Michael Kubaszak

From the Arricam DVD:

It's a lite mag but shows the film locking mechanism that is also on the ST mags.

If I'm 2nd'ing on a RED job, I'll usually ask the 1st at least once if he checked the gate.

Jesus Christ dude. I DO NOT think DSLR footage is a substitute for 35mm. I don't know why you are on such a crusade. Shooting on a 7D compared to 35mm doesn't necessarily mean you are cutting corners. And honestly I don't need you preaching the benefits of 35, I've shot it, I love it. But it's not a great solution for every indie filmmaker out there that wants to make a short.

In TODAY'S world, as a cinematographer, you have to be able to use a number of high-end digital cameras, 16mm and 35mm, prosumer video cameras, as well as DSLR's. Sometimes you have to use camera's you don't like.

Am I glad I shot 35 instead of 7D? Yes, but if I shot 7D I'd be able to throw that money towards a feature(which will most certainly be shot on a 7D. If money wasn't a factor I'd shoot film every time.

I'm thinking about getting an equipment cart. I want build up slowly to my ideal cart rather than just get everything at once. I seem to be faced with 3 brands or choices.

Magliner: http://www.filmtools.com/geminisenior.html

Filmtools: http://www.filmtools.com/libsencarcom.html

Global: http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/hand-trucks-dollies/hand-trucks-convertible/senior-aluminum-2-1-convertible-hand-truck-with-pneumatic-wheels

I've heard really good things about the filmtools version. But I saw a Global model on set recently and the price is definitely intriguing. I do wonder if the filmtools accessories will work on the Global cart, i.e. the handles, nose extension, shelf etc.

Can anyone shed some light?

A friendly reminder that 35mm ends are still readily available, unlike S16. . .

Can you recommend any place in particular? I know raw stock in NY closed. I was sad, I got really good short ends and recans from them.

Yeah, and it will look like it cost $4.

Not really. Honestly I was joking, hence the smiley. I am a 'film' guy. I've shot all of my films on actual film. 1 on reg 16 and 2 on 35. /film street cred

If you have good lenses, say zeiss primes and know how to light for a particular DSLR it assuredly will NOT look like it cost $4. I wish I would've shot my last movie on a 7D, it would've saved my about $1000 of my own money(I could have a really tricked out Magliner for work :) ) You use whatever tools you have and try to make the best images possible, be it a 7D, an HVX-200, or some Lowell tota kits(eww).

I suggest a new user name for K Borowski: The Loader Formerly Known As Karl. Or maybe you can change your name to the shutter symbol.... :lol:

In regards to the topic. I think dropping out of school to shoot a short is a horrible idea. I shot 5 shorts while I was in film school that had nothing to do with any class and we used our school's equipment, which was invaluable. I also shot and directed a short on 35mm that had nothing to do with school.

 

But the 35mm print version tends to be the worst all-around in most theaters, except for black levels, which tend to be better than most digital projectors can achieve. But otherwise, you have poor/uneven focus across the whole width for 35mm scope print projection, you have steadiness problems, you have dirt & dust, and you have wear-and-tear after the first week of release. I'm generally much happier with the digital presentation. But at least IMAX blow-ups are super-steady and the projection tends to be fairly clean, and the focus even and consistent.

What do you attribute this to? Poor handling, old projectors?

Gotcha. Portabrace is the only one I know of that does not use velcro. Filmtools, ARRI, Lindcraft, CineBags, and Setwear all have velcro.

I feel like a zipper will be too loud. If I were you. I'd get another piece of velcro and cover the flap side rendering it useless. Then I would sew a magnet on the flap side and on the pouch side. Or maybe you could place the magnet(s) in between the velcro. So you'd have male velcro ---magnet---female velcro on the flap & female velcro---magnet---male velcro.

On set my AC pouch is always open. If i'm leaving set it gets closed(especially if I'm running or at crafty). Any reason you need to keep closing it?

Don't freeze your exposed film, send that to the lab right away or within a few days. I've shot on 6 year old vision 500t which was all kept in a freezer. I rated it at 250t and it was still very grainy, granted that's the look I was going for. Do tests.

One more vote for Chicago.

something similar just popped up on CML

Took a 9-5. Hate myself for it; but still shooting on the side, when I can. Energies are low these days, but I'm surviving and saving till things turn 'round, and I eventually move out to the west cost. So it goes.

Ouch. i'm thinking about bartending. What do you do when shoots come up? This year has actually been my best so far, lots more jobs. But they are still not as frequent as I'd like them to be. Maybe 1-2 a month. I am really contemplating moving into a bigger market, Chicago or LA. Was just 2nd/loading on a spot shot on film and it definitely gave me the film bug again. My state basically has no film incentives so there are few to no mutli-million dollar features being shot here and one's in nearby states usually require the entire crew to be a resident of that state.

Everything Adrian said.

Throw away your masking and painter's tape. You need 1" cloth gaffers tape in multiple colors, also, 1'' paper tape in several colors, plus 2'' black gaff and black paper.

I started AC'ing professionally while I was in college and my initial kit investment was around $500. You need the right tools and reference(books) for the job.

Here is a starting point: http://www.filmtools.com/acjupokiso.html

Make sure you have lots of air, tape and sharpies. On a film job every time you hand the 1st a fresh mag you should have a can of air on you or in the other hand waiting to give to him/her.

NEVER write on a slate with permanent marker(especially if it's the 1st's or production is renting it :) ). Anything 'permanent i.e prod title, director camera, should be on a piece of white 1'' camera tape in black permanent marker. Or if you're a pro, printed on a 1'' label from a P-Touch or similar labeler.

A word on union and non-union. I've worked on both kinds of sets(I am non-union) The job does NOT change. You are doing the exact same job on both. What production is allowed to 'get away' with does change, amongst other things. But a 2nd never pulls focus, unless the first cannot be there by some sort of extraneous circumstance and they NEED to get the shot now.

Sometimes you can't have a frontbox. You need to keep it on you, either hold it patiently during the take or open it and slide it between your belt.

One more BIG question i forgot. How old was the stock you shot? That could definitely be a contributing factor to the graininess.

It doesn't look WAY under. But under enough that people here noticed. I'd call call up whoever did the telecine and ask them. Tell them it look underexposed and see what they say. maybe your neg was too thin, etc.

What I would do if I were you is to find a lab you like and stick with it. Go there in person or call. Talk to someone you've dealt with before. Same thing with telecine. That was my big mistake in film school. I just sent out my stuff and barely spoke with the people.

Yeah, that's what I though, John.

But also I can't get my head around something I had on every student shoot for some reason: I always overexposed 16mm by around half-stop for the purposes you mentioned.

Then it usually went through the processing overnight, and one-light-telecine to miniDV, digi which goes to the editor - and I get a DVD copy next day. But it always always look like that - soft overall, underexposed and grainy.

But, that's what I don't get - we go to HDCAM tech grade after the picture lock and the moment they load the footage into Spirit or other machine they use at the facility - it's fine, grain is normal for 16mm, it's not underexp etc... I am not trying to make excuses, honestly. I just don't get it - is it normal to get your dailies looking quite poop, especially grain-wise? Or is it just a student thing? Or is it purely technical thing that when you telecine to SD it won't look "pretty"? Does HD tighten the grain SO much?

I will try to dig up couple stills of SD dailies vs HD scan.

1st off, a half stop is not enough. That's barely recognizable. You need to over-expose by 2/3 of a stop minimum. I'd also argue that your grain is NOT normal for 16 and is excessive, hence people commenting that it was underexposed. When you underexpose the grain becomes much more 'in your face'.

2nd, why are you doing a one-light? Even if you can't afford to sit in you should at least do a best-light. Your film holds everything you put into the production: Writing, casting, camera, film , lenses, acting, art dept. etc. Why skimp on making it look great?!

Also what you can do in today's world is take some stills of each scene(lighting set up) or each shot if you want to be anal. Then color grade them in photoshop and send them along with your film(i.e. thumb drive or email them to whoever is doing the telecine). This gives them an idea of what you want without you having to be there.

Does your telecine house do Uncompressed 10 bit to a hard drive?? If so you might want to look into that.

Also, are the lightmeter(s) you use(d) properly calibrated?

The last two are well touch-outable, the first one might be a bit of work!

 

I hate to drag this offtopic, but I really have to ask: how can people look at this sort of stuff, and complain that a 5D is soft and noisy? What was this shot on, ten year old super-8 at ISO 500, stored in an oven then processed in molten lava? I mean, I know nobody at labs or transfer houses in the UK gives a short poop, but good grief.

 

P

It definitely looks underexposed... I don't really mind the image you get from a 7D or 5D, what I hate is that they are not intuitive at all to moviemaking and all the problems that causes( it's been covered over and over again so I won't be redundant).

edit:

film, RED, Alexa, 5D, 7D etc. can all look bad if you do not completely understand the format and how to get the most out of it.

The other 2 do not look like dust to me. They almost seem like some chemical or liquid got on the film at some point during loading or downloading.

i've never seen anything like that, but I agree with Adrian, it almost seems like the film itself is damaged, at least in the first example. Perhaps the loader dropped or nicked the roll. I'd give the lab and kodak or fuji a call and see if you can email the stills to them, maybe even the camera manufacturer.

it's a piece of cake. one of my fav mags to load. it's very straightforward and there aren't any 'tricks' unlike a 535 mag. do as stephen says and go to the rental house and practice loading. out of the bag first, then in. the people working at the rental house should be more than happy to help you.

or you could shoot on 7D, that'd bring your costs to like $4. :P

check this out: http://www.filmtools.com/cameratape.html

Camera tape is 1'' cloth tape or 1'' gaffer's tape. I believe it's called camera tape because the camera dept. uses it the most, whereas gaffer's tape is traditionally 2'' black cloth tape.

Paper tape is different and is used for marking actors. You should have several colors of 1'' rolls and also a roll of 2'' black paper tape. Let's say you have 4 actors in a shot and need to mark all of them, you better have enough colors for each actor.

Get several colors. (You should have 1'' white camera tape on you at all times) white, black, red, blue, green, yellow, and get some obnoxious colors like neon yellow or neon orange(or pink if you want to be really annoying) for specialty purposes. Like if something breaks put the annoying color that you never use for anything else on it. Or if you flash a mag or some RED drive is being wonky.

For film work, if using multiple stocks, the 1st will usually assign each stock a color. 500T= red, 250T= orange, 100T= yellow, 250D= blue, 50D= green etc.

Also for Exposed Film, you'll wrap the can with 1'' black tape, that is the standard. For, short ends and re-cans, use the color designated for that stock to wrap the can and then of course write the length on 4 sides of the can for ease later.

Some people seem to equate what they can buy a cheap Chinese backpack for at Walmart with what purpose built professional gear costs. I've got a Portabrace Nagra bag I first repurposed for a PD4 (worked surprisingly well) that now carries a piece of test equipment. You cannot wear out their gear.

Actually I was equating what is available at Filmtools.com. With Filmtools and Lindcraft AC pouches never getting over $40 and Arri's pouces never going over $50, $130-$140 more seems ridiculous. Even is my Lindcraft pouch gets destroyed every two years I could still get 4 of them for the price of 1 PortaBrace pouch.