Neil Randall

Cheers, mate. From my audio-engineering days, it was always necessary to clean the tape heads with isoprop once a day but the hire co. has told me it'll be done before it goes out and that we should only need a lens and body cloth. The built-in cleaner sounds like it's replaced the need for every-day cleaning. Gues we'll leave it alone! Thanks again, NR.

We're six days from production now and I thought it prudent to ask about maintenance. We're shooting for four-and-a-half days, aiming to capture two hours of footage for a fifteen-minute film. How often should we clean the heads (assuming the SDX comes to us clean)? Based on my audio engineering background, before use every day, but I'm not so sure with cams. Either way, do I need the cassette or can I use the classic isopropynol/earbuds combo? Any other care tips, send them this way too. Thanks, NR.

I've tried Avid DV Xpress 3.5 but found it impossibly hard to use compared to Vegas or even Premiere. I've also found a third-party codec that allows Premiere and Vegas to process DVCPRO50 and HD files natively and in real-time. It's called Raylight. Think I'll investigate that. Thanks again, NR.

Ta. I replied in the other thread.

I'm hoping to capture DVCPRO50 footage shot on a SDX900 to a Win XP PC, via an SD93 VTR. Does anyone know what file format the footage will appear in Win as? I've asked in my other thread but no-one's replied. Thanks.

Having just reread your comments, I see it's the software you refer to first . My previous post may not have been plain, so to clarify, are you saying Sony Vegas on a PC is incompatible with DVCPRO50 footage sent over FW? I assumed the data spat out by the SD93 would be captured by Vegas as a Windows-native uncompressed format, say AVI. I want to shoot as high quality as possible (50) but not at the expense of trapping the footage on the tapes forever, cos my NLE is incompatible. It's a luxury just to have the SDX and post is not an option, so given my setup, what would you do? Thanks in advance, gov.

Cheers! Now to find out if I have talent or not...

I'm not sure, but there's been no mention of compatibility problems from the rental house. The geezer there is lending us an AJ-SD93 to whizz it over to my laptop via FW. He mentioned it'll only support DVCPRO25 but suggested we shoot PRO50 anyway, in case we ever get to o/p to film. All I need is an uncompressed AVI for editing - too much to ask? I'll have a butcher's at the Matrix A file, too. Thanks for the heads-up, mate, NR.

Got a polariser, set of NDs, ND Grads, and Promists. 12 filters, £7 each per day. About $13. Soon adds up on a student budget!

...so even if they're not included, the rental house should have them, I suppose.

Bloody hell, you did didn't you? I'll find out about ND grads. And avoid cokins. What's the deal with Hoya? It does come with a mattebox, but there's been no mention of filters. That said, being new to this renting malarkey, it could be filters are an unspoken extra, hence there being no mention of them. But I had to hire the batteries, charger and AC unit separately, so I just assumed we'd provide our own 'consumables' - stock, filters, lens cloth, cleaning casette, etc. Don't forget - this is rip-off Britain we're talking about! Ta, NR.

Thanks again Dave. We've got CUs of a woman, but of a 21-year-old with pretty-much flawless skin. Polariser - yep, that makes sense. Don't think we'll need a colour grad. I'll research detail and edge-enhancement and maybe look at a 1/8 Black Promist. But at a hundred notes a pop, something tells me we'll be using Cokins not Tiffens! Cheers, mate, NR.

Ok, so after all my questions, we got a sweet deal from the hire company (albeit 120 miles away). Some people have recommended using a Tiffen Promist Black 1/4 to take the 'video' edge off the footage. Having glanced at the literature for the filter, I think it looks like a soft-focus filter and noticeably so. Again, I'd rather leave the footage neutral/flat then soften in post. We're shooting in June with int/ext locartions, all natural. We'll have redheads, blondes, 330w unknowns and (if we're lucky) a Fresnel. There will be tungsten and flourescent on the sets. There's no water, but grass, glass, wood and carpet, so a variety of reflective qualities. Anybody like to recommend what we should have in our kit (UV, ND, Pola, Skylight) ? Any advice is gratefully received. Thanks again, NR.

Nasty. But think of it this way: you're getting paid to do what you love. I have to sub-edit inane local news for a paper. Although, there's always time for research in between stories... B)

I've got the manual and have passed it to our cam op/DoP so I'll probably start to get suggestions back soon. The scene's a place to start, though. Yeah, I've seen the HDX but price precludes us from even looking at it. It's a month's salary just to get the SDX for a week! Not seen any rental houses in the UK with HDX anyway. It's a big enough pain in the arse having to travel 3 hours to north London just to get the SDX. Additionally, as I'll be editing at home, I'm conscious of and exponential rise in file size and processing power required to edit HD. Even if we did shoot that way, I'd probably end up down-rezzing it, as SD is still ubiquitous over here.

Thanks very, very much to everyone who's replied. I can't tell you how nice it is to get the opinion of experienced shooters, some of whom are at the other end of the spectrum to our rural, UK one-man-one-woman unit. Michael, of course, you're right - it's 25p over here. I'll stick to 'I' for v. res. Also, I understand there's no 'capture-all' setting but was referring more to a 'neutral' setting (much like audio) where one would record a flat, balanced signal that allows the gretest latitude in post, ergo; I would opt for the Panasonic SCOPTUNG scene in order to capture as much detail as possible, leaving things like contrast, crushed blacks, grain until post. Chad, I will research your suggested topics. Additionally, do you consider the 'flat' Panasonic scenes - specifically the SCOPTUNG - to be 'over-the-top'? As for Velvia, well it's very nice stock but I wonder if may be too rich a place to start for obtaining footage with the greatest flexibility in post? Now, if I was shooting a rom-com... :) David, I'm glad you recommend the Panny. It's all I needed to hear from a Hollywood DoP from the ASC! When I mentioned HD, I was referring to the Sony F series (how to blow your week's budget on a half-day rental). HDV, as I understand it, is unworthy of being touched by ten-foot barge pole. It's supposedly nigh-on incompatible with most NLEs and weighs in at a lower bit-rate than MiniDV. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I'll try to source the films you mention. Mitch, I'll send you an email. Thanks. There's a post round here for NTSC-to-PAL conversion for scene files. Thanks again, guys. Keep those suggestions coming. I'm sure to be back as and when the cam arrives. NR

Thanks for the info guys. I get you on MTF - I'd heard of it, but only seen it in graph form. Understand the softness concept. I've got a Panny GS-500 camcorder with switchable shutter speeds, so I'll muck about with it to see what gives. I think the 'Movie Mode' switches to progressive. Thanks again. NR

We've got a DoP and cam op but I've learned to be as informed as possible before I shoot - I've written the screenplay, am casting, location recce, composer, catering, the bloody lot! This is so I'm aware of everything going on, not to mention so I'm learning, too. Also, no-one's getting paid, so the more I can glean in pre-production, the better. Feel free to lecture me - you're all a damn-sight more experienced! As for the SDX: no matter what I look at for our budget, it remains the best choice. Varicam/Digibeta's too expensive, HD is unnecessary and costly, the DSR-570 doesn't do prog, and film is another world - for now. :D

Ok, going to be shooting a short with a SDX in June. First time with the camera (directing) so I'd like to be sure the cam is set to the most appropriate settings for our project. It's a chiller, no vis-FX, CGI or greenscreen. We're a tiny limited company and budget really is beer money, 80% of it going on 4 days cam hire. The format is 24p, DVCPro50, to be edited in Sony Vegas at home. I expect to use Filmlike 1 and the Portrait scene to ensure I get everything upfront, then spend time in post to achieve the look I want. Are there PAL versions of the scene files available to download? The output will be DVD but it will depend on people TVs as to whether they support progress or interlaced signals. To this end, I'm not sure if I should set Vertical Resolution to P or I. Are there any other factors I should consider regarding the set-up of the cam? We're all student level but are undertaking the shoot in as professional a manner as possible. Naturally, I'd like the end product to appear as if shot on film and hopefully it'll help us fund a feature-length S16mm shoot. I appreciate any suggestions, NR.

Ta. I think I'll try out 90 or 45 and see what sticks. As for MTF, that goes a bit beyond my technical expertise. I'm a bit of a jack but no master - oh, and new to direction.

Pasadena? You're up late/early, mate. :)

Thanks for that. I just followed your maths example and now I understand - I think! For 24p, the shutter angle (as represented as a division of 360 deg) equates to the number of times to multiply the FPS speed (24, in this case) expressed in fractions of a second. So, if my logic is clear, at 24 FPS, a 120-deg angle would equate to 1/72 of a sec? I'm sure I've seen the formulae - they're obviously a lot more succinct. The panny has a 1/250 setting. Have you used this speed? I'm looking for a near-strobing but not stop-frame look. Thanks again, NR Obscura Films Ltd.

Hi, Got a short and coming up wanted to achieve a low-shutter-angle look for a small murder scene, something between 15 and 45 degrees. Can anyone illuminate me to the methods for achieving this, please? I'm having trouble understanding the relationship between shutter speed and FPS. We'll be shooting 24p and I'm not convinced shutter speed is digitally-synonymous with the shutter angle on a film camera. I'm also open to suggestions for affecting it in post. Thanks, NR Obscura Films Ltd.