robert duke

Praise JEssuss!

As a Key grip I would have patted you on the back and told the gaffer to put his finger in a socket somewhere. Safeties are best when you go beyond the rig if you can. What if the rig failed. I once saw a VERY good key grip drop 4 4ks when his rig failed. He had safetied all the lamps back to the rig. But he had NOT safetied the rig. Putting the safety back to the C-clamp would have been fine if the C clamp was all you had to rig to and safety to. I am guessing that it was the clamp style with the Channel welded to the gate so as to dig into the beam, not the smooth face style. I would wonder about a Key that would question the intention of a rig because it was safetied. There is no career ending situation like dropping a 1.2k on an actors head. Keep up the safety, and tell the gaffer he has a loose cam-lok somewhere. (sorry had some malfunction with the posting)

Its interesting because I have worked with several gaffers ( Rafeal Sanchez, to name one) who use x mas lights a lot. they build 4x4 frames and string the lights on them. you have a thin portable soft source. they are a little warm, 28ook ish, but can make some really nice light. I think some younger DP's and gaffers get hung up on having to use conventional fixtures. the light has to be made by a movie light. they cut themselves out of a freedom to experiment and find some really nice stuff. I once out of desperation used a Laptop for fill light in a music video. We were b&w, and in closeups. I actually grabbed the producer's laptop and handheld it. It worked. X mas lights are really great lighting options.

I think fully loaded you are somewhere is the 45lb range. We had the reddrive on the back, with batteries mounted as if it were a Mag. The top and bottom rails, matte box LCD, 18-50 lens, ff nobs. It was pretty close to a f900 fully loaded. I think this thing might be more dense than the 235. It has been over a year since I worked with the 235 but the naked body is comparable to a Panavision platinum naked. I think the dp said the bodie was 28lbs of love. We didnt put a handheld rig on the camera so... I think If I were to buy one ( as if I wouldnt try to use it as a hammer... grip joke...) I would have gotten Carbon fiber rails. I might look into them as a gift. Are the rails 18mm or 15mm?

So I had my first shoot using the Red Cam. I was really kind of taken aback. I knew it was bigger than a HVX, but D@#$%N! That thing is HUGE with all the bells and whistles on it. The Dp had Ordered a New Oconnor head but was still using his older Satchler head and it was more than the Head could really handle. I am not sure all of the Digerati out there were really expecting this camera to be so big and HEAVY. I was worried that when this thing came out all my full size camera gear would be mothballed, but No not anymore. I am actually worried that my ballhead may not be big enough( not really). But really most people expecting to be able to use a Bogen head will be in for a serious upheaval in that it wont work. All the lightweight DV heads will not cover this thing. We had to strip off the mattebox and some of the rail system to use the satchler head the DP had been using since beta SP's were the poop. As for the camera I was impressed the image and managablity of the controls. I liked that the look settings ( white balance etc) were more or less metadata not applied to the recorded image, leave that for those pesky editors and CC guys. ( more like film work flow). I was impressed at the range when dealing with F-stops. We shot in a school hallway using a single Diva, the overhead practical Fluoros, and some windows. we looked straight at the windows and had an image beyond that was legible and still could see details in the shadowed faces. Pretty Darned good! I can't wait to see this thing run through the paces in a much more studio style narrative setting. Overall the camera was great, we had a couple small glitches, the camera would kind of stall if you pushed the record button and another button too fast. It would give a POSTING message and stutter between a couple frames. we discovered that if a little patience was given it operated just fine. I think that this tool is a Professional Device, The price, size and workflow requirements really do push this above the DV range. The Dp was stunned at the sheer data Volume that was being recorded and had to be dealt with in Post. More than your standard NLE and CPU, so more than a person who has a FCP system. I think that we will see a lot of new owners having to shell out more money for heavier duty sticks and heavier duty computers ( another Hidden cost to the $17000 camera). There is some room for improvement. The cage for the harddrive (reddrive) was lacking in some areas. It didnt seem to fit the drive securely. I would worry about the drive on a feature shoot falling out. The v-lock battery had some play, and didnt feel secure either. I was impressed at the LCD screen and its functions. although it had a really narrow field of view. That made it hard for the client to see the screen. It seemed like going back in time before Video assist, which is odd for a new technology. It was awkward having the client watch over my shoulder while I did dolly moves. I am so used to the client having their own monitor far far from the set. I think once all the bugs, software upgrades and some of the long term usage hardware (mostly the periphials) problems are sorted out this will be a great tool for shooting. I have a Warning to all the DV guys who ran out and bought one. If you think hauling a HVX around all day was tiring just shoulder this thing all day. No more Glidecam shots using those cheap steadycam systems, no more cheap Jib arms, no more suction cup car mounts. It is time to use the professional stuff. hope to use the camera again soon, A grip.

Grippy shoes or not you are putting someone in great jeopardy, and opening yourself up to a career ending possibility. Placing people in harms way is not cool nor is it smart. even if you wratchet strapped someone to the roof it would still be extremely dangerous. Stop and think.

I always try to go by first come first served principles. It just befuddles me that four productions would find one day to schedule. I have one shoot single day shoot that has postponed 5 times. my luck they will reschedule on the same day and make it 5.

How is it with 365 days a year and work being slow do producers always seem to puck the same dates? I mean really how is it that in a single month that four producers would all schedule shoots on ONE day. How can this be? Come on?!? It has been One shoot every other week since x mas. and now 4 but all wanting one day? What is that crap?

Run over to your local welding supply store and pick up a replacement welding glass, they come in several different ND's values. They run about $2-10 and are 2"x4", and 4"x4". You can either drill a hold in it for a lanyard. Wrap the edges with gaffer's tape to help protect the edges from chipping. Not as fancy as the $40 ones but works. you can use the $2 one til you decide it is worth the $40 for the real thing.

probably to late to help but meter the plug, 2500's can be closer to 28amps, still clear enough for the breaker. how long a run, look at the Harry box book. you can pull 110 out of a 220 outlet, just dont use one of the power legs.

While bored at the house last week I caught "star trek 4?"( the one about the whales) and saw an interesting way of doing a night ext. Look at the scene's at the park at night. It looks like there isnt a condor, but a bunch of 1k/2ks placed all around the field underlighting the forrest canopy. I thought I would bring it up here because it is an OPTION to shooting Low budget Night Exteriors. Yes A 5k will help a low budget night ext. but What are you shooting? how wide do you want to be? what is your background? What do you want to see? you dont say any details about the location, film stock, desired Fstop, lense speed, scene style, etc. All these things dictate how you light, and what you light with. If it is low budget, you have to be creative within your means to get something. blanket questions like is a 5k enough dont work. refine your wants and desires, and define clearly what you want. I could answer sure a 5k is enough. It would be enough for one way but not another. do you want to bounce it? define your shot and story concept clearer and maybe...

The spectra is a fantastic meter, as is some of the sekonics. I own a sekonic 508cine. I love having two meters in one. I have had it for several years and have had no issues with it. The 508 is no longer available, To that end I have heard complaints about the 708 and the 558c. mostly some sort of dumming down the controlability. Check it out yourself though. I know a lot of pros who use the sekonics and a lot that use the spectra. Either one is a good choice for a beginner. The sekonic is made for both still and motion so it has more capabilities than what you might need, which can make for confusion to the uniformed. The sekonics have spot and incident meters in one body making it a 2-4-1 purchase. The spectra is a workhorse. either way you go you will have a great meter.

Collateral used luminescient panels similar to laptop screens to illuminate the taxi interior, which caused the greenish tint to the interior. You can use these if you can afford them. Other options are: Christmas lights run through an inverter. You can buy a 400w inverter for under $30. you can get a 50w 12v household bulb trouble light at your local RV supplier. you can get 12v puck lights/ under cabinet lights that when wired without the 12v power supply will run off a car battery. you can used a 12v inverter and use inkies and other standard fare light fixtures such as Kino's and inkies. you can get a 12v flourecent trouble light at autozone for $15. Or you can RENT a Kino car kit. All of these are options to using low budget car shots. The collateral shots utilized a sheet of luminescent panel on the ceiling of the taxi, and a Kino car kit. The other shot looks like either a kino car kit or 15" kino with an inverter.

Visual products is a great place. I think They have a couple elemacks right now. Other than them there is whitehouse av. It is really a crap shoot. It is like looking for Duesneberg car parts. Ebay has one every year or so. mandy's has one every year or so. good luck

you might also look at my favorite mcmaster-carr.

Paint the plywood white or use a white foam to line the ring and use these bulbs: http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/CTGY/SilverBowl they will create a soft bounced light rather than a direct light. you might also rig a diffusion in front of it to help soften the light. I like building my ring lights out of x-mas lights. you can use foam core or gator board and hot glue the lamps poking thru the foam. the hundred or so little lites make a nice soft warm eye light.

what is the emotional objective of the scene for each? what do you want to see in the image? What other images do you want to emulate? These are the questions you should be asking yourself. There are thousands of ways to do this, find the one that fits your needs, desires, and what you have. That is the Object of you going to school, to learn not how we would do it but how you would do it. go to library look at photography books, look at how they are lit, find the images that speak to you. try to emulate those images in a moving image. You can see where and what kind of light is there in the pictures. Personally For the dressing room I would slam a 1200 straight down from over head with a 4x4 of 216 in front of it and a unbleached muslin on the floor for upwards bounce. For the flat I would put silk across the windows and bounce a 1200 into a white board, and have a 650 as a backlight. you might not even need to light it. you could use candles!

Pyramid films was manufacturing knock offs before they bought B&M. They may still be producing some of the parts, although they have concentrated on the HPL dino/maxi brute/spacelight market. Ultralight also makes a knock off of the mole product line, but recently their prices have increased to the point you might as well purchase mole. Ultralights were also making lights for Helix. You can look both companies up on the web. Google works great. http://www.ultralightmfgco.com/ http://www.pyramid-films.com/

Camera Dynamics Inc. Headquarters for the Americas Camera Dynamics Inc. - West Coast Office The Vitec Group Camera Dynamics Inc. 709 Executive Blvd Valley Cottage New York, 10989 USA t: +1 845 268 0100 f: +1 845 268 9324 Toll Free Sales: 1 888 2 Vinten e: info-cd-usa@vitecgroup.com The Vitec Group Camera Dynamics Inc. 2701 N. Ontario St Burbank CA 91504 USA t: +1 818 845 4446 f: +1 818 845 4572 What size tube and tire are you looking for? Who was the manufacturer? Above is the Vinten contacts for the USA.

It is really easy to damage thrust bearings. They are not meant for this usage so the 1000lb rating does not apply. There is a bearing race that can be crushed.

I can make a phone call to a best boy who has them on his truck (LA grips in Shreveport). I dont know directly off hand.

a SECONDARY ANSWER is that the color response is more from the wall paint/reflected light. Painted walls can look one way to the human eye but reflect light in a totally different way to film. It is just a theory. The deep blue in the stills seems to only be on the door and door frame, a different paint than the wall in the background. Granted I am only looking at stills on a laptop, not streamed video or projected video. It would account for the appearance and disappearance of the color shift.

Not to Rub salt or anything but when I heard and read all the news about Axium I freaked. I usually have to wait til late febuary to get all my W-2's but I knew that any from Axium would not be coming. 2006 I did half my work under Axium. So I knew when I heard about Axium I would be in for it as would THousands of filmmakers like me. I avoided digging into my paystubs to see who was the show that used Axium this year. I waited and sweated for two days, I didnt tell my wife, etc. Finally while walking the dog I told her and she began to worry. I went straight to the file drawer and went through my paystubs for the year. Not a One. Entertainment partners, Premium payroll, Producers Payroll, Showpay, all the others but not a single Axium. My heart goes out to everyone who did work an Axium show this past year. My heart really goes out to all the Productions that have just lost their deposits and some of their payrolls. I have heard some real horror stories about this blow to production. I have always felt that production was a small world and we were all a family, from the actors to the back office to the accountants. I feel as if this makes for a traitor in our ranks. I wonder if that feeling of commradery will ever return. I wish all of you the best in this time of two fold crisis.

The Fiber discs seem to do better for than the aluminum, cork, and the rubber. I some of each and have been switching them to fiber as I can. I can't explain the differing materials just that it is how they come. The bearings are awsome, but fragile. My rental gear is used by a lot of no to low budgets so I refuse to use them as they will only come back damaged.

Sometimes I think we as a society are impeding Darwinian efforts to kill off the stupid people.