Aapo Lettinen

I don't know your situation very well but I think it will be the right decision. and if you have already lived in the LA you have lots of contacts there to help you out so will be no problem when you'll find a good apartment for your family :) Good luck and let us hear if you have some great old cameras which need a new home ^_^

that is getting rather interesting :blink: at least you have a great story to tell... "they fired me because they wanted to shoot porn instead of paying film developing costs and this new guy had better camera for porn" :D

there MAY be actually some benefit in buying gear but on indie production that only includes stuff which is very difficult or expensive to rent compared to the purchase price or if the learning curve necessitates owning the gear... this may include: -low to mid range steadicams (learning curve + rental costs+availability) -brushless gimbals (rental costs+availability) -onboard monitors (rental costs) -some basic lighting stuff (always needed) -computers and programs (rental costs+availability) -some very often used low cost lenses (I for example use my Nikon AI-S lenses on almost every indie job unless PL lenses are needed) (rental costs) -hazers and smoke machines (at least here they are difficult and also expensive to rent. one day rental may cost the same than a basic hazer purchased online) (rental costs and availability) -underwater stuff if you need it often (availability. very expensive to buy though) cameras not needed generally if you have a basic kit like dslr

on a larger production (like a feature film) the parallel working procedure may save anything from 1.5 months to 1 year of post time because people don't need to wait for the finished version from other dept (audio, online, grade, vfx ) before they can begin their own work. VFX is normally done here to the ungraded RGB versions taken from the online or grading program processing the original camera files (prores, raw in full resolution, using the same raw settings than the grading will use) and the shots and the all movie can be graded when the VFX guys are working their part, then the grade updated to the imported finished VFX renders on the grading program when the VFX is ready. this can be done even couple of days before making the DCP because the different depts have been able to work in parallel and it is just importing the files and copy paste the grade when working this way. same with finished audio tracks, they can be combined just before rendering the end deliveries and everything in between can just use the latest preview version available. of course, if one wants to constantly change the picture lock during the picture+audio post, then this all goes to peanuts and the post producer and line producer will not be very happy B)

on larger productions the sound and color and vfx are normally done at the same time after the movie has picture lock. one exports the audio for sound work from edit program, normally in OMF, and a reference picture for sound editor in mid quality format (ideally intra codec one like proresLT fullhd or similar). Then exporting a playout for online editing reference and exporting the image to XML for transferring it to online and grade. This may vary a bit from production to production but generally this way. Online editing, linking to the camera originals. then transferring the image to color grading and the select vfx shots to VFX work (ungraded vfx shots in fullrez 16bit TIFF or dpx for example) Grading the image. GRADE VERSION PLAYOUTS AND AUDIO MIX PREVIEWS ARE TRANSFERRED BETWEEN AUDIO DEPT AND PICTURE POST AND UPDATED TO THE AUDIO AND GRADE PROJECTS WHEN NEW VERSIONS ARE READY Finishing the grading, vfx, titles etc. and exporting the image out with reference audio or without audio in the required formats and resolutions (jpeg2000, TIFF, proreshq, prores444, etc. in fullhd, DCI 2k scope, DCI2k flat, 4k, etc. ) frames 1:1 Finishing the sound mix and exporting the different audio masters (R128 tv mix in 5.1 and stereo, M&E mixes, different stems, Theater mix in 5.1, ATMOS, etc.) and sending the files to picture post in wav files . In some PAL countries like Finland it is normal to do 24fps theater versions and conformed (sped up) 25fps tv sound mixes on both the final mixes and stems Mastering to DCP, prores, etc by combining the audio and picture. PICTURE FRAMERATE CAN BE CHANGED AT THIS POINT WITHOUT QUALITY LOSS by conforming 24 <---> 25 and adding the corresponding audio tracks Different customers need different files, framerates, audio channel order, etc. Subtitling files can be done by: 1. sending the final dialogue lists for translations 2. sending the picture locked timecoded edit playout for timing 3. sending a timecoded preview of the final movie for timing check. separate preview files for 24fps and 25fps timing are needed ---->subtitles delivered to picture post and customers in .890, srt, etc. formats for dcp, tv use, bluray/dvd use, web screeners, etc. and combined to the masters if needed or delivered separately per customer orders Audio, vfx, grading, online is not practical to do if the edit is not locked, one needs to do the changes partially manually which wastes lots of time and resources. so do the picture lock first and then the post, you will make your post crew happy by not ordering constant changes on the fly ;)

reminds me of the people who don't dare to change daylight spools to the camera in daylight because of the fear of "accidentally ruining the whole roll by taking it out of the mag in light" :lol:

the tape may actually damage the paint on some cameras so too much tape can actually be pretty bad too. generally mags don't need tape all over the place IF the light seals and all the locks are in good condition and undamaged and the mag doors are not bent/the hinges work correctly etc. As said even the Konvas mags can manage without tape in normal shooting. generally the older mags with large doors (400/1000ft) and only one or two small locks may need the taping and other mags may require it if shooting shaky material handheld /lots of camera vibrations/etc OR shooting in dusty environment where it is necessary to protect the mag very well (though plastic bag or rain cover may be more practical for that than only taping the seams... One reason why I'm not a big fan of excessive use of tapes is that they become very sticky and difficult to remove in low temperatures <_<

most cameras don't need to be taped around all the door seams, even my Konvas mags can manage without all-round taping. high-vibration and other rough environment applications are a different matter and may sometimes require all-round taping. the main purpose of the tape is to identify that the magazine actually has film in it and what stuff that is and which reels etc. If having no tape on it at all there is a great change that someone thinks the mag is empty and accidentally opens it which would ruin the film completely. Generally the taping over the mag lock and another tape over the mag door is enough for identification and secures the mag well enough. All seam taping is very useful in dusty environment though with all kind of mags ^_^

making a lens mount is relatively easy and a good machinist can make you one from scratch in no time. even your average Chinese eBay seller can make a user installable PV mount to a digital camera (or I could make one by myself in the garage if having slightly better milling machine, a suitable lathe I already have ;) ) Making a film camera movement + the rest of the camera is completely different matter, as well as making a movie lens from scratch, even if some of the elements are pre made by other companies. Making cameras and lenses = cool stuff , modifying lens mounts = meh :lol: that said, I can't see much reason on renting a digital camera from Panavision unless there is a very good package deal with their own lenses and stuff or the camera is very specially custom modified one, like the DXL seems to be. maybe it is more reliable than your average RED stuff? that would be a good selling point, especially if the cooling system works correctly and is silent enough :lol:

one would need to output RAW from the camera via sdi and record the raw signal to either dng/other raw codec or transcode it on the fly in the recorder to prores or similar codec for recording. Odyssey 7Q+ or Shogun Inferno or similar recorder. the onboard recording could be used for some web videos at best, I think...

the M90 is quite versatile and used here often in place of the 18k's

I have learnt the hard way to keep a good distance to productions which want persons mostly for their gear, not their talent :ph34r: I recommend this to others as well if in any way possible, it will improve one's life at least 20 or 30% or more and can lead to better projects as well :lol:

it does not affect the professional well-paid work but it may affect quite much the "higher budget" non-paid indie stuff, low-pay music video and stock footage work, etc. where google is more important than referrals. and it has serious effect in how the general public + friends etc. view one's work because they don't look or analyze the whole page, just quickly glimpse the "known for" section and the first one or two credits on the list. so, it clearly affects the projects but it does not affect the paycheck generally (because it generally has no effect on the pro projects, just the low pay stuff) though it may have some impact on the shorter low-pay projects like music videos etc.

this screenshot from my imdb page sums it up pretty accurately. they have NEVER shown any of those "real budget" 120 k€ - 4million€ projects in the "Known For" section and are instead showing the low budget indie stuff from 1k to 30k range <_<

how is your post going to be for 16mm, are all the materials developed and how will you do the telecine + scanning? the film post is typically quite expensive compare to the stock costs so you could probably arrange more 16mm days if doing the post differently with more affordable telecine and more precise selects scanning

I would not try to match the Ursa footage with 16mm if you need to shoot the rest on digital. But I would rather try to create a different look for the digital scenes which is motivated by the storytelling so that there would be 2 different looks in the movie. Audience will accept this very well if you are not intercutting the different formats within a scene but are instead creating a consistent look within the scene + ignoring the consistent look requirement in the whole movie.

we did not shoot off speed... but it has happened with 4 or 5 different camera bodies multiple times in a row so it can't be coincidence :blink: it may have something to do with the internal batteries of the cameras, though most of the bodies were not that old. the ac's hot swapped batteries specifically to avoid the resyncing problem :mellow: the Arris keep the TC very well indeed as long as they are attached to a power source but we started to have problems with some of them immediately when powering down and swapping the battery so that the power source was removed for a minute or so :blink:

it has happened when using the "sync couple of times a day" method. it is not a normal practice here to attach the tc box to the camera for the whole day, it is only used when needed for re sync and the rest of the time it is with the sound dept. another way is to sync directly with the Cantar or 788T (the most used recorders here) via cable if needed. I've been in one production where we ran wireless tc to the camera continuously but otherwise it is normally "sync once before first shot - check visually every now and then - re-sync after lunch or whenever needed "

MTV maybe?

The out of focus shots did not disturb me at all, even that long Luke shot. But there were some very irritating edits on the island where the edit was in the middle of the weaving focus move which caused kind of "bump" on the edit

the "Known For" section is really stupid indeed. For me it only shows the old cheap ass low budget indie productions I have been in and NEVER any of the "mainstream" 2 - 4 million budget feature films I have worked in. Every now and then I think if I should remove those low end productions from my imdb page completely as "incorrect information" because they give an impression that I would only do shoestring indie stuff :unsure: One of the reasons I don't do much indie films nowadays is that they "flood the imdb page" and are thus bad resume even if the films themselves would be good :(

I think it was mostly just bad directing and screenwriting and over-confident use of mediocre CGI and too-much-greenscreen sets which seemed to confuse the actors as well. the movies got immediately better, I think, when they hired other directors for these newest films. Also remembering that Lucas did not even direct the "original Star Wars movies" except the first one and some bits of the third ^_^ these newest ones are not "great great" but they are quite OK for modern blockbuster films I think. Definitely better Disney stuff than those Pirates of Caribbean films or most of their animated films ;)

I have shot lots of gymnastics events in sports halls and basketball arenas and they generally had aroundt F4 with pmw-EX1 camera so it should be possible with 500T. But you screen grab looks like lots dimmer lighting than sports hall so I would expect shooting almost wide open or even pushing a stop with 500T. could be around F2.0 at 500ISO or even lower, impossible to tell without going there with a meter

a good machinist could make you an adjustable height adapter which would attach to the existing rod mounting points on the camera body and have new mounting points which have adjustable height. I don't know any factory made solutions for this but it would be more practical I think than try to find a perfectly fitting mattebox for the odd-rods. you can also try a factory made riser on the rods to lower their level a little but usually these lower too much (like 2cm or so at minumum) so I think you would need one custom made and also more heavily built one if you are using handles on the rods

seems that they changed the film lab to Focus Film but it should still be running in Stockholm