Jump to content

Jonathan Bowerbank

Basic Member
  • Posts

    2,796
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Jonathan Bowerbank

  1. After scanning the web for refresh rate answers, that same question entered my mind. In the past, approaching theatre employees face to face has been pointless, because nobody there knows what I'm talking about when issues get technical. Hopefully I can reach the right people. My only hopes are standards being raised at all AMC's, the more we speak out on the issues we have the better digital projection will get.
  2. Sometimes digital projection looks just fine to me, depends on the subject matter & style of film. Other times, it's mismanaged, settings are messed up, and it looks too much like my home TV. Went and saw "The Conjuring" last night at my local AMC. I knew this was shot on the Alexa, and I know the look of the Alexa well and what it's capable of. I assume they shot 24p, unless anyone has any data that suggests otherwise. I noticed it immediately when the WB & New Line Cinema logos came up. The motion was video'y, somewhere between the 24fps look, and the high frame rate look of "The Hobbit". Similar to watching 24p content on a high refresh rate TV set. So that's what I assumed I was watching, a projector set to a higher refresh rate. I felt like I was watching the SyFy channel. It's so bad, I'm writing a letter to AMC. I'm not at all interested in spending $12 to watch "public television" as QT would put it. Has anyone else been noticing this?
  3. I gave the 3D HFR version a chance. Sat through the first 5 minutes of the film, in anguish. And it wasn't because I'm "not used to it", I AM used to it, I'm used to seeing it on TV soap operas and daytime talk shows, which I hate. The VFX also seemed a lot worse as well, like watching a video game. Everything seemed like it was in focus, negating the 3D realism effect (something Claudio Miranda does really well). On top of that, HFR is still digital projection, and I just felt like I was watching television with a room full of strangers. Luckily, the auditorium next door was playing the 3D 24fps version, starting 10 minutes afterwards. Genius planning by AMC Theatres for those who couldn't stand HFR. So, I saw the movie. It was OK, more of the same from PJ really. Made me really wish Guillermo Del Toro had done it in the end. I was surprised at how bad HFR was though, but it made me curious about refresh rates of digital projection vs. film projection. If there were a film out of The Hobbit, printed and projected at 48fps, would it have the same "TV look"?
  4. Last time I worked with the F35 handheld, we had a Mantis handheld rig. Which simply slides into the bridgeplate. Then a monitor mounted in front of the operators face. What do you plan to record to? Having a separate recorder, unattached to the camera, will help you out weight wise. Just gotta play around and see how to best balance it.
  5. No. And if anyone seriously asks for one, do your best to resist the urge to laugh in response.
  6. Most productions will understand that too much on your plate means the footage is compromised, so communicate your concerns. Down the line, editorial is going to rename clips and organize them to their own liking anyway.
  7. Were you instructed by production or editorial to rename the clips? If you're just data managing, that's really beyond your responsibilities. My main focus is to just make sure the data's organized, safe, and I scrub it to make sure it's all there. If you're getting swamped in doing anything else to accomodate an Assistant Editor, I would bring it up to production. It'll save you a lot of headache and you'll get a much better night's sleep. What are they shooting on? Do you have to ingest to FCP and transcode as well?
  8. Hey Corbin I'm based in SF. I've personal messaged you my info. Jonathan
  9. Buy a UPS, like the Xantrex Backup PowerSource. Guaranteed, your power will become disconnected, no matter what the situation is. It tends to happen whether I'm working on a corporate job in an office or in a proper camera truck. Somebody eventually pulls my power without asking. Having backup power gives me a piece of mind, and always makes everyone else happy because they're not waiting on me to finish downloading and they can pack up the genny or do whatever they need to get out of here.
  10. The Sonnet ExpressCard to Thunderbolt adapter is ideal. If you have the Macbook Pro with the ExpressCard slot, you can purchase an eSata to Express adapter, and plug your drives in their. Perdy fast And if you're handchecking the footage, scrubbing through it, etc. What's the danger?
  11. Had to see the film in a pinch, digital projection, wasn't too fond of it, but what else is new. Plan on seeing a print, IMAX for sure, whenever sales calm down. First third I felt just had a lot of unnecessary exposition, especially from characters who didn't figure into the story. A lot of speeches that really could have been more about the shot & mood of the scene. But the film pays off. I really enjoyed it.
  12. "I've data managed on a handful of jobs and actually got to DIT on a job through a director I know." If you're new, don't worry about the 600 just yet. What the point of getting into the union, of nobody knows you to hire you on a regular basis. Keep trudging, make connections with IATSE AC's, work in the smaller markets. If you're good, 600 status will eventually be a result. No rush.
  13. I just switch my brain from the bottom of the focus wheel, to the top.
  14. Hard tape in close quarters, soft tape for longer distances where it may not be appropriate to point a laser at someone. I have my space blanket silverside out, folded in half with two edges gaff taped together. That creates a tight seal on one end of the space blanket that I can wrap the front of the camera with, and tight it in the back with a clip. Keeps the camera cool if left in the sun, keep any dust from flying onto the camera, and it's highly visible so people don't knock it over. I rarely give a camera a full cleaning. At wrap, it's the least of my concerns, unless it really got messed up out in the wilderness or something. Otherwise, I just give it a sweep with a camel hair paint brush, a few of puffs with the Dust Off and send it on its way. The rental house is going to clean it, regardless. You're going to grab the camera, however it's delivered to you. Backwards or forwards doesn't matter. Yes, that is how you carry a camera while on sticks. Before I got a Mitchell mount, and a Ronford-Baker Quick Release, I used to c-clamp the high hat to the top of the cart. That way, I can put the head on the high hat, and move with the camera mounted that way. How else are you going to tighten a BP? Really though, an important rule, is to not overthink this stuff. Follow the lead of the experienced AC's you work with, and observe that these practices aren't so much an "industry standard" thing, but a safe & efficient means of working. It all becomes second nature after a while, and eventually you'll just do these things on reflex. Develop good habits.
  15. Gotta at least convince these jerks to spring for a clip on matte box, that's a bummer. But yeah, if you have time in prep, it's nice to create a custom rain cover at of some bag-it, and create some access points that open/close with velcro or something. The prefabbed rain covers, no matter what camera, never work out because they're not made for every situation. Bag-it, good stuff
  16. Just don't go cheap and get the RedRock ones. They're far too flimsy and springy, so you don't have precise control over hitting your marks. The ones I've used even curl up if you got any quick pulls.
  17. Just as a starting point: Matte black paper tape (the most expensive tape, get a couple rolls, I hate shelling out for them myself) Various colors camera tape: Red, Blue, Yellow, etc. Various colors paper tape, 1" &/or 1/2": Red, Green (for marking hot & formatted cards is how I like to do it), Neon Orange, etc. Eye chamois Canned air (according to your nozzle) Kimwipes Pancro Dry Erase & eraser tips Sharpies, Stabilos (china pencil, black water soluble pencil, and the like), Wet Erase Pens, Rain gear, if its a possibility (plastic, diapers, Gorilla tape, binder clips) Velcro 2" & 1" etc. Confer with your 1st to see what colors camera & paper tape he likes to use for mag tags, marks & such. David Elkins has a great check off list of expendables at his website that's pretty thorough, and can help you remember somethings that may slip your mind while compiling a list.
  18. It is now on Netflix. I watched it the other night, and really enjoyed David's work. The backdrops added that surreal dreamy atmosphere that I've come to associate with Polish Bros. films, and I felt the performances were pretty great and real funny. However, it was inexplicably sensored in a few parts. One shot involving "manboobs", where they placed CG "1st Price" blue ribbons over the nipples. And a line from Ed Helms during one of the opening sequences, which was hilarious...had it not been overdubbed with a word that I couldn't even make out. I don't know how much it was butchered in the editing room, but it did seem to lack the pacing of a Polish movie. Much more condensed for distribution. Still, I enjoyed the film, I just hope to see a director's version released in the future.
  19. It just depends on the type of job. I get a mix of commercial, industrial, doc and occasional narrative. I had a couple available days, so I hopped on this low budg documentary. I was on a 10 hr deal, and they simply weren't paying overtime. So at hour ten, I walked. The producer was a little shocked, but that was the deal...and she ONLY ever did work like this, so I wasn't worried about losing a client. In the end it was fine, she was just in the heat of the moment...even though I warned her at hour 7, 8 & 9. We simply have to put our foot down sometimes, especially when a low budget job may be under the impression that they own you for as long as they need you. Bigger budget jobs, with above scale rates, and awesome crew and a client I want to keep. I'll work a 16 hour day, why not. The compensation is there, and there are usually adjustments for a decent turnaround time.
  20. It's easy to get lazy and assume that an email or two is enough to secure a booking. But unless I've actually spoken with a human being over the phone, I don't consider it a done deal. So I make sure to get everything in writing, AND to speak with someone in production, keeps me fresh in their minds concerning who's on the job. That being said... I was booked on a job this past December. Preprod seemed very chaotic, but I had both email and phone contact with production, so I thought I had nothing to worry about. Two days away from the shoot, no updates about a prep or anything. I call the Producer to see if anything's going on...he'd totally forgot he booked me, didn't write it down anywhere, blah blah blah. I also replied to his EMAIL booking me, as proof. But whoever got the job was coming in from out of town and they couldn't cancel on him (out of town, that's supposed to make the situation better?). Best I could do at this point was try and negotiate a kill fee...but no replies obviously. Speaking with the 1st AC afterwards, it looked like I dodge a bullet. Shoot was insanely disorganized. Still, just one of a handful of Producers that go on my blacklist (I don't have many).
  21. Because I was bored one day, and nobody had made one yet: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/remmyreel/AC_WIRD.jpg
  22. You don't have to pay too close attention to the German train station and prison exterior scenes to see that pretty much everything you're looking is green screen work against computer generated backgrounds. You can even tell that they did some post staging of background actors in various shots throughout the film, which is something George loves to do. Visually, it's super unnatural and nearly vomit inducing.
  23. Had a couple hours to kill yesterday, I'm a San Francisco local and a bunch of buds of mine worked on the reshoots on it...so I figured, what the hell and had a look at it. My opinion, it wasn't as good as "Pearl Harbor" and it wasn't as bad either. Somewhere in between all the melodrama, poor dialogue, over-staged scenes and situations and the mixing of F35 and 5D footage, there actually was a great and inspiring story. Despite the poor script, I felt the performances were as strong as could be. Except for Terrance Howard, who doesn't seem to be able to deliver a line without it sounding like he's giving a speech. Battle sequences were pretty good, but just as quality as my "Blazing Angels" video game on my PS3, so I wasn't astounded by any of them. That being said, I actually would like to see a prequel and sequel done. But George just needs to attach some real artists and story tellers to create them. He really was trying to save a buck on principal photography, and it cost the project dearly, IMO.
×
×
  • Create New...