Christine Hodinh

This forum post came up today when I was searching for something else, so I thought I'd append the messages that passed between Luc and me shortly after the last post here. I hope someone finds this useful, and I only care to point out that what I said about being forced to can out a roll off a Panavision camera is not necessarily true, silly 2010 me. ------- -------- from Christine Hodinh, 9 April 2010 Camera Report I do the same thing on the report that I'd do on the inventory. So you're right, 280' G + 20' W would be a 300' Total. Some camera reports have a SE form underneath the space for total, so it would be something like G: 280 NG: W: 20 Total: 300 SE: 100 but in most cases you can just assume there will be a 100' SE, if there's 100' unaccounted for on the report. Daily Inventory I'm a little confused about your troubles with the inventory, so I'll just tell you how I do it. Most inventory forms have a space for the stock, roll #, footage loaded, and the same categories you'd find on the bottom of the report: G, NG, W, Total, and SE. Stock is the emulsion type you're shooting. Some loaders do different inventories for each stock, so they have a clear idea of how much they've shot of 7219 and 7207, e.g., but I wouldn't do that unless you had several different stocks to keep track of. Roll number is pretty clear; keep them in numerical order. Loaded: if you're shooting with 400' cans, the number would be 400'. Let's say for roll A3 you have a 260' SE--in that case, you'd put 260 in the Loaded category. Good, No Good, Waste and Total are the same as you put them in the camera reports. Make sure the numbers match up. Don't put anything in the SE category unless you created a SE from that roll, and remember--when you can out a short end, do not to assign it a roll number until you hand the mag to the 1st, just like with any other can. *If this applies to you: you may take a mag off the camera (I'm not sure what camera you're on) and not break the film, say with an SR3. If the 1st tells you she wants to leave it hot, then the mag gets capped and the roll number stays the same (we'll call it roll A7). The same report for A7 is kept with the mag. When A7 gets put back on the camera at some later point, on paper it's as if the mag was never removed, otherwise the paperwork will drive you crazy. The only things you need to do to remind yourself about it is 1) label the case so you know when you look at it is how much film A7 has left on it, and 2) when it gets put back on the camera it's treated as if it's a short end (meaning you are always aware that it's not a full roll, but that's it: the paperwork reads like like nothing happened). *If you're on a camera where the film needs to be threaded with every mag, like a GII, whenever the mag comes off the film is broken. You CANNOT do what I just mentioned; even though the unexposed film can be shot later it automatically becomes a short end because it's now separated from roll A7. I'm sure you already know that, but I thought I should mention it. Now when you do your totals at the end of the day, you usually just do it for Loaded, G, NG, W, Total and SE. If you've only shot new cans, the Loaded total should be a multiple of whatever size rolls you've been shooting (as in, if you're only shooting 400' rolls it'll be evenly divisible by 400). If you have shot SEs during the day the number can be anything. Add up the footage from each of the categories. You said you're printing everything so there wouldn't be any NG footage, just G, W, Total and SE (if applicable). That all gets put in the totals row for "Today". If this were Day 1, the same amount would be Total to Date, because it's the only thing you've shot so far. For Day 2, the "Previous (+)" row are the amounts from Day 1's "Total to Date" row, and so on--that is, for every new day you shoot, the "Previous" amounts are whatever the day before's "total to date" amounts were. It's important, if you do your calculations at the end of the night, to show up and go over those numbers again in the morning. A lot of the time you're tired and you may have made a mistake. Always use a calculator! Raw Stock Inventory You usually also need to keep a Film on Hand/Raw Stock inventory. For Day 1, "Previous" would be 0, "Received" is however much you got from the producers (for 5 x 400' rolls, you would put 2000'), Used Today is the "Total" amount from the daily inventory (because the producers/DP want to know how much film was shot, so it would be G + NG + W). "Total" Film on Hand = "Previous" (+) "Received" (-) "Used" That "Total" from the raw stock/film on hand would then go into the "Previous" field for Day 2, and so on. Notes All this information is pretty standard, but it can be tough to keep track of. Always stay on top of your paperwork, and use the downtime to double-check your numbers. You have to stay later than most anyway, and if you've been keeping up during the day you'll have less to do at the end of the night. One problem you may be having can stem from the reports. If you are not the 2nd, make sure he is rounding to the nearest 10 feet. Putting footage in 5' increments saves minimal film, and it causes more problems than it helps. It's probably too late to fix the old reports but you might want to start doing that, if you're not already, with any new reports. Remember, always round to the nearest 10 feet when writing footage on the report. I highly recommend getting David Elkins's book, "The Camera Assistant's Manual". He goes over, line by line, how to fill out several types of reports and inventory forms. It should help you immensely. If your numbers are wrong in the beginning they'll be wrong throughout the whole show--after you've read this I suggest you take a little time, get new blank paperwork and start over from Day 1, at least with your inventory. Wite-out can only help so much if you need to redo every number. Sorry if anything is confusing; I tried to make it as concise as I could. Let me know if you have any more questions, and good luck with the show. Christine

Update: Thanks everyone, the bag has been sold.

Hi, Selling a Cinebags...uh...bag. Here's a link to the sale at industry-based auction site Second Sticks (though it is buy only, local pickup in LA). The item is mine, the site belongs to DP/Op Peter Ozarowski. http://www.secondsticks.com/auction_details.php?name=FOR-SALE-Cinebags-Production-Bag--Great-Condition&auction_id=100094#83f0043977b2 The bag is in great condition; I'm reorganizing my kit. Feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks!

Your "total" reflects the sum of all G, NG and W footage--in other words, if you shot 400' with G=380' and W=20', T would be 400'. The only instance that T would not equal the amount of footage loaded would be if you had a SE. For example, if you loaded a 400' roll and shot 120' to print, your numbers would be G=120', NG=0, W=0, T=120, SE=280. Hope that helps.

Hey Eric--Congratulations on the great year it seems like you're having! Quick question: "Up in the Air" came up at work today and someone mentioned what a nightmare it must have been for sound during the airport scenes. Can you go into detail about what shooting for extended periods in busy airports was like? I'd love some insight. Thanks! Christine

Matthew, the article was the cover story in October's American Cinematographer. Chris Manley said that Roscoe custom-made an 18-foot-tall Translite for them. It's a great feature--http://www.theasc.com/magazine_dynamic/October2009/MadMen/page1.php

What I find interesting is that I just received a comment from someone who works in a company with a first-look deal at a major studio, and he told me that he's seen things return to what they were pre-strike with even more activity regarding specs. However, that doesn't have much to do with the immediate impacts of shows shooting now (or lack thereof).

Hey everyone, I read the Times article yesterday that talked about how a lot of union crew members (and nonunion, presumably) are struggling more than ever to find work after the strike, as the pilot season has been curtailed so sharply and fewer features are being produced right now from a year ago. (here's the link: LA Times Article) In any case, I was wondering if the people here have experienced the same thing? Has it been markedly harder to find work right now in the aftermath of the strike? I would appreciate everyone's responses; I'm writing a paper in a class of mine and since I freelance as a 2AC I figured I'd use a topic close to home. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!