Gus Sacks

Hey, Well. I don't even use the P2CMS Program. I just do the data transfer and ingest in FCP. The only reason I have Leopard, and FCP6, etc is so I can work and download and edit in ProRes. I got an email from the engineers at Panasonic, and they basically told me what I already knew. I got in touch with Duel Systems, and the guy told me the newest drivers (Card Bus 1.33) don't actually support the P2 cards through the adapter for Leopard, which is lame. SO, now I'm looking for (and asked Panasonic for) an older version of the P2 Mac drivers (like 1.2 or 1.0) that I think should work... Otherwise, how did you partition and install, etc to run Tiger on one partition? I have tiger and I have a partition, but I don't know the next steps.

Hey all. I consider myself to be a fairy seasoned P2 tech. Normally I use other people or production's laptop setups, but recently I assembled my own. It's running Leopard OS 10.5.5, Final Cut Studio 2, with the 6.0.4 update... all the P2 and RED and EX program one could ever want. Well, I've got problems. I borrowed a Duel Adapter and P2 card from a friend, and basically it doesn't work. It seems like the newest P2 drivers don't really gel with 10.5.5 so well, and the only time it reads a card is when I restart with it in there. But I can't hot swap cards, and often itll have my system crash. So I'm considering partitioning the drive and make a partition with Tiger on there running just 6.0 and to do the P2 injesting on thaaaat one and do the RED and EX on the other one. But that sucks. Anyone else having these issues, or a solution?

Luc, where are you based, anyway? That's fairly important.

I had a minute... Duel can wait for now, Addonics makes this for desktop (and a cheaper adapter for P2 work with Express slots as well) http://www.addonics.com/products/pcmcia/aemk35cb.asp Thatll do it for 95 bucks :)

I really dislike the Firestore when ACing. It's bulky and can be unreliable. I much prefer solid-state, when there's really no opportunity for there to be a hardware glitch (or software - ala the Firestore). It's just kinda fragile and I don't like it. Plus, you do not need to spend 1900$ on a card reader. a Duel Adapter is 120$, but I guess if you're getting a desktop... well, you probably could get an Express Slot installed in it.

Hey Dennis, From at least a year and a half ago, if not more: http://vimeo.com/192760 http://vimeo.com/150810 And I think that's enough, hah. I barely use it anymore. Best of luck.

I did it once with an XTR. We were inside a red cloth tent in daylight (no direct light), and I put quarter-straw in the filter tray (no noticeable creasing or light jumping around in reflections), to not fully correct it to an 85, but to just warm it up and make it look a little odd with the red... which it did. :)

Because there's a tendancy to just roll and roll and roll on the hard drives, if you also have CF cards available, I like to go to the cards before lunch and before wrap so I can get a head start on backing up the HDs. Also, a lot of times I see productions going to inserts or quick pick-ups before this anyway, so the cards would be fine. Make sure your settings are right... you're shooting in the resolution they want (or else your frame/field of view's going to be completely different), make sure you're not in RAW mode unless they want that (although itll say it in the bottom left of the screen for some reason even if you're on REC709). Make sure your operator knows the difference between the black Power button and the red Record button (hah, that 90 seconds is a bitch to boot up). And, I guess like any camera before you walk with it just make sure everything's locked. There's a lot of accessories hanging off it and it's best they don't flop around. Good luck.

Hey Jon! Glad to see youre shooting a bunch. This definitely looks like 1/3" HD with a lens adapter. The adapter gives it that literally 3" of depth of field even on a 35mm or so. I liked the grade. Didn't care for the script, etc, but what can ya do?! :) Best, Gus

I'm glad Eric's still working - haven't spoken to him in the past few months. Congrats on a successful production.

I dropped out of film school once I realized working, not only as a DP, but as an AC or Operator, low budget or not, would be much more educational and rewarding than school ever could be. I call myself a DP because I make money doing it, and, haha, yes, do believe I can actually "really shoot," as Andrew said above. But I also AC and Operate, and Digital Tech... Point being, all of the other kids who were in my Cinematography track at school aren't doing that. Are they any better off or in a worse position than I? Who knows? Different strokes for different folks.

If you're gonna go HMI see if you can afford a couple Jokers... Low wattage, high out-put. Would be your best bet if you're going HMI. Also if you're shooting film, and go daylight stock (500D)... half CTO and half CTS might be a decent start.

Nice stuff. I personally don't dig the music all that much, but it's your choice... I think the hip hop clips might detract from the dramatic/gritty work you've got going on. The Times Sq stuf especially. But, regardless, nice job.

That's pretty ridiculous, but sounds about right. I was doing some down-resing for a short I Red Tech'd last weekend, and it was taking 12 minutes per every minute of 4k footage to down-res to 1080p Pro-Res. And I wasn't using machines that could do 9x realtime, haha.

Eastern got rid of their 23! :huh: Is CSC my only alternative?

Well... What's the pay like? Because I recently was shooting two projects like that for a rate lower than I normally would, as favors, basically... and I regretted doing them and no longer will work for said rate anymore. So. Is it worth it worth it?

With the Pro-35 adapter we rated it at 100 ASA. So... 400 in reality I guess.

I answered as best I could! You just have a set of wheels chillin?

I'm sure that would be alright. It gets to be a problem, of course, when you stop down the actual "fstop" below a 5.6 or so, and you start to see the grain of the ground glass. But there's also something like ND on the adapter itself. Buuuut, filters are pretty cheap when you're renting an HVX/Adapter/Lens setup.

Good advice, Jon. We're not putting a hot head; just a 2-axis Weaver. We're using this mostly for boom up/downs with the dolly and locked off shots either looking to the distance or straight down (director's got some interesting stuff in mind). I don't think we can afford a Giraffe and a tech. At least for the run of the shoot. Okay. I'm going to get in touch with my Key today to see if he can maybe stop in a few times to check the guy out before the check-out. He works freelance in a house in the city so maybe he can use that as somewhat of a cover, hah. How easy is it to keep the crane itself level for shots? Could you use a c-stand or so to rest it on like some Jimmy Jibs I've seen? Or does it have to be held in place. Or should it be? By the way, Darryl, been an avid reader of your blog for a while! Even though I don't grip it's really interesting to read.

Ah, over-saturation. Hah, what's that? :) The banding's definitely due to the compression. It's a nice camera. And the AVC codec is a big improvement over DVCProHD; shame you all couldn't use it. Thanks for taking a look. Thanks, Tom. Appreciate it :)

I think it's doable if you live in bigger markets and can do a number of jobs... not just DP but also Camera, G/E, and possibly even post work. That's kinda what freelancing's all about until you get to the point where you can support yourself on just one... after probably doing Union work at that job.

Oh, no. I meant possibly throwing a Mickey or something similar up there instead of building a menace arm or something as such. Haha, yes, my Keys are getting paid fairly well on the project. No worries. The grips and electrics are film students and doing it for more experience - even though I've used them on past projects and certainly trust them with working under my Key Grip and Gaffer. I'm DPing the project, but will probably stop in at the check-out to get a look at the 23 before we're on-set so I can get a better idea of the height increments. I knew about the color-coding, but I'm glad it seems pretty cut and dry. Thanks much.

Jon and Daniel :), I'm looking to use it on a fairly well-budgeted student film in Upstate NY in late-August. The Key I use has yet to work with it, and the Grips we'll be bringing on haven't either. Nor will the Gaffer; I'm assuming (I say him bc I want to use the 23 as a Condor of sorts as well - I saw it's got pin adapters there). How easy is it to learn during check-out? (we'll go to either CSC or Eastern for it - getting the Fisher 10 from elsewhere) and to get your feet with it on-set before it can become comfortable? I know how getting used to most gear can be, but considering the "customizable" nature of the crane lengths and balancing, etc, is it a liability to go on the job (5 day shoot) with grips unaccustomed to the gear beforehand? Much appreciated.

Jon, have you worked with the Fisher 23?