Daniel Christie

Hey Brad, most of these systems can be rigged with a hot head or do you mean the tracking direction? Daniel

Just saw the aforementioned SuperSlide- Similar rig.

A better solution than the cable cam for this setup would be a rig like Garrett Brown's GoCam (garrettcam.com). I've seen it used in coverage of track events. Again, this would be well out of your budget, but how about this; You could try mounting a lipstick camera on the dolly that whizzes out infront of the hounds with the fluffy animal. It's not the most stable solution, but it would certainly keep up with the dogs without a hassle. Daniel

I'm pretty sure I've seen a photo from Mad Max 2 (aka Road Warrior for some) where they were using a similar rig. I think it was a front mount though. Daniel

Hey Guys, Does anyone know where I might download an annular(sp?) focus chart or have one they would be willing to share. I hear they are much better than a Seimens star for checking focus for video with viewfinder peaking. Cheers, Daniel

Incidentally, also the stuff Kino Flo fixtures are made of. Known as Coroflute in some parts (such as Australia) ;)

Hey Guys, Does anyone know where I could buy a Sammys Greyscale online? They are the defacto standard around here. I could source one locally but the mark ups here in Australia are outrageouse. Cheers

Thought that was the case, thanks for clearing it up. Cheers, Daniel

So does that mean that down conversion is only an option for SDI and analogue outs, or could it potentially be used for conversion to 576i (in PAL land) DV25 or DV50? I know some of the decks can do it, but I suspect that the HDX cannot. Can you confirm this? Thanks heaps, Daniel

Hey all, Can anyone tell me if it is possible to output a DV25 downconverted signal from the HDX's firewire port from or while recording to tape in DVCPRO HD? Cheers, Daniel

The standard I have always used and been taught is yellow for tungsten blue for daylight, red for fast stock. I wouldn't normally expect to be working with too many more than three different stocks on one job. Daniel

Really? I contacted them once and they would ship, but the price they quoted was outrageous. More so than the prices the local suppliers charge (you know who I'm talking about). Daniel

Your local pro audio shop should be able to make a XLR to minijack adaptor. The XLs front input is unusual in that, yes, it uses two (Left and Right) rather than a stereo TRS configuration. This is the same type of connector that airlines use for thier headphone jacks. An XLR to dual mono minijacks should do the trick. Otherwise, an XLR to single minijack will give you audio only to one channel. Daniel

Actually, it depends on the voltage of the power supply. In Australia, Europe and most of Asia the mains supply is 240 volts, so 1K will require about 4.2 amps. In the US and Japan the power supply is 120V (with the exception, I gather, of some dedicated outputs used in laundrys, kitchens, hot water where higher curcuit capacity is desirable) so 1K = 8.4A. The formula to work it out for yourself goes like this; WATTS/VOLTS = AMPS. You should always allow 10-20% overhead though and make sure you know what else is on the curcuit. Daniel

I dont think the i-Cuff would work for film. I don't wear glasses, but I do use the i-Cuff DV (I still opt to use a traditional chamois on any eyepiece it will fit on), and if the Pro and HD are anything like it, they will leak light in the side where there is a rather large gap designed to allow a glasses stem into the eye piece. Daniel

When I am shooting drama I call myself a DOP. When I am shooting interviews and other EFP I call myself a lighting cameraman. When I work as an AC I also tend to use different terms depending on the job. I like to use the terms focus puller and loader, but loader especially isn't so appropriate to video, so I will call myself an AC, As for cinematographer, I think it is a more general term, it can be just another term for the DOP or can extend to include other members of the camera department. While it seems a trendier title, I personally feel DOP gives more credit. Robert Bresson refered to himself, a director, as a cinematographer meaning a film maker, not a DOP. Daniel

Am Icorrect in thinking 24PN is 24P Native, so it is a full 24fps and not pulled down over 29.98 and therefore should be edited on a 24P timeline- no interpretation, pulldown, conversion etc required, until you output at 29.98. As for the audio, the timecode was probably layed down as 30FPS, so that's what the smartslate was displaying. In the digital world this should not affect playback speed. It's not like cutting on a Steenbeck where the film and mag sound reel physically run at the same speed. An audio file plays back at 48KHz, a frame at any framerate is just a unit of measure. I think you should still be able to sync the 30fps TC on the slate with the 29.98 TC embeded in the soundfile though this might be a littleb out. Does that make sense? Daniel

The CCD size is not actually representative of the image size. There was a discussion of this in another forum awhile back... I'll see if I can find it. Daniel

Although not HD, the SDX-910 is a much higher end camera, a true professional camera. If you A/B the cameras you may will find that it produces a much better picture, possibly even sharper than down converted HVX video. This has certainly been my experience in comparing the Sony Z1 and DSR-450 (which is only DVCAM). It's a better camera and even if it only has an ENG lens, the lens alone is probably worth almost as much as a HVX! In terms of operation, the 910 will equip you better to operate a Varicam,or other professional camera, since the designs are similar. Since you've been talking about the 35mm adaptors, you might consider shooting on the 910 with the P+S Pro35 adaptor. There are unique factors that will affect your choice for this production, but unless there is good reason why the production must be aquired in HD I would probably choose the 910 any day. Daniel

I forgot to mention, your focus puller will really thank you for giving them proper lenses to work with too :D

Kev, THe article suggests that the sunset backdrop was a Translight backdrop printed from still photos, not hand painted. Cheers, Daniel

Hi Amarjeet, Kev is right, it would be best to make these decisions with an experienced DOP attached to the project as they are complex and depend on a number of factors unique to your project, especially with regard to choosing the format and equipment you use but I will answer what I can. I have only ever shot/focus pulled with the P+S adaptor. You lose about 2 stops going through this adaptor, so consider that when allocating you lighting budget if it is an interior shoot. Using an adaptor with 35mm cine lenses will give you the DOF of 35, but since on a fixed lens camera, such as the HVX, the image plane of the adaptor, a spinning ground glass, is being recorded via the cheap fixed lens. I tend to believe that the quality of a good cine lens is a little wasted. The HVX does not record uncompressed. It records DVCPRO HD at 100 Mbits. 7 minutes to a 4Gb card at 1080i (or P over I) or 14 minutes at 720P native. The P2 implimentation of DVCPRO HD records in MXF format, but the files are not serlf contained. Be sure to maintain the file structure exactly as it was on the P2 when you copy it. Do not delete anything. You will have to use a P2/DVCPRO HD compatible editor, FCP or Avid, to import and put these files back together. I believe audio is uncompressed, probably PCM. Hope that info helps but do try and talk to someone who can advise and discuss the system with you extensively, even if that is the guy at the rental house. They get feedback from clients all the time and have probably got to know the system quite well themselves. Daniel

Ask for a FLEX file when you do the telecine. A FLEX file will have a log of roll numbers and keycode cross referenced to the video TC. When you go back to telicine for online or go to the neg cutters, they use the FLEX and a CMX EDL, which can be crossreferenced to generate the neg pull list with keycode and edge numbers. Daniel

Shooting a 50Hz source at 24fps requires a 172.8º (or alternativly 86.4º, 259.2º or 345.6º) shutter as apposed to 180º at 25fps. May I ask more detail? Where will it be shot (mains power frequency)? What type of monitor are you shooting (LCD, CRT, Plasma)? What format/framerate will you be finishing at? These factors will all affect your options and your needs in terms of sync boxes etc. Daniel

Interesting. I will have to make further investigations. We viewed the tests on three different monitors, so it must have been a camera fault. All shutter settings etc were normal. Daniel