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Adrian Sierkowski

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Everything posted by Adrian Sierkowski

  1. From my experience the noise on the HVX with gain is ugly! Avoid gain if at all possible!
  2. Any they're right, so long as the lab knows there's no core (i usually write this on the can) it'll be fine. Those cam stock in my ARRI SR3 Mags, but I changed them out for the standard core adapters just for simplicity's sake. Look on the bright side, now you'll have a few extra cores to hang onto that otherwise would've been lab bound. You have no idea how useful this can really be for those strange times when there is not a core to be found
  3. I normally rate the HVX @320 asa straight (24p) and then with the RR i'd go 'round an 80ASA as well. But that's just for a rough estimate, normally i'm setting my exposure off of my zebras
  4. Whew, good, for a moment there i seriously questioned my sanity (after 30 hours of being awake, it's hard to tell what you know and what you're imagining! anyone know how to make blue people go away? :wacko: )
  5. I'd aslo add the model work from 2001 to the tier of some of the tops. Mr. Frisch, do you mean "stop down the lens to maximize Dof?" or am I that tired?
  6. I can't even begin to embarrass myself enough and say how many times I had been in that situation. But, often it's because the biggest units most of the shoots I'll work on wind up getting are 1K lowels. I always find myself looking at the photometric tables for units, KinoFlos site has some purdy looking graphs, but Mr. DiPaola is 100% right; experience and practice are the best ways to learn to the point where you just "know" what to use. If that makes any sense (and even when you don't know for sure, to be able to deduce) But, then again, this whole filmmaking thing IMHO is a life-long process of learning. (My dad used to say he had forgotten more than he had ever known)
  7. AFAIK kodak, online, has a FC to F stop chart for all their films online (one per film) on their spec sheet. http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products...p;lc=en#exptung for example (5 fc for a F1.4 on 52/7218 as seen on the proceeding linked table)
  8. Definitally some very nice shooting in there and nice version of the Imogen (spelling?) Heap song. I especially loved the shot of the girl on the swing (camera attached) in fact the only thing I didn't like was the opening cloud dissolve; but hey, that's just me. Top notch reel.
  9. In terms of post stuff; personally I find the XLS can do with a slight saturation increase and a punch up of the gamma to get some contrast. That's just me, though. As for lighting; any way you can bring in something small just to agument what's around? Give a nice kiss of light to a cheek or fill in some of the overhead's shadows? XL2s make a nice picture. Just avoid using the gain if possible as it'll add in grain. Depending on what you're aspect ratio is, shoot either straight 4:3 or Squeeze mode. Keep the boom mic as close to the top of the frame as you can to get a good SN ratio and you should be fine in post. Also, for a "filmic look," shoot in 24P. that's my 2 cents. a lot will depend on the project and the specific look you're trying to achieve. Best of luck!
  10. Definitely Hal. Hell, it's just in general, "cool," to use a word which reveals my age, that we have professionals here in all calibers to guide all of us through the world of cinematography. It's a jungle, it seems, deepening by the day.
  11. I shake out the bag after every day of shooting and try to keep it assembled in an out of the way place while on set. I check as mentioned in a dark room with a flashlight. never thought of the wear points on the bag though; but with my "folding," it really is more like rolling up (i always roll it in the end as well, i basically just half it over twice and then roll the rest of it like an old camping tent). I keep it's other bag near by, generally closed, but I also will shake that out and give it a good inspection. I try to keep the armlets of the bag on the inside so they're not exposed to dust/dirt as much and of course i keep it zipped up. I may not be doing it by the book, if there is a book, but it's been working for me thusly.
  12. Can't see it without registering/logging in.
  13. My tent came in a nice little baggie of it's own. I just fold it up, pushing out the air, and stick it in, with the bottom of the bag (the thickest part) on the outside, and then put the tent poles in later on (it's a harrison changing tent)
  14. What I think Mr. Mullen is trying to say is that although 500T would be good in a dark deep forest (where you need the faster speed film) it won't work for an all around stock because it is very sensitive to light, so in situations of direct sunlight/harsh sunlight, you'll be overexposing the negative to a high degree, hence necessitating you to carry more than one stock for different situations. 500T is a nice stock, but it's an INT/Night/Low light stock primarily. You might want to look into 250D or 200T for a stock which can work for both INTs and EXTs, though you run the risk of underexposing on the INTs unless you can bring light with.
  15. Kodak has discontinued thier 800T stock. The fastest stock avalible now from Kodak and Fuji is 500T. 7218 can be pushed 1 stop with alright results (rated at 800, though instead of 1000).
  16. OK, the bolex is a fun little camera. It's been awhile since I touched one. But here goes You measure your light form the actor pointed at the lens of the camera if you are using an incident meter (the one with the white half circle.) you'd do the opposite with a reflective meter (without whit circle) pointed at the actor (this would be a spot meter) and adjust it's reading for the skintone (since it makes whatever you point at it mid-grey, you'd open up say 2/3ds of a stop of a caucasion or close down for a dark african Americans etc). You measure from the focal plane to what you want in focus, normally the main actor; but it depends on what you want in focus or out of focus. You do not set DoF, it is a result of your lens choice as well as the F stop you're shooting at and the size of the rcording medium *in this case 16mm film) (for more DOf use a wider lens or m ore light to close down, or move the camera back, focusing out further, for less, reverse that). Moving the camera back and forth will change your shot so you generally don't' want to do that unless you can't get focus for whatever reason (i find focusing easier with the aperture wide open, and then i'll dial it back to whatever F stop it should be). You would generally fine-tune/tweak the lights to get just the right aesthetic, or if a light is in the shot etc, or the staging doesn't work for whatever reason. Generally you'd've lit the set to your desired exposure well before now (for example if you know you want deep DoF on a telephoto lens you'd have to light the set pretty brightly in order to achieve a higher F stop. You'd first do this, consulting tables for the F stop required to get the distance of focus (say from 1 foot to infinity) desired. From there you'd set the your focus then the aperture, and then you'd tweak if say a shadow is too harsh etc. ) hope this somewhat helped! and don't worry, i'm sure allof us have been lost at one time or another.
  17. IIRC you can just import them directly. That's what i did to FCP 5 for my reel then i just exported them at prores hq movs.
  18. There's a thread (c-stand etiquette ) here http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...showtopic=22353 you should read up on it'll give some good things. Also there are a few books from film tools (http://www.filmtools.com/books.html#top) which give good pointers etc. The best way to learn, however, is through experience and watching other grips work. Normally when you're hired on to grip you'll be under other people who've been doing it a lot longer than you. You'll be the green-grip and they'll take care of you. Just be positive, watch what they do, how they do it, and keep safety ALWAYS in mind.
  19. You know it's times like this where I wished i lived on the west coast. I'd bring my SR3 and Optars out then you'd solve the whole PL mount problem! Best of luck with your shoot, though!
  20. I don't think I've ever seen optars in a B-Mount. I know the ones I have are in PL. I would look up Gregory Mirond. He's the US rep for the Optars (optarillumina.com). Very nice man to talk with, though can be tough with his accent at times (not that mine was a help either!).
  21. That's just what i needed this morning!
  22. I wouldn't really rate people as pro, or anti. People have their opinions, that is all. In truth, I don't really think any of us would pass up on a job opportunity just because our "media holder," happens to be a RED. I know I certainly wouldn't (and I too would I suppose qualify as anti-red). I just don't think people here have, in past, responded well to the notion that Red is the Be-all-end-all. And of course, we are only human, we get into heated debates and never like to be proved wrong, hence the perception of "attitude." But, this begs the question, what would happen if you went into, let's say a beer lovers forum and posted with a brand new brand of beer was going to upset the status quo? Now, red may not have overtly done such a thing, but I can speak from my own readings on here that there is the ambiance of such statements in some of the red literature. Of course, this is normal; and it's just advertising. Sometimes, though, it's taken too seriously. The red is a tool; nothing more.
  23. My recommendation would be lots of soft lighting, primarily overhead, maybe geled slightly blue if you want a colder look, with just a bit filling in the eye sockets and giving some definition. Also, it would be primarily even, though a freezer or the like could have a motivated side-lighting coming in.
  24. I've done it before. It's not easy, but it can be done. did it for 4 days for a promo-video of a magazine. It helped that I owned the S16mm camera, though so I wasn't adjusting much and I loaded as needed. Also, try to get some of your friends to come along and work for free, or even film students just to help move the equipment. I have done this a few times where I've brough friends (a good friend of mine actually) a lot and just said, put x and y from a or b kit over in that corner, and this over there. Then i'd set up the lights, and get the camera up. Soon enough they had watched me and learned what to do, and then changed their major to film! Nothing is impossible. It might be a pain in the ass, but if you're getting paid for it, do it! Just bring a lot of advil and realize that it may just have to be "acceptable."
  25. Amen to that. I had the benefit of going to a pretty production oriented 4 year school (temple univ) which was a good price point at 8000/yr for instate. But it is definitally about working your ass off! And most importantly, try to distinguish yourself. Don't just do what a certain project may require, but go the extra miles to make it amazing. Make it unique. And also; dont get discouraged.
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