Jason McKelvey

We have an older PD150 that we still use on ocassion, was great for what we were shooting, but we use the SDX900 as much as possible. Hey Niku, did you guys consider a DVX100A when you bought the PD170? For production work, I'd choose the DVX100A for the 24P, if it's run and gun, I'd choose the PD170 only because it has auto gain on the audio, and better low light recording. Other than that, they both make a great picture for the size and cost. jason

Thanks everyone! Jason

One more thing... when broadcasting the playback for the band/singer, use a CD, not a cassette... the digital signal from a CD will be 10000x more stable and save you a big headache when trying to sync things in post. Don't forget to send an audio line to the camera, or put an ambient mic on the camera to capture sound. J

Higher car insurance for males sounds sexist to me... but that's the reality of statistics. ANY music video has the potential to blow in and out of town... cover your bases. IMPORTANT: know the local noise ordinance. They can and will shut you down if you break a noise law. Also, was on a music video shoot that got the boot for not having a permit to shoot on the beach in Miami. Never got paid... guess what genre? Jason

The PD170 has a pretty long lens, you could back up and zoom in to throw the background out a bit more, or, if space is a limitation, I would go to manual iris, open to wide open and add ND to set exposure. Also, you can get a pretty low cost circular polorizer from B&H Photo to lose the glare off the windshield. make sure it's circular... a standard polarizer won't work with a camera that has auto focus. Cool grading... keeps people guessing what you used to shoot with. As an aside, I have been wanting to try a Tiffen soft contrast filter. It's supposed to work the opposite of of a standard contrast filter by reducing the highlights and leaving the dark stuff and shadows untouched. If it works like the literature says, it may work like a low knee setting and avoid blowouts. I'll let everyone know if I get my hands on one. jason

Thanks, one more question; how then do the freeze frames on my DVD player look sharp and not interlaced, even though I use a standard CRT TV? Jason

I heard from our local Fuji dealer that they are stopping production on the SD lens elements. Why have 2 different factories making elements? They said that they are starting to put HD spec glass in SD lenses because it's cheaper to make all of one type of glass. I don't know how far into the process this goes, but that's all he said. It would be like Honda stopping production on a lot of "Honda" parts and just make more Acura parts to put in Hondas. Jason

Thanks Phil. :wacko:

I had our editor do some frame grabs from some footage I shot with the 900. It was in 24P with V.RES set to INTRLCE because we don't do film-outs. I expected the frame grabs to look like film frame grabs... like a still photo. Instead, even with my subject perfectly still, there was interlace artifacts on the edge of his nose... like a jagged edge. Is this because of the V.RES setting? Will setting this to PROG make a difference? When I freeze my DVD player, it looks like a clean frame grab. Is there a way to get this type of performance out of our 900? Thanks, Jason

How are you going to confirm what you are sending the waveform/vectorscope is accurate? I've seen that messed up before too, either by bad cables, wrong termination or wrong calibration of the WF/VCS itself. I understand the use of a waveform/vectorscope and it's value on a set. I just wanted to point out that too many times, you end up with a bland, steril picture that is 100% NTSC correct, with accurate color representation, everything in the gamut, white clip where it's "suppose" to be... yuck. As a shooter, I don't like to let the editor have all the fun. Using a vectorscope to find a specific color that you see on the monitor is a time saver, but I still say shoot to a good CALIBRATED monitor. Jason

Used is your only option. Make sure it's a broadcast lens and not a professional line lens. You can get a Canon 9x5.2 for about 8 or 9k. Have it rebuilt by a qualified lens engineer. It will cost you a good $600 to $1200, but it's worth it. You are still under 10k total. I recommend Horst Stahl of Coral Springs, FL for service... he's the best in the country. Jason

Please help me understand why the colors were "distorted, bled,..." etc. on the monitor in post, but didn't show up on the on set monitor???? Sounds like it wasn't a matter of needing a waveform/vectorscope per say, but needed a better production monitor. Jason

Thanks everyone.... I found a place on the internet that sells Christian Dior hose, and many other vintage stockings. Here's the site: www.stockingshowcase.com The cool thing is, I got an $18 pair of hose for $4! Because they have a hard time selling the short lengths. Also, he has some with runners in them that they can't sell that he threw in... which is fine with me because all I need is about a 3x3" piece to make a net. They don't carry Fogal though. Thanks, Jason

I'm suprised nobody has brought this up... If you are doing a gangsta video (or hired by an unknown producer), get paid in advance and make sure the check CLEARS before you shoot!!! Jason

OK, I got an I-ring and it works great, here's the question: How do I reduce the effect - stretch the net more, or stretch less? I see a huge halo with tons of rainbow effect... too much. thanks, Jason

Unless I'm using multiple cameras that I need to match, I don't use either. Look at a monitor... does it look great? Great! Does it look bad? Iris down/up, reduce/add chroma of R-G or whatever. Saturation clips will be obvious. If luminence clipping over 110 IRE, but you want it to look blown out and you're happy with what you SEE on the MONITOR, bring it to NTSC safe levels in post... don't use the cameras circuity. My reasoning is that the CCDs will react to white clip setting very different (unflatteringly) than a NLE software white clip adjustment. If anyone has a technical reason not to do that, I'd like to here it. If the blowout looks bad on the on set monitor but you still want the highlights to blow, then make changes to the knee point or slope. I'd love to see a DP set a camera to scopes without an on set monitor. J

Very low budget?... A 150 to 200 thread count top sheet with 4 clip light aluminum scoops with 300 watt bulbs about 6 to 8 inches apart (set back at the right distance) is a nice soft light... and if you can keep your subject off the background, the fall off is pretty good. I got this idea after watching "The Others" DVD extra features where they showed a 4x4 frame set right on the floor with a fay light behind it. Cost you about $50. Also, try getting an off-white sheet... like a taup or light salmon to warm up the light. Jason

I agree with Mitch, we own a Canon 9x5.2 SD Broadcast lens and a Canon 21x7.8 HD lens. The HD is sharp to the edges. The difference is almost like going from a Pro line lens to a broadcast lens. We use it on an SDX900... standard def 50mbs mode is very similar to digibeta. j

What about adding some practicles? They make torchiers now that take a standard 250W screw in bulb. Stick a cheap GE Reveal daylight balanced bulb (poor mans HMI... any hardware store), and you have a source that is matched to your daylight, and because you can put it in the corner where it belongs, pointed at the ceiling, it will illuminate at least half the room. The added benifit is that it can come into frame and no one will think twice because it belongs there. Add a table lamp with a daylight bulb for fill. My favorite 2 shoots I can remember were lit with a big window and a bounce card.

Check this page out http://www.ocon.com/doc04f.htm So smooth it will scare you. I'm not just saying that. After using an O'connor, I realized that I unconsciencely anticipated friction spots with my vinten. It wasn't until I used a head that perfectly smooth that I noticed it. Great stuff. Jason

Go to the color correction page and set the saturation on +60 on all colors. If any of the bleed, cut them back till the don't. Make sure you have color correction ON for L, M, H settings. Turn the master gamma down a bit, boost black stretch to +2 and iris up a bit to compensate. That will give you some freaky chroma ala CSI Miami. Salt to taste. Jason

I just watched A Little Princess on ABC Family. It was shot by Emmanual Lubezky before he was ASC according to the credits but the movie shows his ASC caliber. I just wondered if anyone had any opinions or insites, technical or otherwise, on the filming of this great little movie. Jason

O'connor heads are my favorite, hands-down. Vinten Vision 100 after that. Since you are using an SDX900, I assume you make professional videos... be prepared to spend between $4000 (used) and $7000 (new) for a tripod, fluid head, dolly wheels and case. jason

Try turning off "Color Correction". Having that on makes certain colors "sing" on my sdx900. Jason

Ya 25P, but in the states, who wants to mess with PAL/NTSC conversion. J