Jamie Lewis

There's no brown tint on my monitor, well if you don't count the brown dirt.

There are no moving parts, so dust should not be a problem

Dust isn't a problem in electrical gear with now moving parts? First time I ever heard of that and I don't think my surround amp heard of that either. Dust can cause many problems on any electrical component it can get into.

Edit: Saw the ratio in the first post now. I must have completely read over it.

Thanks Chris for clarifying...I was starting to think that you're too good for us mere low-budget mortals. ;)

Matt, what was your planned shooting ratio and did it end up holding?

Jamie,

how were you pricing the development telecine? you can normally swing deals on that. I'm about to shoot a short on S16mm 5:! ratio that's 15 minutes long (for the film section 1/2 is animation) and it came in cheaper than that for a supervised transfer. Not that it's incredibly cheap but for a 10 minute film you should shoot a 6:1 for around that price -w- one light or even best light so you can edit.

It was $1600 for stock, developing and tele at a 5:1. Add in the camera rental and insurance and it skyrockets.

True, but it seems to be common knowledge that film is so expensive you can't afford it. I was really surprised how cheap 16mm actually was when I first really checked it. I had thought the cost at 2-3x what it really was.

 

Cheers, Dave

I was trying my best to shoot on film but the cost of getting it into the computer is where it all adds up. So in the end I'm just using what I have and possibly think of film in the future. Even renting the camera brought the total cost of a 10 minute short on 16mm to over $2700 for everything (camera, stock, develop, tele).

If it was cheap to pull it into the computer, I would be all over film. For the time being I'm relegated to maybe using it as a niche play-around with and no NLE editing.

David, I already ordered bleached and unbleached muslin. I'm also gonna get some silk.

I got the silk samples in and I'm probably going to go with two different china silks, 16mm (slightly heavier than "regular" china) and 8mm ("regular" china?). I'll wait to see how the muslin looks before I place an order in case the 16mm is too close to the bleached.

Try this site for information, fabric and supplies. http://www.rosebrand.com/fabric-stage-curt...ps/default.aspx

 

Request a catalog.

@ DJ, thanks! I hit them up for a catalog.

@ Daniel, I ordered one hank of trick line and a roll of gaffers since my order didn;t reach the minimum $15 <_< But you can never have enough gaffers.

Thank you Jamie.

I will check that store. But will they ship to Portugal?

About Shake 4, didn't apple stop all development on that software? Even if a new version comes out, I am betting it won?t be for 399$.

Don't know about shipping and I believe, last I heard, Apple was working on a new version of Shake. Price, I wouldn't have a clue.

Heh, you can do whatever you want -- it's all just suggestions here. But I think you've made the right choice ;)

 

 

Do you mean the tie lines from the rag to the frame? Yeah, pretty much anything will do it. Shoelaces might be fine, but trickline will be better. You can cut off whatever length you want. It's stronger and more durable. It's plastic-coated so that it sticks to itself and doesn't slip. Plus, it might even be cheaper -- you can get a hanks (45 feet) for like 4 or 5 bucks, and a spool (750 feet) for under $30. By the time you end up buying a whole bunch of shoelaces, I think you will have spent more at the shoe store.

 

:)

Yeah, I'll save more going the trickline route. I didn't have a friggin' clue what a hank was so I didn't place an order in fears of getting one 12" piece. :(

Nah, I'm not gonna put holes in it. It will cut down on time, especially when I have other people do it.

Get your BASE computer through Apple. Get ALL your aftermarket parts from Macsales.com (ram, hard drives, etc). Great site and RIDICULOUSLY cheap. I've used them a great deal and their products have never failed me. For monitors go with LG and DO NOT over pay for any Apple monitor. You can get monitors for 25-50% less that easily trump it in specifications and performance.

I would say hold out on buying Shake 4 as there are rumblings of a new version coming down the pipeline.

Don't worry about it slipping -- it wont. Tie tight bows with trickline, and you'll be fine. This is how all "professional" frames are constructed. You can kinda see (but not that well) here in this photo:

http://www.cinemagadgets.com/images/B024-1.gif

 

Keep in mind that speed and effeciancy is also an important factor on a big, professional set. Doing your job (the grip, in this case) quickly and precisely puts a professional apart from a beginner. And if you think about it, threading a piece of trickline through a hole can be a lot more time consuming than quickly wrapping it around a pole -- maybe not once, but try doing it 10 times x 4 sides -- 40 times, on a 20-by frame. This could mean the difference between 5 minutes and 15 minutes.

 

As for the number of grommets, on professionally-manufactured rags, they are generally spaced about 2 feet apart, I believe, starting at the corners. So one in each corner, and then every other foot.

 

-DW

 

(just thought of another reason not to make holes: because wherever you end up putting the holes, you MUST line up your grommets at that exact place -- for that one AND every other rag you make. Just tieing AROUND the frame allows more flexibility. Remember, film companies have been doing it this way for 100 years -- I think they know what they are doing ;) )

I will put no holes in the PVC! As far as attaching, anything that's not flammable should be fine cirrect? I'm just gonna get some black boot laces and cut them up.

Daniel, again thanks a great deal!

Jamie,

PVC will work fine. Arguably even better (and most often used for large diffusion frames) is 2x4 or batten wood. Batten will be lighter, 2x4 will be stronger. Both are definately cheaper than PVC, but might not be as durable if you plan on keeping the frame for a long time. Also, wood is arguably easier to cut down to size if you need a smaller frame on the spur of the moment. I don't know how modular you need this to be. For a more perminant solution, you can staple the muslin to the wood frame, and this allows for a tight stretch that won't sag. It also keeps things neat and pretty.

 

Regardless of which route you take (PVC or wood), you do not nessasarily need to put holes in it. After you've made your grommets, take some trick line and put ties in each grommet. You can then tie these around your frame, just as in a standard metal frame made by Matthews or Modern.

 

If you have any more questions about muslin, feel free to ask :)

 

 

-DW

Thanks for all the help, Daniel. Yeah, it needs to be pretty modular as I store everything in my apartment, inside my editing studio. That means, props, lighting, frames, a big wood dolly I built, etc.

The reason I thought of the holes in the PVC it to prevent slipping. Also, how many and where should I put the grommets. I was thinking the four corners plus one more at top and bottom and three more on each side for sheets of 45"x84". I have access to a grommet machine and the amount I use is irrelevant.

I can't wait to get all the fabric in. I never thought I would ever say that. :D

I just found a site that allowed me to order some cheap, 25 cent, silk samples. I ordered six samples and I'll test what works best.

(sigh)

Jamie,

Are you wanting a specific size for use on a frame? If so, Filmtools.com is good.

Are you wanting raw material? If so, Theragplace.com is good (Hollywood).

Mutual Hardware also has a good variety (NYC).

Daniel, what I thought to do is build it out of PVC pipe or some other pipe from Home Depot. I'm gonna grommet the fabric and create a frame that's a bit bigger than 45" x 84". I'll put holes in the PVC and tie the muslin or silk to it. PVC will give me the flexibility to create any size/shape frame pretty cheap. My lights are all under 600w and heat shouldn't be a problem with the PVC. Also, I can probably get some cheap window screening for diffusion also. I like filmtools.com a lot and order stuff from the time to time. I'll check out the other sites you linked also!

I ended up getting a sheet of unbleached and bleached muslin (45"x9ft.) for $18. For $18 I can't go wrong and I'll be able to see first hand the effects and light loss.

Does anybody have a good source for silk? I got the muslin from Joanne.com and this seems to really be the only silk, not patterned, that they carry.

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CAT...p;source=search

So, would it would be better to use silk if light power may be an issue? I actually just helped a friend the other day on his shoot and we used a white table cloth that worked pretty well and I'm guessing it was as thick or thinker than muslin is (I don't know if I've ever seen muslin).

Most of the times I've seen muslin recommended it's said to get unbleached over bleached. Is this an aesthetic (color or diffusion) choice or something more than that? I'm gonna build a muslin frame and before I ordered some fabric I wanted to clear this up.

Also another quicky, how do silk and ad muslin differ in how they diffuse light? I'm not against getting silk but to save some money I'm looking into muslin. Or should I just get both?

Hi,

 

Can you please recommend some good books on direction and cinematography (but from directors point of view leaving all tech details out). I could find lot of recommended books on cinematography but cant find much on direction. Also is there any website which caters to direction like this site does to cinematography?

 

tia,

Kavan

Five C's of cinematography.

Shot by Shot.

Film Directing Fundamentals, Second Edition: See Your Film Before Shooting.

Making Movies by Sidney Lumet.

Here are the specs for the LED ones. Foot candles: 86.4 @ 1 meter, Lux: 930 @ 1 meter.

I don't know squat about foot candles other than the obvious "the more foot candles the brighter," and leds. Compared to say a 250w and a 600w tungsten, how bright are these? Also, since there are three colors (r,g,B) does that make a white light impossible?

Got ya, Dave! Thanks for the insight!

David A, distance from actors/actresses and I guess from the gels also. But I think I would be using them for mostly lighting the backgrounds though and other crevices. I have 2 600w Smith-Victors and 1 250w Lowel Pro that I'll use as my primary source.

Right now I'm looking at the longer ones but wouldn't the shorter ones be less directional and therefore more versatile?

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've seen people mention par cans a few times on here as a cheap way to get a lot of light. I have a few questions.

How hot do par 56 and 64's get?

I'm assuming since they come out of a tube they're pretty directional, would using a wide flood alleviate this to a good extent?

Is there a minimum distance that they should be used because of the throw?

Has anyone used the LED versions of these, and if so, how bright were they and did you need a controller?

That's all for now. I'll probably have more questions pop into my head.

Also, has anyone bought from www.cheaplights.com? That looks like the place I'll be getting them from if I choose to do so.

Each scene needs direction. What happened earlier in the time line of a film is supposed to affect what happens in the later time line. Supposed earlier in the film a boy likes a girl and later on he hates her. Now they are shooting the later part of the film first. What can the boy call upon in terms of what he's supposed to "feel" if he watched the girl enter the room? How does he know how to react to her without it being explicitly told (directed) to him?

Spontaneity works to some degree but going into a scene blindly rarely ever works. That's why improv movies always have a general premise and direction.