Antonio Cisneros

Hey All In about a month I have a documentary shoot on a modern artist. The colors in her art are so intense and vibrant I've been worried which camera I should pick. Originally I opted to shoot super 16mm but that was shot down because of budget. Now I'm stuck between shooting the SDX-900 or the EX-1. The final output of the film will be standard definition DVDs and the web. We aren't planning to do any HD output of the final product. I would love to hear some opinions on whether to downgrade from HD to SD or to go with a SD camera with a greater color space and bit information. What would look better for the final output? Thanks!

For still photography the lens baby composer is absolutely worth the money. Can use it for any type of photography. Plus you can put it on the Red with the C-mount front. Also I love the lens baby that come PL mount. Great for music videos, macro, or effects work. Best

I think in the long run you'll see that doing a 35mm print is probably the most cost effective. If you want to go the DI route on 16mm start talking to your lab now and see what it will actually cost you. Maybe you can get a deal.

Hey All I have a shoot coming up in May where we are considering Red 4k Anamorphic. We are either going to use Elites, Hawks, or JDC lenses. I would love to hear differing opinions because the Red is really designed around spherical lenses and plus you are not using the full chip. This makes me nervous. I've seen great digital anamorphic on the Genesis but not the Red. Also we will be finishing back onto HD. If anyone has references I could see or tell me about their experiences with this set up that would be great. Would love to hear all opinions. Thanks

Hey All I have a shoot coming up in May where we are considering Red 4k Anamorphic. We are either going to use Elites, Hawks, or JDC lenses. I would love to hear differing opinions because the Red is really designed around spherical lenses and plus you are not using the full chip. This makes me nervous. I've seen great digital anamorphic on the Genesis but not the Red. If anyone has references I could see or tell me about their experiences with this set up that would be great. Would love to hear all opinions. Thanks

Thanks for the tips. If I want to specifically use the composer lens baby on a 35mm camera does anyone know how this is possible? I've read of adapters but I heard that your loose your focus to infinity. Any advice? thank!

Hey All So I'm shooting a film in April that I'm super excited about. It's a film about dementia and for POV shots I've been thinking of using shift & tilts lenses. Recently though I've fell in love with the Lens Baby Composer (http://www.lensbaby.com/), a still photography lens that is basically a cheap man's shift & tilt for SLR cameras. I find it so much easier to operate than an actual shift & tilt system. It is easy enough I could pull focus and change the plane of focus completely by myself. I've heard they used the lens baby on "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" but I don't know how they mounted a still photography lens on a motion picture 35mm camera. We're using a Movie Cam Compact 1. Does anyone have experience with mounting still photo lenses (specifically nikon mount) on a PL mount system? Is there an adapter or do you have to rebuild the lens mount? Any figures of cost or problems to watch out for? thanks all and please let me know Happy holidays

All this speak of camera we're forgetting your lens selection. Are you gonna macro lens that pussy ;)

Hey All Is there a xenon 2k that works in 120 volts? I can only find them functioning in 220 or 240v. I've found 1k xenons in 120v but it's really not the unit I want to use. Also I'm working in New York so any rental house recommendations would be great (I've already talked to CSC, Xeno and Panavision but either their xenons are all rented out on Ugly Betty or run at 220V, any other recommendations other than these rental houses would be great) Also has anyone work with HMI Beam Projectors? Does it have the same quality and output as a xenon unit? Thanks

Wouldn't it just be easier just to look it up in the American Cinematographer archive?

Just do a framing chart to a 2.35 ground glass. No biggy. Just think of it like shooting super 35 in a 2.35 format.

7201 & 7205.

Thanks.

Hey All I have a job in a month and it's set in 1930's in the fields of Delaware. To establish this feel I want to use some type of a brown filtering; Sepia, Tobacco, etc. Does anyone have recommendations of any type or brands to use? Or any other kind of filters that could possibly work? We'll be shooting 7201 and 7205. Originally I was going to use an orange / yellow color but now after seeing the locations darker earth tone is really what the film needs. Any thoughts? Thanks

Hey All I have a job in a month and it's set in 1930's in the fields of Delaware. To establish this feel I want to use some type of a brown filtering; Sepia, Tobacco, etc. Does anyone have recommendations of any type or brands to use? Or any other kind of filters that could possibly work? Originally I was going to use an orange color but now darker earth tone is really what the film needs. Any thoughts? Thanks

Hey Ocean Well anamorphic is a tricky thing. I've experimented with this format on 16mm and I would say to avoid it sadly unless you can get a set of lenses under 40mm (there are a few zooms). That's expensive and rare. Basically the widest you should go in anamorphic a 40mm on a 4perf 35 camera. A 40mm on 16mm is an 80mm. Shooting anamorphic on 16mm would mean your entire movie would be shot with long lenses. It's very limiting and hard to work with. As well the actual aspect ratio isn't true 2:35. When I tried an anamorphic on a regular 16mm camera it was a 2:66 ratio which just looks weird. On super 16mm I know it's a 3:1 ratio of some kind but I've never experimented with it. I know the award winning short "The Blue Dress" was shot super 16mm on anamorphic but they had to zoom into the 3:1 ratio to get a 2:35. Plus you have to get a special view finder for your 16mm camera which is costly. All in all you should just shoot 35mm because it doesn't save that much money to shoot anamorphic on 16. But there is hope. The way to fake it well is just shoot super 16mm and matt it down to 2:35 and always have a streak 1 filter on. It looks good. If you want to shoot the Red "word on the street" is Lomo anamorphic Russian lenses in 2K. I don't know much about this but you can easily look it up on other forums Shooting 35mm for a short happens all the time. "Sikumi" which won best short at Sundance last year was a 35mm anamorphic short. Hope this helps and let me know if you're looking for a shooter. I love to shoot in that format. best of luck

Yeah I know that's why I'm kinda worried. I was thinking of faking it a lot with filters. Got any advice about limited time for magic hour? Plus does anyone know a good place to get a jimmy jib in Delaware?

CSC is great but hard to cut deals with and the G&E house is in Jersey now. I think the best rental house for "low budget stuff" is Eastern Effects in Brooklyn. Talk to Christine, she is the best.

As of right now the budget can only afford going to HD CAM tape but I would like to photochemically blow up to 35mm. Honestly this film should be more "organic" in its style but money will probably conform it to simple video. For the Days of Heaven approach I've read that Alemendros did a kind of "open and hoping" approach to shooting the magic hour and printed down. I could be wrong but I would love to read anymore information about the the shooting style of the film. Please send me the link. Thanks

Hey All So I'm shooting a short film in October in a Days of Heaven / Badlands style. I'm excited but I would love to get advice because there are several technical elements that I've never had to opportunity to try before. Just a few details about the film; we are shooting in the gorgeous plains and cornfields of Delaware. We are using super 16mm (SRII) in a 2:35 ratio with vision 2 50D and 250D (I'm hoping to shoot with Cooke S4 but not sure if it will happen). The film is set in the 1930's and we will making heavy use of tobacco, chocolate, and streak filters. The film is primarily exteriors and will be trying to shoot most of them at the magic hour. Lastly the film is heavy on movement and requires a steadicam op and a jib or crane. This is where my first concern lies. We need to get the camera off the ground at least 20 to 30 feet with a large extension to follow the main character through the fields. I've have not had the chance to use this type of equipment and I don't know where to begin. What type of jibs or cranes do you recommend use? I've looked at the Arri Panther Super Jib but I need to know what else is out there. Any advice? My second concern is cutting between 50D and 250D. Especially on Super 16mm I get a grain with 250D and to my eyes the stock always appear some what flat. I'm thinking of overexposing 250D one stop and pulling a half. This way to decrease grain, enhance my blacks, and keep a closer match to 50D. But should I do this also to 50D? Sorry for the long post but would like to hear any or all opinions. Thanks again.