John Carreon

I would also stress that art dept and costuming are very important in this video...each "color scene" has all the people dressed in shades of that color which helps make it pop out even more. I think people often overlook this aspect of cinematography... Thanks, John

Hello, Depending on how many windows you have, you could gel them to match Tungsten...most likely it'd be cheaper then renting a bunch of lights. Then all your color-temperature would match...that is if you're using tungsten lights for inside. John

Much appreciated David!!!

Sorry to steal the thread...but how do you go about finding the Chip size for these digital still cameras? Whenever I try to find specs on them it just mentions the pixel count...6mp, 8mp, 10mp. I have heard it many times over that the chip size is very important...but you only seem to hear about chip size on Digital Camcorders. Am I just bad at looking these things up on the internet? Please throw me a bone if you can... Thanks, John Carreon

I have an upcoming project that is asking for an exaggerated 80's look. However I am unsure if we'll be shooting on Super 16mm or HD. For shooting an "uncorrected HMI (on tungsten stock)" but on video would you want to white balance on a certain color to bring out that over-dramatized BLUE moonlight? Or do you think it would more easily done in post? Also we were talking about making it look as if it was a recently "found" copy of some 80's movie...I was thinking about giving it some generation loss (planning to end on DVD). Do you think that dropping it down to an analog format, making a dupe and then mastering that out to HD would give it that look? Yes, I know it seems a waste to shoot it pretty and then drag it through the mud...but hopefully it will help the product. Thanks, John Carreon

Hired an editor to do a project. I had a very loose contract written with basic payrates, due dates and duties the editor would be responsible for. I was paying in increments based on due date. However the work pretty muched came to a stop due to the editor's schedule and I have to realistically look for someone else. Not much to nothing was accomplished and I am out a couple hardrives and what I had payed the editor. Is there a standard for project based work that if an editor does not finish the project finances should be returned. I blew a bit of my budget on this person but there is nothing in my contract I had written up that says either way that money should be returned if project is not completed (I assumed it would be completed). I would very much like some advice or what the basic industry standard would be for hiring per project. At least it would be good to know for the next time around. Thanks all!

Hey Folks, Working on a commercial for basic cable. It only involves graphics and a voice-over. We were planning on creating it in an HD format on after-effects but found out that we have to turn it into the cable company on a Beta SP tape... Here's my question: HD's native ratio is 16:9 and what will happen to this when transfered to an SD Format which is 4:3?!? I hope this makes sense as I am somewhat confused myself and the Cable company has yet to return my calls. Will the HD information just get scrunched making the image looked warped? Will it get chopped off? Is there any way to remain in the HD format without bad things happening? And we would hate to have to originate the images in an SD, 4:3 format as the colors die out and the sharpness of text deteriorates greatly. I would love any help, recommendations, or suggestions that anyone might have. Thanks, John "extremely confused" Carreon

Hey People, Shooting Super 16mm, Arri SRIII, using cooke 35mm lenses. Does this effect the depth of field? When I calculate should i calculate the DOP using 35mm or 16mm? I know the DOP is affected by the size of the film...but will this larger lens do anything wacky to it? Are there any other factors I should keep in mind? Thanks, John

Any up and coming 1st AC's out there looking for a few days of work? I will be working on a feature throughout the month of November and need 2 days covered the 4th and the 5th. It will be shooting in and around Los Angeles...meals and pay provided...non-union... Let me know and I'll hook you up with some more information. Shooting on the Arri SRIII...lovely little camera... Thanks, John

Hello Knowledgable ones... I am interning in the camera dept. on a feature being shot out in NYC...I was wondering if there was any possibility of this somehow counting towards union hours?!? Let me know of all the possible benefits I can wring out of this...besides the education...I'd hate to look back and realize I could have got a few free t-shirts out of it or something cool like that. Also I want to write it off as a business expense...travel and lodging and what not...any helpful tips besides keeping all my receipts and (since I'm not getting paid) my internship contract?!? Is that even possible?!? I'll have my "personal" accountant at H&R Block take a look at it... I started last week and things are going well...I've learned alot and alot of stuff has been reenforced. It's good to see professionals do the same things that I have done on smaller budget features...it's reassuring... Alright, thanks, John

Thanks for the feedback guys!!! John

Hey David, I just read the whole post in one sitting, right now...and earlier you said you would have a 1st with little or no experience...I'm assuming 1st AC...why? Plenty of people out there with more experience, i.e. me...or others...look around. People shooting on film is almost a novelty for the low end of the budget spectrum. Where are you located? I might be able to recommend a few people...drop me an e-mail if you like. John

Hey People, I went and saw "factotum" last night...always been a huge Bukowski fan... Anyways, I was pretty sure it was shot on film but throughout the movie there would be these scenes that looked horribly video-y intercut with others...I'd look around and see if anybody else noticed but no one did...and I think it's bad manners to stand up in a darkened theatre and yell: "That's video!!!" I checked on IMDB and it said 35mm...if anybody sees it check out for the scene when Chinaski goes back to his parents house to stay for a while. In a wide shot with him and his father sitting at the table and his mother off in the back...the windows are blown out in a video sort of way and it looks like someone cranked up the gain... It just had me confused... Any ideas?!? Thanks, John Carreon

Hey Everybody, What's the Union and how do you get into it? I have worked on 3 independent features...2 Super 16mm, 1 35mm...a gazillion music videos on various formats...and short films that exceed counting...so I have a decent foundation...but how do I go about getting into the union? And is it worth it for me at this beginning stage of my career? Thanks a bunch, John P.S. I live in L.A.

http://www.bravia-advert.com/ A commercial for Sony's new TV monitors I believe...simple and haunting... I think the visuals and the music are great. Someone just had a cool idea and ran with it...or bounced I should say...(ha ha ha I am witty...sorry) John

Me again, Also is there a way to make the reds POP out? I know red causes some problems in video but I would love to make the red colors really stand out...or should I just leave this to the post people?!? Thanks, John

Hello People, I am shooting a music video this weekend (Canon HD100) and the main character is Black or African American or not Irish (however you want to put it) The majority of the scenes take place in a very dark room where lighting will be minimal. I'm worried about shooting a dark skin tone in this situation...I want to make sure that he stands out without adding too much extra light. Is it as simple as a backlight?!? A lot of the time he will just be lit with just a spot light and other times the background will be revealed which is mostly dark wood paneling and a few scantily clad women. (what's a music video without them, right?) I would love some tips or any recommendations you might have. Thanks in advance, John

Hey Everyone, I have more expertise in the film area but I'm shooting in a few days with the new Canon HD100, unfortunately due to someone's lack of planning I won't be able to get my hands on it till the shoot day...good times...I've scoured the net and read the instruction manual over a few times but it's pretty bare... I had some questions hopefully you can help me with: 1)Pg. 62 f the Manual (Aspect) It says that if you output the video in 16:9 ratio that you lose resolution in the vertical direction as opposed to shooting in the 4:3 Ratio...a few pages later (pg. 65_V/H Balance) It says you can sharpen the vertical contours if needed...will this help the loss of resolution or is this like apples and oranges?!? 2)The Motion Smoothing Capability?!? Would you recommend this? I was slightly confused on whether this would be beneficial to the look...I guess it just makes it smoother which I think is a good thing... 3)Zebra Patterns; At what percentage does it show you the spots that are going to Blow Out? What's a good level to set it at? 4)I'm shooting a very dark scene where there is going to be lots of blacks and shadows and some spotlighted areas...will STRETCHING the blacks give me a better shadow area or am I going to get more noise in there if I do it? Thanks for everything, hopefully these aren't too rudimentary or annoying. Any and all info will be much appreciated. John

Hey Everyone, I was just trying to compile a list of Low...or No Budget Camera Tricks...anything from White Balancing on a blue card to get a warm look to building your own dolly or soft box...anything at all... Gonna be shooting a No Budget Film after summer and would love to hear some of your guys' creative alternatives for the Low Budget Filmaker... Thanks for any and all feedback. John

It hurts my head when I come onto this site and I see a thread like this... Are we really debating whether Bruckheimer is an artist?!? Who cares!!! Last time I checked this is a cinematography forum...and when I see someone's 450 word (self-masturbatory) essay arguing for or against "Producers"...it makes me sad... Take the 9 hours you spent writing your thesis and go shoot something...or read a book... I come on this website to learn...and the only thing I learn from a post like this is that people are stupid...and I already knew that... Thanks, John P.S. I really liked "Kangaroo Jack"

I think we need a Assistant Camera section in this place...as somewhat of a newbie to AC'ing I would love to pick the brain of every other focus puller out there... I'm surprised at how much I like doing it...when going to film school I don't think you meet anyone with a silly grin on their face waxing poetic about being a 1st AC...it's a skill untaught...at least where I graduated from... Any of you AC's out there have any book recommendations (besides Doug Hart or David Elkins) or other suggestions to someone starting out. Also, where do most of you guys get your gear...I scrounge most of my stuff from art supply stores, home depot, and office depot... Thanks, John P.S. Is there a right side or a wrong side to pull focus from...I always find myself gravitating to the left side of camera (next to the eye-piece) unless adverse conditions prohibit me...

Question here, I don't come from a photography background so I'm a little unsure...here's my question: Does a 16 lense, of say, 25mm have the same field of view as a 35 lense of 25mm? My gut tells me yes...but I just wanted to double check cuz I was talking to a photographer friend of mine and he confused me... Thanks for the help John

I'm slightly confused... They shot using cell phone cameras?!? $164,000 bucks?!? Where did the money go? Sure, I know those knew razor phones are pretty expensive but?!? There better be lot's of explosions...a giant monkey...and some tasteful nudity...well it doesn't have to be tasteful... But I digress...where did the money go? I don't mind pushing the envelope and doing innovative things but that seems like an extremely bloated bugdet...I hope there were no roaming charges...

I have had similar problems...a friend I collaborate with uses a crappy sony handicam to upload all his footage and most of the time stuff shot on my Canon XL-1 wouldn't playback straight...I would recommend using a canon to play it back with...I don't think it has anything to do with the mode that the footage was captured in...although I could be completely wrong... Cheers, John