Mark A. Rapp

I'm shooting a short film next year - my brilliant Civil War epic! Okay, maybe not an epic, but the lighting is going to pose concerns for me for the following reasons: 1. The scenes are interiors, mostly at night, lit by candles and appropriate era lanterns. Is there a stock that I can use whereby I will not have to light extensively in addition to the candles and lanterns? Naturally I'll want to add some fill and a bit of light to the background, and I was considering using chinese lanterns for that. 2. I don't know the first thing about different film stocks. I understand the rating and measuring light with the light meter, but as far as response of the film and getting that image that I "see in my head," I don't know enough to match a stock with it. Where do I learn about the different stocks, their responses, what it will wind up looking like, etc. Or is it a matter of actually buying and testing the different stocks until I find one I like? Basically I'm just inexperienced with this (my first film was in black and white on Kodak 7222). This will be my first color shoot. If it's relevant, I'm shooting with an Arri BL and the stock Zeiss 10-100 zoom lens.

I'm doing pre-production right now on a script in which one of the characters will be wearing white contact lenses (not scleral). I really want the eyes to 'punch out' on camera; in fact a nice glow is the desired effect. I was thinking of hitting the actor with black light to really 'pop' the lenses. Is this the best way to go about doing this? Also, if I use black light, will I have to make other lighting adjustments? Possibly f-stop adjustments? Black light really affects film in ways you don't see until after processing, correct?

Not setting out to "prove you wrong" Josh, but since I own a BL I've looked into it. There's a guy here in Pittsburgh that will do a super 16 conversion, and also here's another offer for the procedure at this website: http://www.cameraspro.com/ But, like you, I wonder just how effective these conversions are. I've heard there are lens compatability issues after the 'operation,' and warping of the image around the edges (am I understanding this correctly?) after conversion. Who knows? Doesn't matter, since I haven't got $2000.00 to drop on this anyway. I'd like to talk to someone who's had it done, though, just to see what their opinion is.

Hi, Josh. I was running sound on this particular shoot, so I don't know the general condition of the camera. I do know that it was loud enough that we had to come up with interesting methods of capturing usable sound, like using bounce boards to deflect camera noise, and wrapping our coats around the camera. It may have been in poor condition, I didn't know too much about cameras then. But it was l-o-u-d! In your experience it's a pretty quiet camera, huh? I guess his was trashed out. BTW, I had the guys at Visual Products give my Arri BL a clean bill of health before we started the shoot - great guys!

I wanted to post again to let you all know that I'm going to use my BL to shoot my short this summer. Thanks to everyone who posted an opinion; I've found this board to be a great resource. Thanks much! On the advice of many here, I've already taped off the ground glass for a 16:9 aspect ratio. I'll add the letterbox effect in post. I plan this short to be transfered to digital and released to film festivals that support that format, and possibly (with much luck) direct-to-video on a compilation of shorts or something. Also, I was planning to transfer to Mini-DV, which is what I did with my feature (shot in 4:3) so I could edit with PREMIERE. Is that still okay if I've cropped to 16:9? New question: Is it better to do color correction on the film at the lab, or do it in the editing program? One more thing: Anamorphic vs. letterboxing a 4:3 image: What's the difference? I mean, from zero, can someone explain it to me? I'm just not getting it! Comments? Questions? Anecdotes? :) Stay tuned for posts like: "What kind of damn film do I need?"

Stu, Hi! I own an Arri 16BL and I'd recommend it for your shoot. I have experience with the CP 16 as well (a disasterous shoot in New Castle, PA for a production I was involved in called 'RABID CITY' - one of those lessons in how not to shoot a film... :angry: ), and found the CP to be a noisy, tempermental brat. I used my Arri to shoot my feature, and it's a solid camera. Do you have an Angenieux lens or the Zeiss? I have the Zeiss zoom and it worked great for us. Nice clear image the whole way. In fact, I'm planning to shoot a new short with it this summer. :) And I would agree with Marty: if you have the BL (or another camera), why bother getting a second camera to shoot MOS? Not slugging at you here, just curious. ;) Good luck and keep us updated! BTW, don't you love these smileys? :D

You mean it can be done, right? And thanks all, for your input! Much appreciated!

Thanks much, Sam! Is this concensus?

Hi, folks! Indie filmmaker here, and I'm not a qualified DP. So please forgive any uninformed questions. I have a short I'm preparing to shoot and I want it shot in a 16:9 aspect ratio. I'm shooting with an Arri 16BL which as you know is a regular 16mm camera that shoots a 4:3 image. There was a discussion on the board not too long ago discussing taping off the ground glass to show the 16:9 image. Question: Where is the "ground glass?" I understand that the ground glass holds the crosshairs/filmsafe/TV safe images that I see through the viewfinder, correct? So where is it? Inside the film door? If you take off the lens and peek in, there's an element in there as well that has the image crosshairs, and camera-safe zone (or is that the same element that I see reflected into the eyepiece?). Further, I want to shoot with a nice, high-grain color film. Will using only the film portion in that 16:9 space leave me with a nice image? It seems a waste to... well, waste all that space. The final format will be digital to go to festivals and/or a direct-to-video compilation. I do not intend to blow the transfer to 35mm for projection.

If it's a night shot, put the car in your garage and do a poor man's process. You'll save time and resources, and have much better control over the audio as well. Check out the DVD extras on FRAILTY. They do a nice step-by-step on their process shots in the car.

I hope this isn't too ridiculous a question (newb here...) but I'm interested in the same thing and I want to know how you know where to draw the lines? Hit or miss? Educated guess? Which is to say, what if you go too far in from the top and bottom? Then you've ruined the whole bit, right?

Bruce, I sent you an e-mail re: converting my BL. What's the cost of conversion?