Jonathan Bowerbank

That's exactly what Nestor Almendros did on "Days of Heaven". A majority of that film was shot during "golden hour" on tungsten film with an 85 filter. Then when they needed an extra stop they just took out the 85 and resumed shooting. I'm sure the lab will be able to match your footage.

Oh, by the way, if you're not able to get your hands on a Rosco filter facts booklet, I can scan a couple pages of the one I have and send'em to ya if you like. Just message me your email.

I think my answer still applies. Don't think 2900k is quite "red", but your eye compensates and balances for all lights seen, so I can't say what YOU will see. Your practicals will most likely look a lot more yellow than your tungsten lights, your tungsten lights will look more yellow than your HMI, and your HMI will look a lot more blue than the other two sources. However, how it registers onto film will be dramatically different. But still, 2900k isn't a dramatic color shift, relatively. It'll just be a bit more yellow than your normal tungsten sources.

Hey Zulkifli, #1: Regarding the color temperature of your practicals, I'm assuming you don't have a color temp. meter. Rosco has a great little handbook that has a list of various fluorescents, mercury vapor, etc., organized by manufacturer and model. The list tells you how to either correct the practicals or to correct your tungsten lights for the shoot. For example, for a Cool White fluorescent practical, you'd place a full CTB & full Plus-Green to correct your tungsten lights for that color temperature...or you'd place a CTO with Minus-Green to correct the practical itself. #2: What brand of film are you shooting on? Kodak Vision2 5218 500T stock really has a lot of latitude. With your key at 2.8, and your fill at 1.4 you're getting a good 4:1 ratio which is still giving us a lot of detail in the shady areas. The f/1 shadows are creating an 8:1 key to fill ratio, which means the shadows are getting pretty dark and your shots getting some really good contrast. It all depends on what sort of mood you're hoping to get in your scene. But again, Kodak stock is really great, and if you feel you need to push it a stop to get some more detail in your shadows, then I suggest you try it out and see if you're happy with the look you get. good luck! Jon

The difference in color temperature is VERY noticeable. If you've worked with mainly tungsten lights, and have at least used a full CTB gel on one of your sources and noticed the difference, then you shouldn't have a problem discerning between the HMI & Tungsten lights. Everybody's eyes are different, you may either see the HMI as white light and the tungsten as a yellow/orange, or maybe you see the tungsten as white and the HMI as blue. Either way, you'll see the difference, allowing you to light by eye. :)

My Canon PowerShot 4.1 megapixel still camera shoots movies at 16fps and 1/2 SD...isn't that awesome? :/

Check out Pyramid Films on eBay: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ2...Q3aMEFSQ3aMESOI They also have a website where you can inquire about what they have in stock: http://www.pyramid-films.com/ I know they ALWAYS have Mole Richardson stuff, just if you want your lights and stands to match :)

Hey Rob, "Cider House Rules" comes to mind, it has some gorgeous autumn cinematography that you should check out. Shot by Oliver Stapleton. I recall hearing either a commentary or reading about how he got the warm daytime autumnal look. He may have placed an amber filter over his lens, or he may have done it in post. Anyway, check it out. :)

Will the 16mm footage then be telecined, or what's the workflow like? If the entire film is being shot HD, then you might as well just work with the HD footage in editing and apply any filters in post that'll give you that effect. Sounds like your director is just trying to complicate things when there's a much easier way to do it...and it's your job to figure out that easier way. good luck!

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It all depends on what your definition of "European light" is. Any films you can reference? But anyways, since you're shooting HD there really isn't too much you have to worry about color wise WHILE shooting. Just shoot it normal, probably with some high contrast "European" shadows then adjust the color palette in post for your "European" look. :)

I saw the trailer for "300" in the theatre recently and I loved the lighting effects displayed. They did a really good job of creating the shafts of light that you would get with smoke. I suggest you check it out.

I think we're needing some more info here if you're really needing advice on this. Is he on a sound stage with a giant white backdrop (a la THX1138), or is he in a room where you totally want the background to simply be blown out/overexposed? Fluorescent's aren't too strong and really probably won't give you a very blown out white look. Whatever else you have, a nook or a couple of powerful softboxes might be a good option if you're looking to get an even reading across the white backdrop. But then again, more info is needed :)

Yup, no cropping happens when shooting Super16, which is why it's so "Super" :)

I'm going to give you the poorman's way of doing this. You'll need a tungsten light (I've used a 300w Arri for this effect), a 1/2 CTS Straw Gel (a bit more yellow than a CTO, plus it matches the color temp of a candle's flame almost perfectly) and some diffusion over your light. Point it at your actor from the angle that seems best to create the illusion of the light coming from the candle, probably above your actor's eyeline (keeping in mind to not create a shadow from candlestick/lighter you'll be using). And since you want to create a flicker look, simply have your gaffer or grip gently shake the light to create just enough inconsistency to simulate the flicker of a candle. Finally, meter it just 1 stop under key, and you'll get an awesome candlelit shot. I did it for a lighting class recently, and it was totally believable. good luck!

oh, btw, back to the question about keeping focus on your subject...it's called having a good focus puller to do the follow focus as you move closer to or further away from your subject. And just to reference another good instance is in the restaurant scene between Liotta & DeNiro in "Goodfellas". It's a subtle and slow one, but it keeps the frame interesting as we watch these two fine actors having a mediocre beginning to a wiseguy conversation.

I too have a greenscreen project comin' up. I've never done it with 16mm, which is what I'll be doing. My only question is, will there be any problem if I add a kicker to backlight my subject?

In "Vertigo" that shot was only used in a cutaway from Scotty fainting, then we would see his POV of the stairwell rushing away from us. If you need more examples, there's a marvelous one in Jaws.

It seems like among all the excitement about the HVX, that I'm the only one who's not so impressed with its ability to capture color...especially flesh tones. I find flesh tones to be spiking in the red area of the spectrum and not at all natural looking. Is anyone else seeing this? I think as far as prosumer HD cams go, the Sony XDCAMHD is ahead of the game.

A good flashlight to use would be a Xenon flashlight. Extremely bright, make a good beam and they're daylight balanced so it really pops when captured on film.

Looks like no one even bid on it...probably because of the $2500 starting bid :/

Everything has its place. Spielberg uses longer lenses and plays well with DoF, while Terry Gilliam prefers wide angle lenses for the entire frame to be in focus, so WE have the choice of what we want to look at. Personally, I appreciate both when they're done well.

Terry Gilliam always does great commentaries. The one he does for the Criterion Edition of "Time Bandits" is packed with useful information. I'd like to hear a commentary for "Baron Munchausen" or "Fisher King", but we'll see. Also, a commentary on all those films by TG's DP Roger Pratt would be fantastic as well.

Oh, by the way David, I was curious about the Oval Office scene. Did you guys just borrow the "West Wing" set for a day, or was it built for the film?

That doesn't sound right...I'm pretty sure the bigger the frame or format the more DoF you have. But yeah, with 16 you can still achieve a shallow DoF, as you can with any format. It depends of course on your focal length and f-stop, as you know. Consult the charts at the back of the ASC book.