Tom Hepburn

Hey Ron, I'm not sure. I emailed him over a year ago and never heard back. Hopefully he didn't get it. Tom

"Currently the only people affected by the switch are those using rabbit ears and outdoor antennas. Those that have cable and Satellite TV ARE NOT affected by the switch to digital." I also thought that, but that is not the case. RCN here in Chicago requires a (free) converter box for their cable as it has/had analog channels. "Van Gogh was playing around with Pointillism at that point and if you get nose length away from the painting, it dissolves into irregularly shaped pixels!" The Art Institute here in town has the Seurat painting, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" Really impressive if anyone is in town and interested in those types of pixels. Tom

Hello All, I have a theory that I wanted to share and ask a question. With February 17th fast approaching I can envision your average Non HDTV viewing person going to a Best Buy, for example, to purchase a converter box for their 26 inch tube television. I would think that many will then be faced with a decision to just buy the box or to go ahead and bite the bullet and go HD. As they take a walk over to the displays and get a look at the HDTV, with HD signal or BlueRay, they can't help but think that maybe they'll be a step behind of everyone else if they just buy a converter box. So if this scenario happens enough, will we see a surge or spike in consumers upgrading to HDTV in Feb? And if they do, how long will it be before those that are shooting SD for TV, have to think about shooting and delivering at that higher rez. I'm just thinking.... Tom

Hi Dan, I'd take a look at Cinilab I've used them before (w 16mm though) and have had good experiences. Tom

Hi Craig, I also have an ACL II and I'm using a 503 HDV It works well with my camera and can also be center balanced if with your lens you're a little front heavy. Although I haven't used a large array of different heads, this one feels like a good match for this camera. Tom

Another thing to consider to take advantage of the high frame rate, is that have your subject do more that just stand and talk. I believe the police did one years ago and Sting was jumping up and down in sync with the beat and then knocked down a row of candles. This really added to the effect as candle holders fell down slowly and wax splashed up in the air. If I remember right , it may have even been done at 75 fps. As Adrian said, it can be difficult to have your actors hit it right on, particularly with long shots, but you have the advantage of time. Practice a lot, since you already have the audio sped up right? If you can, I would run a film test too. It would really help to know you're on target (or need to make adjustments) before the "real" shoot. I'm not sure what you're recording sound with, you'll need to know exactly what your audio program records at. My audio comes into my NLE program at 29.97 which adds another layer of hassle, unless I'm importing footage that has been transferred onto DV tape. Sounds fun though, Tom

FWIW, I have been using Home Depot lights for the last year. They are 500w 120v. I'm not sure if these bulbs are rated less than 3200, because they appear yellowish. I recently bought a Lowell kit and noticed this difference in color temp when they were side by side. I'm looking around for new lamps and I've noticed that many are rated at 3100K. I'm not sure if that would account for the slight yellow tint. I've been shooing all black and white so color temperature isn't an issue, but if you're shooting color it will be. Tom

Thanks Guys. I'll check into those. Tom

Right back atcha Adrian! Thanks for your contributions here. Tom

Anyone? I'm falling off of the first page. T

Good question. I have a circular polarizer and Tiffen said, for those numbers the f-stop compensation can vary between 11/2 and 2 f-stops. ? Hoya filter tiffen

Hello, I have what I believe is a basic question: I have a Lowell Omni light kit that has four 500 watt 120v bulbs/lamps that contain two prongs at the bottom (they are semi spherical, not double ended). I also have four 500 watt (home depot) worklights that I have used in the past prior to getting the Lowells. The bulbs in them are halogen double ended tube shaped lights bulbs. I've noticed that these work lights appear much more yellow even though they are 500 watt halogens. My question is if I purchase "photo" lamps like: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1100...#specifications will they be the same color temperature as my Lowells or is that not possible given that they are lights that were not designed for photo/film purposes? Thanks in advance, Tom

I would say that on the first shot, it's an animated mask. In other words, the word or graphic is already drawn and revealed as his hand passes a certain point. The dripping part at the end of the words, was most likely done as a separate layer. A few rehearsals by the actor and you can get it close. There is a beer commercial on these days that does this exact thing.

"I am a huge fan of the old look, the look seen in movies from the 70's and early-mid 80's" Old look! Man that's cold Joseph :)

Are we not counting black and white :(

Thanks for the responses Dave and Chris. I understand. As with most everything one is trying to accomplish, practice is a key element. No surprise. I was watching Titicut Follies the other day and noticed how the focus was adjusted while the subjects were moving. I really felt like the person was seeing clearly through the viewfinder what they were focusing on and thus being able to make the accurate adjustments. I believe an NPR was used in that documentary, which I would think is at best the same as the ACL Kinoptic viewfinder, although I'm not sure. Thanks, Tom

Ole, The letter "N" should be by the mark. At least on mine that's is how it is set up. Tom

Hello, I have question regarding keeping things in focus. I was watching a documentary last night (on the 1960's) and noticed a lot out of focus and some in. First off I have an ACL with a rotating shutter so, at least for me, it's very hard to know if I'm nailing the focus when the camera is running. I'm aware of marking the lens, rehearsing, pulling focus, and making sure you subjects/actors hit their mark, but what about live events or documentaries? For example, say that the light is a slightly low and you have a shallow DOF, someone is walking from point A to point B. I can rehearse a bit before they actually get to point A. However, what do people do when that person decides to throw in a point C (6 feet further back) or a point D (4 feet closer to the camera) then back again? Is this just something that comes with experience? Or are there some pointers, guidelines that I'm not aware of? Thanks, Tom

Hey Karl, Hope you had a good one! Thanks for all of your contributions around these parts. "I made a wish. Can you guess what it is? . . ." Given the curious smile on your profile, I wouldn't even want to guess :D Tom

Congrats on the camera Evan. "I am assuming the special core it had inside was for 200 foot reels." That's correct. The core platter will come off if you slide that metal lock bar. I've always used a 100 foot daylight spool for the take up side when using 100 ft loads. Some 200 foot magazines can use the Aminima loads as well. Sometimes, (actually almost all of the time) it's nice to have that extra 100ft. That looks like it might be super 16 gate from the picture, is it? Tom

Well, I'll chine in for the rookies. I've finally got a fully functional camera. I've learned a lot in the last year (a lot of thanks goes to the help I got here) and still have a long way to go, but I'm excited about learning more. So I wrote a short narrative script, that I just finished shooting and I'm waiting on the film and scan to edit. It's really a simple story and I used my kids in it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to win the "Worst Daddy Award" for that weekend :angry: Tom

Nick, Does your camera a crystal sync motor? If not it's going to be tough, but not impossible. Unless you have long (as in minutes) shots that are continuous. That is the first things to post. Tom

Sorry Jay, I guess I misread. I'll post again if I find one. I have a few audio friends I can check with. Tom

I would also consider that pretty much any 3D software is going to take a fair amount of practice and time to look good. It's a tough learn at the beginning, but once you get going it's a pretty cool thing.

I just did a search for 2" tape Nashville recording and this place does: www.junctionstudio.com