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chris reynolds

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Everything posted by chris reynolds

  1. Having used a 90mm Tilt & Shift lens (using the Tilt option) before, can i ask if anyone has opted for a Lensbaby with their Edge 80mm attachment and found it to suffice (minus the 10mm of course)? It would seem that if it's just as good, that it would £ for £ (or $for $) more economical to go the Lensbaby way! Any thoughts and experiences?
  2. Well, i guess it was always on the cards that Sony would bring out something to rival the C300 and Scarlet, in both size and price point. Actually, if you look on CVP's site it states £7200 (vat inclusive)!!! Cheaper than both. Can't wait to see reviews of this. I wonder if the slow-mo will be 'budget slow-mo' and not quite up to standard. I can't quite see Sony putting all their latest technologies in 1 camera @ £7K thus risking the sales of all their other shoulder cameras. Yes, the NXCAM will be probably marketed at the Indie Filmmaker crowd (sorry, such a horrible turn of phrase!) but Sony have notoriously been very savvy not to bring out '1' camera that does everything. The RED crowd are already pooh-poohing this camera as it's not yet fully 4K but for a camera at this price point it opens up a world of possibilities for both Seller & Buyer
  3. Andy I've just shot a Doc for Discovery (via ITN) using the Sony 800, and there seemed to be some uncertainty over the C300 (when i mean uncertainty i mean no one knew!) So Discovery have listed it as a HD content camera??!! Thanks Chris
  4. Phil Would the 8-bit recording (not 10 bit) , of the camera make it undesirable to broadcasters. Canon must have put this question to its 'cliental' them in pre-production? Thanks Chris
  5. Good Afternoon All I've been 'googling' around for the past couple of weeks, trying to find out which networks/ TV stations mainly in the UK (but in the USA as well), have approved the Canon C300 as an acceptable camera for HD content. I've been asking various PM's that i know but they don't seem to know what is or isn't. The Sony PDW-800 is the camera of choice for factual programmes and is obviously approved but my budget for a new camera won't stretch to that! Any Ideas?? Thanks In Advance Chris
  6. As far as i can see, the reason he bought an Epic and put a deposit down for a Scarlet-X instead of the Alexa was that, size wise, those cameras are more in common to the DSLR blog market he's carved for himself . Plus the advantage of the DSMC/Raw footage aspect is more in keeping with stills photography. I think that most people were aware of RED's shortcomings and that issues are still there. Now that's either because that 99% of the camera's that RED produce are perfect and that there's a few small 'Fail' rate as far as their products go…………..OR, that the operators who have paid hand over fist for their products are maybe 'fearful' of posting anything either negative or questioning the status quo, lest that they get banned from the site. And we know that that's happened before!! Phil never mentions the senior person from RED by name, but did drop hints that it was the same person who admonished the disrespectful posters and banned Phil. Jim Jannard. As far as i could see, Jared Land had nothing to do with any of the posts. The only other person who acts like this in the camera industry is Howard J. Smith from MK-V. If Phil is to be believed about the content of the e-mails he received from Red/Jim, then their seems to be a similarity in the reliability of both MK-V and RED products and a similarity by the owners in how they deal with customers complaining about their products. Jim has today put up a post titled, The Case of Phil Bloom. It reads……… I guess everyone makes mistakes... this one was mine. A lot has been posted about this so I thought I would clarify from our perspective. This situation is my fault... no one else's. My apology was offered to Philip and apparently accepted. Philip has returned his EPIC and cancelled his Scarlet order. We will not allow any disrespectful posts here on Reduser about Philip or anyone else... We consider the case closed. Nothing to see here... move along. Jim An honest admission of wrong doing by Jim Jannard OR the quickest and easiest way to STOP AND SHUT UP someone (like Phil) who has sway within the industry. Just so everyone know's, i've neither posted on Phil's or RED's forums. I admire what RED have achieved BUT am sceptical of any company who act this way against individuals .
  7. Hi All It looks like i'm going to have to pay up and replace the right side panel of a Sony PMW −800. I've been quoted £524.42 (INC VAT) but wondered if anyone knows of someone (company or individual) who could do it cheaper or point me in the right direction. Thanks Chris
  8. try getting that camera on Steadicam!!!! :o :o :blink: :blink:
  9. And people complained about the Sony f900 when that came out.....Jacks 3-strip technicolour camera was the size of a large shed!!
  10. A great documentary to buy and watch again and again. Though it's almost let down by the shoddy lighting and camerawork while he's filmed in his house (lots of it as well!)
  11. If you are looking for a book that shows easy to follow lighting set ups (put your key here and this the result, put your fill there and this is what will happen, etc) then Film Lighting by Kris Malkewicz is the one imho
  12. Although i kind of agree to the 'screw the rules' comment, it's also very important to (cliche alert!) 'know the rules, before you can break the rules'. It sounds that Jed is just starting to light and think about lighting so a good grounding in basics is always the best platform to start from
  13. Hi Jed Firstly, as far as the look of the film goes, what's mostly forgotten in these topics is how important the location is to the story and getting someone who's training to be a production designer or set dresser. The skills these people have, can make your short film look a million bucks (or £'s in my case!). 1- As far as lighting people go, the more diffusion you use the softer the shadows and the more the light 'wraps' itself around the face. If you're filming in a location that has, by function, harsh strong light then lighting actors softly may (especially in wide shots) not suit the scene. 2- As the scene determines. Just a soft backlight will pick someone out of the gloom so they dont 'melt into the backround'. Also think about the head and hair of the actors. Someone with blond long hair will not be lit the same as a bald man. 3- Light from the side and black wrap or flag the light nearest the wall so there's no spill. You'll proberbly need to use a poly to bounce the light onto the other side of the face. You can light from above and give that high cheek bone look as well. Think about catch light in their eyes! Dead black eyes can change the mood of the scene. 4- I don't understand 'it throws too much of a blue coloured light'. Where? Each CTB comes in 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and full. 5-A far as Zebras go, firstly make sure your viewfinder is set up properly. It's your eye to the world while filming and if the contrast or brightness is not set correctly, you'll see the image wrongly. As far as overlighting (it sounds) like your throwing light on everything which you dont need to do. Take a look at the room your sitting in now and any room you go into over the next week. See where the light comes from and try and block that light. What's still lit? That's how i learnt!! I'm currently cooking dinner for 6 so as Mr Connery once said ....here end'th the lesson. Chris
  14. I wondered if anyone on this forum has operated on a full blown classical concert before? I've filmed two classical concerts before and as far as shot lists went, the music director told us camera operators where we should be filming at each point (wind section 4 bars in, 1st violinist 10 bars in, etc). It was, it seemed a fairly crude way to direct us. What's the standard professional way a camera operator should expect to be directed? 'Click Tracks' were also mentioned
  15. 3 more nearly new sleds up for sale in just one week!! This economic downturn seems to be hitting a lot of people very hard. Does any operator know if the recession of the late 80's saw a similar sale of steadicams?
  16. I was originally going to reply to Brads very considered opinion but i've got a horrible feeling this thread is going to get ugly with some way off the mark posts. Reminds me of the Steadicam forum............... :( :( :( :( :( :(
  17. Normally, you'd see the sales of older rigs as Op's upgraded to newer models but it's gone the other way! For whatever reason, the newer rigs are going up for sale and the old rig ( if they still have it) is being dusted off as the primary rig. Even though i'd never post this on the SteadicamForum (for fear of being lynched by the non-tiffen op's), i do believe that Tiffens new business model for designing cheaper and smaller rigs seems to be a wise move. When i started on Steadicam, Tiffen had 2 small/less expensive rigs, the Flyer and the Merlin/JNR. Now, their business model is skewed towards the lighter cheaper rigs. Yes, they still have the Ultra, but even that has been diluted (in a good way) down to the Ultra 2c and now the Phantom.
  18. Afternoon After visiting my opticians yesterday for an eye test i was told that i had an 'Astigmatism' of the eye and that wearing glasses for reading and looking at computer screens would be beneficial. No problem there B) . Its my 1st eye test in nearly 20 years and as im reaching my 39th birthday soon i'm glad i got it done. While discussing with the optician the best course of action, he said not to bother with daily contct lenses and ruled out wearing the glasses for work. I explained to him that most of my days are spent looking at screens (either down a viewfinder or a monitor) and that i needed an 'ease-of-use' solution. He was pretty adament, 'Dont bother getting contacts and no need to use glasses for camerwork (in my case)'. No, i dont expect anyone on this website to know more than a qualified Optician (although posting on her does throw up loads of suprises) and im not asking for anyone to give me an answer for my particular situation. But, has anyone been in a similar sitution. What worked best for you? Oh, and just before anyone asks..its not out of vanity that i dont want to wear glasses. I've a face made for radio and proud of it! :D Apologies in advance for posting this in the wrong Forum topic
  19. Really like the camera Since i started shooting with the Varicam, i've always loved the 'Panasonic' picture. Here in England, Sony have the market cornered ( sp to dvcam to Sx to DigiBeta and the various high def models), so when an Americam client comes over , you know they'll want to shoot with a Panasonic. Im going to be going tooth and nail through the menus next week and doing more tests but i like what i see. The new Sony 700 looks great (bloody heavy though), but typical sony, its only delivered with 1080i shooting modes and the software upgrade to 720p is £3000 ($4900???) and then i dont even know if there's going to be variable frame rate speeds!? Will post when i've done more with it. Panasonic may not release as many varient models and styles as Sony but you get a better camera every time...hands down cheers chris
  20. Good Evening im just going through the HPX2700 manual and camera and just wondered under what shooting conditions would you need to record GPS data? There's an obvious reason im sure to this so apologies upfront for the question chris
  21. cheers guys the filter wheel question was asked to me after something a D.P read (no idea what magazine or what camera was in question), but the gist of the question was that the daylight filter on the camera wasn't as good as using an 85 filter on the front lens. :blink:
  22. i was told recently that when 'hollywood' D.p's use H.D that they'll use a daylight filter infront of the lens instead uf using the cameras filter wheel? Any truth to that? Also i've been using a 17 inch Panasconic H.d screen (B.T lh1700we) and it really doesn't show up that well (colours really seemed washed out). A fault with me or is it just not a well made screen!! What has everyone else been using? chris
  23. evening all i was hired recently for a job to do green screen shots using a 10x10 drape and the usual lights, which is fine as id done this sort of job before (sit down medium to medium close up shots) . Unfortunatly, the client had neither told me or the bookings girl that what he really wanted was to film 4 girls 'head to toe' in charlies angels poses for the title sequence for a new show. After many frantic phone calls, i'd ordered a 20x20 drape and and as many 1k and 2k lights that my Facilities company had to offer ( the time constraints were more pressing than getting and setting up the proper lights). oh....and i had an hour to set it up!! As far as lighting positions i had 2 1k's lights lighting the screen with primery green gels on, a 800w and 1k as back lights (peeking over the drape) and a 2k key light (with diffusion) as key, with a 4foot 4 bank kino as fill!! ;) Now i dont need anyone to tell me that what i did was without a doubt the wierdest way to light greenscreen. As i said, i used all the lights i was given. No more could be sourced at such a late stage. I presume that i should have used 2x 2ks as the screen lights (on dimmers) and 2x 1ks as the back lights (on dimmers). So my question is (finally!!), what should my key and fill lights have been? Considering that i had to use floorstanding lamps!! The end result (oh and they had me shooting on a Sony Z1) was usable as they there were no shadows cast on the background and the backlights picked out more than enough detail for the girls to taken of by a computer spod. MY only problem was that because it was head to toe and i had them standing on the green drape, i had soft shadows cast around their feet :o Sorry its such a long one ( i have checked the old forums) but what advice can you give...apart from telling the client to be more organised? chris reynolds
  24. i recently shot a short on the 'horrible' canon XL1. we also had to light people as if they're watching tv. I doubled up 'slate blue' gel (as its known on ARRI gels) and used a 650w light on a dimmer. As long as the 'dimmer person' doesn't go hell for leather on the dimmer, it's very effective. Gels though are always an objective thing and the doubled slate blue was used as it was intensifing a missing persons t.v Advert.
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