Annie Wengenroth

Hmm....that's interesting. I suppose I can try it both ways and see what I like. Thank you for the suggestion though, I hadn't thought of it. AND off course on the day of the shoot I wake up coughing up my lungs and unable to speak above a whisper... argh! :-( I suppose the show must go on!

Well actually, my theory with the pomade is that it will give his hair a "wet" look and thus make those parts appear darker, adding more tonal value as well (so in theory "highlights", but not in the "light" sense of the word, more in the hairstyling sense!). I've got plenty of scrims and nets, so I'll play around with those.

Drunken screw? (No, I'm not propositioning you, I'm asking what is it?!) I too am fascinated by the construction of film cameras. I can't even explain why without getting gushy and sentimental. For whatever reason, they just really grab my interest. Honestly, it wasn't the hi-8 camcorder I got for a high school graduation present that got me into making movies; it was seeing the first 16mm film I'd ever shot on my Bolex being projected on a 45-year old Steenbeck flatbed. But I think there is room for both [film and video] in the industry, and there always will be. I remember discussions similar to this one from when I was pursuing a degree in 2d animation and I would say the same thing: it's all art, and we will all find a way to enjoy these art forms regardless of whether they are "old" or "new". So anyway, what is this drunken screw you speak of? I'm curious.

Good to know. I'm proud to say I have yet to set anything on fire, although I did toast a piece of bread wrapped in cinefoil on an Arri 650 barn door. (Sometimes you just want grilled cheese.) So I'm going to give him some water-based hair pomade and have someone standing by with a fire extinguisher, it will be fun.

Thanks again for all your advice. I've decided to ask the director for the raw footage with the intent of having a more complete record of my work and of helping an editor friend get her chops in Avid Symphony. I'm sure he'll be cool with it. It's funny, at first I was pretty worked up about this, but the more times I tell the whole story, the harder I laugh. Needless to say, "Fix it in post" has now become a catchphrase among my friends for any mistake we make. ("Oh my god I burned dinner" "Fix it in post") I can also say that I really don't like the DVCPro, but that's another thread for another time.

Haha, wow that was fast. Yeah, we were just discussing the possibility of using hair pomade with a glossy finish. My actor bitched a little about not wanting to wear Product in his hair and I basically said, look Barry, I'll wear product too if it will make you feel better. There, look at that. Do you know how greasy my hair is, and I'm BEHIND the camera. If I can handle it, so can you. He was then concerned about if the Product would be flammable and cause his hair to catch on fire. I rolled my eyes and called him a primadonna. We have a good working relationship. :-) Oh yeah. Hard and sourcey lighting. Maybe some slightly softer, "smokey" looks for the wider shots if I can get away with it. We're shooting in a small club with a bar and mirrors. Lots of reflective surfaces. So if I want hard and sourcey, that's what I'll get! This is also the first piece where I want to really pay attention to my closeups and try and get some decent eyelights going. He's got contact lenses, which I hope is not a problem.

As the topic description states, I am shooting a black and white short with sort of a noir look to it. We will be shooting with the DVX100a on 24P. As far as lighting goes, I've got some Arri gear: 3 150's, 2 650's, a 300, and a 1k, all fresnels. I've got a bunch of 18 x 24 silks to soften things up as well as a dot and finger kit for closeups. However, my main actor has very blonde, very dyed hair. I plan to have him put gel in it or something to make it slick and sort of wet-looking so that I get more highlights on his head, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do with lighting that will both add to the mood of the piece and keep his head from getting too washed out. It's not the platinum hue that throws me off as much as it is the lack of highlights the dye job has (because that's what a $10 home bleach job will get ya, I guess). Any ideas?

Well I must say, I have found this forum extremely useful. Maybe it's just me. :-P Anyway, I think it's interesting that you bring up the Bloody Kung Fu Slasher Bullsh*t Phenomenon as I affectionately call it, because I think it's actually a pretty common issue. I go to the Savannah College of Art and Design, and recently the film and video department has developed rules about student films in cooperation with the city of Savannah, the city's film commission, and the police department. These rules provide regulations for things like weapons and pyrotechnics, which I think helps cut down on violence in student films around here and forces people to think about their films differently. In addition, the film and video professors at SCAD even go as far as to mention in their syllabi: "Please do not reenact your favorite martial arts film/western/Tarantino film." (not exact wording, but compiled from years of various professors' speeches and literature!) They're pretty strict about not allowing guns or kung fu rip-offs in school projects. It seems to me that when one puts together a reel to show employers, the tricky issue is time. At SCAD, each quarter is 10 weeks long, and many people have said that this is not enough time to put together a decent portfolio piece. However, I think you're on the right track with wanting them to assemble a structured demo reel instead of leaving with just one or two longer films that may not show a full range of lighting/editing/camera techniques. Of course then you run into the "quality vs. quantity" issue. I know I'm not an industry professional, I just thought I'd chip in as an older, perhaps slightly jaded, student. :-D Feel free to seize me by the collar of my shirt and escort me from this thread!

I had no idea what category to put this topic into; I guess this one is close enough. If anyone wants to tackle this dilemma, feel free. Okay...I just viewed the final cut of a video that I shot this weekend (the infamous handheld DVCPro shoot!). Well, the plus side is that the class liked the exterior scenes with the creepy blue lighting and the fog. The exteriors were part of a fantasy sequence and the interiors were the "reality" portion of the video. Anyway, here's the problem with the rest of it: first of all, the director, who was also editing the piece (which kinda bothers me...), changed the interior scenes from color to black and white, in post. Now, I didn't light the piece for black and white. I lit it with the intent that it would be shown in color. So I don't know how I feel about this. And I guess maybe it doesn't really matter how I feel because it's not my piece, but it just struck me as a decision that should have been made beforehand. And by the way, when I say *I* lit it, I mean it was just me, because he didn't have any grips or gaffers on hand, so that task fell to me. Thus, from the start of things, my job was actually divided between 3 things. So there's that. Second of all, between the ever-changing script and shot list and the complete rearranging of several critical pieces of furniture, (resulting in me having to re-light the scenes and re-think the framing of many shots) I wonder now if I should have turned down the project. It was my first [more] official stint as a DP and it definitely left me thinking about how responsible I should hold myself for the end product. I could easily claim that it wasn't my fault because the director was extremely disorganized, we had a rather measly crew, and the postproduction was half-assed and lousy. And yet, do I really have the right to say this, or should I be kicking myself because there were things I could have done during production that would have made it better? I mean, what should my level of involvement have been here? I think as a DP, I did a good job. But somehow the final product doesn't seem to justify the effort I made. A lot of my best shots were cut out entirely or thrown together awkwardly (and changed to black and white!). It was really disconcerting to watch the piece and think, "Gee...what happened?" I realize that directors like this may just be par for the course, and I'm sure I'll get used to it and grow a thicker skin. But on the other hand, if there's anything I can do to save myself from similar situations further down the line, a few pointers would be great. And yes, it was a student film in case you didn't read the description of the topic. (Gee who would have guessed, anyway! ha ha)

Hi Felipe, it's really weird that I ran into you on here because I work at the Hamilton Hall cage and I probably packed a lot of your kits. :-) Hope you're doing well out in LA. I watched your reel and I thought a lot of the imagery was beautiful but that you could have used longer clips (I found it sort of distracting). I think if you slow down the pacing of the whole reel or mix up the pacing a little bit more, it will pull together better as a continuous piece and hold people's interest longer (and maybe have less of that "student" feel that some people on here were talking about, although I don't necessarily agree with that in the first place; I think it is better than a lot of the stuff that comes out of SCAD). Oh in case you're wondering, I don't know when you left the school, but Hamilton has the long-awaited computer checkout system now and in my humble opinion it totally sucks. There is more paperwork but the boss loves it, so there ya go. Anyway, good luck with everything.

I was going to ask how many film school students does it take?

Wow, who would have thought. I did that jerky camera movement by accident when one of the actors screwed up a line and then tripped over the table and I laughed.... Actually, I have noticed this trend and I have to say it forced me to move the camera around a lot more when I first started making films. So in that respect I guess it can be a good inspiration. It does seem rather overdone though. Boy, I'll never forget watching The Blair Witch Project and realizing that I was getting carsick in a movie theatre.

Nice...it's sort of an old nickname, as my hair is no longer spikey! And I'm a DJ too so it's pretty funny. Anyway, I probably spoke too soon about how the shoot went because it was really intense on the second day (yesterday). The first day was good and I felt like I was hanging in there pretty well. The second day, the director decided to rearrange both the script and the furniture (arrgh!), so I had to re-light (and rethink) everything. What can ya do. Student films..yeah... We shot for 12 hours, some of this was outside and it's a miracle I kept the damn camera steady because it was very cold and windy (the camera probably kept me from blowing away! heh). The interiors were a b!tc# because we didn't have much to work with as far as lights went, so what we DID have was kind of crowded and there were reflectors and scrims all over the place in this little area. So I was tapdancing all over trying not to trip on a c-stand and go sprawling. It was quite the workout. But, by the last two hours or so of shooting, I barely noticed the weight of the camera anymore; it's really not that heavy once you get used to it...I think they weigh in at about 15 pounds or so. This was the first time I'd ever shot on one of these cameras and ours was an older model (the AJ700). I would have liked to shoot on one of the newer ones, but I did what I could with what I had. And the director is happy, so there ya go. He also said my handheld footage looked "pretty damn steady". That's always good. Yeah. I'm going to bed now....the funny thing is I had a great time doing this and I'd do it again in heartbeat, probably even with the same camera. Either I'm a sucker for punishment (likely), or I just love making movies (more likely). :-)

Personally I don't ever think any particular technology will be completely replaced. We will simply refine and add to it. This being said, I try to keep an open mind about whatever the latest "trend" is. I have yet to shoot on HD but I will be soon, and I'm looking forward to it just as I look forward to trying anything new and different. As far as the consumer side of things goes, I guess you could compare it to the whole 5.1 Surround phenomenon. Right now I'm learning how to mix for 5.1 Surround and while part of me wonders if this is just going to be another LaserDisc technology, meaning that it will die out or be [partially] replaced within a few years, another part of me feels that it is definitely an asset to how people hear their audio. But again, it has its place in the world just like stereo does. As both a professional (more or less! heh) and a consumer, I often feel torn because I think part of the professional's job in the entertainment industry is to sell the product convincingly to the consumers. But on the other hand, I am slowly starting to see through all the traps that a lot of people set for your average consumer and from that respect, I almost resent a lot of the hype that occurs. In other words, they are told to invest in things that they don't need or don't have the capacity to appreciate. And I am afraid that that sort of attitude can be counterproductive to the *creative* advancement of this industry, because people will start to want flashy eyecandy that looks good, instead of good stories and memorable characters. Hell, it's already happening, I'm just saying, it could get worse if we place even more emphasis on Bigger and Better. Additionally, I hate to sound arrogant or snobby, but your average viewer won't be able to see a discernible difference between formats. Or they might, but it might not matter. Look at Mp3's. They sound like poop because they're compressed to hell, but people don't care. Sorry for the thesis. I have a lot to say about this because I sort of wrote an essay about it. :shrug:

It sounds like it was because of the temperature. I know some Arriflex models do the same thing (shutting off in cold weather..hell, I know some crew members who do the same thing!). You could put a barney on it. Just my 2 cents.

Throw some saran wrap on it, you'll be fine. :-P Actually, does the DVX100 have a feature where it shuts off if it gets too humid? I know some video cameras do. The manual is in the other room and I don't feel like getting up... Which brings me to my next suggestion- if you look around online, you can find the manual for the camera, which is very helpful. I think it's 71 pages though, so make sure you've got a lot of printer ink and paper. :-) As far as moisture-proofing, this link might vaguely point you in the right direction, even though you're not at sea. http://www.cinematography.net/Pages%20GB/F...%20at%20sea.htm And there's this, which may help even though the camera being waterproofed is a still camera, not video: http://web.syr.edu/~lmason/waterproofing.html Or there's this, an Aquatech Sport Shield: http://www.aquatech.com.au/products/sports...portshields.htm (doesn't it look cute??) Anyway, that is all I have to offer. I've only just begun to get my feet wet with this camera and I really like it, to the point where if a large sum of money fell into my lap, I would buy one in a heartbeat. Sorry for the novel, I hope I vaguely answered your questions.

An update on the handheld DVCPro shoot: We wrapped about 4 hours ago and things went well. Both my arms are still firmly attached, I don't feel too tired, and I could have easily kept going for another few hours at least. Oddly enough the only part of me that feels sore is between my right thumb and index finger, I guess from the handgrip. But I got used to the weight of the camera pretty quickly and by the end of the night, it felt stranger to NOT have the camera on my shoulder.

Well, I have had the same problem with the focus on some DVX100's (but not all). I thought I was just going crazy or something. They make a funny rattling noise too, which I just looked up and found out that it's entirely normal. Very strange. I like the DVX100 but they have their quirks. I almost find myself wishing they were a little bit heavier; they seem so wimpy and "cheap plastic that could break". What exactly is a servo-tracked zoom anyway? Is it just a chip that tells the camera when/how to zoom in or out?

Oh, thank you. You totally saved my ass. I mean, eye. :P

Thank you! You have all been very helpful.

I guess you could always use one of those free photo hosting accounts, but they tend to be unreliable. I myself can't find a decent photo of myself that looks recognizable at 64 pixels, although I agree that it is a good idea to have a signature.

And for part 3 of the Bolex chronicles, I finally acquired a rubber eyecup. The only thing is, it's not new. Believe it or not, things like this didn't always bother me, because I used to be a gross little camera operator with no sense of "Ew! That person's eye germs are touching my eye!", or something like that. However, after reading so often about people getting pinkeye and whatnot from dirty eyepieces, it occurred to me that I probably need to clean this damn thing. So, how? I know that rubbing alcohol would weaken the rubber, so what are my other options? Just a strong anti-bacterial soap, or is there something better? I know it seems like a really, really dumb question and I did look it up, but the only results I found online were about cleaning the actually eyepiece itself, not the rubber eyecup that fits over it.

Well, I don't grab the viewfinder itself, just the point where it bolts to the camera, if you can picture that. I wish I had a visual aid. This is not for the whole shot, just when I'm trying to frame it up and get ready to go. So when I'm actually rolling, I still focus with my left hand. It's not that bad. I actually cinched the handgrip WAY down so that it was really tight (I have small hands) and found that it made things a lot easier for my right hand. Hell, I'll get the hang of it. Does anybody know if they make any sort of grip that you can mount on the left side of the camera, like on the base of the body? I could have sworn that there's a spot for an additional handgrip, some sort of metal shoe, but maybe I'm thinking of a different camera. Bear in mind I'm still not that familiar with this one. But it gives me an excuse to wear football shoulder pads and walk funny, so there you go. B) And I do love those heavy batteries.

I have a Bolex RX3 that I did some time-lapse animations with, and this was without a motor. I don't know that much about the Mitchell cameras nor have I heard of people using the Arriflex S16's for stop-motion, but I was pleased with the results that I got from my camera. I know this doesn't really answer your question; just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as a stop-motion enthusiast and Bolex-owner.

Oh boy, I'm sure glad I didn't mess with any of that stuff today when I was shooting. Good to know. Maybe I should tell my boss about this menu too, as we have 10 of these cameras and it would be terrible if somebody pressed the wrong buttons... It's kind of like those secret codes in video games, only...bad!