Jonathan Bowerbank

Hey George,

I haven't worked with Eddie, but I found him in the Yellow Pages. I sent you a personal message.

I'm a videographer/AC based in SF as well, so feel free to give me a ring if you need a hand on some projects comin' up!

All i'm going to say is that they were giving away tickets to Avatar this morning on the news... and in my experience, this doesn't bode well for the film as the last time they gave away tickets (this news channel) was for Elf...

It's just another marketing tool, not an implication of the film's quality. Word of mouth via social networking is the cheapest way to advertise a film nowadays, and giving away tickets just makes it that much easier.

It's really been "Same as Always", but I put "Slower than usual" because the rates have been dropping, and the hold->cancelled dance has been occurring a lot more.

If you already have a few credits as a writer, you're a million steps ahead of most screenwriters out there. The only hardship it seems you've experienced so far is you lost a steady job in production...welcome to the real world of filmmaking.

Be thankful for the reality check, now get back to work. :)

Last week I was laid off by my production company. I got a lot of kind words in response, as well as some concerned ones, so I thought I'd give everyone an update.

How long did you work for them? You probably qualify for unemployment :)

Then there are other now politically incorrect film terms like "Two T's shot" that if used on a set may result in one or more female cast/crew members in your face giving you a quick lesson in etiquette.

While we're at it...we'd probably be better off striking "mother/daughter shot" from our vocabularies amongst mixed company

A 50mm focal length lens, is a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens...depth of field wise.

However, if it's a 35mm lens (meaning for a 35mm frame) on a 16mm camera, your biggest difference is in the field of view. Your depth of field may seem more shallow, but that's because effectively a 50mm seems like a 100mm when thrown on a 16mm camera.

You can really see the difference when you're on a RED and switching between 4k & 2k. Same DoF, more narrow FOV

Just worked a few days down at Left Space studios in SF, awesome facilities. They have three spaces, one big, two smaller that should suit your needs. All have white cycs

http://www.leftspace.com/

Yeah, I thought most of the film looked pretty great and fit the genre. Only noticeable artifacts were most of the car interior scenes where the background was obviously greenscreen...but that's not necessarily a Genesis specific issue.

Just started seeing promos for it last week, and was immediately intrigued. It kinda reminded me of something like "Kelly's Heroes", in spirit at least :)

Even I'm not exactly sure what you meant by that. "Before I'm done"...with what?

IMDb isn't the end all/be all of film credits, but I noticed there isn't a 1st AC credited. I'm wondering if Soderbergh just had his operator pull his own focus, or what :/

Can anyone recommend a good TV antenna manufacture? I'd really like to catch pick one up before this is done re-running.

Karl, I have a Terk brand outdoor HDTV antenna: http://www.amazon.com/Terk-HD-TVS-Slim-Pro...2491&sr=8-8

I just mounted it on the roof of my apartment building and hooked it up to the already existing coaxial cable which ran into my room, and it works beautifully. I get about 60 channels, nearly half of which are HD, but then, I do live in a big city with relay antennas everywhere and buildings for signals to bounce off of.

Wagas, no need to overpost in 3 different areas of the forum...this is the only one if you want a critique.

I'm just gonna assume he's going without filters. And since 64T film is reversal, you should just set your light meter to ISO 64 to really nail the exposure correctly.

This subject just reminded me of an experience recently. An AD overheard a conversation I was having with a very experienced AC, in jest, about the production's insurance and workers comp. He immediately set the record straight that if we're doing something that is obviously quite unsafe, and we just happen to get injured, that it is "null and f***ing void, and we're on our own". Out of curiosity, I would like to have read the specifics of their policy, just to see what specifics of unsafe behavior it entailed.

Been kinda watching it in shifts, as I never seem to catch it from the beginning. But from what I saw, a lot of the nature footage looks pretty great. Some of the Yellowstone footage looked alien, but I couldn't say whether it was an artifact of any filterage or just the bizaar landscape and northern US light. I'll have to watch it some more and try to put my finger on it.

The interview footage looked pretty sharp, and surely shot on S16 as well. I'm curious what stock they chose.

Spot meter

Ditto.

I own a Pentax digital spot meter, the same one Ansel Adams used when it became available. I pretty much love it :)

C,mon you guys! Can't one of you print it for him and then overnight it? I can't. I'm busy.

I'd fax one to him, but I'd need it back.

he he ;)

i need to have a hard copy thats why i need word file/ pdf/ scanned from any book

You have Word but not Excel?

Simply open the Excel spreadsheet, enter the focal lengths you need (by replacing any of the 50's with something else), and print it out. You can print it out as a PDF as well so you have a firm version that you can print out at anytime.

Since it's so tough to pull focus on those SLR lenses, I would highly recommend you speak with the DP & Director about actually getting specific marks for the actors to hit, rather than letting them roam freely throughout the scene. A good actor can hit marks and make it appear just as natural, so that would be your first step.

If it looks like you're gonna have to wing it, get as many references you can to objects in the area that give you good distance references in relation to where the actors will be roaming. Tables, counters, props, etc.

Pay close attention to the rehearsal, and get as many measurements as you can. Place some rough marks throughout the space, basically for your own reference if they're not actually going to hit them. For instance, if an actor crosses the frame 5' in front of you, mark where that is, and if they move in front of or beyond that mark, you can adjust.

For CU's, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to give them a mark. So on the day, take initiative mark them.

1st AC needs to be pretty rogue on the set, but if you're not getting what you need to keep things in focus, you gotta be vocal and communicate with your DP. If the director bitches, just ask him/her whether he/she wants the shot to be in focus or not ;)

http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?pr...at=0&page=1

Or if you have an iPhone, just download ISee4K or buy pCam

How is she scantily clad? The way she's dressed is completely appropriate for where she is and for her surroundings ;)

Golf tees would be a good way of anchoring down a sandbag T. I've used flathead nails before, but they're easy to lose and can be pretty dangerous if someone steps on one, so I struck that idea after the first try.