Erin Henning

this is a repost for a friend of mine. We still can't figure out what's going on. Please respond here, or check out the original at http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=11477 thanks! Erin I've had my Preston remote focus system for over a year. It's been getting a lot of use on the TV show that I am a focus puller on. I use Panavision Primo lenses. I use a "clip on" matte box for steadicam and hand held shots (because it's lighter); and a "studio" matte box when the camera is on a dolly or remote head. This is common practice for most AC's. For the past couple of months the Preston motor began to "feeze" or "jam up" at randem times when I am using the "clip on" matte box. The clip on matte box adds more stiffness to the lens. I've spoken to almost every engineer at Preston and we've finally decided that it is freezing because the MDR's firmware has a safety limit of power allowed to the motor which shuts it down if the motor needs to draw too much power to move a particularly stiff lens. This is to prevent the motor from burning out. From my experience, I don't feel that these lenses are particularly stiff but maybe thats what it is. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Absolutely! Although, I think I may have to go with "aesthetically mindful on set image acquisition engineer, specializing in real and fictitious events, both at home and abroad" as my favorite.

"Shooter" feels like a fast and easy term to me. "To heck with the permits, just get me a shooter and some talent!!" To me it implies one-man-band type low budget productions. I find I use Director of Photography and Cinematographer almost interchangeably. Although, I'd say a Cinematographer is more likely to be operating the camera (in the context of a big budget film). When I was in film school there was great confusion over the slate. The slate clearly read "cameraman," to which we wondered "Why should we put the name of the camera operator on the slate, and not the Director of Photography?" After a couple of amusing blunders we were corrected. We were told that "cameraman" is a hold over from the early days of film when you had some a actors, a director, and that other guy that made the movie. A term which stuck, apparently, until recently. Whatever name we pick, it's a marketing tool and should reflect our experience and job aspirations. And like any marketing tool it is only means what the people who are hiring us think it means.

I'm not sure. I don't think so. At least not the entire time. But that is a good idea.

Awesome! thanks. Anyone ever used one of these?

Hello all, A friend of mine is shooting a documentary in Ethiopia early next year. He will be in a village that has no electricity for three weeks at a time, three separate trips. He would like to shoot on HD (HDV is acceptable given a variety of limiting factors). We selected the Sony Z7U to shoot on. It being a light weight camera that shoots to tape (no power for laptops and card downloading), has good flexibility given it's interchangeable lenses, and has relatively low power consumption according to the Anton Bauer website. Also I hear good things about the quality of Sony's HDV codec. The tentative plan is to charge the Sony Lithium Ion camera batteries with a solar powered battery charger. Has anyone done this before? How did it work out? How long does it take? Any brands better than others? Does any one have recommendations on a more appropriate camera or power solution? I plan to do a few test runs before he hits the field, but I'd love to know what problems people have already encountered. Thanks! Erin

This is just an echo of what has been already said, but I couldn't resist. My documentary experience has mostly been on verite style shoots and interviews. For me the best part about documentary shooting is working with real people. The person or persons that you are filming are not actors (I'm ignoring reenactments here). And what they are doing or describing is usually about their own lives. Their emotions are real and they are taking a chance by sharing them with you. As an operator you have to be able to connect with them. You have to be able to get the shots you need without being invasive or exploitive. For example, say you're shooting a doc about a team of doctors that provides free surgeries in a third world country. A new patient comes into the lobby right next to you as you are filming. A 6 year old boy who was hideously burned 4 years ago and could potentially have a life changing surgery in the next few days. You're going to want a "before" shot, but he's spent the last four years hiding his disfigurement in embarrassment and you also don't want to give the family the misapprehension that he has to go on camera in order to get surgery. What do you do? Your job becomes an empathetic dance coupled with split second technical decisions. I love shooting documentaries not only because they help me sharpen my craft, but the good ones broaden my world view and challenge my assumptions about other people and myself.