Rick Shepardson

Hi Rick,

 

If your doing a 1k transfer! and have issues/doubts about the lab, I would maybe reconsider shooting 35mm. HD might give you better end results especially shooting candle light!

 

Kieran.

Thank you.

Now to express all of these issues to a producer who's dreamed of shooting on 35mm since he was a kid!

-rick

Thanks for your help!

Yes, the 1k is a sd transfer. Actually, it's a little less than one K. There are also some issues with the workmanship at this lab-dirty gates and such. So, I'm still a little unsetteled.

-Rick Shepardson

I have a somewhat tricky situation which my lack of experience only complicates. Please bear with my explanation of the issue. I apologize if there is any pertinent information I've left out.

I am going to be shooting a short film. Because of the limited lights available to us, and because I'm going to be shooting a candlelight scene, I am thinking of going with a 500 ISO. However, the lab that we will be transferring to digital is only a 1K transfer. Because of this, I have heard that a 500 speed film would come out looking very grainy.

On the other hand, we will be shooting on 35mm film. Would the same film stock look better on 35mm than on 16mm even after a 1k transfer? I have heard that in order to get the benefits of 35mm, the transfer must be at least 4k.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

-rick shepardson

Hi,

I'm sorry if this question is not relevent to this forum. I wasn't quite sure where to post it.

I am mounting a 300 watt photo bulb onto an old table lamp. I have successfully removed the lamp's original fixture. However, there is no way for me to actually put in the fixture required to power the photo bulb. It wouldn't matter if the rig is ugly-because it will be under a lamp shade.

Just wondering if anybody has any tips.

-rick

A waveform will certainly help you identify trouble spots both in the highlights and in the shadows. I would have to disagree with you that the SDX doesn't handle highlights well. I've found it to be a among the best of the standard def cameras. It does, however, like any other video camera, have to be dutifully watched and managed.

 

Something to think about when trying to figure out the relative exposure rating for a camera and that is which lens you're using. Depending on the coating you might get a different rating when using different lenses especially if you're using standard def lenses. It's unlikely to be an issue with, say, DigiPrimes which have matching lenses. And there's also how the camera's internal menu settings have been set. If, for example, you're using one setup with a neutral setting and another that'll very stylized, you might need to rate you camera differently for each setting.

 

One last thing, if you do use a waveform monitor and a gray card or gray scale chip chart, your middle gray should hit the 55 IRE mark (I have heard some say 50 IRE) but for as long as I've been shooting film and video, it's been 55 IRE.

Thanks.

You're actually the second person today that's told me the sdx handles highlights well. I guess I need to watch my waveform better:)

I've seen many people I respect run into issues with blowing out on the SDX. The biggest issue I've noticed are excessive highlights and kickers (rim lights.)

I've been told that you want to avoid going more than two and a half stops above middle gray or 55% ire, and that around 80% is a real danger zone. Camera tests that I've done in the past seem to back this up. (I was at 24p with film like gama 1.)

However, the person I was speaking to today said the camera can handle four stops above middle gray and only three stops below. This just doesn't seem to make sense to me.

As you can see, I'm just getting my feet wet with this.

Thanks,

Rick

You have to use the spot function on the meter.

 

You can also use a 18% grey card, which can be found in most major photo shops. I find this approach a bit more exact. You do it the same way. Fill the lens with the card, take a automatic reading on your lens, then adjust the ISO until it reaches the same aperture as the lens. You must remember to have fps correctly before starting. In the US, either 1/24 fps or 1/60. In Europe, it's best to use 1/25 fps.

 

Word of warning: light meters are not the best tools for digital. Sure, I've had great help in it when shooting digital. But in the end, ALWAYS check your proper calibrated monitor for final decisions. I find that I use them alot when rigging lights. Then just to check the f-stop. The contrast range is always best to do by eye. When I'm shooting, I usually pack the meter away.

Lars Erik

I'm going to be shooting a piece with the SDX. Do you think that it would help to have a waveform monitor on hand to spot blow out points? It seems that the SDX doesn't handle the upper end of the zone system that well at all.

Thanks,

Rick

I would shoot as many wide shots in natural daylight and just light the tighter shots. I live with some inconsistency just to capture some nice natural light if it's bright enough to shoot by.

Wow-I hadn't even thought about that :)

The windows that would likely serve as the key lights face East, so I guess sometime in the morning would be the best time to shoot wide shots.

Is there a particular block of time in the morning hours that would be best to shoot? I mean, of course the sun is always moving, but is there a particular time that due to it's angle that this isn't so noticable? Would the same go for the color temperature as well?

Or would I fare better by spending a morning at the location taking meter readings and pictures every hour or so?

Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

-rick

Something like a 6k PAR for each window would be about right, I think. Cover the windows with something soft but not too like opal or 251 to blend all of the lights into one effective source. That would be 90% of a very nice-looking gym.

Thanks!

Hello,

This is the first time I've tried to tackle a lighting situation this size, I'm obviously a begginer-so please tell me if there's information I have left out that would aid you in answering my questions.

I'm trying to light a very large area on a very small budget. I've posted a picture of that area to give a better idea of the dimensions.

I think using the windows as the key light would be asthetically pleasing. However, the large windows run on both sides of the gym and face East/West. Thus, I imagine that I would have to shoot at night and use artificial lights in order to avoid change in directionality and quality of the sunlight.

I did try to map out the place with a light meter (4pm, mid summer.) However, because of the aformentioned problems of using sunlight, this would likely be irrelavent.

I want to go back later and do a meter reading with the overheads. However, they are all florescent and the building is rather old. So, I think they would likely be so inconcistant so as to render them useless.

I was thinking something along the lines of a 5k HMI at each window. Of course, this would likely also neccesitate diffusion and all sorts of stuff that I probably haven't even begun to consider.

By the way, I'm thinking of shooting on HVX with 320 ISO.

thanks for any information you can provide. And again, sorry if I haven't supplied ample info.

-rick

The flying insect footage is what gets me. Slo-mo at large apertures and insanely small DOF.

Totally. A friend and I are going to test out the probe lens on the SDX. I'm hoping to shoot mostly insects and stuff like that. And maybe get some cool shots of the moon, just to do it.

I also want to take the camera down to the park and see if I can follow the squirrels-fast buggers.

-rick

Hello,

I'm going to be shooting a 2 camera set up on SDX900. I am very nervous about this shoot as it is critical to a documentary I'm working on.

I know how to initialize the camera. However, I need to make sure that this will set everything back to factory default. I don't want to be suprised to find that some odd setting passes by the init. process and thus creating a stark appearance between the two camera images.

If nessesisary, does anyone no where I can find a list of the factory defaults for this camera?

Thank you,

Rick.

I would contact your favourite nature cameraman and ask him if you can help him out as an assistant or if you can shadow him on a shoot for a few weeks. Learn from somebody who has been doing it for years...you'll probably learn more stuff in a few weeks by watching a seasoned cameraman do it and asking questions than if you tried to figure it for yourself over a longer period of time.

Thank you! That is an awesome Idea.

I know that there is a lot to be learned. I'm particularlly concerned about camera movement and focus. I guess that's where the experience comes in.

Thanks again,

-rick

Nature cinematography? Consider the connection to Nature photography - you've got color, texture, form, balance, harmony. But with cinematography you've also got ACTION! Frantic, cautious, peaceful, excited, all the ranges of movement inherent in the plant, animal and mineral kingdoms. Make a demo roll with as many different types of scenes, as beautiful as you can make them, and remember it's not hanging on a wall of a gallery, it's going on in real time, so get a flow going. Make people want to see next scene, and leave them wanting more.

Thank you for your eye opening points.

I've done alot of video work in nature just for the fun of it. However, I have always been caught up in composition and didn't think too much about the action.

Thanks, and please wish me luck.

-rick

I'm currently working on an MFA in film with emphasis in cinematography. I would really like to get into nature cinematography for documentaries, b-roll, and such.

What is the best way to approach this task? Am I in danger of having too specific a goal?

Thanks,

Rick