Aapo Lettinen

the black levels seem to be quite high, just correcting that will make it look "better" (unless you are after a washed up low-con look) you can use the Luma Curve if simple gamma/gain adjustment is not enough. the basic "shadows up mids up blacks down highs down" would help I think

for bluray and DCP: 24.00fps for DVD and broadcast: 25.00fps for exporting to NTSC countries: 24.00fps (and they can convert it later to 29.976 if absolutely necessary) always do the framerate changes to image by conforming so that all the frames are 1:1 and the program lenght in seconds will change, then change the audio speed to match the different program lenght. Ghosting and double frames are much more apparent in the final product than couple of % audio speed change (most people don't notice it at all when the audio pitch change is compensated at the same time) so this is the best way to do the conversion quality-wise.

the scanning fps does not matter if you are not transferring sound from the film at the same time. The 24/25fps or 25/24fps speed change is a simple metadata change or clicking a button in edit, takes two seconds. As long as the film frames are transferred 1:1 to video frames (no telecine conversion) it does not matter at all. Here in Finland movies are shot for theatrical release at 24.00fps and for television at 25.00fps always. It it's a TV movie (normally in these cases, a documentary feature) which is later decided to also be released theatrically it is usually shot and edited + post made at 25fps and then the final image conformed to 24.00fps for DCP and separate audio mix done for 24.00fps dcp. In some countries, I have heard, it is quite normal to shoot at 25fps even when shooting mainly for cinema release. One of the reasons we always shoot 24fps in camera for cinema release here may be that we are so used to convert all the foreign movies from 24 to 25 with audio speed change that it is just practical to use the same workflow also with our own movies. I recommend just scanning at whichever framerate is easier and more economical and just conforming the playback rate in edit to whichever was the rate in camera. then syncing the audio and editing normally. If you are doing separate 24fps (bluray, web, DCP) and 25fps (TV, dvd) releases you will make the version after the editing and image post is done, just remember to ask for both the 24fps and 25fps soundtrack masters (they are different lenght and there is some work involved when doing the speed change but for image it is just a simple click of a button with zero quality loss when swithing between 24 and 25)

work with other creative people as much as possible. the one big mistake is to try to do everything by yourself every time, writer-director-cinematographer-sound designer-editor-actor-producers will have very hard time to adapt later to the professional world where one makes collaborative art for real customers instead of self funded diy shoestring stuff which is made purely for fun. It is good to know what the other departments are doing and in small budget stuff you need to wear multiple hats quite often but you need to also learn how to work with a crew and how to collaborate with other creative people to do bigger and more complicated projects which are impossible to do with a one-man-band. Do you know any other film-oriented people near you? you could start a filmmaking group and start to do projects: first some small test 1min shorts for example and later some more complicated stuff. Watch both good and bad movies, you'll learn from both. making of documents may be helpful but they are often very glamourised and won't show the filmmaking techniques clearly. Workshop videos may be very helpful, much more so than average making of stuff. If you happen to personally know anybody who is working in movie industry it will be most helpful. A personal mentor would be the best you could have for your career and could probably get you some intern work later on or at least arrange set visits so you could see how the professionals really work (as said, the making of stuff does not normally show it clearly, you really need to be there to understand why they are doing the decisions they do)

if you're using a genny it must be properly grounded but I haven't heard about grounding individual lights on set (unless the light's ballast is broken in which case it mustn't be used anyway). could actually be dangerous in some situations if the light is somewhat grounded with some crappy bubblegum duct tape arrangement but the genny or mains has grounding issues. GFCI protection absolutely. Also, if there is any risk that a light/other electric equipment could tip over and fall to the pool it would be very wise to tie it down so that for example a stand would fall to a less dangerous direction and would not drop the fixture to the water. nobody wants any "whoops" accidents involving high voltage + water...

you did check the main sprocket first? try to take the film off and open both the rollers so that the sprocket wheel can rotate freely and then see how it works. the camera's front housing can be taken off without too much risk to alter the FFD considerably (you have to make sure all the surfaces are clean and the screws tightened in correct order when putting it back together of course) if it helps to pinpoint the problem. there is also the speed adjustment mechanism at the lowest portion of the camera which can be accessed from the inner cover but that is much more work so I suggest to test first the rollers/sprocket wheel problems and then the shutter and if that does not help, then either checking the speed adjustment or sending it to a service shop. I believe the camera was correctly serviced and lubed when it was at Duall? the shutter's wormgear or speed adjustment's wormgear could also be the problem if not correctly lubricated, should be easy to find out if you open the front cover. (a K2 model)

or do you see the mirror hitting something inside the cam like the ground glass frame? then it would probably be loose shaft problem like Tyler suggested. the most common problem with K-cameras is that the main drive sprocket jams, you can test it by opening both of the film guide rollers up and down of the sprocket and test if the jam goes away. if that was the problem it can be quite easily solved by adjusting the sprocket wheel position

I only have K1 and K2 but by my opinion it is quite impossible to misalign the mirror accidentally, you would need to use a hammer or otherwise purposefully damage it. it is plain aluminium with five set screws and the shaft and bearings are also quite durable. the viewfinder focusing however changes very easily in transport by itself so always check that first before opening anything. also, never touch the ground glass set screws, it is almost impossible to get it back to the right position without special factory tools. if you must open the camera's front housing for service, make sure to use that specific camera's metal spacer between camera body and the cover when you put it back together. those spacers are somewhat camera specific and the ffd will change considerably if you try to swap them

someone may also have this kind of plastic tanks available which can be moved with a forklift or pickup truck etc. Just attach a hose or small pump and you're ready to go :) they can be found in sizes of for example 1000L

in Finland the local Fire Department can handle this kind of things in movie shoots for a reasonable fee. maybe the airport's own fire dept can help if there is any, you would save in logistics at least?

I don't know any higher end camera which is totally fanless but there is relatively silent models to choose from. Even the freaking FS7 has a fan and I believe the FS700 has also (these can be used with Odyssey 7Q or Atomos to record RAW so I would classify them as cinema capable based on that) Maybe something like a higher end DSLR with the Magic Lantern raw hack. but they have serious overheating problems. you could get a package with 422 10bit capable camera body and external recorder though which could be fanless but raw is a tough one to find. Correctly set up fan cooling is not likely to cause you any problems in most shooting situations though. I personally haven't had any problems with for example FS7 in any situation. it is just vary difficult to get a convection cooling system work without making very big heatsink and people want their cameras small so it is better to use the smaller heatsink with a little help from the fan... I second that it is generally not practical to purchase a higher end camera body nowadays unless you have already made sure that you will get at least 4-5 times the cost back in the first about two or three years. if making for example couple of documentaries at the same time it is very practical to own the basic set and you can get the money back even in couple of months so why not. But if making high end commercials or features where the camera set easily costs 100K+ then you better be very experienced professional already who is just substituting the rental house gear with one's own gear and charges almost the same daily fee. purchasing very expensive equipment to yourself and giving it away for free is not advisable unless you won in the lottery and want to sponsor the greedy producer's movies :ph34r:

they should work for any particle based contaminant including liquids but it is of course possible to enhance the effect with for example activated charcoal if needed. is that the main air intake for the camera and how large airflow it is generally? a blower unit like the ones used by industrial painters, asbestos workers, etc. could be used with the filters, so that the camera fan does not need to work harder with them. the filters cost a bit of course (I believe one would need from 3 to 6 gas mask filters for this depending on the airflow) but it would definitely be much less per day than sending the camera to the Service Centre every week, especially with the daily budgets in the productions the F65 is generally used in

I open the c-stands by placing the longest leg agaist my knee and then opening the legs counter clockwise with hand. That is the "normal" way to do it I think, at least it is one of the fastest ways to do it

is it possible to arrange some sort of external HEPA filter assembly to the air intake to prevent particle buildup in very dusty/hazy atmosphere? for example a vacuum cleaner tube with a 40mm HEPA gas mask filter attached to the other end ;)

with 2.5k / 4k recommendation I predicted that the main use would be outdoors to fill shadows for day exteriors in small sets and lighting interiors through windows for daylight look in controlled setups. For indie use for daylight interiors I would just gel the windows rather than trying to bring in many K's of HMI light just to reduce contrast. The M18 is a great choice for use in the US as JD suggested but it would be good to have two or three of them depending on how much grip gear and time you have to control the natural light. Renting is of course an option if extra light is only needed for limited days. even if ending up using the Chinese HMI's, make sure that the bulb is great quality and the light can stand the possible bulb explosions, someone may lose an eye or two if these things explode on set :unsure: For bouncing it is not as high of a risk because the glass would possibly fly to a safer direction. But for low budget use couple of tungsten fresnels may be much better option than unreliable HMI, especially if using indoors and if window gelling is possible or warm light is needed. for example Firestarters and 2k tungstens are so cheap to rent that I mainly use them instead of HMI's in low budget shoots unless high power daylight balanced light is absolutely necessary

Chinese knockoff tungsten lights are usually possible to repair relatively easily (very simple designs) if changing cables/swapping parts/manufacturing some minor parts to replace factory messed up ones is not a problem. Mainly the problems is if someone else is using the self repaired stuff and get hurt because of not knowing how to handle the custom modified repaired gear and just predicts that it would behave like any other light (insulations, humidity protection, 'bulb fail protection' etc.) I personally have some Chinese fresnel lights, a 300w 650w 1000w set, but I never rent them out or let anyone borrow them just to be sure that I will know how they are handled and can intervene if there is likely to happen something they are not prepared for, like someone leaving them out in the rain without protection predicting that they would tolerate water as well as the newer Arri fresnels :blink: They have been repaired right after purchase to fix the safety issues (there were many) but they are not Arris and getting parts is also very difficult if something brokes

one thing to remember if using multiple cameras or cameras that don't automatically increment the card number by one when formatting: ALWAYS make sure that the camera letter is right and the card number is correct. it is so much easier to check that everything is ok in all copies and do the editing and online later if you only have one A001 card in the project and you can track down the shooting day and camera etc. quickly just by looking the filename. The common mistake in smaller projects is to not keep the B and C camera letters and numbers constant so that there may be C camera card2 which is named A004, or every camera named A camera at first, or B camera card numbers starting from 001 again when shooting the next block, and so on. The simplest folder structure would be Shooting day (Day01 etc.) / Camera card (like Card01 if the camera does not create unique card names when formatting) or the real card name like A001R0Z1) /then all the original card contents and the checksum file generated by the transfer software. When everything is copied correctly and all the backups are checked and OK one can delete the card contents as Steve said to make sure that it will be formatted in camera. It is extremely frustrating if the DIT gives back cards which may or may not be copied correctly so the AC always needs to confirm if the card can be formatted or not. "I only have one copy of this but three copies of that but I can't remember which one is which so can you just make sure to call me always before formatting anything so that we won't accidentally lose any material" :D Same thing with spare hard drives etc. , if the drive is labelled as "empty" or "this can be formatted" but it contains some random material, then one always needs to check first if it really can be formatted or if it is just some material wrongly labeled which will be destroyed if formatting is done :wacko:

1200w hmi is not that bright for daylight use unless used close to the subject. something like a 4k would be more useful especially if you need to diffuse it even a bit. a 2.5k or 4k Par or Max would be great for you, they are much much brighter than a 1.2k fresnel like the one pictured but are not as difficult to handle and get the power to than the 6k ones. at least get a Par or Max instead of Fresnel stuff, you'll get much better efficiency. Chinese lights have quality and safety issues quite often and HMI lights are more difficult to repair so unless it is excellent model recommended by professionals and checked for electrical safety I would advice against them

good anamorphic lenses are very expensive to buy nowadays but you may find good rental options for older lenses. one thing is, these lenses tend to be big and heavy and if you need something light and small for for example handheld use you may be quite limited. ten years ago you could have bought a 3 lens set of PL-mount modified Lomo anamorphics for about 1k dollars but that is absolutely not possible anymore, you can check eBay for today's ridiculous prices :ph34r: anyway, camera bodies are quite affordable nowadays if you can find a good one. If purchasing I maybe suggest for MOS a camera body like 35-3 or pl-modified 2c, even a 235 or 435 might be possible (if renting is not practical) and then renting the lenses if you can find affordable options with good handling properties and look. Here in Finland a standard rental price for a single Lomo roundfront anamorphic prime is about 100 - 130€ a day in big rental houses... I'm sure you can find something affordable from indie oriented places. 3-perf + 1.3x would be great if shooting more material per day. Arri 235 + Hawks maybe?

"No movie is worth dying for" , especially in indie productions where corners are cut and safety may be ignored quite often

absolutely clean greenscreen shooting is only necessary if you do high end live broadcast where you can't mask anything afterwards or fix with rotoscope and spill removal. in any other case one just makes it as good as possible on set with available resources and everything else is fixed in post. cleaner original material is preferred if it is cheaper solution than doing more post work to fix the glitches. as I mentioned earlier, every surface is somewhat reflective and if the light angle is very close to 90° from the surface normal (like the green background immediately behind the subject's edge) it is plain impossible to prevent reflection whether the material is hair, skin, concrete, wood, metal, glass... you can, however, try to add another more desirable reflection over the green edge reflection to mask it enough that you don't need that heavy post work and the edge is cleaner, especially with bad codecs and blurry edge. ....this is why everyone is recommending using heavy edge lights to reduce spill. masking the green reflection by adding more desired and brighter white reflection over it. that, however, easily leads to a boring result when every greenscreen shot in a movie is lit in the same way: simplistic lighting with all the edges heavily backlit whether it is motivated or not. I personally prefer less clean greenscreen stuff with much more creative control over lighting and fixing the possible spill issues in post if they can't be resolved on set with flagging/negative fill/white bounce/reflecting something else from the surface. it just needs better compositor with more advanced tools and more time, a simple "Premiere Pro chroma key" won't work for that kind of material

we used polarizer with the table shots and just manually masked the most problematic parts afterwards. It is also possible to reflect white or colored surface from the most problematic shiny spots to replace the green reflection with other type of reflection (like white kapaboard etc) but it may take too much time to do it for multiple shots like in this case so one just needs to decide the amount of work done on set VS the amount saved for post production. Every surface is a "shiny" surface and with the reflection angles normally encountered in greenscreen work SOME spill is inevitable. one needs to try to replace it with something else like reflecting something white from the same angle (white reflection, backlight, etc) The problem with for example backlights trying to kill spill is that they have to be quite wide so that they can entirely replace the green's reflection on surfaces like hair, shiny tables, etc. The edges are entirely possible to correct afterwards manually, even by rotoscoping single hairs to separate them from the background if keying is not possible or practical. but that takes enormous amount of time and no one has that ;) (it is possible to do these effects even entirely without greenscreen if you have good enough compositors but they will go absolutely crazy for the amount of work so not recommended :lol: it can be used however if you need lots of background for 3d matchmoving and your subjects are very smooth and simple edged so that rotoscoping is easy, like in this Ruairi Robinson short https://vimeo.com/4644064 . making of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ylHndX8nFw )

for example, reserve couple of (at least two) T-bars on combos for some for example 3m x 4m pieces of black molton and then you can use those behind the subject to flag the unused screen areas on sides. very quick and easy to assemble and move and if having good enough distance you can still light the screen easily

negative fill or white bounce helps for the spill problems. you can just cover all the screen areas which are not used with black molton or use solids/floppy flags/hanging pieces of molton to flag the unused screen area to reduce spill. If shooting fixed camera shots or otherwise pretty static action I tend flag very close to the subject edge, leaving just enough room for the action and then taking the flags away with bezier mask afterwards and keying the edges normally

yes it is theoretically possible to light a set without first hand experience but it will take forever (easily at least 5 times longer than average) because without experience you have to try and test different approaches multiple times before finding a good enough solution. in contrast, a experienced person will usually know how to approximately do the lighting even by just seeing some scout photos and rough references for the intended look, even without visiting the location beforehand (a recce of course helps a lot). The challenging thing is, lighting a set is like inventing the wheel over and over again, just like editing... finding the best custom solution to a set and scene by knowing the readily available theories and standard approaches (from film school and books) but inventing your own every time based on your experience, available resources, time... this adapting and customising and readily finding the best logical solution without testing and wasting time is the thing that takes time to learn. dozens of projects and couple of years I'd say