Charles Papert

Classic Hot Gears system with Arri- and Panahead motors and all accessories/cables, including: Arrihead counterweight kit for tilt plate use 100 and 30 ft command cables AC power supply Custom features include: Built in VDA (video distribution amp) for use with monitors without loop function Built in positional readout (normally an outboard module) Integration with Preston FX unit for 5 channel recording (focus, iris, zoom along with internal pan and tilt) Bracketry for underslinging Panaflex The system has been recently checked through by Hot Gears and has a brand-new console housing with jack panel on separate mounting plate (rather than built in to housing) which makes repairs much easier. Brand new this system is worth over $32K, asking $24.9K. Pictures and more info will be posted shortly. I'm putting this up now in case someone is considering one for an upcoming show and needs to move fast. contact: Charles Papert, 323-350-8822

Larry: I've been hunting around for a setup I need to do next week where we need a wide and a tight with the same optical axis (talent must look into lens for both angles). Envisioning a half-silvered mirror with the cameras at right angles, a la old 3D setup. The wrinkle is that both cameras must be operated independently--and possibly dollied (!) Called Clairmont and someone there thought they had read that you used a setup like this on "300"--I was wondering if you had it built and/or if it resides at a rental house in LA somewhere? If anyone else has thoughts on this, happy to hear them--we won't have time or budget to commission a major build. I'm currently considering just getting a substantial half-mirror that will be fixed to the dolly and having both cameras mounted (one normally, the other off the side, possibly on a Sparrow head) so that they can pan and tilt a bit within the mirror. Many thanks...

A person on set called out a count from a stopwatch, which helped the actors find their cues and hit specific marks at specific times.

Only time for a little detail...yes, it was full-on motion control with multiple passes. If you have the DVDs of second season, there was another longer version of the opening that was only used for a couple of episodes, but it took up too much airtime and the fans didn't like it. My favorite thing about the opening is not that the x-ray is actually upside down, which triggered tons of emails, but that as the camera pushes in to the x-ray you can make out the red camera tape on the end of the magazine (or is it yellow, I forgot). Subtle, but once you see it...

Also check out the free multi-platform player VLC at www.videolan.org.

Those interested in how this camera performs in conjunction with the P+S Technik may want to check out my article HERE. There are a number of full resolution clips accompanying the article.

Hi David, The relay for the DVX screws directly on to the DVX's built-in zoom (in the picture here, you can see it as an oversized "shroud" that surrounds the zoom), which keeps the optics all locked together. You zoom the camera in fully and simply focus the lens on the groundglass, then tape both down so they don't get nudged. My method is to stop the taking (cine) lens down as much as possible while pointed at a hot window or card so that the groundglass grain is sharply defined, then perform the on-camera focus, which essentially back-focuses the system. We finished shooting last night after a grueling 9 days straight, and I am loving what I'm seeing. I do have some gripes with the level of noise that the DVX presents but otherwise it has impressed me. What I've found is that with this setup, there is a certain comfiness in working with a film front end and knowing exactly what focal length you are using and what the resulting depth of field and compression will result, as opposed to the ambiguity of a video zoom. Meanwhile, you don't have to deal with the practical hassles of shooting film (rollouts, reloads, gate checks, waiting for dailies etc) nor the completely other hassles of shooting HD (backfocus issues, massive monitors, cables etc). The package feels like an SR3 + zoom in footprint and weight, so it's quick and easy to maneuver; the flip-out viewfinder makes operating in tight spaces easier. It's actually a lot of fun to work with. Of course it's not film, but as an alternative (especially for broadcast or web delivery) it can fool a lot of people, with a substantial cost savings. But as always, the images only look as good as the care that is taken in creating them.

To respond to both David Mullen and Phil Rhodes' questions/thoughts about the Mini35: I've shot a number of jobs with the Mini35 and the XL1s (generally with Cooke S4's), including the Jerry Seinfeld webmovies for American Express (as DV consultant and operator). I came to really love the Mini35 system, enough so to have purchased one for my own projects as well as rentals. The latter requires me to have the DVX100 relay because of high demand, so I decided to swap out my XL1s for a DVX100a and have been shooting a short this week with that configuration, and a set of borrowed Zeiss speeds. I do not find it "horribly soft" in the least, I'm actually impressed at how much resolution is maintained considering that the image has to go through so many layers of optics. I haven't done side by side tests, but I believe that the DVX/Mini35 configuration is actually sharper than the XL1s version, since the DVX is a sharper camera to begin with. I use the XL1s in Frame mode, which knocks down the resolution to begin with. Many scoff at that idea, but as David Mullen pointed out a few posts back, it's all about what looks good, not what the specs say, and I think Frame mode looks great. I will potentially agree with the "flarey" assessment, guardedly. The Mini35 appears to lower contrast a bit, but that's not a bad thing as it may just increase the practical latitude of the camera in an Ultracon-esque fashion, and this could likely be dialed out via the DVX's menus. I don't mind delivering a somewhat "flat" image to allow for stretching in post anyway (by flat I don't mean flat-lit, rather I'm not playing tones too deeply into the toe since they can be crunched down later, to taste). Highlights do indeed flare a bit, as if one were using a variance on a regular Promist, but considering how unpleasant overexposed highlights can be on video, especially DV, I'm not sure that's a minus. My taste does not run to super-crisp video imaging in the first place, I find it more "filmic" if the edges do not pop off the screen. To bring this back to the topic--I am definitely piqued by the critiques of the XL2 as contained in this thread, and look forward to hearing more and testing the new camera myself, especially in the Mini35 configuration. Personally, my allegiance is to cameras, not manufacturers. I'm liking a lot of things about the DVX100a, but I loved my XL1s in other ways. When I know more about the XL2, it either will or won't become my favorite tool for shooting 1/3" DV. And the world will continue to revolve either way. Final three unrelated thoughts: David, I sat next to you briefly at the ASC/SOC dinner last week, but didn't get a chance to say hello with a mouth full of BBQ. To be pre-emptive on this troubling and frankly baffling anti-Chris Hurd issue, I will disclose that I am a regular poster and moderator on the DVInfo.net, and the reason for that is that after looking at a few other DV boards, I found his to have the least noise and flaming, so I settled in there. Chris is a true mensch and it pains me to see him attacked. Finally, re: the mini35 and DVX100a, as I mentioned I am renting this setup if anyone needs it. I am working on a viewfinder mod that allows for ergonomic handheld shooting, which is a nightmare with the stock configuration.