Tom Hepburn

A quick update: I used some freeware, I don't have the name with me, to convert the AVI file to a targa file sequence. I was then able to bring them into Premiere Pro and interpret then at 23.976. I'm definitely on the slower end end of the processing power scale, but for now, this will have to do. I have a friend who told me his work offers him a "Friends and Family" mac program. I can't say "tax return" quick enough. I've copied the file to a different drive, as well as cut the movie file in half and still only a portion of the footage came in. NTFS is the file system Thanks for all of the help folks! I appreciate it. I'll post some short clips soon. Tom

Here would be another option. It's worked for me in the past. Shoot 10 seconds of a white board, nothing else just a white board filling the full frame to pick up the grain of the film. After you scan a picture and bring it in to a NLE (although not realtime, I love AfterEffects),overlay that white board footage and use a blending mode like ?overlay? or ?screen.? The white in the board footage will become transparent and you'll be left with grain from the stock you?re using over your picture. I agree with Brian that an animated still looks too perfect. It takes some random key frames. Sometimes the hardest thing to animate. I think another reason Ken Burns filmed his stills was because the historical photos were so susceptible to damage through mounting on a drum or the light on a flatbed. Gotta love Shelby Foote though. As has been mentioned, it?s a matter of the look that you going for. Some like to do everything in camera and there?s something to be said for that. Tom

Hi Ashley, I see what you're saying about some of the exposure, but that aside, which it totally correctable, I thought it was very nice. I was able to be carried by the story and images without the interruption from technical glitches, at least at this resolution. Good work. What were you using in terms of camera, etc.? Tom

Hi Brad, The work itself looks awesome! One this I would point out is there is a shift in the title position when you go to the default page and click High Rez version. A small thing, but easy fixable. If Matthew can't see it, he may not have the quicktime plug in for his browser. Adrian suggested a flash file. Another advantage to that is that that format is a little more independent of the Windows vs. Mac conflicts and as long as someone is using a browser that less than 3 years old, it should have the plug in and play fine. Tom

"It'll only be onscreen about fifteen seconds so a time consuming post process for this scene's VFX would be okay" In that case, I would shoot the color, isolate or mask out the car and desaturate the rest. Keep in mind that you'll have reflections of things out of the frame on glass and chrome that may or may not pose a challenge. I would even take a still of the scene or one like it if that's possible and do a dry run. Sometimes that can expose little problems that could creep up later. Sounds fun though. I didn't know that about Dorothy either. And she looked so honest. I feel like such a fool :o Tom

Although I didn't attend Columbia here in Chicago I have heard only good things. I went to the Art Institute which is blocks away from Columbia, and I would say that they are less practical in terms of post graduate potential, outside of the art world. I think Columbia College would be a good choice. I would have gone there myself, but at the time they didn't have much computer equipment and I also couldn't get as much financial aid there. Tom

Well, I'm about ready to wave the white flag here. The extra RAM made no difference. It's been suggested that it could be that the hard drive is too slow? I've used both a firewire and usb hard drive with the same file and still only a minute imports into premier pro and aftereffects. What are other people using for High Definition storage? Do I need a SATA set up? As always, thanks, Tom

I suppose it could be the hard drive bouncing around, but then I would think I wouldn't see any footage. Stranger things have happened I'm sure. Anyway, the RAM made no difference except to show that the problem still persists, a little faster. I did manage to convert the file to an avi using the h264 codec, thus compressing it and making it a file that is 1.5 gigs. Quite a reduction in file size, but the same results except that I was able to see a full 2 minutes from that file. A modern day Twilight Zone. Right now, I'm wiping out all Adobe and reinstalling. I'm ironing my white flag-getting it ready. Tom

Hello Folks, I was looking for some used lights in the classified section, but I didn't get many responses. Can someone give me there recommendation on the following kits? Briefly, I'm doing most all of my shooting with two people, that's the "crew" me and another person I'm shooting primarily s16 black and white. I will only have access to standard (usa) house outlets. transportation provided by Toyota ;) For doing short films, interviews, etc. I'm relatively new to shooting 16mm film so I don't want to bite off more that I can chew. Mainly I'm looking for a good light VALUE given my experience level and finances. I think I've covered most of it. Lowell to go SV K-78 SV K-77 Lowell 3 light Lowell DP 3 light I currently have 4 500 watt work lights I can use for light away from my subjects. Thanks in advance, Tom

That's the strange thing: I got a 3 gig test file via ftp and it worked fine. I may end up sending my hard drive back:( Or, I just might download ftp again....for 4 days! I'll save on shipping. I'm not giving up yet. I may even try to use WMP Trimmer to break it into pieces. Thank for the help thus far. Tom

Nothing yet Paul. Thanks for asking. I've got a call in to the place that transferred it. Hopefully they will offer some insight in terms of the capture. I'm also getting some more RAM tomorrow which will bring my system up to 3 gig. Hopefully one of those two things will make a difference. If that doesn't work I have contacted my friend. I asked him if he would rent me a Mac to use on location. He said "yes, better yet, why don't we swap, I'll let you use the computer in exchange for some animation work." So I may take him up on that if the other options don't work. At least it won't be money out of my pocket. I'm really looking forward to seeing my footage in real time. Tom

Well, bad news for me. I used those hotfixes and it still doesn't work. I'm bummed, as I have 22 minutes of what appears to be decently shot S16 footage that I can't edit. Another issue may be the 1.5 gig of RAM I have. I'm going to double that this weekend, but I'm not feeling confident that this will solve this particular problem. I do have one other option at this point. I have a friend who has a small company and uses Macs exclusively. They have Final Cut Studio on a MAC. However, if I can use that option I still have the problem (speaking from experience) of somehow getting those gigs worth of AVI on a PC formatted hard drive, to a Quicktime on the Mac. If anyone has some insight on how to best do that, I would appreciate it. I'm pretty sure that since my hard drive is PC formatted NTFS that it will not show up on a Mac. It's a 400 gig and has a firewire and USB out. Thanks in advance, Tom

Although I can't be 100% until I get home, I believe I do have Media Encoder 9 Series. I'm not sure about Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Runtime, but that also sounds familiar. I'm hoping that one of the "hotfixes" at that link will work. Thanks, Tom

Thanks for the info Phil. Since I paid a nice penny to get it transferred so I'd like to be able to use it! I also found this recent article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927544 Tom

I have a 130 Gig AVI file that I'm trying to import into Premier Pro. It is super16 film transferred to my hard drive at 23.98fps (1920 x 1080). The total time of the clip is around 22 minutes. However whenever I import it into Premier (or AfterEffects for that matter) is shows the clip at just over a minute. I can confirm that it's 22 minutes because, although it can't play realtime in Window Media Player, I can still see the footage. It also is confirmed in the properties of the file. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm running Window XP and CS3. Thanks in advance, Tom

Hey Brian, I contacted the Sanitation department where I live. After 2 emails I got the address and dropped them off to the happy attendant. I had the same batteries. I purchased new ones that were not too expensive. It was a Powersonic. Tom

I was wondering what people do in a situation where you have exposed your film, 16 mm B&W neg in my case, but you're not going to have it processed for another week or two (or maybe longer) until you have all of your film for that project shot. As we all know it ends up being a bit cheaper when you can send bulk for processing and transfer. I suppose the only two options are back in the fridge or keep in a cool dark place. Thanks in advance, Tom

Doesn't the ACL have a 144 degree shutter?

As I'm slowly transitioning from camera testing to shooting more planned sequences, I have a question regarding black and white negative stocks: 7222 (200 asa indoor, 250 outdoor) and 7231 (asa 64 indoor, 80 outdoor) As you'd expect the 7222 is much more grainy than the 7231. I have a narrative where about 70% will be shot inside during the day and the other 30 % outside during the day. I am trying to decide on which stocks to use. For example I could use 7222 inside and 7231 outside or I could use all of one or all of the other. I know it all depends on the look I want but, My question is if I used 7222 inside and 7231 outside, do you think the change is stocks (and grain structure) would too abrupt of a transition for cuts right next to each other? So there would be a cut from interior to exterior and then back again? I remember a couple of years ago seeing the film 21 Grams, which I thought was a great, but there was a shot where they cut to and indoor bed with low lights and I remember first noticing the heavy grain in the film stock that didn't seem to present in the previous shot. I don't want a hic up in the flow of the story because of stock. As always your feedback is appreciated. Tom

Hmmm. We have a Columbia College here it town and I've heard good things. In your research what is being said specifically other than they don't like it? T

That really held up nicely. Love the black and white. Was it shot and Interrupted at 18fps? Tom

Thanks Bob. I'll keep that as an option if I find anyone selling them used. Still looking though. Tom

I'm not sure if they store footage or not, but Filmworkers/Astro would be where I'd start. If they don't, I would think they could point you in the right direction. Tom

or: mount_2

Hello Folks, In an effort to understand what type of lenses I can use with my ACL II I was wondering if someone could tell me what type of mount or mounts this is. The brass side screws onto the face of my camera. I believe it's a Arri Bayonet, but I'm not sure if the second one is also a mount or just an adapter for the bayonet. mount clip Thanks, Tom