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John Miguel King

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  1. John Miguel King
    That's a common misconception. There are rehoused old school Speed Panchros on the market, from TLS optics, but these are not the Mini S4. The mini S4 are supposedly identical in every measure to the S4 with the exception of the T stop range. As to why the Mini S4 are called panchros, I've no idea, not sure if it's some marketing move from Cooke or simply a description of the lens' physical characteristics that's then been interpreted as being THE panchros. The Panchros are the 50's Speed Panchros and none others.
  2. John Miguel King
    Hi Albion, The S4 are not the panchros. The real panchros, not the mini s4, are mighty difficult to source and go out for a similar price to the S4, at least here in the UK.
  3. John Miguel King
    Hi Jacques, Interesting! I haven't come across that very one. Although provided it's well serviced I see no reason why it shouldn't be glorious. The only thing about that glass that I'd think twice is the trade off between the look and the T 3 limit, and if this is an actual concern to your style come the day of filming. I prefer a fully open wide lens as it adds a little separation. Still, the ultras are very predictable, which is never a bad thing! The 16 mm in particular is so very very pretty. :D J
  4. John Miguel King
    The UPs + Alexa combo might be a tad too sharp for the look you have in mind?. In my far from informed opinion, I find Primos to be closer to Cooke and Optimos than UPs. They seem to have a smoother focus falloff than the UPs or the MPs, resolving detail more "caringly". I tend to find German glass clinically clean with the exception of Vantage. x There's so much "eye of the beholder" in everything I just wrote... :D
  5. John Miguel King
    Tyler, the cost per GB of hard drive vs LTO tape is something like 4 to 1. There's also a big difference in speed, 250 mb/s for LTO vs the 90 mb/s for the cheapest external usb 3; and a massive difference in the reliability of said media. LTO is rated for decades. The standard bitrate for offline compression, Avid for example, is 36 mbps. This is Avid DNxHD 36 8 bits. Prores LT is the closest equivalent. It's possible to go even lower, but then you start asking the processor for extra cycles to decompress the media purely for playback. The 36 mbps number strikes the best balance between viewing quality (perfectly fine for an intermediate codec not meant for online) and the demands on both the station and the media where the proxies are to reside during the edit.
  6. John Miguel King
    I strongly advise you NOT to edit off your originals in 4K. Keep them real safe the very moment you've shot them. A double backup to LTO-5 tapes that are then kept at different places is the cheapest and safest option. It should be reasonably cheap to just hire an LTO deck off any IT rental house during the shoot. If it's all to be on one location it shouldn't be too difficult to setup a place in the location as the lab where all the archival happens. Have a look at either Silverstack or YoYottaID for the entire ingest and archival process. They might seem expensive, but there's nothing more expensive than failing to archive your data. Actually, I think that Silverstack can both ingest, archive to LTO and generate the proxies with a LUT baked in one single step. Instead, transcode everything to prores 422 proxy (if editing on FCP) and work off any drive that's large enough to hold the transcodes. Also, if transcoding on Resolve, make sure you tick "assist conform using reelname --> use filename as tape id" on the project's settings window. This will guarantee that you have at least two bits of information on every transcoded clip pointing to the original rushes. You'll have both the clipname, that should remain the same, and the reel id in the transcoded clip's metadata. Otherwise, you're looking at a huge and unnecessary investment on an external raid just to get a picture lock and the need for a beefed up station for a smooth edit. Also, test the workflow before shooting. If in doubt as to how the process goes, do consider hiring a professional DIT if it's only to setup and explain the workflow before the shoot happens. Trust me, you don't want this stage of the process to become a nightmare. Cover this base quickly and let the actual filmmaking happen without headaches.
  7. John Miguel King
    I think you've got it, although I don't think there's any flashlight. I used to work with a DP that would carry around a lots of glass he'd scavenged off a chandelier. Might just be that I think. The randomness of the reflections, with some not in the frame, suggests a prism with many facets. It's just too random to be a lens.
  8. John Miguel King
    Sensors tend to have a prefered colour balance. For example: Alexa likes tungsten whilst Epic likes daylight. You can quickly check this by inspecting the noise floor on the red and blue colour components using the RGB parade. Being a stills camera I'd be surprised if it doesn't prefer daylight. This might make the pictures cleaner, although I believe when it comes to canon dslr the most important thing is shooting at an ISO which is a multiple of 160 ISO. I've no idea about the why, although it seems to be related to how the gain is applied. It might just be an urban legend.
  9. John Miguel King
    Dennis, this junior has learnt a lot with this brief exchange. Thanks. One question, why do you think ACES is a mess? I'd agree with an argument on CDL being a wasted opportunity, but ACES seems like very much needed.
  10. John Miguel King
    Luxrender is nice!
  11. John Miguel King
    That screen looks amazing!!! I'm still digesting the experience of the 4k HDR prototype that Sony was showing at the BSC. It was so real it spooked me, then got me thinking circularly as to how this is bound to change the art form. I immediately remembered the beginnings of cinema, of the sense of wonder that those first audiences felt. I mean, it sort of demands an evolution of the artform, seeing how the relationship between audience and screen is so radically changed?
  12. John Miguel King
    No worries, although Phil beat me to it. He makes a very valid point on not needing a monitor that takes HD-SDI. The difference between the lilliput and an actual grade monitor is huge. What you need is a screen that can be calibrated and that displays a larger range of colours than the lilliput. Plus you also need it to be large. Anything less than 24" is bound not to be 1080p and won't show you enough detail to make decisions. A grade monitor, however, is a very expensive item. Seeing that you're learning the process, I'd suggest finding a good computer screen that takes hdmi. Eizo makes awesome screens that calibrate automatically, but they're quite expensive indeed. What you're looking for is a screen that does 1080p, takes an hdmi, and uses IPS screen technology. Dell's Ultrasharp screens are quite popular. They don't break the bank yet they're reasonably good. You should also look at getting a calibration probe. Xrite does some very cheap ones. It's crucial that you calibrate the screen. In fact, you're better off with a lower quality screen that's calibrated than with a better one that's not calibrated.
  13. John Miguel King
    Gotcha! What you need then is a Decklink and a spare 4x pci-e slot. The cheapest would be the decklink monitor. It has one 8 bit HD-SDI out. The one above has both in and out, but maybe you don't really need the input?
  14. John Miguel King
    It struck me as a very sleek and thoughtful piece of kit when I played with it during last week's BSC show. The colour management and overall interface are unmatched. I went in very excited about the Cion, which was a massive disappointment (maybe only because Aja's rep didn't seem very knowledgeable), but came out stunned by the Varicam. I haven't been able to find any info on the sensor, as they're keeping it secret. However, from recent Panasonic patents it seems as if they've moved on from bayern patters onto a new technology called "color micro splitter". This means substractive colour and a greatly reduced loss of light. This is massive! I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the go to camera in just a few months.
  15. John Miguel King
    What you need is an sdi out card, not the shuttle. That's a recorder. Which computer will you be grading on?
  16. John Miguel King
    Tough question that is and one that I can't answer with actual knowledge. The fact that a legend like you asks this question from somebody as junior as me makes me very nervous... I can guess a bit, though. I know that Assimilate Scratch converts everything to EXR and then does its calculations off these numbers whilst allowing a choice of algorithms. Resolve does its maths in a similar space, and does offer a few choices in algorithms. These algorithms must come off academia unless the companies are investing on maths research, so I don't see any apriori reasons why Resolve should be any worst in this area. The algebra is out there and free to access, I think. I repeat, I'm guessing what passes off as an answer to your question, so please bear with my ramblings.
  17. John Miguel King
    Good caterers and efficient payroll accountants are the only absolutely necessary elements to any production. Or maybe that's how distorted my view has become after a few years playing the game. The original question made reference as to how the setup can change depending on the budget, and that's what I've answered with a glimpse into this radically different environment. Your question, Phil, and sorry if I come across as arrogant, makes me think that you don't really understand what we do nor why we belong to camera. I don't want to derail the thread. Feel free to start a thread and I'll answer as cogently as I can. Keep in mind, though, that we are the link between what happens in front of the lens and what makes it to post. The ramifications of this simple statement are surprising... and by the looks of it, in the States they seem to be more aware of the actual facts. We're on cam op rates there, whereas in the UK we're between 1st and 2nd AC rates. Attitudes are changing fast though. The horror stories of the last few years of "kid with a laptop" madness are finally having an effect on producers across the board and it looks like we're finally getting the recognition we deserve. This is happening, let it be said, thanks mainly to the rest of the camera department and the DPs that won't take on a job without their trusted (and very often adopted) DITs. Peace x
  18. John Miguel King
    There's no rule of thumb to this, as it depends on the workflow, which is usually tailored for the job. The vast majority of times dailies are corrected, graded and processed to an offline format on set or near set. But, as you point out, this is not necessarily so on bigger and longer productions. What we're seeing is a splitting and reordering of the different tasks, namely camera setup and control, grade, backup and transcoding. So, for example, in a pretty big film with a strong emphasis on colour management that was recently shot here in London the setup was: A senior DIT on set: the station had a grade 1 monitor, LUT box, a waveform monitor and an iris control per camera on any given scene. All the LUT boxes are controlled from a laptop and a colour, with the resulting metadata being fed back to the camera though an ethernet cable. Add a chair for the DOP as this shall become her/his spiritual home during the shoot. Datawrangler near set, usually on the camera truck or, with luck, our own DIT truck: Checking and collating metadata generated by the senior DIT, backing up onto the codex vault. Off set Post facitlity: Receiving all of the day's rushes. These are the original mags after all the metadata has been thoroughly checked and corrected by the data wrangler with the codex vault. All the colour decisions on set are written on the clips' metadata, therefore the facility can quickly generate all the graded dailies and deliverables whilst respecting the DOP's intentions. The footage is then cloned onto multiple LTO tapes and the media returned to circulation.
  19. John Miguel King
    The main difference between an NLE and Resolve are the maths. Resolve does them in 32 bit float, which permits a more detailed processing and finer results. There's also the colour management, the very decent scopes and the flexibility working with the image which all make life so much easier. And it is a fantastic tool to learn the nuances of digital and its power!. :D
  20. John Miguel King
    Technical base layers, merino wool in particular, are tight fitting, light and very warm. On top it's layers of fleece, goretex trousers and jacket, a light down jacket and a truly thick one. Ideally there should be a camera truck close by so quickly switching clothes is easy. I've also started collecting different types of shoes, from gore tex trainers all the way to sorel boots. The sorel boots are lifesavers when it's an entire day outdoors in the cold.
  21. John Miguel King
    It depends on what use you are going to give the monitor. If for AC work, TV-Logic is the gold standard and the one 99.99% of focus pullers use. If you want more accurate colour for critical exposure and colour decisions, then OLED is the only contender technology. Small HD and Sony are the ones leading the charge here. There's also a new Transvideo doing the rounds.
  22. John Miguel King
    The only real issue is creating a LUT whose characteristics you know and understand. By this I mean that unless the LUT you create has been thoroughly tested you could be making the wrong decisions on set as your monitoring LUT is unreliable. Otherwise, which software you use to create the LUT is not an important element of the process. Just create it and test it, if possible, with your colourist.
  23. John Miguel King
    David, if I may use your first name, an interesting thought crossed my mind whilst looking at the stills you've attached as examples. The cross backlight approach results on characters that are less "persons" and more "symbols". With their facial features getting just enough light to describe the action the viewer does not see person A kissing Person B but two figures kissing. This has, I think, some consequences in how the shot is read by the viewer. I like to think that cinema very often oscillates between two narrative modes, a representational one where the story is displayed in front of us, the viewer; and an experiential one where we, the viewer, are immersed in the narrative. It is a parallel with the difference between a third and a first person narration in literature. With this in mind, it seems to me that the examples you have shown make the viewer experience the kissing rather than making him/her a witness of the event.
  24. John Miguel King
    The Rotolight Anova is absolute fantastic. Very high CRI, runs off an Anton Bauer Dionic for hours, it can be controlled from a phone or ipad, and it can be the first link on a wireless DMX universe. The very app can even take a colour temp reading, and it's also a DMX sequencer! I used two of them yesterday on a 100% exterior shoot running around London under pouring rain. I rigged a 12x12 tarpaulin to keep the talent dry, backlit it with two of these at 4000 K. It looked like summer and I didn't need a genny. Just two batteries! I call this awesome. What is more, if you call them with any questions, the guy guiding you is the very own inventor. Word on the street here is that all the rental companies that bought into Litepanels are deeply regretful for doing so.
  25. John Miguel King
    Resolve does all its maths with the graphic cards. It won't even start without a discrete GPU, whether ATI or Nvidia. Also, DSLR footage is highly compressed in some variation of the h264 codec. Just the playback of this footage puts a massive strain on the computer's processor. So, yes, you do need some processing power in your system. The minimum specs for a comfortable and productive experience are: core i7, 16 gb ram, discrete GPU with at least 2gb of dedicated ram. If working with an Apple system, you're looking at either a 15" Retina Macbook or the iMac. The mini has no discrete GPU nor can it be expanded in any way. Question: Do you need it to be a mac? Because the specs come considerably cheaper if going PC. You can build a beast for the cost of a new macbook.
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