Dan Durbin

Thank you for the help Satsuki. They are distributed through the following website: http://www.mbfshop.de/ Dan

Shane Hurlbut's article in American Cinematographer this month talks about using a PV to Canon lens adapter from the old Kodak/Panavision PreView system. Does anyone know where PL or PV to Canon still camera adapters can be had?

David, We are thinking about a 7D. I like your video. What lens did you shot with?

I have had good results with an Epson Stylus Photo RX 580

I completely agree. After trying several brands, Taiyo Yuden is the best.

I recently read the following in "Grammar of the Edit" by Roy Thompson regarding extreme long shots. "The XLS is sometimes provided on a narrow angle, but as this means very complicated lens focusing and often considerable additional shooting problems, it is quite rare. If achieved, it is enthralling, but it takes a great deal of skill and care to edit it." Can anyone provide a good example of this in a feature film, or a better description of what he means by this? Thanks,

Thanks for the background Keith, very interesting. Moody's predicts 45 per cent of its “Bottom Rung” nominees will end up defaulting on loans over the next year. The concern with falling credit is cash flow, as concerned suppliers to the company reduce credit terms (lower days payable terms or impose credit caps) or debt refinancing gets more expensive. In general, debt markets have been a better indicator than equity markets in this meltdown.

Panavision is privately held by MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings (Ronald Perelman). They went private in mid 2006.

There has been some concern about Eastman Kodak staff reductions in one of the Cinematography Forums. Is anyone concerned about Panavision? Moody's identifies Panavision and Eastman Kodak in their Q1 2009 (March 1, 2009 data) "Bottom Rung Report" This is a list of 283 companies with high default risk and weak liquidity.

Is it possible to buy an Apple compatible Blu-ray burner capable of burning HD video in a format readable on consumer Blu-ray players? Commercial movies and games appear to be in BD-ROM format and Blu-ray computer drives are in BD-R and BD-RE formats.

People are worried about the long term viability of Kodak, but I wouldn't write them off yet. Like many companies, they are taking the actions they need to do to survive in what will likely be a tough economic year. You might find it interesting that a week ago, Bill Gates filed documents with the SEC that he had acquired 5.2% of Kodak with positions held by both Cascade Investment, his investment arm, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Obviously, Gates sees something there worth buying.

Josh, Regarding short film length, there was a 40 minute Documentary Short film "I knew it was you" in Sundance last month. Having said that, I think you have to ask yourself whether you cut the film down. It is sometimes hard for us to cut out parts that we have grown to love.

Thank you for all the comments. It is sincerely appreciated. No one mentioned use of a tripod mounted crane such as a Glidecam's Camcrane 200 or a Cobra Crane 1. Does anyone have any experience with these or other tripod mounted cranes? They would need to be manned, but would seem safer, could handle a heavier camera and give some new capability to the shoots.

Thank you for all the suggestions. The 8 foot ladder is a great idea. Unfortunately, the situation won't normally allow this. Let me give you some more details. We do some wedding videography. In some cases the churches have a balcony where I can set up a camera on a tripod and when rules of the church permit, man it with a cameraman. Otherwise, I have to set it up, start the camera and let it go (fixed angle, and zoom). Many newer churches do not have a balcony, so we need to set up a camera in the back, high enough to shoot over the heads of the people when standing. Eight feet should do it. My objective is to have one or two fixed angle cameras (start and stop remotely) in these situations mounted around 8 feet. Wedding parties aren't going to be too happy with us setting up ladders, but a tripod or stands should be fine. Are there any tripods that extend this high or other stands that might provide the stability needed, and be somewhat unobtrusive?

I also posted this in the Camera Assistant Forum, as I wasn't sure were it belongs. I need to mount a light weight HD video camera (Canon HV30 - weighs 1.2 pounds) 8 feet off the ground in a fixed positions in an indoor location. My plan was to mount it on a light stand using a Manfrotto 155 Double Ball Joint Head with 2933 Camera Platform (weight 1.4 pounds). When I started to test it, things just don't seem to be as stable as I hoped, and I am worried about vibration. The light stand is an Impact 3218 (max load 5 pounds). Any suggestions? Do I need to move up to a heavier duty light stand? If so, are there any suggestions? Will a 5 pound sandbag solve the problem? Thanks for any help.

I need to mount a light weight HD video camera (Canon HV30 - weighs 1.2 pounds) 8 feet off the ground in a fixed positions in an indoor location. My plan was to mount it on a light stand using a Manfrotto 155 Double Ball Joint Head with 2933 Camera Platform (weight 1.4 pounds). When I started to test it, things just don't seem to be as stable as I hoped, and I am worried about vibration. The light stand is an Impact 3218 (max load 5 pounds). Any suggestions? Do I need to move up to a heavier duty light stand? If so, are there any suggestions? Will a 5 pound sandbag solve the problem? Thanks for any help.

We have a couple of Sennheiser MKH416s and are really happy with them. I have fed them directly into Canon XH A1 and JVC GY HD100U cameras, and into a Sound Devices 302 field mixer with good success.

Tom and Josh: It sounds like Toon Boom or Anime Studio Pro is were we need to go at our level. Thanks for all the input Dan

I heard a couple of times at Sundance this year that 90% of directing was casting. Do others agree?

We attended Sundance (4th time) this year, and while attendance was down, we saw gays and trans at the festival. Some of our favorite films were "The Greatest", "Old Partner", "The Messenger", "In the Loop" and "Moon" which was picked up by Sony Classics. "Push" was the big winner, but we missed that one. We heard the economy and the Inauguration were factors in the low attendance.

We are mostly interested in 2D cartoon animation, and are new to the area. It would seem like Toon Boom Studio is a low cost approach to getting started. However, we already have Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended. Are we missing significant capabilities by not spending a little more and getting After Effects?

Can anyone recommend 2D and 3D animation software for Apple?

Sarah, I did not see any Canon cameras on your site. Are you planning to add them?

Nell, The Canon XH A1 has two XLR inputs. The inputs can also support +48V phantom voltage, if needed. We have two XH A1s and are pleased with them. More details are available on the downloadable instruction manual (pg 11). The following is a link. http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controll...wnloadDetailAct

Andre, Thank you for passing this along. This is exactly what is needed. Dan