Phil Rhodes

I'm thinking of things like the Aladdin Fabric Light, which seems to be able to save an enormous amount of time, gear and space in terms of simple convenience. Hugely powerful, compared to a diffused fresnel, too.

Inasmuch as "media engine" means "hardware handling of video encoding and decoding," they certainly do and have had at least since Nvidia's Kepler microarchitecture in 2012. Specific features may vary somewhat.

I've always built my own. I won't deny there's typically some minor snagging, but there's a very large advantage: if it breaks, you know how to fix it faster than any warranty service. As Andy quite correctly puts it, components are in short supply, though there's perhaps some sign of that easing a little if the reports are to be believed. Some money can be saved. (By the way, @Andy Jarosz, I spent some time at Orbital in downtown LA today and met some people who recognised your name. Another AJ says hello. Isn't their big stage big?)

I'm looking for someone to work as a general camera and lighting assistant on a very small demo shoot for one day on May 16, in a town just east of London. Reasonable rates paid depending on experience. Nothing objectionable in the tone or content of the piece; it's an adaptation of Shakespeare. Complete beginners very welcome; this is not a big deal shoot, but I need an extra pair of hands to help out and thought it'd be worth at least mentioning it here - it's worked in the past! Get in touch via the forum for more details. Phil

I think Sirui has at least the intention to do complete sets. The APS-C coverage series includes a 24, 50 and 75. There's a 35 in the micro four-thirds version, but with coverage limited to micro four-thirds sensors, and I'm not sure how many of those they're going to sell. They've also done a 1.6:1 50mm full frame. Time will tell if they can get the others out but if they can make them all for $1500...

If I mention Sirui do I get baleful stares from the high-end people? Seriously - thanks for that, it's super-comprehensive. Do things like the Panavision B get used much? I've heard of C and E a lot.

It's better than that. 1536000 / (24000/1001) = 64064. It even works for 23.976!

Hi folks I'll be upfront that I'm researching for an article here. I'm looking at anamorphic lenses with a particular interest in listing recent releases, but I was wondering what it'd take to list all of the anamorphic options that currently exist. I would imagine it's not more than a couple of dozen, at least in terms of things available commonly at rental. So, um, who wants to go first?

Wow, that stuff dates itself. When were they made - looks like late 70s, and I see early 70s date codes on the chips. P

Is it only there on alternate frames? Sometimes you see that on old movies, almost as if it's a reflection of a light that's barely out of the top or bottom of the frame and it seems like half the shutter is reflecting something back into frame, as if someone fitted a spare part (mirror?) which wasn't properly black painted around the edge. Speculating wildly there, but I have seen flares much like that before.

Aapo, I'd be very happy to propose writing about the process of developing this, to some editors if that's of interest. Do you have a final finished version to show yet?

You can get decent-quality LED strip from ebay if you look around a bit. Doesn't have to cost a fortune. Whatever you get, get enough to do the whole job in one hit, so it all matches.

I think it has legitimately become less necessary with immediate monitor feedback of what you're doing. It's a matter of degree, of course, but we're not shooting 5 ASA orthochromatic monochrome anymore.

I have made 8x8 frames up with ripstop nylon and it works fine. I would say it's not quite the same textile as what is often called gridcloth, which has a stiffer, more papery texture. Maybe that's just what one particular manufacturer uses and I'm not aware that either has any advantage over the other. Various kinds of semi-translucent fabric would work as a diffuser so long as they're neutral in colour (or you're aware of and happy with the fact that they aren't, as in unbleached muslin). The only issue is when people on a crew are used to particular types - someone asks for a quarter grid and you've got what you've got, and it does what it does. These days I think the LED textiles are a much better bet, anyway. Less setup, more compact, vastly more efficient. Most of them are outrageously expensive but if anything was ever worth it...

If it's anything like the situation here in the UK, which I believe it is, music licensing of any kind is an absolute nightmare. Popular stuff invariably involves several different licenses covering different conceptual aspects of the right to copy, distribute and exhibit your production, and you are likely to end up negotiating it with several different entities, very possibly including the original composer or whoever inherited it. If you can't easily find a way to do that - welcome to the club. In the modern world of YouTube and everyone making short films, music rights holders would find themselves endlessly fielding inquires from people. As such you may find yourself emailing an enquiries@... address with very little chance of receiving any sort of meaningful response. This is why people make a profession out of organising music licensing. And if it's anything like a known artist or track they may have quite firm ideas about the sort of production they want to license the music to; if it's a famous name and you're not a nine-figure blockbuster, the answer may be a straightforward "no" because your budget may not be worth their while and they don't want to dilute their brand. And, as I say, even getting a "no" is something of an achievement. In short it's not a fun experience even if you can get anyone to engage with you, and I would strongly encourage people not to fall in love with recognisable pieces of music they probably can't ever have. Sorry, but that's the truth. Phil