Bryce Lansing

I'm considering saving up for an Arri 2C. I really want to own a 35mm camera of my own for commercial/music video use. But I've heard that the viewfinder is pretty bad. How bad is it? What is it's magnification? Can it be Amy worse than my Bolex Rex-1's 6x viewfinder? Is it a camera worth owning? Or should I wait until I can afford an Arri 3?

I got my first test back, and was pretty satisfied for the most part. But a few things are worrying me a little bit, because I have a friend who wants me to shoot his short film on it in a month. There are a few very noticeable scratches throughout the beginning, but they're gone by the end. This confused me a little bit, because if it was something in the camera that was scratching the film as it came through, wouldn't it have scratched the whole roll? Another is the soft focus. I had always read that you should never use non-reflex lenses open past f4. I noticed shots at 1.2 and 1.4 were completely out of focus (although they looked focused in my VF. Most shots were focused, but some shots at 2.8 (for instance the one at 00:36) were pretty soft. However the sharpest shot of the roll was shot at 2.8 (at 01:04). So how do I know if it's ok to shoot at 2.8 or not? How do I know what shots will be soft and what will be sharp? http://www.vimeo.com/7149130

I really wanted to get a 100' roll of the Eterna vivid 500T to load into still photo cassettes to shoot on my Nikon, but I don't know where to get it processed. I read about how any rem-jet left on the film can practically destroy a C-41 lab's equipment, so I've been trying to find a photo lab that does ECN-2 processing. I've had no luck. Fotokem said they'd do them for me, but it would have to be enough rolls to add back up to a 100' roll. It seems like it'd be a common stock testing option for DPs, so I'm surprised its not very easy to find a lab to do it. Does anyone know of any?

What if you shoot 50 ISO film and pull process one or two stops?

I know of course it's always best to try not to let anything get scratched. But wratten filters get scratched so easily.. I think I made a few scratches just taking a filter in and out of the filter holder on my Bolex. Will these scratches mess with the image at all?

I'm not sure how accurate my start and stop of the stopwatch was to the start and stop of the motor, but at 24, I usually get between 248-250 frames (which is 24.8fps or 25fps right?). At the Mark, usually got between 238-240 (23.98fps is what digital 24p is isn't it?) Chris, you make a good point about the slow down at the end. If I were shooting a shot longer than 20 seconds, would I be better off shooting at the 24 (giving me about 25fps), so that when it runs down at the end, I at least wouldn't be getting less than 24fps? Is there a very noticeable difference between 24fps and 23fps?

I got my Bolex used on ebay, in great condition. I took it to a friend of mine who knows a great deal about Bolexes, and he said it was working great. But he pointed out on the motor, a little notch scratched in right before 24. He suggested that the previous owner probably marked that as the true 24fps. I shot a test roll, but I forgot to try both. I only shot it at that notch. I'm sending it out of state for telecine, so I wont be able to see for a while. Is it common for true 24fps to be not quite over the number 24? Or is it always supposed to be right on the 24?

I want to shoot on my bolex (regular 16), but I want to telecine to HD 16:9, so I want to frame my shots keeping in mind the areas on top and bottom that will be cropped out. What is the best way to do this? Can I put camera tape on the prism? Or would that be bad for it?

Ok that makes sense, thanks! But what I'm confused about is how the above link lists 1/2 as 65 degrees, and 1 at 32 degrees. Does the 1/2 mark then represent 1/4, then the 1 mark represents 1/2, and the 2 mark represents 1?

I was wondering if it was possible to speed ramp by changing the framerate and shutter angle during a take on a Bolex H16 reflex. Would trying this damage the motor?

I have a Bolex H16 Reflex with a variable shutter, and I wanted to know the exact shutter angles so I can set them in my meter when I shoot. I'm aware of the 1/3 stop stolen from the prism, but I'd rather set my meter to the exact shutter angle, then subtract the 1/3 stop myself (opposed to using the adapted shutter angles to compensate for the 1/3 stop). I read that the shutter angle for the H16 reflex is 133 degrees. Is that right? What about the shutter angles at 1/2, 1, and 2?

I see how stop motion can be done on a Bolex H16, but are timelapses like 1fps possible on it?

Thanks for the tip! My Dad has a 16mm projector, and I have an HVX200a, so it can't hurt to try!

My dad does have a 16mm projector, but I always shyed away from the thought of shooting reversal film because I heard exposure was so critical, and that it wouldn't look good on anything but a projection. My dads a photographer and he used to shoot a lot of reversal film for slide projection, and he was telling me how prints never looked very good compared to the projection. But I guess this might be the best bet for a test roll, I wouldn't want to spend too much on a test and end up with a lot of expensive mistakes.

I just got a Bolex, and I was very excited to start shooting, until I saw the prices and minimums of HD telecine. One lab told me they'd process a 100' roll for free, but the HD telecine would end up costing around $200! Where can I get a good HD telecine, and not spend too much? I'd like to shoot a 100' roll of negative film.

It is kind of confusing, but I think I understand.

I just bought a Bolex Reflex H16 on ebay, and I'm excited to start shooting with it! I've been pleasantly surprised to see Bolex shot footage (telecined to HD), that was at least as sharp as the footage I get on my HVX200, but of course looking like good old film. The Reflex I got didn't come with a lens. I've been reading a lot about the issue with the prism on Reflexes, and how RX lenses were made to compensate for the issue. I have a good set of Nikon Primes that i'd love to use on it with a c-mount to Nikon adapter, but I'm afraid the prism might effect it. If it were cheap, I'd test it myself, but after calculating film/processing/telecine costs, I'd rather ask around and see if using Nikon lenses is worth it before I try it. Has anyone had an luck?

A friend of mine just got a $500,000 budget to direct a script he wrote, sometime next year. He asked me to DP, and of course I am very excited. The producer wanted to know if I had a preferred rate, and I was unsure how to respond. This is my first feature, and I am thankful for this opportunity.. I can't charge as much as a more experienced DP would charge, but at the same time, I don't want to later come to find that I should have gotten paid more than I did. What is the average rate for DPs on feature films with a budget of about $500,000?

Thanks for the tips! We'll be shooting on the RED camera

I am DPing a hip hop music video coming up soon, and it will take place in a club. Does anyone have any tips and/or advice for lighting a club scene? Has anyone shot a club scene before?

Thanks! I started getting worried.. I've been looking for a place to re-calibrate for the past few days, and it was looking like not even Minolta themselves repaired/calibrated that model anymore. I will definitely check out QLM

On a bright sunny day I usually get a reading anywhere from 4800K-6000K. Now that I think of it too, when I took a reading of KinoFlo Daylight tubes, it read 4800K. Then I shot the camera at 5600k, and the skin tone looked normal, not noticeably warmer. -800k would be noticeably warmer right?

My Dad let me borrow his Minolta Color Meter II, and I have been using it for the past year. He's had it for a while, but it has always been taken care of and well stored. I was always taught that the color temperature of a tungsten bulb is 3200K. But for as long as I've been using this color meter, whenever I take a reading off a tungsten light, it says 2800K. Whether its a Lowell tota, omni, Mole tweenie, baby, etc., even tungsten Kinoflo bulbs, they all read 2800K, sometimes even 2700. I took a reading off a 60w household incandescent bulb, and it said 2400. Is there something wrong with my meter? Does it need to be re-calibrated? Or are these readings right?

I'm DPing a student shoot next month, and the entire short takes place in a kitchen around sunrise. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how to light this. There is one big window, which will be out of frame the whole time. I assumed it'd be best to block all light from that window, and light from in front of it to give the impression of window light. The sun direction will be inconsistent, so I better not use the sunlight at all right? Does anyone have any tips for me when lighting a situation like this? Thanks!

I'm lighting a dim, fancy restaurant for a spec commercial, and I'm thinking of lighting each table overhead with a china ball. My original thought was to mount tweenies/soft boxes overhead on C-Stands, which could work for close ups/mediums, but then what would I do for the wides. A teacher suggested going with the china balls and skirting them to direct the light down to each table. He said that mole richardson has 300w bulbs and sockets that can be safely hung in china balls without burning the bulbs. Does anyone know of these, or what the exact type of bulb and socket is called? I'm shooting on am HVX200a and a Letus Extreme/Nikons. Would a 300w bulb in a china ball give me enough light as a key light for my main two actors? If so, would an 80w incandescent bulb in each china ball to light each backgroud table be too much dimmer than the subjects? Or would it be right? Does anyone have any advice or other ways of lighting that might work better?