Steve McBride

Heh, guess my sarcasm didn't carry over the internet. And thanks for the idea with the smoke, that's very true and I can get some cool lighting effects with it.

Thanks for the tips. Chinese lanterns above the tables is what I was thinking about doing and then maybe some spots on main characters. And to the other David, I'm only 19 so I'm not going to be able to hit up the bar during the shoot... So I'll most likely have to turn to energy drinks or something... The tip with the ND filter will definitely come in handy, thanks!

For an upcoming short, most of the scenes will take place in bars and restauraunts that have bars. For the first scene, there will be a slow tracking in shot to set up the scene and then dialogue between two characters. I'm confused as to how to light it. I want the brownish/ redish look in the wooden bars, chairs, tables, etc. so I'll mostly use tungsten lights, but as to the position and strength of the lights I'm am basically clueless. For the tracking shot I'll probably just set up some sort of omni lights, possibly some china light's or balloon lights (maybe that's completely wrong), and then set up three point lighting for the dialogue. I'm just worried that the dialogue will look completely different from the tracking shot, as you will see the characters in the tracking shot, the lighting cannot be radically different. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the feedback and I agree with what has been said. Most of my parentheticals are somewhat needless/ useless as it would be implied by the type of setting/ mood I would give the actors. Some of my parentheticals should just be in the action. Thanks again!

I'm more of a director/ dp/ editor myself and not much of a writer and I am writing a script for a short that I ahve been juggling around my head for about a year, and I'm just wondering if there is such a thing as too many parenthetical's when writing a script? For example... MARA (narrow eye'd) Ah, the stubborn type, you tend to see that a lot these days. DAVE (looking down) Heh, yeah. (beat; looks up) You said you were in marketing? MARA (finishes a sip) Mmm... yeah... (laughs) sorry... It kinda goes on like that a bit, maybe not so much of the mid-dialogue notes, but a good amount of the dialogue has it's own parenthetical. Is this considered "right" or should this be done with action, or just with notes in a seperate document?

Nice rig, I was going to say something about a snorri-cam, but then I read that you're using an Arri and that idea went out the window :P .

I think it really depends on the setups. Because if they have a soundstage, it is a lot easier to get crisper dialogue than it is in a buzzing cafe out on a street.

It really depends on your operator, if you're doing it go with what you're comfortable with, if someone else is going to be doing it check with them. And yeah, with what Chris said, 7.5' is no where near long enough for a maximum length. Try to atleast double that if you can.

If you're going for a standard music video, yes you want to have atleast 4-6 takes of the band doing the song with different scenes, costumes, moods, etc. But if you're going for more of a narrative, you'll probably only want one take of the song and intercut it with an actual story that is derrived from the lyrics of the song. Lastly, if it is a complete narrative then you don't want any of the band in it (unless they're acting). I'm doing a project where I'm making three music videos for the band Mudvayne (by myself, no link to the actual band) and all of the videos are complete narratives and I just took the main theme for the songs and created my own story for it and am developing that into the music videos.

I got a quad-core Mac Pro when I graduated and I've just kept upgrading the RAM and hard drives and I am more than happy with it. For around $3,500 you're not going to be able to get the full bundle since you'll still have to buy a nice monitor and speakers and such. Mac Book Pros are good for if you're a film student and will be editing projects on it, just make sure you have big external drives that are Fireware capable and you should be good to go :) . Oh, and max out the memory on it, that is what will make the biggest difference. If you go with the Mac Pro, here are my specs and I am in LOVE with it :) . Mac Pro - 2x Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz - 5gb 667Hz RAM (added 4gb from stock from iRam) - 250gb hard drive for all non-video related files and misc apps. - 36gb 10,000RPM hard drive for OS, FCS2, CS3 boot - 500gb hard drive for all video related storage - 22" widescreen Hanns-G HD monitor - Logitech Z4 2.1 speakers - Logitech wireless mouse Have fun!

Just remember, you get what you pay for ;) .

Instead of holding the camera by the usual grip with your thumb on the back of the camera and your other fingers though the grip and laying on top of the camera, try putting your thumb on the top of the camera and the rest of your fingers around to the bottom of the camera. The difference in grip will get you a bit smoother image and such. If there isn't a lot of movement then you don't need to move! Try to move your legs as little as possible especially while walking, this is what creates the most camera movement. Rotate your hips, arms, extend your arms, etc. and it will keep the image steady. I had to shoot in a diner for a short not to long ago and what I did was take my tripod and actually pull out the pedestal piece that is connected to the head and just had the camera connected to the head and gripped the top of the pedestal piece just below where it attaches to the head for a bit of a smoother shot. If you use this technique you can also place your open hand on the bottom of the bedestal piece and use that to tilt up and down a bit smoother, that is something that I just thought of and with the added stability of your second hand the image will be a lot smoother. If you're editing with FCP, there is a Video Filter called "Smooth Cam" and if you just apply that to the shot when your editing and let it render you will be able to get a VERY steady/ smooth shot (I used this in the same short that I stated above and it worked amazing! the shot had a LOT of movement, but when I applied the filter it was perfectly smooth).

Thanks for the response. The room didn't have any windows, and the only lights were a few very small sources on the ceiling which were spot-esque but were very weak and did not illuminate the room at all so I just left them off and used the two lights that I had. Instead of Kino Tubes, would Lowel fluro's work, or are they more or less the same thing? If I was to use the Kino Tubes or Loowel fluro's on the ceiling and set up lighting for closeups would that make a difference given the lighting from overhead to illuminate the room and then just setting up the lighting for each of the closeups.

I recently shot a scene for a short film in a conference room using just two soft lights (can't remember the wattage) with umbrellas at different heights and distances to get rid of shadows on faces and the basics, but I had to continuously change around the lighting because this would not fill the entire room. If I were to guess the room was about 15ft. wide, 45ft. deep, 10ft high. Being a student and all, this worked out alright but there are some inconsistencies that are clearly visible and I am just wondering for future reference how I would go about lighting a set like this (given I had more equipment and an actual budget) and get even lighting for all characters for faster shooting. Thanks in advance for all responses!