Allen Achterberg

and if you dont want to spend a lot of money, You can always refer to Field of Few Charts in the ASC Manual or find them online.

then you can shoot it on and however you like without a hitch, and frame for however you like. shoot 3-perf, save 25% on Filmstock. swing a deal, call around...

35BL is a fine camera. But if its a private owner ask for a recent service receipt so you can learn whether or not its kept up. Shoot a test anyways, its too risky to get a body that has problems. do the normal prep stuff with it. 400/day seems a bit steep unless its a 35BL 4s with a studio kit. a BL3 is fine too, get a better lens with the saved money between the BL3 and BL4s.

16mm- "But how does it look blown up" well for one thing, this is what film school is for. People do blow up S16 for theatrical release so testing is important. but if you wont be getting a blow up dont worry about it. If there was question, to keep it affordable I would shoot in a projection format. standard 4-perf acadamy or anamorphic.

35mm and Super35 are basically the same thing. only difference is the route to projection format.

DI the crap out of HD with a redrock? okay. I'd push for a film format especially if planning on striking a release print. But you need to determine which is best for the project. Aesthetically and Price, Functions needed etc. Compromise where you must.

S16 will look better than a HD camera with a Redrock on it. Theres more resolution and Lattitude.

Will a producer throw a 35mm camera at you and say go? No. I dont think so.

The 2nd one is pretty soft. What camera were you using? what Lens mount? is there any sort of adapter on the lens to adapt it to your camera? Im not implying that this is the problem, however knowing the details of that may open up some possibilities.

I mean look at the Blue halo you got goin on there in the 2nd photo. the aberration seems to be non existent in the first photo. What condition is that lens in? It looks pretty poor in optical performance. is it pretty dirty inside? dusty? stopping down makes a stronger beam of light which can hide dusty class somewhat, but the more you open the softer light beam is weakend and sharpness is lost. this looks like a possibility.

I've done a Pulldown removal and reframed the aspect in After Effects in the Past.

I'd drop the 640x480 footage into a 720x480 project and resize. not the most practical but thats what I did. Im not a post guy so hopefully someone else can help you.

The Ang 12-120 isnt the sharpest of Lenses to begin with. Check your lens against a star pattern focus chart to make sure that the witness marks match up. zooming in and getting critical focus is hardly ever necessary assuming your witness marks are lining up. I would stop down and shoot at a T4, maybe a 5.6 with that lens. Measure out your distance and set the lens accordingly, zooming in and then back out sometimes you may accidently bump the focus ring. you are best of using your own eye focus to determine sharpest settings. Film stock, is it old? new? that effects image sharpenss too. pay attention and make sure after you have your distance set on the lens that neither you or your subject change in distance from each other.

maybe you could post some frame grabs?

just remember helicopters fly best with a lighter load, and communication is extremely difficult and key. Steadyness of the helicopter depends on how well the blades are trimmed and thats something you have no control over. Speak with your Pilot and talk. Once I took a toy helicopter along so before we took off I could describe specific shots to him. If your pilot says a shot is too dangerous trust him. Dont push safety. Check with your pilot to make sure he specifically has flown for camera men, if he hasnt then communication will be even more difficult. The company seems fine, they have fair credits but you shouldnt rely on that or what anyone on this board says to their credit. You need to speak with the company and more specifically with the pilot so that you can gauge his experience and trust. call them.

Thanks Mike. Helps a bit. Thanks!

Allen

I heard bout em, I hear they arent really available but thought maybe someone has used them? heard of anyone using them? I'm very curious about them. I was told they were currently only available for SPECIAL projects...

Most Impressive Stephen! I expected nothing less from a man with such a wealth of Knowledge! Good Job!

For example. This is one I modified in photoshop

Bianca beat me to it. However, I had added more specific info to those camera reports. Some of those formats will never be used (VHS-C/VHS Hi8) or if they are used its for a special reason. I added a few formats that are in common use currently such as P2 Cards/Hard Disk and Specific to the DVCPRO Formats. DVCPRO 50 DVCPRO HD and something I find very very important is the frame rate shot at. 23.98/24P 2:3/24PA 2:3:3:2/29.97/30P/59.94/60P etc so that its known how to process. when shooting video formats its not uncommon to have different video standards from project to project. Not all are 60i or 24P etc. So Adding that information will help the editor make sure that he is ingesting the footage correctly or save him time if he needs to do a conversion. It just good overall info to have on there, I'd say its a sin that its not already on there

Best

Thanks every one for the advise. When it comes to Camera Reports what is the difference between film and digital. You still use the same reports right?

I've got some camera reports that are specific to video formats.

use the search function. you will find all the answers you are looking for.

Best

one other thing you can do to practice 1st Assistant work is, to practice pulling focus with a SLR still camera on a longer lens. Practice guessing distances and working with lenses. Go to a Film lab and get camera reports, or email me and I can send you some templates. Become familiar with them and learn to make them up quickly. Get a Fat Maxx tape measure from a hardware store, and also a Cloth Tape.

thats a good book. but get out there and start doing free jobs as an AC ASAP. readings great, learning by doing is best, do both if you can.

often those cheap zooms do not hold their widest aperture throughout the zoom range. so make sure that your stop doesnt close down when you zoom in. also, make sure you are metering for the correct light. remember, a wide lens can collect more light throughout a scene, and when you go in tighter there is less overall light, this occurs when taking a reflected reading. make sure you are shooting completely manual.

other than that there should not be a problem. also, make sure you light meter is calibrated correctly.

no, not that simple. Ask Olex about this one, if there is a 1 or 2m converted to 2-perf around he may know where to point you. He might even be able to clear up what exactly needs to be done in order for the conversion to work. I'd imagine quite a bit of machining would need to happen, and not just to the movement but mags as well. AND a new gate. I'm sure it's more trouble than its likely worth....

jesus!

You've got to love this place. You are curious about how some look or image was achieved and the CREATOR of those images can tell you...

I'm going to have to look at the LLD filter, I've heard good about it on multiple discussions.

here use this.

Jesus Francisco. Make it smaller!

Those sort of shots are not easy, but like Alex says your mental state will make a good difference. Theres so many things to learn when it comes to the art of focus pulling. Read the Zen Focus Book, Science and Optics by fritz. may have the title wrong, I've got it lying around somewhere. These things come with experience. Learn to understand the relationship between your stop, lens length and how big your subject is in screen. Learn to match object growth from the monitor and your pulling speeds. a few visual marks for yourself are good.

there's two ways to do these things, one way is with trust on everybody to be on que (which often requires multiple takes or rehearsals) the other where you learn to basically Be the focus. Learn to pull focus without tape and marks, judge subject size compare it to lens length, you can understand distance that way without a measure. Learn to know what your DOF IS and how it grows and shrinks, Learn to visualize it, spend time with a lens or Lenses so that you can get a very intimate feel of the barrel rotation and how that particular lens effects distance. Practice with long lenses on a video camera (2/3") or redrock M2 at home, or from a still camera. Practice Practice and Practice! Practice guessing Distances! Do all if this Wide Open on Lenses.

this is one of those jobs that require dedication! very few are naturally good at this stuff. It takes practice.

Since you are asking HOW to approach pulling focus on these sort of things I know your experience level is low and therefore I recommend some alone time with a long lens, and a medium lens.

The above is described in a perfect world, its ideal that everyone hits their marks. And if everyone hits their marks, or are close to hitting their marks on time, and you miss....? Learn to be ahead of the game!!!

Well certainly it has a mirror reflex and in order for the image sensor to shoot continuous video that would have to be out of the way thus blacking the viewfinder. I see it as a cool little toy that may have some good uses. I wouldnt shoot a serious project with it. We talk about it in General discussion already...

its neat

In Fact, I wonder if a Beam splitter in place of that mirror wouldnt lend a solution to the black viewfinder...maybe it would cause issues but Im very curious now that if you removed the mirror shutter, and replaced it with a beam splitter glass if you could not shoot clear video while looking through the finder.

Thats Good News. Good to hear it!

Brian is right, its subjective.

good cinematography is when you feel the marriage between the pictures and the story. Whatever grabs you.