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Adamo P Cultraro

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Everything posted by Adamo P Cultraro

  1. Letus Extreme - $1200 - 1/2 stop of light loss. Awesome razor sharp images. No affiliation.
  2. Guys - I answered the question in the context of the information given. Sure voltage can be adjusted - on a 1400 amp generator (!!!!!), but in the case of this guy's put put ( a sub 10kW genset at best), you aren't going to change the voltage without tools and equipment. (i.e it will not be a user adjustable feature on the control panel)
  3. Barber Colman is the way you spell it, and they were bought out by the Woodward Company which is why you can't find anything online. Check out their site at www.dynaproducts.com And for all the speculators out there, this is what needs to happen: The generator is a gasoline engine coupled to a generator unit. The gasoline engine on board is set to a certain, constant RPM that will provide a 60Hz frequency (or 50 Hz in Euro). The way it achieves this is strictly through RPM. The voltage is the voltage and cannot be changed or regulated. The RPM of the engine is constant, but not constant enough for finer work or to power an HMI, for example. If you run power tools or household items on the genset, they won't care about the minor fluctuations in RPM. But as soon as you hook up an HMI, these variations cause the light to strobe or flicker as it is very sensitive to changes in frequency. Therefore an electronically controlled governor is added to the fuel system which keeps the RPM constant regardless of load, and this stops the light from flickering. It also keeps the frequency very close to 60 cycles which sensitive devices need. Hope that helps!
  4. Ok, I'll bite. So let me get this straight, Toby. You will not watch a movie originated on anything but Film? That's a pretty extreme position, isn't it? I mean, it's not the format that's important, it's what the movie is about - the content.....no? Sorry to hijack, but that statement seemed so extreme I had to call you on it. By the way, it's not Pheonix, it's PHOENIX. ;) :ph34r:
  5. If you aren't in the WGA, the strike has nothing to do with you.
  6. Excellent advice and much food for thought. Thanks to all who responded. I'm going to chew on it for a while, maybe do some informal test footage.
  7. I'm shooting a feature on the HVX / Letus combo this spring. Andrew - any pitfalls to watch out for? What was your lighting package?
  8. Thanks for all the great replies. I really appreciate it. The location will almost certainly be a practical one. The perp is also the good guy, and the cops bad. I still like the hot perp look though. Thanks again, Adam
  9. A darkish room. A long metal table - on one end, a handcuffed man in a chair. On the other, two police officers. The shot is a 360 dolly around and around the table as the men speak to the prisoner. This is low budget work. I need a recommendation on the lighting setup - I'm thinking a chicken coop off the ceiling or a kino bank.....????? Also, what kind of (low budget) dolly can make an arc around a table that is probably 8-10 feet long. Thanks so much, guys!!!
  10. Adam - check out the examples I posted. There are many more. I personally know of half a dozen people who've done it. It may be a small number, but it is doable nevertheless. Keep tabs on me. I'll be doing it shortly.
  11. I'd like to think I could've spent $400K and they still would not have liked it. I think TV pilots are more idea driven than production value driven. They either like it or they don't, plain and simple. At least a low production value feature has a chance of generating some revenue. TV pilots either sink or swim.
  12. A producer's rep is someone (person, entertainment attorney, etc) who has established distribution avenues and takes your movie on for a piece of the action. Think of them as a movie broker. Their job is to get things sold to the various markets - cable, VOD, pay per view, foreign, DVD rental, etc. Here is an example of one such company (No affiliation to me whatsoever) <a href="http://www.lanternlane.com/About" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.lanternlane.com/About Us/producersrep.html</a> Also, here is an example of a movie that was made on a DVX100A and obtained a US and Canadian distribution deal. The film is on store shelves and in all the major rental chains. Get this - the budget of the film was equal to the advance they received from the distribution company. Again, No affiliation: http://www.plasterheadmovie.com These guys had very little film festival exposure as well. And how about the holy grail...theatrical distribution?????? Here is a film that has a 1100...YES - 1100 theater theatrical release. Shot on an HVX-200 (again again, no affiliation): http://www.sarahlandon.com As of today it has pulled in $586K. Not too shabby. It's all due to a good producer's rep. I am shooting a feature on my HVX this spring that I am very confident will see direct to DVD distribution at a minimum. It can be done. In fact, it is done very frequently. Phil: Feel your pain. Spent $40K last year on a failed TV pilot. Had fun filming, though.
  13. Or you could go find yourself a good producers rep and have them flush all the markets out for you - AFM is for foreign buyers (and markets) only. You still need to deal with DVD rental, Video on Demand, pay per view, and a host of other money making opportunities out there for the indie filmmaker. I know of several indie filmmakers with movies currently on the shelves in Blockbuster, Wal Mart, Amazon, and a few other places. All accomplished with the help of a producer's rep. Tom, I think you are focusing a little too much on technical excellence. Many of these buyers are buying marketable content, not technical excellence. There is a difference. RED will not make you a shoe in for distribution of any kind.
  14. Standard production insurance should cover rented equipment to a certain dollar amount. Last shoot I did was four days. the insurance was about $1500 US which gave me $1M in liability insurance and $200K in rental equipment insurance and I was able to provide a certificate of insurance to each of the rental houses. I would be very surprised if the rental house would even let you even touch the camera without an insurance cert.
  15. Hi Robert - Thanks so much - this really means a lot to me. Even after going through the. Set Lighting technician's handbook, the appendixes didn't contain this information. I live in Orange County, CA - just south of LA in a little town called Dana Point. Besides this I bought an HMI and Tungsten package as well as all this grip stuff. Oddly enough (you will all think I'm crazy), I don't plan to hire this stuff out. Whereas I have done some shoots for pay in the past, all this stuff is for the feature I am filming in the spring - one I wrote and am directing. I suppose I am the antithesis of the guy that rents as much as he can. I did a 35mm short last year, also a TV pilot. I rented everything - cameras. trucks, grip, lighting - distro - you name it. At the end of it all, I could've bought most everything besides the camera (which was 125K). Plus, my key grip absconded with the 30' production van filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment - he went missing for a full day before we found him in a drunken haze. Needless to say we got the van and the equipment back but the extra day rental was a killer. Oh, and he nailed the top of the van on a tree and made a $1200 hole in it. Insurance wouldn't cover it because the only thing insurance doesn't cover is.....overhead damage! So I was immediately over rentals. I bought out my DP, who moved out of state. I am also buying a grip truck and generator as well as a jib, dolly, and steadicam. I've made so many shorts that it's time to make a feature and hopefully get DVD distribution. I figure the biggest investment is in the first feature I make - after that I will only have to pay for locations, talent, crew, and food - which is still significant of course but no rentals of any kind. Right now I'm in the process of having the equipment repainted and reconditioned, the HMi ballasts gone through, etc. I feel comforted in the fact that this stuff will only go where I go from now on. Thanks again for the help, Adam
  16. I've recently purchased a 3 ton grip package. Although all the big stuff is there, including carts, c-stands, apples boxes, sandbags, etc. The small stuff is lacking (and the seller told me so). What's essential as far as clamps, plates, grip clips, etc - you know, the stuff that will round off the package and is used on ever shoot. I shoot only narrative work, BTW. I know this is a horribly broad question but any help is appreciated.
  17. I think it's safe to say you need certain pieces of equipment to produce what we all consider a film, whether released theatrically or or DVD. That's really what we're talking about here.
  18. When I phoned there about a year ago, the panavision rep told me they wanted $25,000 per week. Needless to say I didn't do it.
  19. I would BUY a cavision shoulder rig. It's less than half the price of the Zacuto. I realize the Zacuto is made of solid platinum, but....... :D
  20. Now that we're here, Who can recommend a good basic starter set of 4 x 4 filters to have? I'm shooting video.
  21. Barry Green has a scene file for Day For Night. I'd try and obtain it and save a bunch of time.
  22. This may sound sarcastic, but it is merely my ignorance showing - wouldn't having the entire scene in razor sharp focus look far too 'video-y' (for lack of a better term)? I mean here are most of us trying to make everything look ultra cinematic with a shallow DOF and your guy wants what any $10K camcorder can deliver right out of the box. I'm sorry I don't have anything constructive to add to your dilemma - I'm just puzzled by it.
  23. You have to buy the camera and the cards separately. As far as I know the promotion (1 free P2 card) has ended.
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