DavidSloan

But of course, David. But hey, a DP can dream :D

Dekalog is some of my favorite stuff...ever. I think Kieslowski is one of the most interesing filmmakers to ever work. I'm so excited that his early works are being released on DVD, finally! Trois Colours, Dekalog, Camera Buff, A Short Film About Killing, The Double Life of Veronique, etc...he's definitely one to study. If you like Bergman, Tarkovsky, Wajda, Kiarostami, etc...he should fit right in. Good luck :ph34r:

Interesting thread. I find that as a non technical person I tend to just do things intuitively. When I began DPing projects I started lighting the set first and worried about the actors, last. I had no idea that that's not the way it usually works. For me modeling a face/setting a key light on an actor is the most boring thing, and the least satisfying...creating a tone/mood for the film by "painting" the room is where I get my satisfaction.

Shadows is legendary, particularly because Cassavetes lied about the film being improvised...but it wasn't. Also, there are stories that the film was shot twice: the first time around all the footage was supposedly badly exposed, out of focus... Ray Carney's book, The Films of John Cassavetes, is a great resource into the cinema of cassavates and a great read, in general. Cassavetes Thanks.

I'm considering using a reversal stock for my upcoming film...I'd like to know if anyone has ever shot a film on color reversal; and if so was it Fuji or Kodak and what are the differences between the two. Thanks.

I really don't know much about digital still cameras. I suspect that the 5MP ones will help you in assessing lighting placement, like an SLR would, considering that the camera has a decent latitude. But as far as cinematography is concerned I don't believe that stills is the poor man's way of learning how to DP...it's a completely different beast. Maybe other members can shed more light on this topic.

When you say "what the lighting will look like" do you mean exposure? If that's the case then probably not. The latitude of film and video are not created equal. What it can do though, is give you an idea of how your lighting placement works out. For the SLR-16MM then yes...if you buy the motion picture still stock from RGB. What kind of photography equipment do you have? In most cases..why not?

You can always underexpose, a little, to increase the grain. You can also "push" the stock 2 stops for a dirty look. But since you're shooting S8 I don't think you want to try to increase the grain...it's a grain heavy medium as is. Btw, red filter in b&w is a contrast controlling filter, as most filters are for b&w stock. Good luck.

Just an idea but could you get a car with a sunroof? That way maybe you can shoot a diffused light through it, and fill up the car with ambient moon light; then maybe a small instrument to give the father his kicker from the streetlamp? As David adroitely pointed out, if the characters don't move you can drop down if needed. Good luck :ph34r:

You can try to use a 1k off a foamcore to fill the room with ambient light and then use a few small sources to "paint." How about rigging issues...Is the space friendly for rigging? You can always toss a few pools on light on the floor of the hallway with small instruments. Why don't you talk to the people in the hotel and find out how many amps circuits you have to play with? If you have access to a bunch of 20 amp circuits, you'll be just fine...unless you're lighting the ballroom scene from The Shining :o ~Sloan

Hoya's are nice, and I use them myself, but they are not Tiffen quality. Hoya doesn't even make motion picture camera filters. They are geared towards the consumer market. I would not recomend Hoya over Tiffen for any serious photographer/cinematographer. The fact that they don't even deal in the motion picture industry should say enough.

Here is another link for Jodorowsky...it even has clips. Holy Mountain

Ira Tiffen is legendary in the film business, and his filters are a staple brand in the industry. The Tiffen brand has also won oscars for technical achievements. @Daniel J. Ashley-Smith: if you admit to being green then why are you recomending people stuff? I reckon that if you've never of Tiffen you're in no position to recomend anyone, *expletive*. Just my 2 cents.

Hey: Tiffen and Hoya are both reliable brands, you can't go wrong with either of them. I use Hoya for my Nikon still camera, they're great. I haven't shot enough on Video to know if the same logic applies, I'm sure one of our resident experts can hone in on in this.

From my limited experience I like choclate as a warming filter, I LOVE the blue/grey for a bleaker winter look, black promist, and the obvious ones like NDs and Polas. I've heard a lot of negative about Fog filters...people consider them very cheesy. What are your guys take on them? @Nillo: Soft-FX do what they imply-they soften the image. People like to diffuse CUs because it is a more complimetary look to an actor then shooting raw with a sharp lens. You've been watching films all your life...how many times have you been jarred by a soft CU compared to a sharp master shot? Unless it's an old B&W when they cut from a sharp master to a frontly lit, netted CU, of Dietriech's face @ 2 stops over exposed, you shouldn't feel much of a change. :lol: You are correct about the diopter.

Don't you mean WWWD? I've been watching Klute very carefully for the past few weeks, and I found a few lighting inconsistencies in the interiors...even Willis has a day off. :ph34r: I think every DP's fascination with that film though is how he got away with it! When 70% of the frame is pure darkness you would imagine someone on the set saying something. :lol:

Not sure this is so odd. So what if a top DP is working on a film with puppets? This puppet film happens to have a $32 million production budget. Also, this film is the creation of the South Park guys (they studied under Stan Brakhage) who have a lot of leverage in the industry, so it doesn't seem far fetched at all. Don't get me wrong Bill Pope is a great DP, but he has a streak of popcorn films. It's not like Gordon Willis is shooting a puppet film...now that would raise an eyebrow or two.

Thanks David. The look of the film is incredible. The color pallete especially... those yellow skies! Thanks, Sloan.

Does anyone have info on how this film was shot!? Just saw it for the 1st time...don't believe them when they say you can't do anything with exteriors! :lol: Thanks, Sloan.

@Fstop: I think it's the coolest thing ever that you know the Baywatch DP by name. G-d, I miss Nicole Eggert.

I think the best use of softlight that I have ever seen is in Sophie's Choice. the scene when the Merryl Streep character has the conversation with the Nazi officer in that ugly green room. The quality of that soft light was so fcuking gorgeous, I can just watch that scene again, and again.

The Knack is an amazing film...very reminiscent of early nouvelle vague, B&W films. I haven't studies Watkin's work as carefully as some of you guys have, time to start cracking!

Thanks for that very lengthy and thoughtful reply, David. I should have just cheated it *smacks forehead* These are the beautiful things you can only learn on set!

Okay so last night I'm on the set and we light a silhoutte shot with 2 actors standing by a small window. Outside we have a baby with plus green and ctb, bounced off a b-board. We also have a sprinkler going for the rain effect, which worked beautifully. During the shot the actor uses a lighter which illuminates his face. We simulated the lighter with an Inkie on a dimmer. The actors start kissing and kneel out of the frame. All in all the shot was beautiful and I was extremely satisfied with it. Then I hear, "for the next shot I want them to continue going down in a low angle unto the bed. I'm like "excuse me? How am I supposed to go from a pure silhoutte, to them kneeling down on a bed (which is against the wall of the window!) and suddenly there is light?" This was a shot the director just pulled out of his ass, on the spot...I wasn't prepared for that. I ended up just going with the obvious of bouncing soft blue light in the room. But how the fcuk is that gonna cut? Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this..and what did you do? Thanks, Sloan.

@Sam: Thanks. Of course I understand the color correcting gels, but it's those wacky colors that I'm not really comfortable using. I guess it just comes with experience. @Jla: Thanks, a lot. I will try your concoctions, they sounds good. I like that you describe them as "sick," and "nasty." That's exactly what I'm going for.