Kyle Geerkens

Thanks Everyone who commented! I know 10 Dollar budget sounds like I'm lying.. But All the equipment was owned or borrowed by myself. All food was paid for by the individuals. Tape stock was my only expense as I worked for free, and i shot on the DVX100B so tapes were cheap. The story was conceptualized beforehand, and I visualized how I wanted it to look. I wanted the interior scenes to appear very "fly-on-the-wall". So I shot a lot of full length takes from different vantage points. The look was painted in post, but the single key look was intentional. There was no specific influence.. i just knew how I wanted him to appear to the audience. Very little eye contact and reserved but friendly. Thanks again for the comments! Kyle

so even with the mistakes... am i correct state that the F will always be equal to or higher than the T stop (higher # i mean) and the T stop is actually the natural F number minus the amount of light the lens absorbes. thus being a more exact representation of what hits the film?

Ive been led to believe that F stops and T stops are almost identical. I don't shoot film and thus sounds stupid right now, but this has been bugging me for some time. in video and HD i have no concern for T-stops... The F is determined from the T stop with some math formula correct? ie. aperature / ASA? i dont know

One day shoot? I assume there's a rental house nearby. If your time is worth anything to you just rent a couple sky-hi stands and a 6x6 or 12x12 frame and a silk. It won't cost you much at all and saves you loads of hassle. I would suggest once youve rented the real stuff you will have a better idea how to build your own in the future Oh and don't forget the crucial sandbags!

I posted this earlier with higher compression and some of you wanted to see a better image. http://live.canoe.ca/Videos/Showbiz/Music/...22/3425551.html It was kindof a run-and-gun production with a 10 dollar budget but dont let that held back on criticisms! Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be contacting them to get a final answer and will post my response on here ASAP. If anyone else feels they may have any insight into this topic please continue to discuss. On a side note: Personally I see absolutely no reason why shooting 720P (24p native) on the HVX wuld be a problem for them considering the quality is still great and they are receiving/broadcasting an SD version anyways! comments? Thanks Kyle Geerkens

I agree I have never seen this wording before either. hence the question. I will quote the page directly: "Videos shot on 35mm ?lm have a ?ne grain, details in the blacks, increased resolution that allows lower levels in lighting while still maintaining the integrity of the scene and an overall vibrancy in colours that does not exist in 16mm or super 16. In certain cases, HD24P as a shooting format is acceptable if a Digital Betacam master is submitted. Please note, regular Hi-Def will not be considered." "Shooting Requirements: 1. Video must be shot on 35mm ?lm or HD24P" So to clarify... I don't think I'm being dumb here.. this is very vague. It sounds like its written by someone who has no idea what theyre talking about. I get this from the written specs: Forgetting about film.... they want any High Def - But not shot at 30FPS to avoid the "video look". To me it sounds like they have heard a bunch of buzz words and are using them to sound specific. If I am wrong please tell me!! They did not specify what film formats. But I do not have the budget to shoot film in any case!

I'm proposing a music video and in order to receive funding from the broadcaster there are some specs that confuse me. I want to shoot with the HVX200... Their spec sheet says that they will not accept Hgh Def. They want film or HD24P. What confuses me is the difference between high def and HD24P. Obviously they want the 24P look. So do I. So are they just saying that i can't shoot HD at 29.97 FPS and have to make sure it is 23.98? Or is there a specific camera they are directing me towards?

I find that as much as you can plan for sunlight... watch out for the overcast day. It is well known that yes... overcast gives a nice flat light... it also tends to look dull and lacks emotion/dynamics. Bring a strong source to at least be able to simulate some direction to the light. Even a 1K or 2K will do ona budget for your MS and Cu's (with bounce of course) I recently shot Sony Z1U on a very murky day in Florida and was thoroughly unimpressd with my end result. so cross your fingers and do as everyone has said... block well and don't let the director get married to some blocking if it's going to ruin the shot.

Thanks for the comments guys. I agree. For the indoor horror stuff. I truly ws running out of time. I did want the bright look to contrast teh dark basement but I failed there without being able to really shapy my light. Live and learn i guess. The phone conversation in the edn took me out of the mood. the idea ws that We would stay on one shot and I would reality/style shoot it (ie. slight handheld crash zooms) I think it was a mistake to even have the phone conversation in there. Booooorrrrring.... Seany Sauce (music video artist) liked the cover this face idea. SO we kept it. We did discuss the fact that his face would not be recognizable. But in the end his call was to stick with that mood. Again thanks for the info. Id be interested to hear some conventional ideas for lighting a sunny indoor day witha bright mood.. yet properly shaping shadows to create a horror feel. Kyle

All i can think of if youre balacing on 1/4 blue and using a warming filter already is you're overexposing the faces thus losing colour. either the balance or the warming filter alone should fix this. Is it pale in your viewfinder or just on output?

Hi Posters! I know it's lame, but I figure the only way to get better is to show people your work and let them tell you what you did wrong. Here are 2 Videos i shot recently. The First one was in the fall for a 24 Hour film challenge. I know... many of you think these are lame because they don't aim for perfection. But I like them because they test how well you can imagine and create a scene quickly. i think it really puts your technical/creative juices to the test! What do you think? This one is a music video I shot for a friend. The Story was not designed by me. Just lighting and shooting. Comments would be very much appreciated! And if you like the song be sure to let the artist know! Needs some exposure. Thats why i did it for free ! haha Thanks!

Ya i know what you mean. After doing mine, I really do want to do more. I think it's more for the fun than creating a masterpiece. I also find it fun to light with limited time and see what you can accomplish. And there were many in the festival that were absolutely stellar. Truth be told, i would rather fill my weekend stressed out on that challnege than sitting on my arse all day.! thanks for your comments

Hey Loyal Posters, I just completed a short for a festival in Toronto called the 48 Hour film Challenge. i knnow many other cities do the same thing so i won't bore you with the details. Essentially: 48 hours from concept to completion 10 people max including actors 4 criteria to abide by Mine: Location - Mechanics Garage Genre - Romance Crisis - Running into an ex Prop - Pin the tail on the donkey It's posted online and I'd like you all to see it and tell me what you think or would do differently if you can. Keep in mind i was DP not diretcor. Also once we shot something we were hard pressed to reshoot if it didnt work in post as I'm sure you understand. Enjoy... Kyle www.stealingtime.com click on "cient login" Username - "tfc" Pass - "2006" Kyle Geerkens Director of Photgraphy

I'm going to texas next week to shoot a sfatey video for a contract job. I will be shooting large machinery in wide but busy places. Here's what I have to work with: -no genny, but lots of available circuits. -1 4K Barter -1 x 1K tungsten (baby baby) -3 x 650W Tungten (arri) -1 x 300W Tungsten -1 x 400W Joker HMI kit i can budget more but not much and i think the Barter with other lights should cover me for wider shots. A lot of this is free shooting (ie light the area and shoot B-roll) I'm going for a lot of Employees working with factory equipment sequences. any suggestions? Kyle Geerkens Director of Photography

I'm about to do a shot with a dolly back following the subject down an appartment hallway. and ive heard that these are notoriously difficult, and im starting to agree! i dont have the access to light from inside other tenants doorways so here's what i was thinking i would do? i have to keep this simple and the track is about 7 seconds long at a slow walking pace. im thinking i will affix a soft source 250 on the dolly above the eyeline and use a barrauda pole to hang another one above and behind the subject as a backlight motivated by the overhead lights in the middle of the ceiling do you think this will work? Thanks

thanks for the info everyone i believe these are 2 recan 400' they're not properly labelled but the weight seems to suggest that its not a short end.

Hi i just got 2 cans of 5218 back from a commercial shoot that the company I work for didn't want anymore. why? It says the film was spun into reverse. What does this mean? and if I shoot some fun test with it, will it expose at all? if so, what sort of image will I get?

Thanks for the photo, I can't believe i didnt know that was online. Yes that is the exact court im shooting in, and the shot is from the balcony. As you can see the mural is quite colouful so i want to emphasize that. I've found that with this style i'm going for the more vibrant the more funny for some reason. Maybe vibrant colours don't lend to dry humour as well as for this style... my humble opinion! haha I'm thinking I will shoot under the mercury lights, but i'm definitely going to shoot some tests in day and night first to see this week.

Hi Yes that's the one. It's at Lawrence between the dvp and vic park. It's called North Beach Volleyball. It will be very difficult to rig anything on the ceiling there under my budget... (i hate budgets!!) Do you know anyone sho has shot there before? Also Davidthank for your help, when you say to shoot the CU's with gelled hmi's... what correction should i gel with. if the mercury is missing a lot of red and i have balanced to those fixtures to remove the green, then i see why it would be grey, so then wouldn't doing the CU's with hmi's and no gel manage to fill in the missing red wavelenths? Sorry for the dumb question, i just got a little confused there. Thanks Kyle

I'm thinking based on these comments that I may be able to shoot with overheads on. they are mercury vapour. am i correct that mercury is close to daylight temperature?

The scene isn't really meant to be a sporting 'event' as such. no audience. it's a corporate league (similar to a beer league in hockey i guess) I was thinking of doing it at night, not so much because it has to look like night, but more to stay away from the sun changing direction throught the day. I'm not sure how much of an issue this would be? If i did it in daylight do you think my 575's would have enough punch to be noticeable at all against the sun? and also, if we were replace the mercury vapour lights, do I have to check the fixture for compatibility, or is this a standard substitute? thanks for your prompt reply David.

Hey guys and gals, I'm in pre-pro for my my first pilot. We're shooting January, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to light this scene. We're shooting on the Panasonic AJ-HDC20A HD Camera. The pilot is for a comedy with much the same feel as "Scrubs'. One of our major scenes is located in an indoor beach volleyball court. This place in in a giant warehouse but has been remodelled with 'beachy' murals on the walls and wahtnot so there is lots of beautiful colour to pick up on the walls. It's really a nice looking palce as long as I light it well. But, as you can imagine the court is huge! 3800 sq/ft. Assuming the wide shots will be coming from the bottom left of my diagram, I was hoping you coul offer some suggstions on how to make this huge place look great. We're shoting at night because around the roof it is all huge windows. there is a balcony on the left hand side stwetching the width of the court whihc would be ideal for placing my main source. Here's what I have to work with for equipment, and I can rent some other stuff obvioulsy as needed, but we're trying to keep this as cheap as possible. 2 x 575 hmi w/ various lenses and scrims 4 x 1K T 4 x 650 T 6 x 250 T thinking about renting one or two 1.2 K HMI one for each lower corner one being on the balcony w/ 12x12 silk to key both teams. now the fel isn't supposed to be overly dramatic, I'm not going for a lot of contrast here, as I said it's a funny scene with lots of vibrant colour. I want to pick up the walls nicely in the background, but mostly I need a good evenly lit court and teams. any suggestions on making this happen better? and there was a thread on going in for coverage that I saw which may or may not apply to such a large area as I may ned to bring my lights in a lot more for CU's????? finally, the court is uslaly lit with about 6 large mercury vapour fixtures on the ceiling. As of right now I am turning these off for sure, however if you think they could be better left on I'm open to that i guess. Sorry for the long post Kyle

Hey I'm having a slight problem coming to agreements with my Director on an upcoming project. I'm kindof feeling that she wants to have such a strong vision that I'm not going to be using my full potential. How in your experiences does pre-production work? I know it varies a lot depending on the two people. However, I would like to know if i should be involved strongly in the planning of shots or if she should do everything and then once i look it over i should suggest chages then. I was thinking that we would work very closely on planning (ie cam movement, shot selection mood etc...) and when it came down to the nitty gritty she would obvioulsy have the final say. Is it me that creates the mood I feel suits her ideas. Or do i just make her mood. Thanks

my girlfriend just got an internship with TVO. youre also starting at a rough time, as it is the beginning of school semesters, and Ryerson for example has about 100 people looking for interships right now. as well as others im sure But giver and good luck, kyle