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dan brockett

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Everything posted by dan brockett

  1. I have both a PB G4 1.67 and a MBP 2.2 with the Duel Adapter. My speed tests show the MBP and Duel to be about 30-40% faster at downloading P2 cards to any FW drives. Either work, I take the more beat up PB on the road and leave the MBP at home for more local shoots with less chance of me losing it or damaging it as I fly. You can find used PB G4s pretty cheap. Or, never thought I would say this, but a cheap PC works absolutely fine as a P2 dump station. Since you can find brand new cheap PCs for dirt cheap, it might be a valid tool for you. I am a total MacHead but have been on shoots where I had to use a PC laptop to dump with and it works fine as well. Best, Dan Brockett (add on) Oh, I just re-read your post, you want to record to a laptop? Hmm...highly not recommended. If you do, one crash means all of your footage is gone forever. To me, it's not a valid way of working unless you are shooting tabletop or something where you could easily repeat it if you lose your footage.
  2. Hi Andres: I don't believe that there is any way to obtain 25fp with an NTSC HVX. Just out of curiosity, why would you want to/need to? I shoot in the UK with NTSC HVXs all of the time and other than an occasional discharge lamp, I have no issues. Best, Dan Brockett
  3. Hi all: If you are in the market for a shotgun/cardioid mic, we just posted an article that you might find helpful http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html Take a look. I hope that you find it to be an informative read. Let me know if you found the article to be a good resource. Dan Brockett
  4. I'm with Paul, American Cs are the best. Really solid build, best knuckles for really cranking down and undoing without breaking your hand. I personally have all Norms Cs, which I rate just a hair under American. If I was buying today, it would be American but at the time I bought Norms, I didn't even know about American. Norms are great too, just not as nice shape of the knuckles. Matthews, I do not care for although they are very popular. Their spring stopped legs should be declared torture devices, they slow you down and are a real drag. A lot of people are not aware that you can obtain 25% off of Norms list prices if you pay cash or credit card as you place your order. I think I heard same deal for Modern's stuff although I have not used their Cs. This makes Norms and Modern stands VERY inexpensive. You could call American and see if they do a similar deal. Best, Dan
  5. Hi: I have the Letus Extreme and I have a friend with the M2. The M2 is not bad but their flip module is not available until well into next year. Also, the M2 is known for being a bit more involved to setup and calibrate collimation, gg, etc. The Letus Extreme is a no brainer to setup and it is heavy, durable and built like a tank. The image on the Extreme is very good, although different than the M2. I have not personally shot with the M2 but I have been on crew on a couple of shoots with the M2 so I have been around it and have seen what is involved with setting it up and have seen the end results. To be candid, all of the 35mm adapters have different looks and feels, different amounts of edge to edge sharpness and definitely different renditions of Bokeh. In order to make an intelligent buying decision, you should not only check out these two adapters, you should also check out the SGPro and the Brevis as well, both of them are very good and quite different than the Red Rock or the Letus. You are probably aware, but if you are not aware of the costs involved, you will need a lot more gear than just the adapter and lenses. Many newbies with 35mm adapters get sticker shock when they realize that in order to effectively use one, you may need rails, rail mount, on-board monitor, follow focus, matte box, filters, ancillary battery system, etc. I have close to $6,000.00 in just the 35mm adapter and accessories to make it all work besides the camera and P2 cards themselves. You will also need a quality tripod head if you don't already have one. My HVX/Letus Extreme rig weighs right around 22lbs now with all of the additional gear so a POS Bogen doesn't cut it. You may be a pro and this may all be obvious, if so, my apologies. www.redrockmicro.com M2 www.adapterplace.com Letus Extreme www.cinevate.com Brevis http://www.sgpro.co.uk/pages/home/homeframeset.html SGPro Also, the DVX User forum has an extremely active 35mm adapter forum that you an learn a lot on http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?f=113 All the best, Dan Brockett
  6. Hi Jessie: Thanks for posting that information. I take it your camera was in manual mode to get a sync speed of 1/2000th with strobes? You are very good in Photoshop, I love what you did with the floor texture. Nic job and thanks for the pointers. My take aways are, major backlight behind, normal key in front, little to no fill, and I had better learn a lot in Photoshop ;-) All the best, Dan
  7. Hi Jesse: That is a great image, you are very talented. I have a good friend who has requested that I shoot some stills of his band and I would love to be able to give him something like this. Can you detail your lighting setup and a little about your post processing workflow? I have a Nikon D-80, all the lenses necessary and a set of three studio 400 WS strobes with all of the light modifiers. I do mostly art photography as well as cinematography so any pointers you can give to get something in this neighborhood would be appreciated. Not looking to ripoff your style but my style is so far from this, I don't know where to begin. Thanks, Dan Brockett
  8. Hi Ted: I own the PortJib Traveler, their smaller jib. I only have good things to say about it, it's built well, small, light, quick to setup and can hold up to 40lbs. I have rented and used the regular PortaJib too and it works just as well. I bought the Traveler because I mainly use it for tabletop so it's limited reach was fine for my needs and I like it's size in the case, it's tiny and light. The guys at PortaJib in Hollywood have been amazingly nice and accomodating as far as service and fixing a few things that somebody who I let borrow the jib screwed up. I was totally expecting to pay for the repairs since they were abuse, not a warranty item and the guys fixed it all, free of charge. A really old fashioned type of customer service that is exceedingly rare these days. Never let anyone borrow your jib, people are generally clueless about how things should fit together and most people refuse to read an owners manual. I learned the hard way, never again will anybody but myself assemble or use my jib. I have rented the Spider dolly several times, have not bought one yet. Overall, I really like it and it does work well. I highly recommend not getting the four wheel version with the seat, it is a lot more parts, takes a lot longer to setup, etc. Just putting your camera on the jib and mounting the jib to the three wheeled dolly works fine, although the four wheel version is more stable. The rubber track/tubing works well, although it's not as effortless as you might think. The main thing is, if you are working out of a car trunk or by yourself, the Spider rocks. If you have a crew and a grip truck, I would still highly prefer a real dolly in most cases, just depends on your situation. Best, Dan
  9. Hi: Don't know if you have ever seen it, but the ChromaFlex system from ReflecMedia is pretty good and it uses a foldable 8 x 8' green screen in combination with an LED Lite Ring. www.reflecmedia.com I have been using the Chromaflex system for the better part of a year. It works very well. I shoot mostly with the HVX-200 although I have used the Varicam and F900 as well. The only large drawback of the system is using it with people with glasses. The green LED ringlight will show up in the reflections from their glasses. You will have to key in a white/gray gradient behind the talent's head so that the green ring light reflections turn into mere lights reflecting. It requires an extra layer in the composite and more time. And as far as teleprompter, forget it, we still have to do greenscreen the traditional way, the ChromaFlex will not work through a prompter. Other than these two issues, the ChromaFlex works like dream. Highly advised. I would estimate I have now shot close to 100 interviews for various docs using greenscreen, it is a pain as far as post but it does let you selectively control your BGs more. Best, Dan Brockett
  10. Hi Ed: You have probably already done your shoot but in case you have time, check out this guy's stills for some inspiration. His name is Daniel Diaz and I really like his club stills, some of the best I have seen. Translating this look to motion would be difficult but if you could, it would look awesome. http://www.danielsdiaz.com/clublife2.html Good luck, Dan Brockett
  11. I know that this is a cinematography forum but to get the look you desire, particle effects and plug-ins with Motion or After Effects leap to mind. Heavy backlight/rim light is also a good place to begin. I can see little sprinkles and glints (post work) combined with golden or blue shafts of light punching through the branches. Would depend on if the season is Spring/Summer or Winter/Fall. Kids POV, dolly up to window reveal intercut with reaction shots of the kid looking at the tree in awe. Yeah, I can see it in my minds eye. Dan
  12. Hi all: I thought I might have some insight into this subject as I produced the documentary on the making of the Wizard of Oz, "The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz" that is narrated by Sidney Pollack on the three DVD Oz Collection. I feel that watching the doc would be a lot better explanation for you than going into detail here but others who posted here are definitely on the right track. I don't have specific details about how each shot was lit but there were some details in the production stills and in the documentary that might be of interest to you. Basically, the CUs in the film were lit in a similar manner to way that George Hurrell lit his portraits, although he had the luxury of probably closer to ASA 25 film stock. I would recommend that you do some research on the style and technique used by the DP, Harold Rosson. Rosson also was known to have lit and shot the burning of Atlanta sequence in Gone With The Wind. He was also the DP for Singin' in the Rain. 1. The three strip Technicolor process was an extremely laborious and tempermental process. Besides having to deal with the eccentric whims of Technicolor "consultant" Natalie Kalmus, the cameras and exposure process had to calibrated on a daily basis before shooting could even begin. Shooting three-strip Technicolor required very bright lighting, as the film had an extremely slow speed of ASA 5. 2. The MGM stages where the majority of the shooting for Oz were conducted were lit by entire floor-to-ceiling walls of carbon arc lights. The current draw was so intense to power the lights that MGM had to contruct their own on the studio lot power plant to power the production since initial tests had caused the power grid in Culver City to experience brown outs and too many dips and outages in the power. There are one or two impressive stills from the Warner/MGM archives in the doc of the wall of light. 3. After each two or three takes, the stage doors would have to be opened to allow enough cool air to ventilate the stage, remove heat and carbon smoke and to allow the actors to survive. Keep in mind that most of the actors were wearing costumes and makeup that would be hot in an air conditioned room. The actors all describe the process of filming as "torture", which I am sure it was. Imagine wearing a 50lb real lion skin under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of watts of carbon arcs. 4. We interviewed a couple of DPs like Allen Daviau, ASC on some of the more specific technical issues. I would advise watching the doc to really get the specifics as I interviewed these people about two and a half years ago and the specifics are fading in my memory. 5. We inlcuded some addtional, never before scene behind the scenes footage shot in 16mm, there are a few home movie views of the stages, costumes and outtakes besides the famous Jitterbug scene. There are some shots of the lighting grid in some of these shots, albeit brief, handheld shots. When you take all of the obstacles into account, it really was one of the most challenging films ever shot. It's amazing to think that in the same year, Gone With the Wind was also made. Both films had multiple directors, writers and producers. Both had on-set ccidents, cost overruns and amazing BTS politics. Today, if a feature went through half of the challenges that both of these films went through, the studio would have never released the end product, yet both are consistently considered as classics and some of the best films Hollywood ever created. You have a tall order in trying to re-create this look. I think it is possible but the tools and medium you will be using today are so radically different, I feel it will be difficult to do much better than to evoke but not emulate those shots. Best of luck, Dan Brockett
  13. Hi Oscar: I would keep prowling Ebay. We buy a LOT of 16mm prints for very reasonable prices. OR I would talk to Kino in NYC, they obviously have either 35mm or 16mm print that their DVD edition of this visually stunning film was struck from. Glad to hear that there is someone else out there who appreciates this film, it's one of my favorites. Best, Dan
  14. Hi JD: No offense intended to the DIY crowd here, I am currently at work on my own homemade Kinos (two different types with two different approaches, actually), I love DIY. But the value equation is quite different than with dimmers. If the Kino I would like to buy is $1,200.00 and I can create my own equivalent for around $200.00, that extra $1,000.00 provides a sizable cushion for my time that I am expending on creating these lights. But as a business person, I do need to look at how much my time is worth. I work 16 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I make good money. Probably too good to spend my time assembling something as low dollar as a dimmer box for practicals. Your situation might be different? Not being an electrician or gaffer, but having pretty good experience with electronics, I am sure I could easily buy the components you use and wire up my own dimmers. Based upon your list, I would have to spend a minimum of two to three hours, visiting at least two different stores/supply houses to obtain the required components. I would think it would take me at least another hour or two to wire up, assemble and test the components as well. For practicals, the value equation does not work for me, I would be losing money to make my own. If it's for a hobby or I am on my day rate to make them, I would be interested. But my employer would not pay me to make dimmers. As far as the Chinese/Harbor Freight value connection, I think that is debatable. Yes, Harbor Freight does carry a lot of junky, low-end merchandise, I'll give you that. Don't forget though, we live in a capitalist society and the best value, even if it's Chinese made, will always, eventually win out in the marketplace. Yes, we are a WalMart nation but that is the consequence we pay for price and conveneince, not quality. But Harbor Freight also has some decent stuff on occasion as well. I have been using half a dozen of these dimmers for about six months though and they are built quite well. Metal plate and substructure with a plastic box. I own two of the Mole Richardson really nice 1k dimmers and yes, they are built much better but they should be at about ten times the cost. Point being, do I really need a military spec dimmer for practicals? Probably not. I have also used the $3.99 dimmers from Ikea but they are much cheaper than these Harbor Freight dimmers and I do break those. So far, I have not broken any of the Harbor Freight dimmers and I have been using them a lot. No noise issues so far, no flickering, no fires, sparks or funny smells. As far as quality and safety, these dimmers (router speed controls) are CE and UL approved, have a fuse and a grounded 48" black 14 gauge power cord. Good enough for me! I have never had a problem with them with practicals and small tungsten instruments. I agree with your approach if I was creating dimmers for my large lights, these probably would be a bit cheap for that usage, but for practicals, they are a find IMHO. All the best, Dan
  15. Hi Mark: Not sure how much your time is worth but for simple dimmers for practicals, I have had outstanding results with these 1500 watt dimmers that are actually marketed as router speed controls at Harbor Freight. They retail for the grand sum of $12.00 ea. and are pretty nice for the money. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Disp...temnumber=43060 If you add up a few trips to buy boxes, wiring, knobs, capacitors, etc. plus your time in assembling and testing a homemade dimmer, you may find these to be a superior value. Best, Dan
  16. Hi all: We have been renting a small, tabletop turntable from Alan Gordon in Hollywood called a Rev-Pod. They are no longer made. It has a separate power supply, cue and standby modes as well as variable speed control and reverse. Does anybody know where we can purchase something like this? Don't want to make our own and my boss wants something professional grade. Been having the darndest time locating one to purchase, seems that most DPs and grips make their own? Any ideas? Dan
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