John Thomas

What's important to a cinematographer? What makes an operator really great? Do you work more in the British system, or do you as the Director of Photography set every shot to the finest detail. Do you prefer not to have an operator? Who needs one? What's your ideal situation?

Some people are not cut out to crew on a set for ten years as they work their way up. I know some successful DPs who could not possibly take orders from a department head so they bought a camera right out of school and called themselves a cinematographer. The smart ones tried to work with the best Grips and Gaffers around and learned the ropes from these guys. They got jobs because they could give their equipment away to starving but talented producer/directors. I think for some, this was their only option. I didn't buy a camera when I got of school because I realized that it wasn't the camera that intimidated me on a movie set, it was the trucks of lights and grip gear that I had no idea how to use. I became an electrician. I needed some "on set time" to learn, just like the guys who bought a camera and a few lights.

Tim's right, wide angle lenses can burn you badly. Even stopped down.. A lot of "fast" lenses don't look great opened up all of the way. Better dark but sharp. I tried a 50mm T1.0 lens wide open once, OOPS. Vincent, I used a single tungsten soft source on the actors and just went with the lights in the distance. Even when stopped down, if you can keep an out of focus light in the BG that is brighter than the actor's faces, you'll be OK. When there's nothing behind them, it's pretty bad. I'll look for a 7218 night grab.

Don't think twice about it, go out and rent some fast, sharp primes. And get a good focus puller. 75mm, 5218, T2.0 through window 150mm, 5218, T2.0 through window 150mm, 5218, T2.0 through window 100mm, 5218, T3.6 no window 150mm, 5218, T3.6 no window As you can see, not only shooting with a fast lens, but choosing your BG is very important. I could have used a faster prime here. When we went closer I had to stop down :( to give the AC a chance to get it into focus. With some shots, the difference of 2 inches of DOF and 4 inches is huge.

John, As Jarin said: A lot of colorists are trained to transfer your film in a flat/safe way so that you will have max control when you do a tape to tape color correct in the future. Call the transfer house and speak with the colorist. Make sure that you are screening the video in the best possible situation. Your decent dailies can look like crap if the room is not dark and the monitor is poorly adjusted. Can you make your dailies look better by adjusting the monitor? 7218 is a great stock. If it is properly exposed and developed it will not make a handsomely lit scene look flat. As an NYU student, I'm sure that you can't afford to overpower the natural lighting in you locations. Sometimes it's easier to take some light away and build a little contrast. Thank you grips! Good luck

When your done shooting with the Arri S for the day you can use it to hammer nails and help build the sets. Those cameras are dependable and durable.

Thanks for the two suggestions. Anyone else?

Anyone have a great color timer at Deluxe in LA? There is no DI, we'll be timing the old fashioned way. Please post here or e-mail me at: mail4jt@aol.com. I would like to hear about who to avoid too. Thanks

I love Kinos and can't imagine doing a job without them, but be careful of their unique color temperature balance to the other lights you are using on the set. If you are printing film "old school" (in the lab with printer lights) you need to watch out. With any modern color correct session you'll be fine.

My 558 is within 1/3 of a stop. Ball in / old greycard, nice meter :)

I think that you'll find that if the b-board or foam-core is evenly lit, (smooth even illumination) then the apparent softness of the light will be a function of the distance of the subject to the board rather than the type of unit used to illuminate the board.

Listen to Michael, don't push, you'll regret it. Scout your locations, there are plenty of bright NYC locations.

Be sure to test that eyemo well before purchasing. I've been burned several times renting Eyemos for stunt work. Shoot tests on film before plunking down the dough.

PAR 64 can with 500w lamp. You can do a lot with a few of these. $ 72.99

7218 is a great stock, expose for a healthy negative to cover your bases. good luck

Susan, On a lot of productions you can get a chance when you come in as an additional second or loader. The rest of the camera crew bumps up when we add a camera or separate unit. You may be a brilliant focus puller but most people will not give you a try until someone they trust has worked with you. The A camera second does all of the booking of additonals on the shows I've worked on. He's the guy I'd try to get to know. You can get your foot in the door as a loader. good luck..

If you havn't worked on a similar sized project, try to crew on one before you start shooting this summer. I had worked as an electrician on several low budget movies before shooting my first feature so at least I knew what to expect on the set. Do your homework! You owe it to the people trusting you with the look of their film. Be prepared and the inevitable curveballs will be easier to deal with.

Seth, I would go to the Mole-Richardson web site and look up the performance data for some of their products. Compare a 1200w fresnel at 20 feet is 160 fc and beam diameter of 14 feet. Compare a 1000w nook at 20 feet is 40 fc and light spread 26 x 14 feet. Their data gives a very rough idea of what to expect in the real world. good luck

The world needs more courageous producers and directors.

I've had some great relationships with various assistant directors but on some jobs the two of us just bump heads. What makes for a successful DP / AD marriage? Who should wear the pants in that family? Do you have any horror stories or happy outcomes to share?

My friend Constantine Makris would tell the sound guys: "It's not going to sound any worse than it looks". :lol:

To take the funky lighting nightmare one step further: Now a producer will have a bright idea and convince the director to block shoot the next scene in the same goofy lighting to make up for the time lost preping for two cameras but only shooting one. "hey we're already lit this way" Lately I'm trying to get the sound mixer to sign off well in advance before I create any two camera sound challenges.

The worst part for me is when I sacrifice the lighting for a wide and a tight camera and then the sound man appeals to the director to only shoot one camera at a time. I've already spent extra time fitting the two cameras in and dealing the lighting problems of two angles. Now I'm going to take twice as long to shoot my poorly lit scene. :angry:

Constantine Makris ASC was a grip before joining the camera dept., He's won 3 Emmys as a DP.

Now I'm also open to the idea that I haven't been looking in the right areas of NYC or approaching things in the wrong way. If anyone local has any comments to correct my viewpoint, I'd appreciate it. Work hard, make yourself useful, then go to LA