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J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR

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Everything posted by J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR

  1. Elhanan, which camera do you have? The Pro version? Or the not true Cineframe24 thing? I can't wait to see it first hand. The image was very good from what I could tell but I didn't like the motion rendering I saw in those clips, but I suspect I can't see it properly without the right media player.
  2. Well, if you're that confident you don't need us to tell you how to light. The only thing I could say is that dark wood does absorb lots of light so the 1K might be in order. However, you don't want to overlight the background as compared to the foreground. You might be able to rake the BG at a very shallow angle with the 1K so it picks out the edges of objects and use the tweenies for backlight. Key the subject with the kino and possibly let it spill into the BG as extra fill.
  3. A while back the Amon Carter museum here in Fort Worth was showing some 8x10 stereoscopic stills of WW-I combat casualties. It blew me away! Even back then large format caught so much detail and combined with the 3D image format it was just unbelievable. It really felt like you were standing on the battlefield.
  4. Ok, this is a subject I've wanted to discuss for awhile. I don't really know how to say it without people misunderstanding. So I came up with this statement and I hope you'll get what I mean and it's by no means absolute> 60i video is a TV broadcast format and isn't desired as a cinematography format. The reason I bring this up is I'm tired of hearing statements like, "If properly lit people can't tell the difference between my XL-1 and film." No, we all can. Also the recent threads like "should I get an XL-1, VX,DVC whatever or a DVX-100." The most important feature of the DVX-100 is 24p, isn't it? As far as I'm concerned it's the ONLY reason to by the camera. With the exception of broadcast TV and sports, IMO, 24fps photography generally offers a supperior look. If it didn't, 24p video would not exist. Of course many people have a problem with its supposed "juddery" look. So you mean to say you don't like to look at the majority of the motion images you see? 24 is everywhere, features, commercials, MOW's, sitcoms and a lot of documentary. If you watch and evening of TV it is probably THE dominate format on the aggregate. I can't speak to Europeans watching PAL TV. It's a different experience for them. I'm not trying to make any grand statement or start an argument. I just wonder why anyone would want to shoot 60i when they have a camera that shoots 24p. I've only ever shot 60i professionally just a few times. It's not a format I want to work with. Consequently, I never have shot the ubiquitous DV Indy feature because, before 24p DV I kept running into people who wanted to shoot with a 60i camera. So I get hooked up to shoot a feature on the DVX-100, guess what? They wanted to shoot 60i! In fact, once I didn't shoot a doc with an expensive Digibeta camera I could have used for free. I shot with the DVX-100 because of the 24p. Digibeta is clearly a technically supperior format but it doesn't have 24p and to me that's like missing your legs. Of course, I would have jumped all over an SDX-900. This is directed mostly at SD. HD 60i at least has a WOW factor if it is seen on and HD set. I also left out 30p which I guess to me looks like some kind of hybrid.
  5. Are you talking about DVCPro 50 or HD?
  6. Did you look at those samples posted on dvinfo.net? I didn't like the 24cineframe mode. Looked like shite. I give it a 0. I would wait to see if the pro model has actual 24p 2:3 pulldown. Some people think Sony is going to pull a fast one and have 24p but not at 'HD' resolution.
  7. Daniel, have you seen "Lost in La Mancha?"
  8. Well, SE's are obviously cheaper. Film Emporium also sales factory sealed Kodak at a discount. It might be outdated though. I bought a load of 7246 from them for around $29 a spool and I think Kodak's price is around $35. Maybe John can come through with a link to a pricelist...
  9. It depends on what Bolex model it is. If it is one of the late models, and running properly, it will produce a fine image. Witness the many, many doccumentaries shot with them and intercut with SR footage.
  10. You could, but they will not be daylight safe because it will be hard for you to stagger roll the film and of course you run the risk of scratching and static discharge. Where do you live? If you're near a lab, have them do it.
  11. Thanks for the replies. These films are only just a step above what Phill calls the "PD-150 in your mates flate" feature. There is a budget so it will get completed, I'm really just concerned about these trust fund kids who think they are directors.
  12. What do you think about shooting films where you could do some interesting work but at the same time you know the script is weak or has a laughable ending. I've looked at a few of those lately and they are tempting to shoot because they actually have a budget and I will get paid. Does it matter if you wind up shooting a great looking B (more like a C) movie? I know some of you have... opinions.
  13. I'm single and I still pursue it. I have fallen back on many odd jobs to get by and for now it looks like I'll keep doing that. I think I've gone maybe a year stretch doing nothing but film jobs, then of course the work dried up and I had to pay bills. It's a boom and bust life but there is gold at the end of the rainbow. God I hope there is gold at the end of the rainbow. I mentioned it before, but I once talked to Ken Burns about how he got by in his early days. He said it was all about commitment and making the necessary compromises to get by. All kinds of creative work is just a hard ass field to work in and probably 99% of the people who get into it quit. I know one guy who is an amazing photographer, he really is good but he works as a QC person in a chemical factory because he gave up.
  14. Whatever, you can negotiate. So long as you realize you are negotiating for two things, the per day cost of the package and/or the days per week.
  15. Did you download the specs from their download area? Find out what the lamp is and who makes it. Then contact them for the CRI and SED graph.
  16. On most night exteriors you can put sources off screen and they will still feel motivated. You assume the light is coming from a house or streetlamp etc. That is why the low fill Michael is talking about works even though the only real source in the shot you describe is the truck headlights. If someone is supposed to be out in the middle of the woods before electricity was invented, that's when you have to think about how the moonlight is going to fall plus maybe ad a source such as a fire or torch.
  17. Even if they do list it all seperately, you should be communicating with them in terms of a package deal. There is the cost of the package per day multiplied by how many days you can negotiate for the week, i.e. four day weeks.
  18. I used the L-508C Sekonic since it came out. I never had any trouble with it and it was plenty sensitive. Other people have reported that it isn't accurate in low light. It was getting old and I decided about a year ago to go with the classic Spectra IV-A and Minolta Spot-F team. I got a giggle from trying to get the Minolta spot in a still photog store as I hadn't been to one in awhile and fogot how amature they can be. The guy behind the counter said "What do you think you need THAT for?" as if I had no idea what I was buying. I got one off ebay for $250 practically new. If you get a Spectra new make sure you get the latest version, it's more sensitive.
  19. Personally, I like VO's when used poperly. I was also told in school that it was a bad thing, but I don't believe it one bit.
  20. Do you live in North Carolina? The tuition is criminally low for in-state students and not bad for out of staters. Looks like a good program, I would go there. By the time I could afford even that though, I would probably be the oldest and most experienced student to go there.
  21. I try to start with the location and ad in what the mood is. Once I know that, I decide where the Key location is. Sometimes you have a Key direction rather than an individual light. I recently shot some people at a breakfast table and started with a 2K outside a window to the left diffused only by a sheer white curtain to light the main character facing the camera. I was going to let that light plus some camera side fill take care of the people on the right side of the table but I decided to put up two Tweenies above the window inside the room to key those people. We put toppers on them to carry the same shadow line as the 2K was throwing on the right side wall and you couldn't tell it was more than one light. With the extra Tweenies I just used a piece of foamcore on the right of the camera to bounce a little back. I didn't need to set a fill light. So I guess I pretty much start with the Key direction.
  22. David, do you ever feel these compromises you have to make (like with the condor height) are destroying the integrity of your photography?
  23. A cyc is short for cyclorama, which is a stage you use to get the white 'limbo' effect. It covers the floor then curves up to connect with the wall and goes to the ceiling. Some bigger stages have them permanently built around 1 or 2 corners of the room. You can light the cyc various ways, Hot would be to over expose it so it's a blown out white. You could also light it with daylight units and it will look like sky outside the windows or doors.
  24. Not a joke, it's true.... http://www.adamwilt.com/24p/index.html#Strange_noises
  25. I would have to disagree with the notion that shooting a wide angle shot on DV is somehow automatically a bad thing. The problem you have rather is you don't have enough light for the area. DV and 16mm can be made to look sharper with the careful use of Silhouette and edge lighting. If the character is to be in a dark area you can use smaller units to create pools of light on back ground objects that will create a percieved increase in sharpness due to the character being in Silhouette. You can use some fill or a backlight so you can see some of the character. A 1K Rock and Roll PAR can light a pretty big area. A DV camera might actually be better for this shot as they typically can handle flo's better and you can WB a little to their side. BTW, it's natural for the DVX-100 to make a rattling sound when you handle it, there is nothing wrong.
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