Bob Hayes

I shot an interview with Bob Marley and was blown away. He was smart, concerned, and articulate. It was the one time in my life when I felt I was in the presence of a prophet.

A lot of people love the micro dolly and rave about it. To me it seems too light weight and flimsy. It would work ok on a perfectly flat marble floor but on uneven surfaces it seems like it wouldn?t. I have a 16 wheel skateboard dolly on a ¾? sheet of Baltic pine and it is just stable enough to do professional work on. On moves over 20? you need to use real track and wedges especially over uneven terrain. On shorter runs speed rail or PVC works fine. When I?m on the road I just bring the wheels.

I live by the waveform. It tells you what you are really getting. You monitor could be and often is totally off. The better and more informed I get the more I enjoy its presence. Now The vector scope is starting to look pretty good.

Right on. Me too.

If it?s a Stargate kind of scenario you can lock off the camera and shoot the portal. Then shoot the person walking through the portal and cut the two shots together with the person just through the portal. Then do the best you can to create a portal effect. It could be as simple as a flash of light or as complex as a vortex. It is easy to do if the portal has an actual hole in it. If the portal is solid then you need to green screen the person and shoot it as two separate elements so you can get the person to walk past the plane of the wall. This would be much more complicated.

It?s amazing that this film was only screened for a select group of Bush supporters. Listening to talk radio to day most of the right wing hosts had seen the film and loved it. They went out of their way to quote the inaccuracies of the mini series as facts. Then they said the left was trying to cut out these ?facts? of the 9/11 report that painted them poorly. This is the same 9/11 report that Bush tried to prevent from happening until family members complained publicly. The 9/11 bipartisan commission that Bush tried to restrict access to information. The bipartisan commission that had to threaten Bush with a subpoena to get him to show up. The one where Bush admitted he read the PBD but NEVER TALKED TO ANYONE ABOUT. ?If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.? Joseph Goebbels

On September 10th and 11th, ABC is planning to air a "docu-drama" called "Path to 9/11," which is being billed as "an objective telling of the events of 9/11." In fact, the film was written by an unabashed conservative who twists the facts to blame President Clinton. For example when Bush testified before the commission he stated he never talked to anyone about the PDB ?Presidential Daily Briefing?. In this film he apparently tells key players he is very concerned about the attack. It is a re-writing of history by a major network on the anniversary of America?s greatest tragedy sixty days before one of the most important elections in US history. ABC's new six-hour film was apparently screened in advance ONLY to conservative bloggers and journalists -- and received extensive praise from none other than Rush Limbaugh. The film is apparently also riddled with factual errors and distortions; former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke has completely refuted one of the key scenes in the show. It's simply stunning to think that as this fall's election approaches, a major television network would devote six hours of prime-time programming to air such a slanted and inaccurate program. If you remember these self same conservatives forced to pulling of CBS? mini series on Reagan because they didn?t feel it presented Reagan in a positive light.

Search the internet for used kits. I think Lowell lights give you the best bang for you buck. A couple of Omni and total light with umbrella can get you filming pretty quickly. On the downside they are pretty hard to use and aren?t very rugged. But you?ll learn your chops well playing with these lights.

Change is great and I love films/videos that break the rules. Check out ?Crank? if you want to see some pushing of the video envelope. People who experiment take chances and sometimes it just doesn?t work out. When I go to a big budget film, staring major stars, directed by a major director, of a high profile successful television I expect a certain level of quality. That?s why I go to those kinds of films. And that?s why they are successful. If I go to Ruth?s Chris steak house and order a filet mignon I expect a certain experience. If the waiter sets a big steaming pile of poop in front of me I?m going to be dissatisfied.

I must have seen a really bad print because this was the worst looking movie I have ever scene. The whole film was a milky grey with nothing darker then 10 IRE. The highlights were blown out with very little in between. The flesh tones looked like putty. I have never seen anything this bad in a theater. The trailer of Superman before Vice looked great so I don?t think it was the projection system. The lighting looked like they used a couple of Tota lights. Most of the time the actors just stood in each others shadows. This was a horrible looking film. It looked worse then if it was shot on mini DV in 18 days with a $100,000 budget. I like films with gritty realism like ?21 Grams? so I am not opposed to rough verity photography. This looks like it was shot by a second unit crew with no DP, Electric crew, or grip crew. Just a PA with a Mini DV. I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Unrelated to the photography the rest of the film rarely soared above an F. Terrible script, marginal acting, and no drama. Just painfully dull stuff. It was as if the Miami Vice was a test to see how stupid the film going public is. Seeing as this film tanked I guess the film going public aint? that dumb.

I think it is trickier then you might think. The set up on the camera determines a lot of the sensitivity of the camera. One setup might have a stop equal to 20 ire while with another setup it might be more or less. Also a when you add gamma correction and clipping to blacks and whites the correlation gets even more convoluted. The best thing to do is test you camera with a light meter.

What format are your shooting?

Everyone I know who has worked with or met Steve Irwin says he was a great guy. He loved animals and was dedicated to trying to protect them and inspire peoples excitement in him. He will be missed. Also I don?t really understand the specifics of his death. I have spent quite a lot of time with stingrays and I found them to be gentle and almost affectionate. I was quite surprised to hear of the incident.

If you are trying to save money I would look into an XR-35 by cinema products and an old Mitchell gear head. Old school all the way. It?s very heavy and hard to move but? A lot of stuff has to move when you change set ups. When you think about it is moving the lights and re-dressing the set that takes time. You want to own a cheap 35mm sound camera. The XR 35 ain?t for hand held but for old school Hollywood style films this isn?t a bad choice.

Charlton Heston finds a box of dynamite in ?Touch of Evil?. Its a great low angle indoor oner. Wells does a quick magic trick to dump his burning cigar before slapping one ofthe actors.

After some amount of practice the whip pan to good specific composition becomes second nature. How does the violinist know where to put her fingers on the violin? Wouldn't it help her if there were marks on the neck of the violin? Well, after thousands of hours of practice she's got a pretty good idea where they are. It helps to line up the end shot so your body is most comfortable here. Then wind up and set for the start of the shot. Your body will start to remember where it is going. It's fun and can be kind of scary. If you are shooting a lot you can just nail extremely complicated moves.

31 Flavors is now coming out with a film. SHAKES on a Plane

That looks like a pretty nice bag. I wouldn?t trust it filming surfing from the water because of the churning pressures of the waves. But I?d probably risk a dunk in calmer waters. After a little experience with it I think I'd feel comfortable taking it to 10?. Ewa says it rated to 30?. I don?t think I?d trust it that deep.

The Innocents is truly one of the most unsettling films about possession ever made. The atmospheric photography played a huge part in creating a truly disturbing mood.

Looks like a useful tool. You will need a tripod and that is an extra $80.00. Also on this kind of jibs you can?t pan. With out the capability to pan your moves will be severely limited.

How about 2500 18 HMI?s through ½ steel. I bet that would be really soft. Just kidding. I don?t think you need to go through the trouble of pounding light through a bead board to get a soft source. If your source is a 4? x 4? a material that is thick enough to glow evenly with out a hot spot it is as soft as the source can be. There are several materials that have that degree of diffusion. 1090 by great American Market will do that. Another way to achieve a full 4 x 4 soft source is to double diffuse your key light with a small 2 x 3 of 216 and then put it into a heavy diffusion like a full grid cloth you can get the full glowing effect you are looking for. You can also ?book light? by bouncing the light into a bead board and then into your 4 x 4. I think all of these techniques will give you a full 4 x 4 soft source with more efficiency then lighting through bead board.

?You can?t make a silk purse out of a sow?s ear?. Sure you deserve more money. Can you get more money out of this level of producer? Maybe, but probably not much more. Now that you are developing a skill level you must look for producers who are worthy of your skill. Also if you are going to give it away start giving it away to the best people you can find.

I changed my name and posted days ago. I was just feeling left out of this very popular thread so I had to post here. I must admit I miss my alter ego of bob1dp. It was fun having a pen name. Does that mean Mark Twain has to change his name to Samuel Clemens? Ooo fancy. I added these posts later and they got bundled with my earlier posts. Wow! High tech.

Surround yourself with skilled desert people and listen to them. Drink lots of water before you get thirsty. Keep your eyes open for crew people who start to look over heated. On desert shows I?ve done it wasn?t uncommon to have one person a day hit with heat stroke. Make sure you have portable tents available. Space blanket over camera. A 4 x 4 solid or umbrella to cover camera and camera crew. A shady area for your Steadicam op to sit and rest between takes. Here is a great trick. Pick up a roll of the plastic mesh style fencing. It is usually orange. I think it is available in Africa to be used as light weight temporary fencing. Lay it on the ground to make a walkway for your Steadicam guy in the soft sand. Get some small 6 wheel ATV?s with trailers to carry your gear around the sets. I think portable tables for camera gear to keep it off the sand. We use ice chests to carry film. Not for ice just for insulation.

David Instead of baling wire try Armature wire. It is a bendable wire used for making a wire skeletons for modeling clay. It is very bendable and comes in many different thicknesses. You can get it at any good art supply store. I have a huge selection of mirrors mounted just this way.