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Mark Kenfield

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Everything posted by Mark Kenfield

  1. Mark Kenfield
    I appreciate the suggestions guys, and agree we'd better off with an F65, Epic Dragon, Alexa or F55... but I'm afraid it's either Red One MX, raw-less F5 or bust for this project.
  2. Mark Kenfield
    1/4 stop silk is great for taking the edge off bright highlights from the sun. It still lets a lot of light through though - so you still get a fair amount of directionality in the way the light will fall on your subject, but it will be less harsh.
  3. Mark Kenfield
    Cheers Freya, good points. Glad to hear the tungsten issue is reduced on MX. Because we're on stage, size/weight/power aren't really a big deal. Post workflow is obviously the main issue, so I'll be meeting with my VFX sup soon to talk over what would suit his needs best - I was also concerned that if we have to transcode all of the RedCode to 1080p 4:4:4 for post work anyway, that shooting 1080p 4:4:4 in the first place may make more sense for our limited resources. The 'look' is certainly different between the cameras, MX is more detailed and resolute, but the Sony's a little creamier and the highlights rolloff nicer. But again, on stage I'm not so worried about this - I can contain my highlights within the Red's dynamic range, so we won't have to deal with any real compromises there.
  4. Mark Kenfield
    Hi guys, I have a fantasy film coming up that we'll be shooting entirely on stage, that will involve a fair amount of digital set extension (forests, mountains, shining dome structures) and background replacement via greenscreen (or bluescreen, haven't confirmed whether it'll be green or blue yet) and a pretty vibrant colour palette. Our two options for camera are the Red One MX and Sony F5 (without a raw recorder, so 1080p 4:4:4 only). I'll be lighting with tungsten almost exclusively (the lighting grid is mainly 5k fresnels and 2k soft lights), so I'm a little weary about the impact that will have on the shadows with the Red (most of the scenes will be pretty low-key). However with the F5 we'd only get 10-bit 1080p 4:4:4 as apposed to 4K Redcode raw with the Red One. So I'm wondering what people's leanings would be camera-wise? I'd also really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions people have for using atmospherics (mainly haze) with greenscreen components? We really need haze for atmosphere - but we probably need clean keys more. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on the matter. Cheers, Mark
  5. Mark Kenfield
    Cheers Jean! Appreciate the feedback.
  6. Mark Kenfield
    Hi Guys, I need to add four combo stands to my kit and weighing up options. I was thinking the Matthews Digital Combo Stands fit the bill pretty well: 11' High 8kg weight 40kg capacity levelling leg The downside is I have to ship them from the far side of the planet. I've come across the Manfrotto Heavy Duty Steel Stands (model 126), I can source them locally and they have pretty much identical specs - I just worry about the quality of construction (because although Manfrotto's 'Avenger' branded stands are indestructible, everything 'Manfrotto' branded that I've ever used hasn't had that same level of quality). So just wondering if anyone can comment on the build quality of the steel Manfrotto unit? Cheers, Mark
  7. Mark Kenfield
    Yeah, Rob Legato reckons spherical 35mm (I assume 3-perf) tops out at about 3k all-told. And given that from my own tests conventional 200ASA Kodak Gold 135 negative (which is much larger than S35mm stock) seemed to top out at about 10 megapixels before you just started magnifying the grain, I'm inclined to believe him. Of course a fine-grained 50ASA stock would give you more, and anamorphic 4-perf would give you more, and obviously film stock magnifies much more gracefully than digital imagery even when it's not giving you any additional resolution - but I always had to laugh as I watched the 'megapixel marker' for 135 film constantly increase as digital sensors climbed higher and higher in resolution. At first they were calling film 8mpx to the 2mpx digital sensors, then 10, then 12, then 16 and finally I remember someone claiming 20mpx for 135 stock - I always wished I could have found the 135 stock that was giving him that much detail!
  8. Mark Kenfield
    I really liked the video for the most part, wonderful choreography, that fantastic young dancer, and a good song. Cinematographically, I'm not the biggest fan of the slightly wobbly steadicam look, the considerable amount of buzzed focus, and the overly tight framing that kept losing sight of the choreography - but I think the strength of the performance simply overpowers any minor complaints that cinematography introduces. Which I suppose just reaffirms once-again for me, that content is, and always will be, king.
  9. Mark Kenfield
    I'm always happy to be proved wrong on things when they'll save me money, that's yet happen with clone HMIs though. I have my fingers crossed.
  10. Mark Kenfield
    Cheers, well post up a link to blog post for it when you have it. I'll definitely be keen to read it.
  11. Mark Kenfield
    How so?
  12. Mark Kenfield
    Cheers Stuart, really interested to hear your thoughts on the 'Bee'. Price-wise it jumps right back in contention with the Mole. Obviously as simple flood light it doesn't offer the same level of control, but as a nice full-spectrum daylight source to key through diff or balance out daylight coming through windows, I think it could be hugely useful.
  13. Mark Kenfield
    Will do.
  14. Mark Kenfield
    Awesome! Thanks Ian, I'll give you a call.
  15. Mark Kenfield
    Thanks Stuart, they're very helpful tests. Obviously a plasma unit is the pick of the bunch in this kind of daylight fresnel, but the plasma is twice the price of one of these 400w Moles, and a 575w HMI is too. So you can get two of the Moles for the price of a single alternative. The Moles are also big, but no bigger than a 575w HMI + ballast, and it has the added benefit of being a self contained fixture, so should setup and pack down a bit quicker. I guess (as always) it's a trade off between price and performance. The Mole certainly seems to win out on versatility and ease of use (the dimming goes a long way on that front), and it demolishes the others on price, but the colour isn't quite perfect (sounds like it's 'good' but not perfect). For the guys who have used them - would you have any hesitations using them directly on talent?
  16. Mark Kenfield
    Hi guys, Just wondering if anyone has had any real contact with the new Mole LED Fresnels yet? I'm very interested in getting a couple of the 400w Studio Juniors in daylight - photometrically they're basically equivalent to 575w HMI fresnels (without the bulb changes or worrying about ballasts) but MUCH cheaper (half the price of an Arri D5), and with the added benefits of full dimmability (without colour-shift) and no real issues with flicker for high framerate work. All of which should make them a really useful light IMO. I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone who's used them (particularly the daylight versions, and particularly how the colour rendering is on skin). Cheers, Mark
  17. Mark Kenfield
    Well I doubt we'd get enough contributors to cover the whole cost, but if we got enough to entice someone to take a punt on paying whatever the remaining balance would be, then they'd get to keep it. Seems a fair trade to me.
  18. Mark Kenfield
    That's actually quite a good idea. I'd be more than happy to pay $20 to get a clear appraisal of how well this thing is built and works.
  19. Mark Kenfield
    God, those fight scenes towards the end of Polanksi's Macbeth - they were so plain, so simple, and yet the realism of them made them seem so much more dangerous than virtually anything I'd seen up to that point. It was nail biting cinema. I still think back to those scenes quite regularly actually, though I haven't seen the film in years.
  20. Mark Kenfield
    Couldn't agree more Phil. That's why I think it's really very important that someone (who isn't me) spends $4,000 of their hard-earned and solves this mystery for us. It's the only sensible course of action.
  21. Mark Kenfield
    Well let us know how you go!
  22. Mark Kenfield
    Angie have actually just announced revised versions of the DPs which don't have the deep throat of the originals - so they'll now work just fine with both film cameras, and digital cameras like the Alexa XT (with its internal NDs) and the Epic (with its motion mount).
  23. Mark Kenfield
    Richard, I'd suggest taking the 'Well, I just made a film with Natasha Henstridge...' route. 'Species' cred has gotta count for something surely?!
  24. Mark Kenfield
    It depends entirely on the relative ratios you'll get from the areas of the location you'll be shooting in. If your lightmeter is reading an f/0.7 at 500 ISO, then at f/2.8 you're a whopping four stops under for the general scene, with your f/4-5.6 practical lamps 1-2 stops over. Which pretty much means you ain't seeing anything but lamp shades and blackness. If your subjects are close enough to the prac lamps to get a reasonable exposure on them (let's say f/2 for arguments sake), then you'll be able to see something of them (at a stop under) but everything else is still going to fall off into blackness. So it's all just relative to your shooting stop. A spotmeter won't really tell you anything that you can't find out from positioning your incident meter around the set - it's just a simpler way to take a reflective reading. All of which is basically just to say that, yes, you're right - the current lighting there will give you lampshades and blackness. Bouncing your redheads up into the ceiling or off some muslin should hopefully give you enough stop to capture some detail in your shadow areas.
  25. Mark Kenfield
    I've never seen or heard of a standard, it seems to be a case of anything goes.
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