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Tristan Noelle

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Posts posted by Tristan Noelle

  1. I think there’s something to be said for the operator being “in” the scene in a way, close to the performances. A remote head operated from video village for normal scenes is capable of doing what a fluid head and operator can do, but I find it useful to have an eyeline to the actors outside of the viewfinder and monitor for matching and anticipating movement in some scenes, like when actors are loose with marks  or go off book. 

  2. I’ve had luck with Nano Tape, it’s a thick double sided material that grabs smooth surfaces really well. I usually use it overhead but it should work on a wall. It’s cheap enough that replacing it should be easy. May want to test it out. 

    -Tristan

    https://www.amazon.com/Multipurpose-Removable-Mounting-Traceless-Decoration/dp/B0B7WZZV3Z/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=WCD500BQ6ELL&keywords=nano+tape&qid=1696466158&sprefix=nano+tape%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

  3. I was operating camera the other day for a performance. We all were on different focal length Ultra Primes,  straight from the same rental house. 

    The 100mm I was on was noticeably  more prone to flaring than the other focal lengths and had reduced contrast with brighter scenes. I took a photo of the lens with a light shining on it and noticed the pictured spots. It didn’t look like the spots were on the front element, but deeper in (I could be mistaken). And I didn’t get a chance try and clean it. 
     

    Any thoughts on what it could have been? 

    -Tristan

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  4. Here’s a few photos of the kind of clumsy setup I cobbled together for the last short I did on an Aaton XTR Plus. I would do it cleaner this time around. 
     

    We ran the Aaton tap into a Blackmagic Analog to SDI converter taped to the mag, then out to my small viewfinder, a Cineroid EVF4. We powered both from a V mount battery and plate on the front rods. 
     

    Not just any modern monitor will work though, you need something that will display SD resolution (some Atmos won’t), so check it’s specs.

    -Tristan

     

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  5. I was just looking into miniature work for a music video I have coming up. Here’s the miniature section from the American Cinematographer Manual, 8th Edition. It’s only a few pages. I’d also recommend “The Technique of Special Effects Cinematography” by Raymond Fielding. It has a good section on miniature work. 
     

    I know there are people now doing really impressive miniature work online and documenting it on Vimeo and YouTube, which would be more relevant to the newer post tools we have for retiming and compositing. 
     

    -Tristan
     


     

     

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    • Like 2
  6. On 6/6/2022 at 6:59 AM, Michael LaVoie said:

    You can't buy an FX9. So cross that off the list.  Been backordered forever.  Maybe in late August. Unless you find a used one from an owner looking to upgrade they are hard to get.  The chip shortage has really hurt Sony.

    Granted I’m in LA, but in April I spent a week calling around to a bunch of stores and eventually found an FX9 that had just arrived at Samy’s. Went in the same day and bought it. Also I’m still getting calls from Filmtools telling me when they have an FX9 in stock.

    So if you’re proactive and have your financing sorted, you may get lucky too. 
     

    -Tristan

  7. Although it’s not strictly “all” in focus, they use some longer lenses in spots and some racks, John Frankenheimer’s “The Train” (1964) strikes me as almost completely sharp. It has an almost brutalist aesthetic that compliments the focus on war and machinery. Very good movie too. 
     

    -Tristan
     

     

  8.  

    1 hour ago, Dom Jaeger said:

    Some years ago I measured the image circle diameter of a 20-100 Cooke Varotal to be under 29mm at the wide end. That's too small for some of the higher resolution modes on an Alexa Mini. 4K UHD 1.78 needs an image circle of 30.29mm for instance. If the zoom has the front mask, removing it may give you a little more coverage. See the image circle requirements for Alexa Mini modes here:

    https://www.arri.com/resource/blob/31908/14147b455c90a9a35018c0d091350ff3/2021-10-arri-formatsandresolutionsoverview-3-4-data.pdf

    A zoom (or any lens) is never centred for Academy or S35, that's a film camera mount setting. It's possible the lens tracking adjustment is off, or the Alexa mount is slightly off-centre to the sensor.  Or there is some distortion or cocking in the zoom somewhere, the mount shim ring is not flat etc. 

    Thanks for your insight, Dom, that all makes sense. The Alexa PL mount seemed solidly in place, but it was a rental so who knows. If I can get the lens serviced before I shoot again, I’ll see if that changes anything.  

  9. I was doing some tests around my apartment with a Cooke 20-100 Zoom on an Alexa Mini (4K UHD 16:9) and noticed a hard vignette at the 20mm end on the frame right side.  When I zoom in a little bit, the vignette becomes more of a shading which is closer to what I expected. Stopping down didn’t help (shot is at F/3.1)  and playing with rear filter holder didn’t change anything. 

    Is this related to being centered for Academy rather than Super 35? Or is it likely due to not being maintained?  The lens has been sitting on a shelf for a long time, hasn’t really been serviced, but operated okay for my tests, no binding or catching, etc  

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  10. Looks like grip department mission creep. Could be the sunlight was changing, initially being blocked by the large frame, but then the 4x’s were needed to block hotspots that cropped up.  Space or time would have made it difficult to set up a larger frame. Or they were using the diff frames as nets and flags, shading parts of the frame. All in all, hard to say. I doubt it was diagramed that way. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  11. There’s a few options. 

    The Jem Ball is a good. It needs to be rigged to a gobo head and comes in several sizes. They have different diffusion options and modifiers to skirt and control them. The large ones can take a 2k mogul bulb. Also have harps to fit Joker hmis. 
    http://www.jemlighting.com/products.html

    More bare bones is the lantern lock, which is a wired harp that fits regular paper lanterns. Again, needs to be rigged to a head or arm and is heavier than a traditional lantern. https://www.filmtools.com/lanternlock-24-mogul-socket.html

    For what it’s worth, an electric who worked on “Carol” told me that Ed Lachman had them use just regular off the shelf paper lanterns with porcelain sockets to take photoflood bulbs, often hung with wire and string, and skirted with super light black vinyl tablecloth material. He may have used actual lantern lock or similar for more control on some shots. 
    https://www.partycity.com/black-plastic-table-cover-roll-with-slide-cutter-54in-x-126ft-924455.html

    I like the lightness and easy-to-hang nature of paper lanterns, so often opt for the plain ones that I can rig anywhere with my own sockets.  But if you’re looking for a more controllable option and value the quality of the light over it’s simplicity, then the Jem ball is very effective. 
     

    -Tristan Noelle

     

    • Like 4
  12. This might be slightly paranoid, but... I think some productions will send a “Call Email” with limited info on it because one of the ways shows in production are flipped union is by forwarding call sheets to your respective hall or rep. I mean, you probably still have enough info to get them flipping it, but the call sheet gives them everything at a glance. 

  13. 4 hours ago, Adam M Smith said:

    I think you are right on Tristan, treating it like a stage almost.

    I plan to possibly overexpose the key side by 1 or 2 stops and then crush it back down in post. At least that is currently my approach from what I am finding in my research for exposing the Super16 stocks. It's better to go over than under. At the age of 43 this is my first rodeo with Super16 so I am both pysched and fearful.

    I like the idea of the 4x4 frames with 1200's behind. I've done that before with 1/4 CTS and Opal yet it was through window shears and we sold the "dawn" look very well. Here I don't have that option of shears. But I think that is OK cause we are going for that old Western semi-hard look instead of super soft. I think we may opt for the Aputure's though as they have more punch and less footprint in what is already a very confined space.

    Thanks for chiming in. It's super helpful to get different points of view.

    Thanks, Adam. I do want to apologize  however. After I posted I reread your initial post and realized I was kinda off on my own lighting tangent, not terribly helpful. 
     

    I think you have it covered. Getting more 600D’s  is a good idea, they have a lot of punch and will prob be more consistent than mixing and matching HMIs.  It’s good you know the style you’re going for. You may not have to worry about negative fill very much if your key is strong enough and you have solid ratios. The shadows fall off quicker on film than modern digital. Your meter will tell you that though. 
     

    FWIW I think 500T is fine, but you could also prob handle 250D with the light’s you’re getting; dealer’s choice really.  Regardless, I’ve shot 7219 in full sun exteriors before and it’s doable, your situation isn’t as extreme and will be okay. Just overexpose a bit too, you’ll have the room and print down. 
     

  14. It sounds like you could treat your train car basically like it’s in a stage, but with natural backgrounds out of the windows. 
     

    Taking a spot reading of what the backgrounds are outside the window would be smart to see where key levels should be inside to keep some detail, (maybe 4 or 5 stops over max? Someone who shoots more film in extreme situations would know.) If they blow out, they do, but at least you’ll be emotionally prepared. 
     

    To light the train car itself, you have options, the following are just my instincts, your mileage may vary. Ideally, ambient would be created with a soft push through windows on both sides of the car, or at least the one with most exposure to the sky, maybe giving you 2 stops or less under in the middle of the car. A few HMIs into ultra bounce would do. If you want to then add sun, you could do hmi’s at each bank of windows, hard with some warmth added or that M90 with 1/2 CTS far away hitting the side of the car, let it be at key or a little hotter (creative decision) Several smaller heads can work too, and wouldn't have to be so high and far away. 

    Another approach would be a semi-soft push as key, like 4x4 frames of 250 in front of each bank if windows with your 1200s behind them, as if it’s skylight but more contrasty and aggressive than a general push, shaped by the windows, exposed at the shooting stop. Could possibly use skypanels or geminis if the frames are a problem in the wind. Ambience could be made inside the car with tubes and diff, maybe move it around to key side for close ups and use a bounce for return.  
     

    Anyhow, a million ways to skin a cat. Trust the meter and make sure something important is exposed correctly. 

    • Thanks 1
  15. The other day I watched “The Hunger” with Tony Scott’s commentary, and he mentioned a distinct change that occurred prompted by Stanley Kubrick and later British commercial movement, him and Ridley included, (I’d personally include Tarkovsky and possibly David Lean as other outliers) that ended the idea that the director could be agnostic to the lighting of the film.
     

    They had shown how engrossing and engaging a very well coordinated photographic aspect could be. I forget who he mentioned specifically as the older studio type of disinterested director, maybe Robert Wise. If I put it on again, I’ll make a note of it. 

  16. If I had to guess, it has to do with the actual objects you metered. Some of the envelopes(?) should read white but the meter wants them to read gray, so it gives you a recommended darker exposure.  The spot/reflectance meter need to be interpreted more so than an incident reading.   To my eye, you probably should have exposed at an f/2, what the gray object to the left, is reading, or taken a reading from an 18% gray card at the proper angle. Honestly, an incident reading would have prob been more helpful in this specific situation. 
     

    If you haven’t read up on the zone system, it’s a good guide to interpreting spot readings. IIRC, Blaine Brown has a write up of applying the zone system specific to Cinematography in his his book, “Cinematography” by Blaine Brown. 
     

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_System

    -Tristan Noelle

    • Like 1
  17. I though the focus was far too distracting. I watched it with some friends who aren’t too film literate, and they felt self described “whiplash” from it. Also, destroyed Vegas is spectacle, you want to see it. But with everything out of focus, the epic location ceases to feel like a character. Not my cup of tea. 
     

    Also, look for the Larry Fong billboard, was a nice shout out. 

    • Thanks 1
  18. https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/zack-snyder-explains-justice-leagues-first-cow-connection.html


    I think the likely answer to why 4:3 is because Zack Snyder had just watched “First Cow” by Kelly Reichardt (an “Art Film”, incidentally) and thought “dude, my film is art too”. BTW, check out “First Cow”, it’s a delightful anti-western. Highly recommend. 

    Has Fabian Wagner commented on the change? 
     

    Tristan

    • Like 1
  19. The apple boxes and high hat may work provided you have solid places to secure the ratchets.  When you have to place some boxes on the seat, you are always fighting the cushioning. But it may be “good enough” and will provide enough steady action to give the editor something to work with. Again, I highly advise scouting for smooth roads. Best of luck.

    • Like 1
  20. First, I’d strongly recommend reaching out to a key grip with some experience in vehicle rigging. If you cant guarantee the safety of the gear and the crew/talent, you shouldn’t attempt the shot.  If production won’t pay to do it right, with experienced crew and proper gear, you have to put your foot down.

    That said, I would not trust that Matthews tray with 40lbs. The 2 6” suctions and the little wedge in the window will have a hard time dealing with the momentum that 40lbs bouncing around could produce.  It’s meant for light, minimal builds. Can you strip down the camera body, remove batteries, use a lightweight prime? Or rent a Blackmagic 4k on Sharegrid for like $100 just for that shot? 

    To do 40lbs you’d want a real Hostess tray. To rent vehicle rigging equipment from a rental house, you’ll need liability insurance, and you’d need a grip to set it up. And the window has to be down...

    For the hard mount inside, there’s not a really good solution that doesn’t involve taking out the seats and anchoring to the body, but it depends on the car. I usually resign to doing handheld or being on a monopod, smooth streets help a lot. You can suction mount a small camera to the windows, but they can be unstable without enough anchor points. 

    Sorry I don’t have easy answers, but it’s a specialized field and mistakes can be very costly and dangerous. 

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