Tim Pipher

Thanks very much, David. Here's a follow up question: If the money were right and he liked the project, would an experienced DP with a history of big time union features be likely to consider a non-union feature? Thanks again, Tim

What about an average professional feature?

Hello Stephen. I wonder what your opinion is of the pictures posted at Reduser.net? Thanks, Tim

"Not only were they extremely personal insults, they were racist and defamatory, not only against David, but also against the ASC. I've seen people sued for less." It would've been valuable in a way to see that post. If I knew what it said and who said it, I'd know to never listen to or respect that poster again. In other words, it would expose the poster as an arse.

Honorary Digital Director: AlfRED Hitchcock

Hello Jason. Can your camera output to a switcher and record to a deck such as HDCAM SR? Also, must the signal be output raw? In my case, it will be running through an Orad virtual studio system where the backgrounds will already have their true colors. I'm not sure how that would work if the background colors were basically final and the foregrounds were raw. Thanks!

The fact that Jim Jannard is doing a little gloating and having a little fun is a good sign if you're considering making an investment in his camera. After all, I don't think we'd be hearing from him if he was about to be humiliated at NAB by unveiling a camera that doesn't do what he said it will do. As a former stock broker, if I were analyzing a stock, I'd be reading between the lines, using a little arbitrage, and figure his stock is about to take a big upswing.

"If you need something else directly out of the camera (your workflow doesn't give you a chance to convert, etc.), you can always hook up the appropriate deck up the HD-SDI taps and record to that." Is that correct? Could you put three Reds into a studio configuration, run them through an HD switcher, and record to a Sony SRW 5500 HDCAM SR deck?

Thanks guys. "For your job listing it might help to describe the kind of projects and looks you're going for, and not just the technical needs. Any DP who takes a full-time gig (and possibly relocating) is going to want to know what kind of stuff he's going to be shooting for the next several years..." I'm setting up a studio -- almost a factory -- to continuously pump out features. After we've got our assembly line optimally tuned, we hope to produce one feature per month with good stories (not necessarily fancy) and recognizible actors. Much of our production will be in our green screen cyclorama, using multiple cameras (3), and using an Orad system to insert the 3D sets live, rather than the traditional way of inserting them in post. We'll have, of course, the virtual locations made up in advance and will assemble, over time, a large "virtual back lot". With this technique and the time economies of having the same crew refine the process over and over, and locations that can change with the flip of a switch, I believe we'll be able to complete principal photography in a much shorter time than traditional methods, allowing us to more easily acquire recognizible actors at an affordable price than we otherwise could. We also offer the actors a little vacation at the beach for a few days after their work -- we hope to build a steady troupe of actors who will make themselves available to us. For the comfort of our cast and crew, we've also purchased two beautiful motorhomes for our on-location shoots. Needless to say, especially until our "movie factory" is working successfully and smoothly, we'll take any commercial work that comes our way.

Very soon I'll be hiring an in-house DP to lead up the production charge in a new movie studio almost completed in a beautiful little coastal city in Florida (Vero Beach). I'll be paying good money -- $8,000 to $10,000 per month (with no state income tax) -- and will expect him to have proven talent, skills and results shooting with Sony F900r's (or regular F900's) and Thomson Grass Valley Vipers, and recording to Sony SRW 5500 HDCAM SR decks. Green screen and Ultimatte experience will also be necessary because a great deal of production will take place in our High Def. 3D Orad virtual studio system/cyclorama. My main priority will be finding a DP who's dynamite with the cameras -- somebody who makes beautiful pictures. I assume I can expect the person to be an expert, or close to it, in lighting too. And surely a person who's very experienced and talented with the cameras will have had good experience in greenscreen/ultimatte work, correct? But will I be expecting too much to hope that this person will also have experience/skills in a virtual studio system such as Orad, Brainstorm, or VisRT? What about this person being a good audio person too -- can I expect that? Or how about experience with 3D Studio Max or Maya -- is it likely that a person with the previous qualifications will have a knowledge of either of those? Finally, although this person likely wouldn't be directly editing on our final cut pro system, it would be nice if he had some knowledge of it so he could help our editors with suggestions/ideas. It would be hoping/asking for too much to find a person with skills in all of those areas, correct? If so, which of those skills should I reasonably expect an in-house DP to have? Also, will my location be an advantage (beautiful little seaside city out of the rat race) or a hinderance (out of the production loop and 90 minutes from Orlando, 2 hrs. from Miami) in my recruiting efforts? Finally, what are your suggestions as to where I should post or advertise this position? Thanks!

I'm purchasing three cameras for my green screen studio -- two will be F900r's. I would like one of my cameras to be 4:4:4 and figured a Sony would be my best bet to match up with the F900r's. However, I don't believe the Sony F23 will be an option for 6 months or more. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether I can get a Viper to match up closely with the F900r's in a three camera configuration? I'll be using an HD switcher and recording to a Sony SRW 5500. Thanks for any comments!

Thanks Tracy and Mitch!

Hello again. Construction will be complete soon on my new studio in Vero Beach, Florida. It's almost time to order our equipment. Our sound stage consists of a 40 ft. X 40 ft. area, almost all of which is a green screen cyclorama (40 ft. across the back wall and 20 ft. up two side walls. We'll be recording to a Sony SRW 5500 HDCAM SR deck, using two F900R's and one 4:4:4 camera (an F23 if they're ready). We'll be employing an Orad HD 3D virtual studio system. My initial plan was to use new Canon 11 X 4.7 zoom lenses on all three cameras. However, a used dealer says he could get me a great deal on 3 "barely used" lenses -- a Canon 18 X 7.6, a Canon 21 X 7.5, and a Fujinon 13 X 4.5. My question is whether I should save some considerable money and go with three different used lenses, or should all my lenses be the identical for the good of our three camera shoots? We plan to do features and misc. TV shows, mostly inside the studio but also on location. I'd appreciate thoughts on any of our tentative equipment choices, especially the lenses. Thanks!

Thanks John! Tim

I am in the process of building an HD studio facility in Vero Beach, Florida. We'll be making extensive use of an Orad HD virtual studio system (capable of 4:4:2 but not 4:4:4 production). My cameras will be Sony F900r's. I'll be recording from the F900's into an external deck. I had planned on an SRW 5500 HDCAM SR deck. However, I'd save considerable money by instead purchasing an HDCAM deck like the new Sony D1800. Since the F900's can't shoot 4:4:4 anyway, am I correct that recording from an F900 into a 4:4:2 HDCAM deck will result in identical picture quality to the HDCAM SR deck, even for film out projects? I know movies shot on F900's are often recorded externally to the HDCAM SR format (like Prarie Home Companion). But wouldn't they be just as well off (and save money) by recording to an HDCAM external deck? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!