Rob van Gelder

It's all about initiative...... come over, promote yourself, make yourself needed, etc. :) Rob

This is for a rental house with local and international clients. Crew in Thailand is always connected to a rental house, there are hardly any free-lance workers here. So "leadership" is needed, creating a strong and fast working crew. For foreigners other rules apply, in this case it could be employment for a some months, or (much) longer when everything feels right, or if the company really wants/needs you. In order to be "needed" you must have a lot of technical knowledge on many aspects, be inventive and at the same time teaching and supporting the local people to get better. I live and work now for 5 years in Bangkok, 3 years full-time. Rob

Here in Bangkok, Thailand, there might be some place for an experienced key-grip who also likes to teach people, guide crew, share technical knowledge with the local crew, etc. Do not expect great money, but for sure a very decent and rewarding living in this country. It helps if you can speak Thai or are able to pick up language quickly. You can PM me for more info. Rob

Here in Thailand we use this frequently for the shampoo commercials. The Asian women have lovely long and straight hair (OK, I am biased :D ) , and we do a lot of high speed shooting on this. This way we can almost double the resolution and with the fine details/ gloss on the black hair it makes all the difference. Rob

I came across a camera package that had an Arriflex eyepiece with the eye-cup equipped with an electronic shutter (and heater as well). It had no brand name, not from Arri, as I cannot find any reference of this. Anybody else has seen this? It has a photocell build in and if your face (or object) is close enough to the eyepiece cup, it opens the shutter. Very convenient, very fast and no mistakes possible! who knows more about this? Rob

Bruce, there is no reason to use a 60Hz generator in a 50 Hz country, in fact it will more hassle as you cannot mix your lights with existing practicals, streetlights fluo's etc. that are in frame. it is totally normal to shoot 24fps / 172.5 shutter for cinema in a 50Hz country. pick up an American Cinematography Manual and it is in there

One question: is anyone using DC-powered lamps with High-speed filming? As smaller lamps are often showing that the glowing filament has a variable output due to the 50/60Hz, I consider making a DC-distribution box with some heavy 3-phase diode-modules. And this only for Tungsten lamps, of course! I wonder if anyone has done or worked with that before. Rob

Here in Thailand, we have 50Hz too, but also see the flicker, or better, the moving arc projected on backgrounds. But for sure you used the right lamps, the bigger the better and in general, the problem is less to nothing with 6K and up. We've seen flicker with 4K Arri X and smaller lamps. My personal belief is that the chips seem to be more sensitive to small variations, or that the software used is enhancing the minimal changes in light to a level that it can be seen, where as film is more "stable" and forgiving. But I have no proof of this though. Frequently I work with Photosonics technicians and while they have mentioned particular Photosonics-cameras related problems, in general they do not see that "moving arc" effect or the slight color changes we see with chip-based cameras. Im' looking further into this...... <_<

Yes, I stand corrected on the reverse position of the wheels, the wider position refers to the Fisher 10

Having done a training at Fisher last month, I am not so sure if your experience comes from a properly adjusted Fisher dolly. The hydraulic system allows for a very precise adjustment, and though you have to get used to the control, it should not rush down and can be controlled with finesse. The down-movement of the arm is gravity controlled, so a heavier load gives a faster descend, but with some practice very easy to control. The arms are checked and adjusted with a payload of 80 pounds/40 kgs ( I have handled this lead "dummy camera" myself) which is a good 35mm camera package. As this company has been in business for about 50 years and builds new dollies every week, I think their system must work well or they would be out of business a long time ago.. With the current writers strike I saw the return of all the studio dollies (mainly 9 type) and they had to stack them 2-3 high, so many are in use. Don't get me wrong, I like the Peewee too, I also went to Chapman last month and we want to rent one Peewee 3+ system from them. I see good and lesser characteristics in both system, some experience and practice is needed to work well on both of them, and this is something not all people and grips allow themselves. Your theory about the "box" can only be partially true, as these 2 dolly types, the Fisher and the Chapman types are using the same track size and have therefore the same footprint. Yes, the Peewee might have some more metal in the center but I am not sure that makes such a difference. By the time you have widened the Peewee with its boards you will have a similar "box" as the Fisher starts with. And if you want more stability but not on a track, you turn all 4 wheels in reverse on the Fisher: that gives you about 4 more inches wider footprint. Rob van Gelder - Lighthouse Film Service - Bangkok

Don't forget to bring a Ladderpod, for the high shots, quick, easy and stable to set up.

Pro to NiMH: less polluting to the environment, reduced "memory effect" , high capacity and maximum draw possible. Contra : higher self-discharge rate, more sensitive to high or low temperatures (in my experience) This of course is for all batteries, not specifically Aaton.

Stephen, how did those lenses perform? I am interested. The company I work for has now a Cine-Speedcam and that camera has a full size chip too, though a slightly different format than the Phantom. We are testing now but others experiences are welcome. Our first problem was that the company did make the mount inside to shallow, so a few lenses (Ultraprimes) could not be used. But a short trip to the metal workshop solved that. Regarding the closing of the lensmount/bajonet, what i know about the mounts is that the part that actually locks can be turned several times before reaching the part where it locks to the flange (the 4 wings" of the lens. These flanges can be slightly different in dimension , depending on the manufacturer. Often a retaining screw is used (Arri cameras) to prevent people from turning the locking loose (the 2 tabs on the ring will hit a blocking screw). In certain cases you can remove this locking screw if the "wings" on the PL-mount are a bit too big. (Not sure if I should say this.........) <_<

The only way the column can go up by itself is when the belt underneath between motor and spindle has come loose. This can happen during transport (vibrations) and usage and should be checked regularly. The belt should be so tight that you can push it in for max. 1 cm with your thumb. The motor has a brake build in that is in principle always braking when NOT powered. That is the "click" that you hear when you touch the control very lightly. But the brake can not dis-engage BEFORE the motor is powered. The Panther is full of safety circuits and switches.

Robert, if the column went up in a very fast speed, it must have been because of bad maintenance! As someone who has done a service-training on these dollies, I know that there is enough safety build in that the column normally cannot go wild on its own, even if the electronics fail. It can only happen after serious neglect! And then everything will fail, regardless of the brand name!

some flashbacks were created with the out-of sync shutter/pull-down available in for instance Arriflex camera's, as you could clearly see the streaking going in and out and appearing from the bottom and the top in sequence. Specially visible in the long flashback in the facility with the old medical supervisor.

My wife, who likes Horror movies and is used to this shakey cam feeling asked me after 10 minutes or so,"why does the camera never stop moving, it makes me dizzy"........ Other than that, the movie really kept me on the front of my chair and it was really thrilling at times. Excellent operating on the Desh-fight, I noticed I was moving my fists and body in the pace and action of the fight!! That's a first for me!

Check the electronic ballast, if it has a Power Factor Correction or not. If the Cos Phi is lower than 0.9 than be prepared for an increase of real power that the lamp needs. For instance,a 4Kw HMI from Arri with electronic ballast without PFC (or ALF as Arri names it) will use around 40% more power and this is 6000 watt, definitely the limit for your generator in question.

Am I too suspicious if I click on one of the links on this website and am asked to download a xxxx.mp4.exe file/application? looks like a virus to me......... so i cancel. <_<

Any HMI that has no official Schott-glass UV protection in the lamphead should be trashed!! The Arri factory had once a great example of what a HMI can do to the skin: a 400Watt HMI was used to light the Swedish King once during an interview. The next day the king had a complete blistered face! I have seen the pictures of this! It turned out that the someone had "repaired" the little HMI and used normal glass instead of the special Schott-glass, with this result! You can imagine what can happen with serous high wattage lamps that have no protection! You can die from them, just by the radiation!

I recall discussions between producers and art directors on set, when shooting outside in front of well known or famous buildings. There seems to be some sort of copyright on that with the architects so when you shoot a commercial of documentary in front of it, you should ask permission........ Now this is in the Netherlands, not sure if this makes sense anywhere else. Using the images for yourself is never a problem, that problem appears the moment the movie or doc starts to make money of becomes well known, THEN suddenly all kinds of claims creep out of the woodwork.

It is for sure an effect from the dimmer! As you posted the a question in another forum but with different information I replied there too but based on the info given there. In this case you clearly state you dimmed the lights. This is not the right way when you shoot highspeed. Modern dimmers work by cutting off part of the cycle of the 220volts power supply. So if you dim your lamps you increase the "off" time considerably, a 50% setting gives you as much "off" time as "on" time and your eyes might not notice it but the combination of camera speed and shutter for sure! The only way you can reduce the light is with scrims or nd gels. And use big globes, 5K or better 10K and up. Or flicker free HMI.

The cam-remote is a very useful head. It is an analog head, with smooth motors and very responsive. It does not have electronic (digital) damping but works very well in most situations. This system has been proven for many years and is a dependable workhorse. We have one in the company i work for and it is a very good head for the money. It can be fitted with a 70 degrees roll cradle as third axis, which is very helpful and has soft limits that work with the video signal. It can load every kind of camera, big or small and is still relatively lightweight. I think it has payed back its investment in about 1,5 year with little problems. You need a separate focus/iris zoom unit with it, preferably a wireless Preston set. The internal wiring is mainly used for Panavision equipment and not very useful anymore. I can recommend it and also the customer service from the Nettman company, even though it is a refurbished head!

Just curious, are these practicals installed by your lighting crew or were they at this location already? If the last instance, they might look like Tungsten bulbs but can contain a discharge bulb inside a "tungsten-like" glass envelope. I have seen a similar mistake once, when they tried to dim these lamps which of course did not work. Regarding the flicker: if the frequency of the power supply is slightly off, you will get a slow pulsing, not the rapid pulsing that i see here, in my experience. The flicker rate that i see here, suggest a large difference in frequency, like 60 hz line frequency. If this was lighting from the building it might have been on a separate system, not 50Hz related. Also keep in mind that the faster you shoot your film, the more accurate the frequency of the lighting has to be, so shooting 150 fps with HMI lighting without flickerfree setting (magnetic ballast) is a no-go, specially on a generator, though officially it should work. Your margin of error is so small then, you will have flicker in your highlights/glare very quickly.

As I know it, and I have seen, done and still arrange video assist systems from the very early Arri 3 with fixed door/eyepiece and tube-assist until the newest Arricam assists, is is hardly something that you can do next to the normal things you do as a second assistant. Specially if you have 2 camera's or more it is in my opinion a full time job, and the moment you have no picture available because you are loading or cleaning filters or whatever, you'll hear the director (and others) scream why they have no live picture! Video assist, if done properly, is NOT a easy job anymore, directors, AD's and more have become so addicted to the little monitor, in many cases only directing behind the monitor and not "en face" with their actors that you cannot afford to let them wait. Try to find out how much the video is really needed, if it is essential to key people then you should push for an proper video assist man or another assistant to take care of cables etc.