Bob Hayes

Yes shooting day exterior on 500 ASA stock is a pain but there are several reasons you might want to. If you want an image that has the grain structure, contrast, and saturation of 500 ASA stocks. You may not want your project to look like 50D ASA. You might be in an exterior situation where you are often running out of light. In a jungle for example. Or in a dark raining environment. Don?t forget 500 ASA with an 85 filter is 320 or 250 ASA. That ain?t that fast. You may be shooting a lot at the end of the day where you are running into dusk. You may want to do a film on one film stock to keep a uniform feel to it. One film stock also makes it easier on crew so you don?t have to constantly load and unload mags. I?m really playing Devil?s Advocate, but there are some reason?s why you might. By the way it is much easier to shoot 500 ASA in bright sunlight then it is to try to do night on 50D stock.

If you are into soft shadow less material you might want to check out American Market?s 1090. It is like a double 216 and it shows no source what so ever. It comes in rolls so you can only cover a 4x4 frame realistically.

Lighting reading and especially sunglasses can be a real challenge. Here are some of my favorite tricks. You can light the glasses from such an angle that there is no reflection in the glass. Usually from a high and frontal angle. You can also light them from the opposite side that the person is looking. If you are careful you can avoid any reflections. This isn?t necessarily a good thing. Look at the film ?Riddic? They went to such pains to keep any and all reflections out of the glasses that they look dead. You can also intentionally put reflections in the glasses that are part of the set. Try putting light colored papers on the desk in front of the actor and bouncing a light into them. Then the reflections will look natural. Sometimes I?ll take a 4x4 with 216 on the frame and then use 1? tape to make a checkerboard pattern that looks like window panes. Hang some sheers and a potted plant to complete the illusion. I?ll also use a lampshade as the source so when it is reflected it is something we are used to seeing.

Although your professor wants you to ?Take Notes on the Script? what you are really being asked to do is to prepare for the film as a DP. You want to achieve several things by doing this. First technically you need to know what the film requires. Are there big night scenes? There might be a huge fire gag at the end of the film. You are expected to be fairly well prepared early into production to discuss technical challenges and solutions with both the Director and the Production Staff. Second you need to know dramatically what the film is about. So you can discuss in dramatic terms the film. What is the theme and mood of the film? Who are the characters? Where do they live? Thirdly by preparing you can bring a strong creative vision to the film. How do you want the film to look and feel? Do you see it as all hand held or do you see it as a Steadicam film. The more creative ideas you start to germinate the better you will be prepared to support the director. Now you may feel it should look like ?Barry Lyndon? and the director may say he wants ?21 Grams? but at least you have an opinion. I highly recommend ?The Visual Story? by Bruce Block. This book gives an in depth description of the many visual elements at the DP?s disposal. With regards how I prepare for a film. I don?t write my notes on the script because as production moves forward different colored pages start appearing and your notes will be on an old copy of the script. Instead, I create a page for every important scene of the film. . Here are some of the things I record. . What the beats are of the scene. What is it about? It is easy as a DP to miss what the drama is. . I make a note of the first time we meet a character in the film. . How important the scene is in the context of the film. Although all the scenes seem important some of them are hugely important to the success of the film. . I make special note of difficult scenes. It may only read as an 1/8th of a page but it can take days. . Are there effects like rain, lightning, snow etc? How about lighting gags? . I make sure I am aware of what key sets look like. Is Jack?s apartment hip modern and cold? Or is it old fashion and cluttered. When you start meeting with departments it?s better to say ?Wow I pictured it a different way.? than ?I never gave it much thought.? . How I want the scene to look. Sometimes with references to other films, painting, photos. If I can I will include samples in my notes. Maybe I see the Bad guy?s world as monochromatic. Maybe I feel a French New Wave look would really charge the film. Many of these decisions will ultimately be made by the director but a good DP brings more to the table that just technical skill. The initial steps come from your early reading of the script.

Par 64s are great. They are inexpensive, very small and compact. They look kind of like car head lights. By changing the globes out you can change the beam from a very narrow spot to a wide beam. They work great for lighting the sides of buildings, back lights anything. The down side is they are very hard to cut and scrim. I did a boxing show where I wanted to light with pools of light. We just hung Par 64s and pointed them down. You can get them with a collar which snoots the light.

I?m shooting a 35mm feature which, as a story point, involves using a flash camera that repeatedly blinds an assailant. I want nice long flashes. It would be great if the flashes could ramp up like old flash bulbs.

I really don?t understand what you mean by needing a screen saver shot to use in animation. Do you mean that you plan to use a still shot of the computer screen saver and composite into you video image. If this is the case, how about taking a digital still of your computer and importing it into your graphics program.

You ask a good question. It?s amazing the number of people who invest millions of dollars making a film but don?t know the answer to that question. If you have an independent film with decent production values you have a chance of making a direct to video deal to outlets like Blockbuster and Amazon.com. This is true even if you shot on 16mm, HD, or even smaller digital format. A television deal like the Sundance channel is also possible. You might make a small amount upfront for the rights to distribute and a percentage of the sales. However, it is really difficult for a novice to track the sales and structure the deal so you ever see much money. The higher the production values the more chance of making a sale. A name actor who hasn?t appeared in too many small films can really help. If your film happens to be a currently hot subject matter that can really help. I think it would really be worth your time to look at the video stores and see if there are independent films that are similar to what you were hopping to make. See who distributed them. Distribution is really the key to making films. There is the growing possibility of selling the product yourself through the Internet. This is truer of genre films like action and horror where there is a lot of electronic word of the mouth. A good solid web site and some positive fan buzz who knows. But realize you make the money selling the product not making it.

Think pools of light illuminating small parts of the library. Cool practicals can really work in an old-fashion library setting. Small units from the floor up lighting your background are often a good solution. They don?t even have to be movie style lights. I sometimes use work lights with small tungsten bulbs.

I?ve found that hand holding eye lights is an effective way to deal with moving cameras and Steadicam. Just keep the light on stand by and use it when the actor turns away from key. That way you can keep the scene darker.

Where should the black levels be set on a DVX 100A for NTSC broadcast (0 or 7.5). I set my PD150 at 7.5 and like the look.

What a great class!

When you say you are ?Shooting? a film I assume you mean you?re the Director of Photography or Director/Cameraman on the project. The DP gaffer relationship is a very complex one. A DP who has a strong vision of lighting may need a Gaffer who is more of a technician and crew chief. One who is weak on lighting might actually let the gaffer light the whole thing himself. Usually it falls some where in the middle. At best it is a fun collaboration where each of you is sharing ideas, solving problems, and challenging each other. My only concern with hiring a still photographer to gaff is he is used to working as a DP/Dir with out much oversight. He is probably more familiar with strobes then the power required for film lights. He is not used to lighting large areas where the talent and camera moves. He is not familiar with matching lighting from master to close up. That said, he wants to build a reel as a DP and so do you so it may work to both your benefits.

What are the other films in the set?

Are these just regular memory sticks? Or special ones for the 900?

?Sleepy Hollow? was shot on Kodak's Vision 200T 5274. And they used some silver retention process called CCE. Which actually makes this image MORE contrasty then it was. It looks like they used one large source, perhaps a 10K or 20k, hung above the window and at least 30? away. That means it would have to be about 80? off the floor. Burton had some huge stages so this wasn?t impossible. I bet the hung it from a crane. You?d need to blow out the windows so they may have hung a 20? x 20? white grifflon out the window. It looks like they used a warming filter on the lens like a tobacco, chocolate, or Coral. But I believe they did color correction in the lab. It looks like they used a ¼ Black promist on the lens. But again I don?t think ?Sleepy Hollow? used diffusion. It looks like the image was filled by natural bounce off the floor.

Is it night or day? You might think about lining up most of your lights from one side of the gym on bleachers. Ajust keeping them out of you frame. Or you may beable to hang you lights from the beams above. There must be access to change the gym lights. Just tie em off safely.

Try playing with the slower shutter speeds. That will give your shots a smeary quality that is easy and effetive.

I could probably list about 200 things to do and not do. Here are a few off the top of my head. 1. Regardless of what happens maintain a positive and enthusiastic attitude. It is contagious and if people see you are enjoying the challenge they will too. 2. Make sure you get one or two great looking scenes for your reel. 3. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IN YOUR CONTRACT THAT YOU GET A HIGH QUALITY COPY OF THE MOVIE FOR YOUR REEL. I used to go into the telecine and get copies of dalies to build my early reels. Keep in contact with the editor. Know when they are telecining the film. Producers a very afraid that a copy of the film will be circulated and or sold before they sell it. They will often be very very reluctant to let any copies out. It?s funny because they trusted you so completely during production and now once the film is shot they stop trusting you. Also, realize, if you finished your film today it will be two months before it is cut. Another four months until it is sold but not delivered. In short it can take up to a year before you get a useable copy for your reel. Once you get established this delay isn?t so bad because you are already involved on other projects. 4. The job of director of photography is controlled by time. Film makers think they are shooting a master piece and take all morning on the first scenes. Then they suddenly realize they are out of time so they rush through the rest of their day. That's called shooting ?Gone with the Wind? in the morning ?Dukes of Hazard? after lunch. You must start your days fast out of the gate. Push like you have to shoot most of your day before lunch. Don?t leave important scenes to the end of the day. If you allow AD?s and UPM?s to control your time clock they will drive you crazy. 5. The people will remember you for your first day at work and your last. Leave them with a good impression of who you are. Sometimes the stress of the shoot will explode on the last day.

I?m pretty ignorant in the post area but I would think if you record your speed up sync track onto you dvx 100a you would already be sunk up. All you would need to do is lay down your original music and then stretch your DVX100A video and audio until the audio matches your original. If you put ?bloop? sounds at heads and tails of your master it would even be easier. I would do full takes and try to sync before your edit. Are many rock videos shot on mini dv these days?

When I used to shoot concerts I?d keep my spot meter on hand and check. Usually the problem for me was it would get too bright. On shows where I was really worried I would do a snip test of some rolls. Develop the first couple of feet and see if I was in trouble.

I'm loving the idea of using an ND grad!

I usually shoot video with a Net behind the lens. I?ve been told this is a bad idea with HD. I think a net would really smooth out the HD image. Any thoughts on this subject?

Sometimes the VX100a can go out of focus. Often the result of being dropped. I found that powering down and pulling the battery will reset this problem.

In most cases the audience will never notice it when every shot is back lit. Look at ?The Natural?. I Think it is a great look. Even the most discriminating will usually buy into it and like it.