Christopher Arata

3M snot tape rolled into a thin string & wrapped around as close as possible to the rear element works for me. Its easy then to stretch & trim the net. Defiantly takes less than 15min per lens to do & pulls off pretty easy.

I just wrapped a 3D shoot a couple weeks back. We did not use any kind of special slate, just a normal slate. The issue of needing a special slate never even came up, nor was it an issue not having one.

I don't think anybody was whining, just explaining the challenge. In all fairness gale wanted the shallowest DOF as possible, so you can't really compare yourself with a 70-300mm Tamron Zoom that is probably around an f/4-f/5.6 to the guys on house working between an f/1.4 - f/2.8, point being you had more DOF they had less. Personally I think it looked great! Also it was my favorite House episode yet, & not because it was shot on a 5D, that doesn't matter. The story was great.

You mean something like this.... http://prolost.com/blog/2009/3/17/this-now-please.html

Fishing line on the rear element is probably one of my favorite ways to get a streak, mainly because the lens won't flare unless it is hit by the point source directly. Here are some screen grabs of a recent music video I shot on the EX3 & this handy trick.

Put a piece of fishing line across the re-element of the lenss using some snot tape, just remember that the streak will be opposite from however you put it on.

Has any one looked into the..... RYOBI TEK4 Professional laser distance measure, goes for about $150. http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/tek4/measurement/RP4010 It doesn't have a built in site but seems like a good deal, I was originally going to go with the Hilti PD40 but unsure now....

This time Vincent Laforet teams ups with Stu Maschwitz & others to produce Nocturne, thought it was interesting here is the link..... http://vincentlaforet.smugmug.com/Laforet-...686345820_EeDCa

Some great looking images there, liked the color grading!

I'm going!

I've never used the Encore. I have used there previous models though, in general I'm just not a fan of the Red Rock stuff.

Tricky question, & just my opinion, but I would not invest in the HVX. Now for the comments that I will probably get murdered for saying, I personally prefer the EX3 over the RED. I don't know about the Scarlet because it's not out yet so I have not used it. The RED however has become the most popular camera that I work with & I have discovered that I much prefer the EX3 over it, stock or with an adaptor, preferable the CineMek, hate the Red Rock. I don't think that if you purchase an EX3 it would become a dead end product once the Scarlet comes out. Just my 2¢

I just used a set a couple months back, nothing to complicated. While unpaid prep days suck, I will still do it if there really is no budget. It would be worse to show up on set without a prep day & have something go wrong & then waste time with the whole "well if there was a prep day" argument, which, chances are will not go in your favor. Just my thoughts. As for the lenses, the trickiest part is figuring out the matte box situation. Have some strips of duvetyn handy. Also mount the bellows first, then place the lens on the rig. I found that to be the easiest. Play around with them at the prep & all will be fine.

His flares are probably coming from the use of anamorphic lenses....On a lower budget you can rent 4x5 streak filters, many lower budgeted music videos use them and can be found at rental houses around LA. They are far & few between however and mostly checked out all the time so they might be hard to get. Call around to different camera houses or give Tiffen a call. They come in different mm to so you can get the size streak that you want. You can also do it in post, it doesn't always look that great though & I would not recommend it.

Those photos have gone through some serious post, not just some simple dodging & burning. Also from the video, I'm pretty sure the photographer was shooting medium format, film, mostly likely as I did not see any digital backs or anything. Probably using a very slow stock, that would be one reason for using continuos light's of that size, and personal preference of the photographer. You could potentially do the same thing using some studio strobes with a lot less fuss. Anything from a 1200 Ws - 9600 Ws head & pack can easily over power daylight with out a problem. Chances are you would be shooting at an f8 or higher anyway, for sharpness & focus, that alone kills the ambient. Combine that with a shutter speed of 1/250 yea you pretty much don't need to use those lights unless you prefer continuous light over strobes and the extra hassle of the gear that goes with it.