Alex Worster

I guess I just never had a problem following Donnie Darko. It did take a couple of viewings to really get the story figured but compared with Southland Tales Donnie Darko is crystal clear. Some people love it, some hate it, but I'm still a Donnie Darko fan. I thought Kelly and Poster did a good job with that one. Oddly enough the longer its been since I've seen Southland Tales the more fond of it I am. Not because it had anything epic to say or anything like that but just for its sheer weirdness.

Thanks.

Is it unadvisable to re-rate a stock mid roll. Let's say I'm shooting 500 and I shoot a gray card rating the stock at 320 for extra density. I shoot half the roll or so then decide I'd like it to look a little thin or I need the stop or whatever so I shoot another gray card rated at 1000 and go on shooting. Will I have a problem come transfer time or as long as I let whoever is doing the transfer know what I did should it be fine? Provided I exposed all the cards as I intended.

I use pCam but you do need a Palm Pilot. You can find it on David Eubank's website www.davideubank.com

Dave, Thanks for taking the time to share your words of wisdom, they resonate. I really do agree with the idea that humor keeps the job from getting too heavy. Keeping it light is the only way to go. One of these days I'll pick up that 2nd nature but until then I don't suppose they sell it at Film Tools or the Panastore? See, always with the jokes, they can't all be winners I guess. Jonathan, That's sweet you're getting your hands on the SI. Do you know if you're going to be using the optical viewfinder? I don't know too much about it but in theory the camera sounds pretty sweet. Let us know how things go.

Tests went well. Haven't seen the picture yet but the camera is not a disaster as I thought it might be, granted there are still some serious issues that need to be taken care of. I planned for the worst so I guess that way I'm always pleasantly surprised. Doing another test next week to see how it handles green screen and plate work. Should be fun, the package will be nicer than last time with ultra primes thrown in the mix to see how those stack up. should be a fun couple days. As of now production is slated to begin in early Juneish I think.

Just to be clear I wasn't trying to attack you personally. Hope it didn't come across that way. I think you're right. Just to clear up the director has never asked me to check focus, it's always me, I agree that would be a little weird. I think there is a lot the idea of an AC sixth sense being learned over time. Kind of like on the few features I've done the dof calc comes out less and less as the days go by. TV sounds scary man. Hopefully if the strike put you out of a job things get rolling soon. Good point about the down res before distribution. I hadn't thought of that.

Jonathan, if I had to guess I would say the scissors at Lee's were a custom job, maybe Adolf's handy work, but I guess it could have been anybody. They're seriously sweet but tearing the film through a perf works just as well for loading the BL or anything else if you're given short ends with bad edges, worked out just fine for me at least. I guess you could ask Mike if he knows where they came from next time you're in there but who knows who long they've actually been there. Good luck and do let us know if you do find out since they would be kinda cool to have around however i don't know how much I'd want to bring scissors in a changing bag.

It sounds good but, no disrespect intended, that i disagree. It does sound funny but really those calculators (pCam, samcine or whatever) are invaluable. What happens if it's dark so you're shooting wide open and the actor walks into close up and misses their mark. The director calls cut and you ask the actor and camera to hold for focus. The op looks at you and says it looked okay but you break out the tape and the calculator and it turns out you missed it by a couple inches. It may look okay in the finder but on the big screen you've got a shot that's just enough out of focus to be annoying or even worse, unusable. Why wast everyone's time and the production's money if you think you missed it and request another take but a simple dof calculation says you're fine or move on when you have missed it but the op doesn't report a problem. It seems like your job is to make sure what should be in focus is in focus and any tools that help why not use? Especially if they do save time and therefore money. On the flip side I have seen 1sts get lost in their dof calculators and cost time therefore money. It's a fine line I guess. I guess what really prompted this question was that with the Red's (really this goes for any 4k camera) 35 sensor, the sharpness 4k can capture, and the "cleanness" of 4k HD/ lack of film grain to give the image some texture, I would be afraid that any slightly buzzed shots would be more apparent. Maybe I'm obsessing about it too much or maybe it's because I'm still fairly new to the game but I just want to be able to do my job with confidence and not ever get a call a week down the road about a shot I blew. I'll feel much better when the HD/SDI outs on the Red start working and 4k capable monitors come around. Until then I don't truly trust monitors with the Red, same for any 4k camera I guess. I still think of Red monitors like onboards I guess. The more I think about it and type out what I think it seems like these neurosis might fade the more confident I get but until then I like the numbers to make me feel better. On another subject I didn't know camera original was 32mm. I thought it was 35mm and shooting regular 35 you just weren't shooting in the soundtrack area but it was still there. And then with super 35 you were shooting that extra soundtrack area. If that's true I've learn a little something new here today. Thanks as always for everyones input.

I would guess not for interiors but maybe because you'd be there for a night exterior you could see some light balloons or maxi's on condors for base exposure or something. Could be a good time, I'm seriously considering it for the same reasons as Jonathan but they probably won't let us within 50 feet of the camera unless it's during a take. Who knows though, I can think of worse ways to spend a Monday night. It would be pretty cool to watch him light some interior, one can dream.

The plot thickens... I just received notice that a film out might be in the works for this project so now I really have to be on my game. As always any help is much appreciated.

First off, thanks Chris for your response. Jonathan, I will probably be able to make a Century chart test happen but I don't believe the final product will be going through a film out, it would be pretty sweet though. I would imagine the final out will be going to some hi def medium. How exactly would you perform such a test if you don't mind explaining or do you know of a link (possibly on this site, I did a brief search I swear but no luck) where I could find info on a good way to find a the CofC that works with what I want to do? Thanks again to those who have the time to help. Also for those ACs that do get to work with 35 or 35 sized sensors and have their work go to the big screen what type of CofC are you generally working with?

That's exactly how I plan to treat it but more what I'm wondering is what exactly people believe would be a good CofC number. My pCAM came default with a 0.001" (25.40 micron) CofC for 35mm. Again because I only understand CofC in theory and am not quite sure what these numbers actually relate to I'm wondering if I should stick with this default number or go with something different? I would want to err on the safe side and input less tolerant CofC, especially because this might be going to a big screen. Any thoughts, numbers, a lesson or two, etc. Thanks in advance.

Quick question which hopefully somebody can help me with. In a couple days I'll be going out with a Red and a couple Cooke S4s, a couple Zeiss Super Speeds, and maybe an Angenieux Optimo 24-290 for a full day of tests for an upcoming feature that I'll be ACing. I was wondering if anybody has worked out an optimum circle of confusion for this set up. It will likely be going to the big screen for at least a couple showings so I need to make sure my focus is not compromised by a circle of confusion that is too lenient. So far I've just used the default CofC that came with pCAM but as my jobs get a little more high profile (not really high profile in the grand scheme of things) I wonder more and more if I should be inputting my own. I've got to admit that I'm a little uneducated as far as CofC goes but any info would help very much especially input from anyone that has worked with a similar type set up.

Looks good. I think I might try and catch that night as well. Do you know if the tickets sell out quick or is one of those things that you can get/should get tickets the night of at the box office? Thanks for the heads up.

I'm not completely sure but I believe you can't display the viewfinder menu via the HD/SDI out. You have to use the "MONITOR OUT" BNC type connector which is located on the dumb side of the camera. When looking at the dumb side it should located on the lower left corner. You can always skim the manual for that type of stuff as well. Hope that helps.

If you're not using sync slates, why would you on a music video, just keep one slate with a red "A" followed by the roll # then a blue "B" right under it with the roll #, particular colors don't matter just as long as they're different. Preferably you'd make it work on an insert slate so it takes up less room but that might get a little cramped with both roll IDs. If you really wanted to make sure the editors knew what you were doing just shoot 15-20 seconds of an 8 by 10 inch sign that says "Cam A = Red" (also include some of the same red color tape on the sign) at the head of the first A cam mag and the same goes for B cam. The goal is to make it as clear as possible. In a situation were you have to slate the cameras separately just put a finger over the whichever Roll ID/camera you're not slating for leaving the correct camera Roll ID showing. This is preferable because I find the less I make the op reframe to get a slate the more they like me. For a common slate just bump the slate with both Roll IDs uncovered. You don't have to worry about burning film while running between cameras because if you're not sync slating you'll just need to bump a few frames before the cameras roll on their respective angle. All this is if you want to look super anal which is sometimes a good thing for newish ACs because it shows they're detail oriented. However, on most music videos I've worked on, and also talking with other ACs, usually the slate is only used for timecode and we don't even bother with the other info because everything is moving so fast and the editor is going to watch everything anyways so it doesn't really matter what came from which camera, etc. I think that about covers the long answer. The short answer being: do whatever the 1st wants.

Who is "the invisible hand" behind this Adam Smith? Ha Ha, no judgement intended, I just couldn't help make a lame joke however, it is slightly fitting in regards to these posts.

I hear most people call them "quick release cores". Make sure the film is as flush as possible with the quick release core before you clamp the end of the film on the take side or it could scratch against the inside of the mag and make some noise. Other than that they're super simple... just release the clamp, the roll will loosen slightly, then just pick it up so it all stays together and in the bag it goes. Don't tighten the roll or you'll scratch/ cinch the film, no good. Just make sure the lab knows there aren't any cores in the rolls.

Although not a bad camera the HPX500 is really limited in menu and programmable functions so if you plan on doing a lot of messing around with menus to get "looks" and presets, etc the HPX is basically a big HVX. You don't have nearly as much control as the VariCam or like caliber cameras.

Watched Heat again tonight. Dante Spinotti makes very good use of the anamorphic frame and his light is good too. I like the warmth and the nice rim/beauty light really helps sells the idea that she is in her comfortable place. The light really enforces the emotions in the scene. Good use of the frame. I really like good anamorphic composition especially when it helps convey what's going on in the story. These two are on the run and things are uneasy between them. The color really gives the shot a nice mood.

Looking at your frames and asking you questions is what really got me into analyzing frames so thank you. I didn't know you had a website. I'm on my way right now. Thanks!

I, probably like a lot of people here, try to watch a lot movies in my spare time. Generally I try to watch them twice. The first for the entertainment (story, etc) and the second time through I try to focus on the photography. Lately I've started saving frames that I really admire for their lighting and composition so that I can go back to them in the future and study them. That said, I think it might be interesting to start a thread for people to post stills of shots they really like. I really like looking at stills on this site and often end up learning a thing or two so if you have some stills you like from movies you've watched or projects you've shot post them and maybe even give a sentence or two about why you like it. Big Combo shot by John Alton Night of the Hunter shot by Stanley Cortez

It might be good to get a lot of close-ups of the band performing... like the guitar and base player's fingers going at it, close-ups of drums being hit, close-ups of the singer singing, etc etc etc (go crazy with close ups and keep it hand held for a little extra energy). That will allow you to insert them in between the wide and medium shots of the band performing which will give those sequences more life and energy. A video for song like this is all about energy which you should keep in your head while you're shooting. Try it out, see if it works, you've gotten off to a good start now get in close, in your face close.

Ha, I said 69. Chris is right, 9P for those German things. Where was my mind, my bad. Seriously just call whatever Panavision is closest and be polite and they should take care of you.