Annie Wengenroth

Well I talked to the director today and got my copy of the script and the piece is a comedy about 2 actors who audition for the same part. So he wants kind of a goofy feel to it. As far as balance goes, I played around today with putting a towel on my right shoulder (see "Hitchhiker's Guide", always know where your towel is! haha) to cushion the camera better, and then instead of an Anton Bauer trimpak battery I used a Frezzi brick, which seemed to balance the camera more towards the rear. I've also found if I hold it by the top handle and not the velcro handgrip, and then sort of curl my forearm against the body of the camera, it provides more stability (at least for me, I don't know if anyone else works this way). Then I put my other hand on the viewfinder and as long as I keep my legs about shoulder-width, I think I'll be okay. Plus, I have GATORADE AND POWERBARS! GO CAMERA OPERATOR GO! :-)

I googled it for ya; here's a good link: http://www.theasc.com/magazine/nov98/soupdujour/pg2.htm

Yeah, I wasn't trying to imply that low levels were ideal; sorry if it came off that way, I'm not the world's greatest writer. Another tip: if you turn off the fridge at a location, put the DP's car keys in there so you don't forget to turn it back on!

Also: check your levels! When given a choice between "too quiet" or "too loud", you're better off recording too low than at too hot a volume, because if it's too hot, it'll clip out and sound like crap in post no matter what you do. Well yeah, you could throw all kinds of EQ and filters on there to try to level it out but ultimately you'd have a lot more work to do and you'd risk having a flat, muffled sound, which you don't want. Of course, your main objective should be to get the best signal you can right off the bat so that you don't have to work as hard in post. And yeah, good roomtone is a godsend. Best of luck. -A.

Ditto on the use of negative space, very nice. I think in the closeup on the bed, the woman could have been lit a little hotter, maybe something highlighting her hair. The opening shot could have perhaps been a little shorter, quicker cut to the man opening the door. I do, however, enjoy what you did with the blinds, the light on the saxophone, and the transition from the burning cigarette to the end title. I also really liked the sound design; having it sort of stark and not too heavy worked well for the piece. Also, thank you for inspiring me to go back to one of my first films and re-cut. :-) -A

Before anyone answers, "Steadicam" or "Glidecam"...yes, that would probably be the best choice here but we couldn't get access to a Steadicam operator nor could we get the Glidecam for a weekend. So here's my scenario. I will be shooting a friend's class project on a DVCPro (not the 50, the older model! With the gaff-taped viewfinder, ha ha!) and he wants most of it to be handheld. Yikes! I mean, I can lift a decent amount of weight for my size (I'm about 95 lbs and 5'5", yeah I'm a shrimp) but still, this is going to be a shaky setup! So my question is, does anyone have any ideas on how to minimize camera shake? I was thinking of using some sort of padded brace and wrapping it around my right shoulder or maybe even stabilizing my right wrist somehow by wearing one of my skateboarding wrist guards or something. If anyone has any better ideas, I would be pleased to hear them. I'm comfortable lifting and maneuvering the camera, it just seems notoriously tricky to keep it smooth. Thank you in advance! -Annie

I'd say have somebody put it on a core for you. Or you could do it yourself if you have the patience. :-) It will be a lot easier to deal with then. -Annie

I'd say check out the Bogen-Manfrotto website because it tells you how much weight each type of head and sticks can hold, and then compare those types of heads/sticks with any ads you find, whether it be on ebay or elsewhere. This is what I did when I got my Bogen tripod on ebay and it was a big pain in the ass matching up the right serial numbers and making sure I was looking at the right thing, but it was worth it in the end because I got a pretty nice tripod for just under 100. (wasn't looking for anything hugely expensive since I can also borrow tripods from my job pretty easily) Good luck! -Annie

Yikes! :( Yes you are rather lucky. Well, I guess I'll just have to get someone to fix it since I can't do it myself. A roaring Bolex....that's a hell of a mental picture!

Hm...well, I looked at it again and nothing looks bent or out of place as far as I can tell. I think I'm going to have one of the professors at school take a look at it and if he can't figure it out, I'll call some people in the area and send it off. :sniffle: MY POOR BABY! I wonder if they'd also be able to fix the fact that the motor is so loud. I was on my friend's crew the other day and THEY had a nice new Bolex that sounded like a purring kitten compared to my monstrous chainsaw. I was a little jealous....I realize it's a wild sound camera and therefore doesn't matter, but it's sort of embarrassing for this little camera to be so loud. Well, thank you all for your help. If anyone has any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Hi everyone. I have a Bolex H-16 Rex-3 (not the Rex-5, the model before it!) and until recently it has given me absolutely no trouble. However, I believe humidity has caused the button in the front to stick so that I can only run the camera from the cable release switch on the side (which also gets stuck and won't move forward into the "P" position). This is, as you might imagine, pretty annoying. Is there anyone on here who has dissected a Bolex or done similar maintenance on them and can give me an idea of what I need to do to fix this? Is it simply a matter of oiling the button on the front of the camera and the cable release switch on the side and just working it out, or is there something more involved? I'd like to fix this without having to send it off or pay someone an atrocious amount of money to take it apart. Thanks!

Yeah, if you want to save your last shot, changing bags are your friend. :-) Also when you load, hold the daylight spool pretty flat so that the film is protected by the spool, instead if tilting it up towards any light (if that makes sense....). Ultimately though, I wouldn't worry too much. Daylight spools are pretty user-friendly in my experience.