Mike Simpson

Thats great man. I wish i had the motivation to go out and shoot little things like that when I was bored. Instead I just sit around and troll forums =\

Sweet. I was a pretty big fan of No Country and I'm Happy for Deakins. That being said, Im not sure if I think it should win, but I've been pretty disappointed that Sunshine hasnt really been nominated for any cinematography awards. It really blew me away.

Yeah definitely. The problem is there isnt really an easy way to search everywhere. I would have never known about Stratton Camera had you not posted. But thanks, I appreciate the help.

So what would be the best choice? ordering just 500t and probably working with heavy (really heavy!!) ND filtration on the lens...? or maybe order just 200t and maybe push one or two stops on night exteriors? 500t has become pretty popular lately, and a number of large features have been shot exclusively on it. However, 7218 is noticeably more grainy than 5218, especially when you start pushing it. The difference in the amount of ND you would need for 200t to 500t isnt very drastic, it probably wouldnt add any more glass in front of the lens. Im sure I wont be the first to say it, but this is something you really should test. Shooting at night without any lights sounds like something you should be as prepared for as possible.

Hey guys. So I have a shoot coming up in a couple months and Im trying to decide on the lenses to use. I feel like the S4s are probably what I want as far as look, but I live in Austin and we dont have a set at any of our rental houses here. The closest place is about 6 hours away in Dallas. Since I would have to have it shipped anyway, I am considering just looking for the best deal and shipping from somewhere else in the US. Anyone know of a easy to navigate database where I could find all the rental houses that have a set? Thanks!

Oh god that movie is amazing.

I'm pretty sure Chris Doyle played the villain in Andromedia (the Miike flick). I remember thinking "that cant really be him" and IMDBing it.

Oh, I did see the post by David Mullen, I am just looking for more specifics and that thread is pretty muddy right now.

So I am looking at a couple different stocks for a film I am shooting in May and I was wondering if anyone had any sample footage or experience in general with 7219 night exteriors. Ive used 18 a fair amount but I have yet to use the 19. How do they compare? Here is the kinda whats going on: The location is similar to the mexico-us bridges. Big lights that make big pools of light. Not really very even. Lots of people and lots of cars. I havent been out there with a light meter yet because the location is tough to get to. I'm not entirely sure I will be able to do any tests with a camera at the location because of all the red tape, and I definitely wont be able to bring lights or anything that would attract attention to the camera when I actually shoot (although I might try to sneak out a a couple bricklights or a bounce). Has anyone run the 19 through this kind of location? Is Kodak's lattitude claim pretty accurate? Has anyone really tried underexposing this and how far did you go and still get usable detail? I would love to look at some sample footage if anyone has any. I know I have alot of tests to do but I'd love to hear other people's thoughts as well. Thanks.

Hey Alan, This may go without saying but the longer you wait on the sun the less abrasive it will be. Depending on how bright you want it in the frame you might want to consider just waiting until it is on the edge of the horizon. Of course you start losing bounce light at that point too... Run flare tests also. If your lenses are scratched up the flares can get pretty wild.

So I am going to be working on a shoot underwater in a few days, and I just found out regular kinos would be used underwater along side me. Ive done pretty decent amount of underwater acing, operating, and or dp work and Ive always used hydro-flos. I suppose I just assumed that since hydroflex makes underwater kinos, that the regular kinos would be unsafe. Both the DP and the Producer assure me it is safe, and they cite liturature they found online, but I cant really find anything like that. Does anyone know how safe this is? Could you point me to any technical writing on it? Thanks.

Just looking for a bit of feedback on this thing. Been playing around with it a bit too much and I feel like im starting to lose perspective. Thanks. its at www.mike-simpson.com

I have a reel that I have mostly just been mailing out, but Ive finally decided to host it online to save time mostly. However, the footage right now is almost all 10bit uncompressed. Im curious how i should export in Final Cut to get the best possible resolution for posting hosting online. 10bu is just way too heafty and im sure its overkill, but I dont really know to what extent i need to compress and downsize. Thanks!

Thanks Galen, I am familiar with that tool, but I'm not necessarily just looking for color correction. The custom filters I have adjust contrast, saturation, and grain as well. I dont actually have a copy of Premier, but if somone is willing to test this out for me i can email you a filter or two. Or if somone knows a way to import filters in final cut or avid that would be best. Thanks.

Perhaps this a bit off topic, but I spend most of my time on this forum and have come to trust it, so I may as well ask here. Im not really much of a fan of editing, but lately Ive been having to do quite a bit of it. Now I come from a pretty strong photography background, and I have become quite comfortable with photoshop over the years. I have a few custom filters and whatnot that I use regularly for color corection, etc. Is there any way I can import the filters into final cut, after effects, avid, imovie, or anything else? Im sure its just a matter of familiarity, but I'm really not too fond of the color correction/gamma/contrast tools of final cut, and hardly know my way around after effects. Ideally i would just import a frame into photoshop, apply the filter, and have it magically applied to the rest of the scene. Anything like this possible? Thanks!

I'm interested in studying film production in Japan, either for the summer, a semester, or possibly even grad school. Does anyone know of any programs like this. Of course cinematography would be preferred, but I'm pretty open as far as the program goes. I havent had much look searching around the internet. I've emailed a few people but no responses. Thanks! Mike