dan brockett

Canon T2i/550 is outstanding for the money. Same sensor as the Canon 7D, APS-C. I have seen great stills and some nice footage from them and they are cheap, about $700.00 to $800.00 for the body. Dan

Quarterly? Wow. I'd love to get away with doing this as a producer (just kidding!) but none of the grips that I work with would go for that. Great follow up suggestions from Rob. It bugs me anytime anyone goes over net 30, that is ridiculous unless they have made prior arrangements and have partially paid up front or in installments. I had one client go 72 days last year and I was getting pretty peeved but kept my cool and they did pay me. Inconsiderate of them. Times are tough but grips gotta eat like everyone else. Dan

If I were lighting it, two or three cheap wall sconces would have been placed on a side of the hallway walls. Just something lightweight and cheap from Home Depot/Lowes, or even just fabricated from prop or art department, if you have one. Art department figures out a quickie way to temporarily mount them ala double sided or Velcro and they are lit with small battery powered LEDs. At least then you have some motivation for some soft, low ambient to get a picture. If ceiling was not visible, I would probably supplement from overhead off of a boom pole or Pole Cat with a Chimera pancake lantern and something on a dimmer. This sounds like as much as an art department challenge as it is a lighting challenge. I suggest it because I have a circular stairway in my home and have some really modern, sort of abstract wall sconces and they look cool, throw some ambient and or a nice "cone" of light up or down the wall. Gives motivation to get the picture out of the mud or silhouette area if you'd like to? Dan Brockett

I interviewed him a few years ago for The Wizard of Oz DVD box set and I did an audio commentary with him on some film noir movies. Great guy, the nicest guy you would ever want to hang out with. And a great DP. Nothing but smiles and deep knowledge. Dan

Hi Corey: Here was what I thought of it http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/produ...0_brockett.html Dan

So Seth: Did you buy a 2700 while the killer trade-in program was in effect? This is definitely the camera that I aspire to. Dan

Gotcha, I didn't read your post closely enough. Yes, I would just replace a burned diffusion baffle, $45.00 is nothing. Dan

Salil: Send it back to Chimera in Boulder, Colorado. I sent my medium Quartz that had two holes burned through it and they repaired it like new for about $120.00. Dan

Oh yes, there are plenty of those. http://tinyurl.com/ct5lsc Dan

We are using Magic Bullet Instant HD 1.1 on a current project that is shooting on DVC ProHD in 720 24pN and 720 24pN AVC Intra 100. We were supplied some footage that was shot 4x3 DVCAM and have to integrate it into this project. This plug-in handles it surprisingly well, it looks decent, if not impressive, I mean it is NTSC in an HD timeline. http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/a...let-instant-hd/ Worth checking out. Dan

Hi Mike: Yes, I have used DVDxDV for years and yes, sometimes randomly the clips it pulls seem to be out of sync by quite a bit. I don't know why and it's not hard to line them up again but it is annoying. Dan

There are many uses but one that comes to mind would be you shoot nature docs and want to return to the exact same deer trail each season. Using this board, you could find your way back easily no matter how the terrain had changed. Same with on-the-water shoots? Dan

I did want to add that the Canon XL-H1 does have a user adjustable back focus. I didn't even know it until another DP showed me. I hate that camera anyway. The back focus on the XL-H1, unlike a broadcast 2/3" camera, is hidden in the menu and the camera does something internally. Weird setup but at least it has it. Yes, the BF can totally be out on a fixed lens camera as well, I have encountered that a few times. It's usually when the fixed lens camera has been dropped or jarred. Dan

Hi Ryan: I own the exact same setup. Personally, I find the improved LCD with the three different focusing aids more than adequate for obtaining critical focus, but I come from shooting with the regular HVX200 for years. You aren't having better luck with the histogram, focus bar and the magnified box? I have been doing lots of shoots with just the LCD and have had no problems in obtaining razor sharp focus using the new tools. But if you have your heart set on using a laptop to focus with, you can run the FireWire output of the 170 to a Mac laptop. You would just use http://www.scopebox.com/preview.php or of course, you could just buy an inexpensive 15 or 17" consumer LCD with component inputs. Dan

As the owner of a Manfrotto 9' matte boom pole, I would say yes, it is quicker and safer to rig and doesn't really need anything in the way of arm counterbalance. Yes, it does need some sandbagging at the base. But if I try to rig, say an Arri 300 at the end of my 9' Manfrotto pole, I am only going to get perhaps 6-7' of extension because I will have to shift the fulcrum point so far forward. The Mini Max eliminates these issues. I like it. You would probably want to check one out in person. If you are in LA, stop by the Matthews lobby in Burbank, they have one on display you could check out. If you are never in LA, might be more difficult to find one you could check out. Dan