Michael Nash

I worked on a project recently that got a "great deal" on some unreleased stock from Kodak, I believe called Special Order 80. Rumor had it that the stock was developed for a TV show that never happened, and Kodak is trying to unload the surplus. I can see how this kind of thing can happen, but I'm curious about this particular stock and its characteristics. I was the gaffer and not the DP, so the lack of testing didn't scare me but left me curious just the same. I'm assuming that since the stock was designed for TV it's probably a little flat and neutral to leave room for telecine tweaking. I wonder how the color, gamma, and grain compare to the other 500T stocks like 5218 and 5284. We lit and shot out project under the assumption that the stock wasn't TOO radically different from other modern Kodak 500T stocks, and I got a report form the DP that the telecine went fine and the producers were thrilled with the results. Still, inquiring minds want to know. Mr Pytlak?

"Arrested Development" is shot with the Panasonic Varicam, as is Fox's "Oliver Beene."

I've also shot plenty of film and video with household and commercial fluorescent units, but usually FOR their incomplete spectrum. Flicker and color problems are no big deal if you know what you're doing with them. Off-the-shelf hardware store bulbs do have a little green spike in them, even if the manufacturer claims a color temp of 3200 or 5500 or whatever. The overall color temp may be correct, but the additional green in the tube will need to be corrected out with some minusgreen; usually 1/8 or 1/4. Different film stocks and video cameras will respond differently to the amount of green present. Flicker is not a problem as long as you shoot at HMI-safe speeds. You don't need a 144 degree shutter at 24fps and 60hz. power -- 24fps (crystal) is an HMI safe speed for all shutter angles. Also those 4' 2-tube shop lights don't require any heavy ballast; they're self-contained and relatively lightweight (I carry four of them under my arm at a time, and plug them straight into an ordinary Edison outlet). The ballasts do hum a little bit, so I tend to use them only in the background away from dialogue. Sometimes the ballasts can be a little finicky if you cube-tap too many together, but what do you want for less than 10 bucks? ;-) There are some cool 6500 deg "daylight deluxe" bulbs that give a great blue glow for nightclub interiors and so on. I like to put them behind things and at the base of wall for a little wash or glow on the wall more than incident light.

Eyelights come in two flavors: small, hard sources that are best for filling the eye sockets with INCIDENT light; and large, soft sources that are best for filling the eyeball with specular REFLECTED light. With a small hard source such as a Pepper or maglight you can run the risk of adding to much incident light on the face to get the specular reflection in the eyeball bright enough. Sometimes in a CU that little spot is all you need, and it works great. Other times you end up with what looks like a flashlight in the face and still not a good reflection in the eyeball. I'll often go the opposite direction and use a large Chinaball on a dimmer, held about 5 feet away from the face. When dimmed to the right level it adds almost no fill, but puts a BIG specular reflection in the eyeballs that's especially flattering on women. In very dark or low key lighting this can be hard to get away with, at which point you're better off with a Pepper or Dedo to target just the eyes and not the whoel face. Both small and large sources can be useful, and I also like using fluorescent tubes for a horizontal slash in the eye that can become soft fill when brought in close enough. For interesting eyelights, check out the triple-light technique they use on all the women on the TV show "Charmed."

You might consider trying to find some used Lowel video lights. Open face fixtures such as Omni's (650W) and Lowel D's (1K's) are relatively cheap but still look professional enough for paying clients. You can also find Tota lights pretty cheap; they're nothing more than a 1K halogen bulb in a minimal housing. The great thing about Lowel lights is there are already tons of accessories out there for them such as gel holders, umbrellas, barn door sets, and Chimera speed rings. Sometimes you can get a good deal on a used kit that might include a case, stands, cables, and a few accessories.

That wouldn't happen to be the flash flood set at Universal would it? I recently finished a gig there on that street. Two main concerns there (or anywhere else) -- the uneven ground became VERY slick and it's easy to slip and hurt yourself (especially if carrying euipment). Second, if the towers aren't high enough you see a distinct arc to the raindrops as they fall. On that set there was really only one tower that produced vertical rain; the others looked... well, cheap. Protect all your cable runs and connections from standing water. If a cable has a break in the insulation it can leak power into the surrounding puddle. Backlit rain looks beautiful on camera, but the working conditions can become pretty miserable. It can get cumbersome trying to work when you and the gear are covered up with waterproof wear. Plan on EVERYTHING taking at least twice as long as normal -- changing lenses, running cable, setting up lights. For more insight into shooting in rain, check out the special features on the DVD of "Identity." The whole movie takes place in the rain, and most of it was built on a soundstage.

Hi all, nice to be back. Out of town for the holidays (up in Tim's neck of the woods), and hit the ground running on Jan 2. I finally have time to re-register and try to get caught up. Things certainly have changed around here; I'm still finding my way around the site's new bells and whistles. Just finished gaffing and operating 4 days of shoot-em-up stunts, gunfire and explosions with our own Bob Hayes on the Universal backlot. Lots of work but lots of fun. I look forward to getting back in the conversations.