Patrick Kaplin

Hello Robin, Thank you for the detailed reply. We've decided to budget in a FP just in case but I do intend to test further, we have a few more blocks of similar content to film and it would be good to know the AF limitations.

Hello, I've got a shoot coming up where we'd like to explore using the internal AF on the FX9 for our steadicam shots (shots will be of dancers performing). I intend to test extensively on my own, but I was wondering if anybody has had any success with the AF under similar shooting scenarios? I'm slightly nervous as there may be some work in silhouette and we have very limited time for the shoot.

Wouldnt it be more efficient to use the 2k as the red source since its already closer to that part of the colour spectrum? Kinos could then be daylight balanced plus a bit more blue.

Im very curious to see anybodys suggestions for this. Personally, I dont really see how it can be done. You would need an enormous amount of negative to create that level of contrast in daytime conditions. If the budget issue is due to renting a big genny/condor/big fixtures, maybe a different approach would be to scale back the coverage to tighter frames and rent a smaller genny/lighting package to only cover those frames. Godspeed, its quite a challenge you face. Please fill us in on how it went.

Personally, I've never used a thermal cover. I find the camera's internal temperature runs so high that heat dissipation is actually improved in colder temperatures. However, I suppose it couldn't hurt, but I wouldn't always consider it a necessity. I've shot Red Epic in -36C without a thermal cover with no issues. Care must be taken for the LCD screens though. Handwarmers and rubber bands are good friends. One really important thing to be aware of is lens lubrication. If you don't winterize your lenses, you can expect to have some issues with remote follow focus units. They may not be able to provide enough torque to properly turn the lens at those temperatures.

Hello, How much for the Zeiss Classic ZF2 set? Thanks,

Thanks for the suggestions Sanjay and David. Rounding the edge of the aluminum sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately it'll be a docu environment, so controlling ice quality will be pretty difficult. I'll try to grab my shots within the first 15 minutes of the Zamboni passing. Cheers guys.

And also provide the most stability at high speeds on the ice

After watching it in a higher resolution it appears to be a wooden base. Any idea what would slide better on ice, wood or aluminum?

I have a shoot coming up where the director wants to have a camera sled on ice. I'm wondering if anyone has ideas about how the base of this rig is made? It appears at 3:16 on this edit. I know the top portion is just aluminum bars attached to the top handle of the Alexa, and that a wedge plate is holding the camera. But I have no idea how the wedge plate is attached to the base and what the base is made out of. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear them. Cheers!

Hey Kevin, I think this is something you'll have to test on your own for the exact differences between bulbs. Once you find the one you like just order a whole lot of them. Generally any cheap fluorescent with a low CRI rating is going to give off some green light. If you take a cool white with a terrible CRI and shoot on a tungsten balance then you'll get that cyan colour. You can also modify slightly with 1/4 and 1/8 plus green gels, try using 1/4 plus green on a daylight Kino. This way you can use some conventional units for modelling if you wish and keep the same colour. All in the testing.

Also, if the budget allows, 1x1 LEDs can be quite handy and are quite compact.

Which country will you be filming in? Bring a china ball with daylight photofloods and some incandescents with a stinger and paper tape. Hardly takes any space and this way at least you'll have a nice soft key for interviews. Use existing practicals for background and maybe even cheat some for rim light.

No experience with propane bars from anyone?

I'd suggest, if you haven't already, checking out the special features on the Moon DVD. They could only afford a motion control rig for a certain amount of days and could barely fit all the shots into the schedule. For simpler moves and pans, a trick they used was to do the take with Sam #1, then once they were happy with the take, playback would send a half opacity version of the selected take to the operator's monitor, where he would practice the move in the selected take repeatedly. The operator practiced while the actor was getting changed in wardrobe/makeup to his second character. When Sam #2 was ready, the operator would follow the moves from the previous take during the new take. That was the basic idea, and it's been awhile since I've seen it. But it essentially worked as a poor man's motion control rig. You could try contacting Gary Shaw, the DOP for Moon to ask about any caveats to using this system.

Hello, I'll be directing a short film this August where the climax of the film will occur during a house fire. I have a general idea of how I want to approach this but wanted to ask a couple questions and seek advice from others who are probably better versed in this than I am. I want the scene to feel very disorienting and visceral. The fire will occur in the protagonists living room and adjacent dining room. Whole scene encompasses about a page and a half of the script. Planning on shooting quite tight, no wide shots to make it easier to fake the fire. The plan was to get a smoke machine to obscure as much of the room as possible. My first question, it seems like from my research of house fires the smoke is often white in color. However, having fortunately escaped from a burning building myself I remember the smoke being quite black in color. From my understanding there's not really any way to modify the color of smoke from smoke machines, so should I simply count on flooding the set with as much white smoke as possible and hope that using enough negative fill will give the scene the dark disorienting look I'm after? Or is there an option I'm unaware of to get black smoke from a smoke machine? Does either option leave lots of residue on the walls and furniture of the set? Second part of my plan was to use interactive lighting rigs to simulate flickering fire. Haven't drawn up exact plans for these yet and not even entirely sure these rigs would be necessary. Thirdly, I was planning on obtaining three 4' propane bars to hide in the shot and to create flickering flames in front of the lens. From those experienced with using propane bars, would I be able to substitute my fire-lighting rig with just one of these bars for lighting? Have never shot with these before, so any general advice on their use and safety would certainly be welcome. I've yet to consult a sfx supervisor for this as I wanted to do a bit of research on my own first. But rest assured a qualified technician for the propane bars would be on set as well as full cooperation from the local fire dep't. Finally, should I be completely ruling out the possibility of shooting this on a practical location? We're still in the early stages of scouting right now, and still looking for an empty house that could be used. Should I be counting on shooting this scene on a constructed set? Please let me know of any experiences you may have shooting scenes like this. Am I stretching the abilities of these instruments too far to create a realistic burning interior? Thank you all very much!

Anybody know the technique in post for achieving this digitally? I know Slumdog did it shooting on a dslr at 12fps then step printing back I believe. Anybody know the method for achieving this in a standard NLE shooting at a lower frame rate on a RedMX for example? Or when you shoot on a RedMX at a lower frame rate on a 23.98 time base does it achieve this automatically?

Do you have access to CS5? I haven't done a whole project but I've tested dropping native r3ds onto a timeline and scrubbing through with my fairly mediocre computer. 2.7 GHz i5, 4GB RAM blah blah blah. Works well. Fairly certain CS5 can export to DV. Export times will kill you on this. On my machine it took 24 minutes to export 1 minute of footage. At least you wouldn't have to mess around with RedcineX if you don't feel like it. Might be a viable option. Just make sure the shooting ratio stays low if you go this route without a redrocket ;-)

For bagging c-stands with bags that don't have a seam dividing the bag into two sections, turn the bag on it's side so that the seam that runs the perimeter of the bag is in contact with the leg. You'll find the bag folds onto the leg much easier this way. Sorry if that didn't make too much sense, hard to describe clearly.

If wind is your issue, get a grip to hold a 4x double net next to the operator to shield them from the wind. Don't use a 4x floppy or foamcore, it'll create a vortex on the operator's side making the wind worse.

I worked quite a bit in Ottawa where the winter temperatures would sometimes go to -30 C with the wind chill (-22 F). I've always worn snowboard gear on set, and while fairly expensive I find it works the best. A good pair of snow pants and jacket (15,000mm waterproof is important) and I've never been cold. Except when my feet got wet. Never underestimate how important it is to keep your feet dry. Getting your feet wet 4 hours into your 16 hour day is a mistake you only make once. Buy good boots and multiple pairs of wool socks, you'll probably want to change socks halfway through the day. Make sure your socks aren't too tight in your boots, otherwise you lose blood circulation and your feet get even colder. Canada Goose is the go-to brand here for winter gear. They are extremely warm and rugged, the jacket will last you at least a decade of use. But they are really expensive. Still saving up for mine.

I had never really thought of the complexities of rigging to a roller coaster before, but I was wondering if anybody had any photos, stories, previous posts or recommendations for rigging to a roller coaster. I don't need to do it any time soon, but I'm very interested in the process as I know there's quite a bit of g-force involved on the coasters and it must be quite an impressive rig. Is there usually a need to consult the roller coaster engineers before starting rigging?

From what I understood from an Arri rep during a presentation of the Alexa, they are in fact pulling two exposures from the photosites and using them to increase latitude. Don't know how exactly, but I do remember him stating that the method they used (pulling directly from the photosites instead of affecting the shutter speed of one exposure to add to the standard 180 exposure) maintained the 180 motion blur characteristics. If someone with some more technical knowledge about this could explain further I'd be very interested!

I too felt that the dance scenes were very... tight in their portrayal. At first, I felt cheated out of not seeing the performance from a comfortable distance. But I think the choice of camerawork, sticking almost entirely with the actress at a rather uncomfortable distance into the wings back onto centre-stage, was very powerful and suited the story much better. To me the final scene isn't about how the audience perceives her perfect performance, it's about the climax of Natalie's internal struggle with herself, becoming the part. I think this internal struggle was the more important theme, thus the close camerawork really fit well in my opinion. Just my .02!

Reflections: 21 cinematographers at work by Benjamin Bergery This link will take you to a package that has both this book and the paperback edition of the ASC manual. Both are very good books to read and reference.