Bob Hayes

Go to the rental house and spend days with the camera. Be able to assemble it in the dark. Go through the menus and know where they all are. Be sure you know how to deal with the media with out screwing up. Learn to look at key information on the camera. Like white balance and gain. Be constantly checking them like a helicopter pilot checks his instrument. Get a tape measure out and practice guessing distances. The main key, however, is to try to read the mind of the DP and anticipate what he needs.

The best way to simplify your life is shoot two cameras. When I get stuck in complicated line crossing situations on a television shows and I don’t have time to work through the blocking I’ll just throw a second camera in with different screen direction to insure I get those tough shots. Another trick is to pick your key actor. I’ll often put them in the middle. Then hinge the screen direction off of them. Everyone camera right looks right to left at your actor and everyone camera left looks left to right. Now you only need to worry about some of the interactions between the other players. You can also change screen direction off of a correct look. Let’s say actor A looks R to L to actor B which is correct. Once you have that correct connection actor B can now look at anyone else at the table with any screen direction. As long as you don’t change the geography of where they are it will cut.

It isn’t that important to fill your frame with green screen. It is very simple to create a garbage matt remove non-green screen elements as long as the actor doesn’t cross in front of them.

Congratulations to Michael Goi who is now the new ASC president. I haven't seen any official announcement but I heard it from Daryn and Michael last night at Cinegear. Darin was a terrific presence at the ASC and I know Michael will also do an amazing job.

One of the first films I ever shot had lots of day for night. It took place in oak groves in Southern California and it turned out pretty good. As long as I side or back lit and avoided the sky. I didn’t have any practicals to deal with. One thing I’ve notice is our idea of what night looks like is based on movies with lit night exteriors. That isn’t what night really looks like. When the moon is high and full it pretty much looks like day for night. Single source, no fill, high contrast.

I’m going everyday. Is anyone planning a get together? I’m in if you camera folks want to get a bite somewhere.

Hey give the guy a rest. He was a passionate actor who gave us a lot. Even his low budget stuff was fun to watch. "Sound, sound the clarion, fill the pipe, Throughout the sensual world proclaim: One crowded hour of glorious life, Is worth an age without a name!" - Thomas Osbert Mordaunt (1730-1809)

This is exactly my philosophy. I like the “Kit” style lights because they are easier to handle alone or with a small crew. The Arri soft light kit has everything you need in one box. I also have three c stands, I actually I use light stands because the fold up smaller. I like this style of light because of its versatility. You can bounce it or light directly with it. You can light a large night exterior with it. If you go with Kino Flo type lights they are very limited. I also own a Lowell DP kit, and six Lowell Tota lights. Everything packs up into my SUV. I own the amount of gear I can use alone or perhaps with two other crew members. If I need larger lights I’ll rent a truck and get a full crew. You can get most of this stuff used on the internet and if you are patient get a great price.

Make sure your shots are long enough. Because you are rushing when you find a cool shot you may only film it for a short two seconds and it will seem like 20. Try to make as much of your footage useable as if you are the only camera. When people are looking at dailies they don't want to see lots of junk. Make sure you find out what the DP and director want from you.

Here is one way to go. It spins and fits on your video camera deflecting rain. There is another system which uses compressed air and a nozzle mounted to the matt box. I also works great but I can’t find it anywhere. http://www.innovision-optics.com/download/spintec.pdf

I believe there are some programs that control a digital camera and the f-stop. Some of the effects guys are using these to get precise multiple exposures on sets. Have the laptop control the f-stop.

2:40 what a great shot.

I really think the director should be close to the actors so they can see him/her so I try to get the monitor as close as I can. Most of the directors camp out with me at the monitors. Some are on set. I think it is better for the actors if the director is on set. It is actually much harder for me when the directors are not with me and the script supervisor at the monitor. Sometimes actors miss lines or there will be blocking issues that the director is not seeing. It is really hard to run into the set and explain to the director some complicated three dimensional blocking issues that are obvious at the monitor.

Try doing multiple passes at different sizes. Also start your moves at different spots in the track so the timing is different. You may want to do half in one direction and half in the other. Make sure you get key lines on camera on a few takes.

XR35 is a great camera. I shot two features on it, learned to use a gear head with it, and would still consider using it today. I found it very quiet and easy to use. The down side it is large a heavy. You need a gear head and you need a solid dolly. And you can forget handheld or Steadicam. But if you had a dialog heavy picture where old studio style photography with dolly shots and solid composition made sense this could be an affordable option. I do not remember a two perf switch and I think the frame rates were limited.

First of all if you shoot buildings or people’s faces on the street and they are recognizable you need a release. If you use your film professionally there is a good chance they will ask about your rights to use these images. This is regardless as to whether you have permits or not. If you shoot some straight to the web 16,000 hit video this probably won’t be a problem. If your project ultimately gets some visibility it could. I’m not bothered by your desire to steal shots. We’ve all done it. I’m a little taken aback by your portrayal of law enforcement as fascist and the requirements for insurance as defining a police state with out civil freedoms. In the US if you get caught the cops will probably just tell you to move on and ask you when your film is coming out. There are plenty of countries where you’d do eight years in jail.

I usually rig some sort of a support to keep the Chimeras from drooping. I’m glad you mentioned it because I have been thinking of manufacturing a bracket. I often just clip diffusion inside the Chimera to knock the light level down. I clip it to the frame of the soft light half way between the light and the front of the box.

You have to be careful when using the Easy Rig with an SR with an old style handle. It is slightly tapered and there is a danger of the Easy Rig sliding off the handle. I added a small loop onto my rig to keep the handle in position.

I own an Easy Rig 3 and it is great. Easily handles the heaviest cameras. I can shoot hand held with a 50 pound camera for long takes with out issues. It is also very steady with longer lenses which I find extremely useful. It is great for use under slung where I cradle the camera in my arms. It is not for everyone however. Many people think it is a poor man’s Steadicam. It doesn’t work well like this. When you walk it tends to impart a side to side movement that takes some experience to overcome. Lighter cameras are too light and sometimes require a small weight to make them rest on your shoulder with the Cinema Rig. Again, I use it all the time and love it.

Bought it, used it, love it.

I think you have set some pretty tough goals for yourself. I have a Losmandy Porta Jib with an extension and it reaches out about 9’ add the height of the legs and you have 12’. And it sounds like you have worked with it before. I have a remote head and you need one to get that high. You could probably break the unassembled crane into two separate packages that two people could carry. Then you have the sticks which need to be heavy duty and the head. That is a third person. Then you are stuck with the need to load rocks in a basket to counter balance it. I think I’m throwing 250 lbs to counter balance an F900. That’s a lot of rocks. If you find a lighter more portable system I’d love to hear it.

Because of the affordability of underwater housing and decent cameras to fit in them I would recommend buying one. Then just start shooting. If you are in a resort environment offer to shoot the videos of tourist dives. With new editing systems you can shoot a dive and have a cut video ready the next day. I’ve paid around $50 for these videos on the “Rhone” in the BVI and a “Manta Dive” off of Kona. It is a great way to make some cash and really hone your underwater skills.

I have yet to use the EX1 or the Panasonic 170. I am thinking of buying one of these cameras and I am really on the fence. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I would be concerned with the EX1 regards to how it would deal with all the leaves and detail.

Although I enjoyed “Knowing” as entertainment I was pretty disappointed with the look of the Red. The wider shots were soft for some reason. The color looked like a faded 1950’s 16mm color junior high science film. The flesh tones had a corpse like appearance. The autumn color trees looked so bad they fit into the “What were they thinking” category. On a positive note I thought the dark cool interiors look terrific and this is an area I thought the Red would fail. There was very little noise and the blacks looked great. With regard to the look of the film I’m sure the response would be “We were going for that look”. Right. That’s like someone serving you burned brownies and saying “I meant to burn them”. On a side note I love the fact that there are so many science fiction films being made now but I am frustrated that science fiction has become a genre geared toward stupid people. They have taken the lead from b-drive in movies rather then the smarter films of that period. Cage, a college professor, is supposed to be a top scientist but when things start to get out of had he responds like a panicky citizen.

Here is a cool site with lots of DIY jibs. Have fun!