for a movie that they simply didn't like. As if it's the theatre that required them to watch it, and pay for it, without any prior knowledge of the film. I actually enjoyed the movie. At first I was thinking, "what cameras are they using", "was that an FX shot? yeah it was.. no. .maybe not.. wait." Then I forgot about how it was shot, and just watched. It was a little too much shaky for me, but I shouldn't have sat near the front. Overall I was very impressed with everything about it. *thinking* Maybe if I ask, theaters will retroactively refund me for movies that I didn't like? Man, that would be awesome. A theatre with a lifetime guarantee. I want my Batman money back.

I cut the last short film I did all on my Macbook Pro. It was DVCPro 100 (DVCPro HD) 720p I had a FW800 drive for all the media, and it was all fine. Let me know if you need more questions. bryan

What rig do you have access to? Any operators you know? Have you checked the url=SOA website?]http://www.steadicam-ops.com/index.shtml[/url] It can be done with no experience. It's more a question of will the resulting footage help, or hurt the story. And not having the experience to know what your footage will look like in advance, makes it hard to answer that. That camera is a light camera, so if you get a lightweight rig, you are in less danger of damage to either the rig, camera, or human....key word, LESS.. =) Am I helping? or making you shake your head. =) bryan

Hi Drew, If you have even the smallest budget it would be very well worth trying to find someone that owns a rig that would come out. If I was nearby I would. I rented a rig form a friend of mine, he spent a day with me practicing, teaching me as much as he could. I then practiced for another day, and then shot for a week with the rig. I later bought it from him and have been to a few workshops. My footage was alright, but not great. Daniel is right, safety is a concern. You don't want to borrow a rig, then have to pay for it's repair, as well as the camera. yeah.... I just read what Brian said. I agree...find an operator. Good luck! Bryan

Thanks everyone for the help. I looked at the sun guns. that its the most promicing at the moment, becuase of the color temp, compactness, and ability to run on a Brick (Anton Bauer brick that is) But they cost a lot. Maybe rental? High power flashlights is what we have already. They are just not as diffuse as we need, so the flexfill is a nice idea. I think that's one we will try. Torches (the fire kind) might incorrectly hint that thee cavers actually use them for caving when the cameras are not around...and they are going for a reality type feel. Plus, we have to breathe in there. I guess there is a breeze, but still. It would look romantic though. The battery powered spot is a good idea too. The DP for this shoot just came off a feature length cave shoot, where they tried the rechargeable spots. he said they were ok, but only lasted an hour at best. We do have 1 maxi-beam, but it doesn't last as long.. maybe a few of the spots.. but that might be a lot to carry. Thanks for the suggestions.. I'll keep them all in mind! Bryan

wow, where can I get HD for $400/hr? In Atlanta it's $700-800 to go to DVCPro HD / or disk. I'm not saying you are wrong, just wondering where it is. I bet the flight and hotel stay would still be less than the total cost in Atlanta. Might save me a bit. =)

A friend of mine on the local cave resque squad wants to do a travel style, documentary type video on a cave in our area. We want to stage interviews in the cave, shoot the features of the cave (rock flows and formations), and catch some of the cool cave things. At the end of the cave you have to swim, and is skinny. One spot is 12in tall, 10ft wide, and wet. We will be shooting on DVX, and lipstick cameras for POVs. We have our cave lights that go on our helmets but they are not very diffuse. We have an HID biking light that is nice color, but very spotlight. The issues we are constrained by are as follows: 1. Money naturally. This is all funded by one person. Crew is working for food. 2. Power. No generators, no extention cords.. all battery power. 3. Water. Only at the end will the lights need to be waterproof. And even then, it's such a confined space, that 1 or 2 lights should work. 4. Size. When the non-waterproof lights are packed in their pelican case (or whatever) they have to be able to fit through the 12in narrow spot. Any ideas? =) Thanks, Bryan Oh, it's possible to pack the cameras and lights out the way we come in, BUT, there are 5 rappells within the cave, so it would be a bit of a pain to do that. But it's possible.

I spent a few days with Anthony, the DP for 28 days later. Nice guy. Liked him lots. He said that they had Canon change the ND 1 and 2 filters for diffusion, so they could flip up different level of diffusion. Kinda nifty. That's all I know about it.

Just a thought for the speedo, On my jeep, there is an easily replaceable gear that changes what the speedo reads. So when you change tire sizes, or axles, or both, you can match up the gear to what speed ratio you have. Not sure about the crown vic though.