David Desio

Hi James, Im interested in those lenses, shall we chat via email?

daviddesio.com/Portfolio/Cinematography Critiques welcome

I like to use a 4 to 6 foot slider, you are right George, it allows us to cut after the move and also cover a little more ground making the move IMO worthwhile.

30 minute long take? Im not sure the batts will last that long for continuous shooting. Maybe....Test it first. As for puling, without knowing the route I don't know which would be best. I'd do a combo of monitor and marks/watching the OP. You are not wide open so have a little room for error. Is the OP going to be doing rehearsed moves? Playing JAZZ? I work with an OP who plays more Jazz than anything and I mostly stick to the monitor, glancing at him now and then as well for distance guesses. Puling from the monitor is tough though, you are more reacting than being active to his moves. Does the OP have a wireless system? He should. I like to pul with a digital Preston, but a digital Bartec is also good. Analog Bartec...in a pinch.

I dunno, I quite like the one-source lighting, lke the old masters of painting. Horses for courses I suppose. I too have watched some try to go for a soft source by: 1. Using a 4-bank but from about 15 feet away to light the wide, not an array of banks, but ONE 2. use a smaller unit marched in (the smaller the unit the softer the light was their thinking) and then diff the crap out of the light and wonder why their 650 is barely putting any light out for the key. If it is my place I will quietly fix the light and gently suggest a better way. Hard to do if those doing the lighting also sign the checks.

as for the windows as a source, you don't need to have them open for light to come through them. Unless the characters would close the shutters, light would be coming through the windws, even if there are curtains in place.

As for the aproach to the WS, well there is a practical in the photo that I'd probably use to establish the ambience and mood of the room. Depending on how the camera is moving, pound a large source into some unbleached muslin from floor level to help lift the levels of the room but allow the sources to "do " the work. If this is a daytime scene, use the windows as the sources, and throw some large sources through the windows (10k) maybe a little haze for atmosphere.

it really depends on what you like better. I have generally found that pounding a light in to the ceiling will give you an overall ambience, which is different from an overhead source, which sounds like what you are going for. As for the color, thats really up to you as well and is dependent on mood, look, art ,etc.

I got it to work, we had to change the resolution to 1920x1080. That doesn't seem like the right way of doing it. The icon would flash then go away but no grab was getting saved.

hey all, Im sure this is a simple solution, but how do you perform frame grabs to an sd card? I have pressed the Grab button but nothing happens, the little SD Camera Icon flashes but that is it. Any takers?

I have to side with Mike about the safety issue vs getting the shot. No shot is worth your life or ending up in a wheel chair for if it can be avoided. I'm the cam op he mentioned riding backwards in the car with a full sized camera on my shoulder because a 3/4 profile looked better than a full profile. In hindsight it was a very unnecessary risk given that the driver/talent was a bad driver to begin with. We recently had an accident out here in LA involving a helicopter, cinematographer, pilot , and producer (I think). I'm sure they took more precautions than I did and tragedy struck. Point is we are not saving lives we are making entertainment and it's not worth it to put yourself in harms way if it can be avoided.

Hey Greg, nh was just reading the firts page or 2...i stand embarrassed

FFS aren't people tired of this debate already? Look if a cinematographer can make a beautiful image, it doesn't matter to anyone but armchair critics and snobs what the format was. To lump all digital cinematographers in to a category that basically calls them all talentless is like saying every painter that uses acryllics instead of oils is a hack, or water colors, etc. It's ridiculous. When shooting digital you still have to light it, compose it, execute it. When film was king there were still terrible films being made. Our world has changed and I don't think the format has anything to do with our culture's shifting tastes.

I Agree with Bryan, I'd do if it were me. The only thing I don't agree with is the statement about horror films. Whats wrong with them? They always get a bad rap but people still pay to see them don't they? Nothing wrong with horror IMO. Even if it leads to more horror...

Well, is the rate offered worth risking your gear for? Are they insured? Are you normally busy during that time?