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Deniz Coker

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Everything posted by Deniz Coker

  1. Spent some time playing with one of these and I was pretty impressed. I liked how a lot of the menus seemed much more optimized and another gentleman also noticed it seemed much quicker as well. I didn't have a chance to scrutinize any of the footage but from the quick stuff we shot it seemed like it had lots of potential. I like that you can now quickly overcrank/undercrank using a dial on the back. Not a game changer for sure, but a nifty feature. I'm a little too lazy to go on, I'd probably only be repeating what others already stated; much more elegantly at that. But from a personal perspective it was odd for me to see them seemingly "ditch" P2 so quickly. I know they haven't and the way I see it is all of their major cameras have heavily adopted the format. But on a personal level as someone who invested in both P2 hardware and established a workflow around it, I wasn't crazy about such a change, especially because of how close I'd like to lump it with an HPX170. I mean the ingestion process isn't different at all, I had just assumed it would be an HPX that natively has interchangeable lenses. Maybe that's what the HPX370 is for...
  2. Sequins popped into my head as well, I just wrapped some green screen scenes and it's always the tiny details like that which get you. Now if you're going to be moving around on a dolly, you'll need some tracking markers. I think you should really sit down with the person who will be doing the VFX. They'll probably chime in on tracking markers and such. I've used everything from tennis balls to x's made from tape. Something to be able to pull x/y movement and z depth from. I've seen people use crazy patterns on screens because it gives them variety when motion tracking. When keying, your goal is to key as little as possible. I personally do a tight garbage matte (I never enjoyed simple 8 point mattes, and you don't have to go all out and roto the shot), but trust me it'll save you time. The time you spend prepping your project before you apply a keyer will help you that much more when you actually pull a key. Also, one click keys are very very very rare and often useless. I often break people up into various parts depending on how successful my key is coming along. I like to isolate the head simply because hair often requires great detail. Then I move onto arms, sometimes fingers need more attention and areas like the arm pits. Keep in mind your shutter speed, go too slow and you'll have blur mania. Let me tell you, keyers typically hate motion blur and for control reasons, I've often left that up to VFX for these types of things anyway. But in more direct response to your question, simple things like stands, booms and such are very easily removed. Again, the goal is to shrink the green around her as close as possible, THEN key. So as long as she doesn't cross paths with any gear you're all good. If she does, you're in for some frame by frame roto work. Never fun. Now in regards to framing, I personally like to go in tighter with green screen shots. You're isolating the person anyway so you'll get to position and frame them in a digital environment anyway. I find that going in closer gives you a nice big shot of the person and you can scale or shrink them in the environment depending on your needs; again more flexibility in post. I did have a little trouble understanding the final product, my brain's a little mushy right now but why couldn't you just shoot on a black background and rotoscope in the city? From my understanding, it seems as though it will mostly be around her arms/hands? That is pretty easy to do and would save you a nightmare of post work including reflections on her sequins and such (p.s. you might want to dull those down just for that reason). You can throw some duve on the cyc and you'll be 90% of the way there in camera. I should note, I originally come from a VFX background and since moving into more "in camera" work, I try and avoid all specialties like green screens unless absolutely necessary just because of the extra pomp and circumstance that comes with it. So that's where my views come from, just something to keep in mind. Either way, I can go on about this forever, hope you find this rant partially useable! :)
  3. Thank you all for your help! If I label them "BEER" I'm sure I could leave them in a sock for all I care and they'd end up just fine :)
  4. So I keep carrying an increasing amount of CFLs, incandescent, just a nice assortment of light bulbs but I really haven't found a good solution for safely transporting them. It's hard because of their odd sizes. I have tiny CFLs to large ones and halogen PAR lights to incandescent bulbs. I thought of a pelican case but I'd like to fit them into my large case and a pelican would be too bulky. I've been thinking maybe a packing tube or something or maybe carving something out of foam? Anyone have a solution?
  5. Here is a still I found from a quick google search. I like letting things go black. You could have light coming in from doors that might be slightly ajar. I would have light from the classrooms probably tweenies aimed down and out the crack of the door, little haze to show off the beams. Some light from those doors at the end. Let the talent be silhouetted. As they walk past doors they can be temporarily lit which shows their expression.
  6. Safety first indeed. Not sure if it was someone else's idea or his but if anyone wants to put me in a spot thats as unsafe as that, they can climb the cherry picker and shoot the damn footage themselves. Having said that, I think NYU here banned the use of cherry pickers or other similar "cheats" to getting aerial shots because of a similar incident. I'm going off memory here so I don't recall what the catalyst was. Very sad indeed. Couldn't they instead have positioned the camera in the seats? Total lack of judgment.
  7. Jerry, I would absolutely appreciate that. Does he have a website as well? Thanks so much, Deniz
  8. As a pilot I agree with everyone above. Rigging something to any plane is risky. You have vibrations, the plane's airfoils and just maneuvering could shake that cam loose. Wind speeds and such are pretty intense in the sky so it would be easy to underestimate the power of something coming loose. Plus like everyone said the FAA wouldn't be too happy with something non-aviation related hanging off a plane from a device that isn't quite aviation grade. Always use caution when working with planes, even though the smaller props may seem safer and slower they're still no less risky. Do everything in your power to get the shot from inside the cabin from a safe area. I haven't rigged stuff to planes so I'm sure someone can do it safely but again, it's a big FAA hurdle. If that camera falls and lands on someone, that wouldn't be too great for them or your camera. Wouldn't be good for the pilot either.
  9. Michael, JD, thank you so much for your help! I'm pleased to report the light works great. The globe turned out to be fine but I found a lot of loose paint particles and dust in there. I cleaned it out and fired it up for a while and no smoke and no smell! I was really worried it would be the globe or paint which I'd just have to deal with. Thanks again guys!
  10. I was hoping someone here might be able to help me figure this out; I've been searching around but couldn't really find a solid answer. Basically one of my LTM Pepper 650s starts emitting smoke a good minute or two after it has been on. I looked inside and the wires seem fine, as easy as it mechanically (and electrically) is. It isn't a lot of smoke but a noticeable light gray plume funneling out the vent up top. It also smells, not electrical but oily. Now I got these from Pyramid Films out in LA and I figured I could always ask them for help as well but I wanted to see if anyone here had an issue like this before. I do have another Pepper, same style also from them which doesn't have this problem. I've been lucky enough to tip toe around using this light and haven't really used it at all, and I remember it being this way since day one. I think they lubricated the rails inside but I didn't think that would cause it. I figured they know more about these things than I ever will. But that seems to be the major thing that makes sense to me. I don't think it's the paint burning off on the inside either, I mean some paint is worn down towards the front but they are used so I'm sure that's normal. Like I said my others lights don't do this and I don't remember the Arris I used at my old studio having this problem either so I'm guessing it isn't normal. I remember from my theatre days, we would see smoke from new Par Cans and Leikos and I was told it was the paint burning off and it went away after a day or two. Either way I hope it's a pretty easy fix, as of now, the poor fixture is sitting outside my kit with a lonely big white X on it. Thanks for any advice!
  11. I am thrilled to hear this! His story and work are such an inspiration to me, I'm really happy to see this.
  12. Alain, I really love that shot! It really speaks to me. Getting back to the subject, this is my first time hearing about this but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It must be frustrating at the very least to spend money on person after person; I could imagine that takes a toll on the budget. I understand their time is worth something as well but if someone is just using script reading fees as a cheap way to get income then kudos to them, they have it made! No, but on a serious note, I wonder how this will pan out. I mean I can see those fees becoming red flags for people but then again if they are established talent, I guess it won't cause a problem. But my gut tells me there's too many people cramming in to the point where there will be people willing to read and take roles without charging production for all those things. To play devil's advocate I guess I can't say much about a fee being around 5k either. I could compare it to the practice of charging clients to scout and prep for locations on smaller non "big time" shoots (I mean more television/client based stuff).
  13. Ouch! So there's a budget for the award winning director and an academy and emmy award winning cast but none for crew? You'd think with such an all star team something as basic as hiring a solid crew would come naturally. Mandy and sites like that depress me to be honest. I don't know if it's mainly New York as I've always shot and worked here but this seems to be an epidemic here. I'm sure it's as bad in LA or any other production towns. I feel bad too because I'm sure their inbox is full of fresh faced students or people looking to get a foot into the door. Then again I'm also a firm believer in you get what you pay for. Sure, you may wind up with some whiz kid with gear but you may also (and most likely) crap out. I'd much rather budget in a skilled crew and take a hit on talent if I must. Might not be the smartest thing but I'm sure bad audio will sink a production or at least cripple it's chances of success fast.
  14. I'm sure there'll be much better lighting guys with better replies but I figured I'd take a quick stab at it. What kind of mood are you going for and what's happening in the scene? The first thing that popped into my head was maybe pools of light simulating those sodium vapor street lamps, like 1ks aimed down from above. You could probably hang them off the actual street lamps and it'll be safer than sandbagging the heck out of super high stands. Then again that would only work if the street lamp had a dud bulb or you got to turn them off. At the very least you'll need some super powerful lights. 1ks might even be too weak if you cover a larger surface area. A gaffer friend of mine once told me it's best to bring out the "big guns" for night shoots, you'll need them. Some slightly blue tinted lights to accent things in the back might help, I've always tried to avoid that stereotypical wash of blue "night" light but sometimes it helps a little. If you have cars in the scene you might be able to work in their headlights or shoot some light at your talent simulating headlights. If there's a store nearby with a neon sign maybe a bit of glow off that sign. I'd say play off what's already there. My last night shoot involved lighting a front door of a house for a medium shot and I used slightly blue gelled 1ks shot towards the door from above that gave a nice ambient fill and with the porch light in the back as a practical it balanced pretty nicely. Good luck and be sure to show us when you're done!
  15. What town are you from? I'm supposed to be moving to Port Wash asap. I'll be sure to let you know, it's great to meet other people in the area.
  16. hah I've been recycling one from my old studio but this one is pretty slick. Thanks a bunch!!
  17. So I'm new here and don't know anyone yet (on this site that is) but I'm always down for some drinks if anyone's around. I love meeting people who also work in this crazy industry.
  18. Just figured I'd pop in here and say hey! I've been lurking for a while and decided to bite the bullet. Either way, NYC based, doing mostly television, excited to meet other people in this "small" town ;)
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