Fred Neilsen

Thanks Glenn :)

Hello, I have a couple of Leica M mount lenses (mostly Cosina "Voigtlander" ones), is there an M to c-mount adaptor? Could I get one machined? I believe the M mount FFD is a couple of millimeters greater than the C mount, but is it enough? Thanks, Fred

The rental house should be able to configure it for you, just ask for 3 perf super 35 with the 2.35:1 ground glass. That being said, 3 perf s35 is boring... have you considered anamorphic or 2 perf?

It looked beautiful, I particularly liked the shot of the car at the 45 second mark one minor criticism though, you should probably sort out the sound in the first 5 seconds or so, just before the voice over starts, maybe a few quick sound effects, the cup, sipping etc.. apart from that, great job.

Have you read Dov S-S. Simens' "From Reel to Deal"? It dedicates about 50 pages to acquiring a photochemical release print. There is a hypothetical topsheet at the end of the book, it quotes the following: Optical sound transfer: 2000-3000, Titles: 1500-3000, Negative Cutting: 5000-6500, Answer Prints (x2, 1st and 2nd attempt) 8000-15000. Remember that these are discount rates with the higher rate being easily gettable (like a 3 day week) and the lower rate requiring a bit of begging and luck (eg: a 2 day week)

The 5D/7D should intercut with s16 better than most cameras, and you can get away with it (as was already mentioned, the black swan did it, it was noticeably digital but not the end of the world) but if its just MOS stuff have you considered shooting with a bolex, it should look subtle enough to not attract any police attention. Fred

But then you have to chose between Doyle and Deakins

Richard, are there any plans for an Australian itunes store/region 4 DVD release?

I've also been seeking advice on this, I think my portfolio's almost large enough to cut a reel I'd be happy with. The most important pieces of advice have already been listed hear, though one tip an experienced DP gave me was to have multiple reels, submitting one for drama, one for vfx oriented, one for comedy etc... (though your "Drama" reel would be your "base reel", with more drama shots spliced in, as apposed to a reel made up entirely of drama work)

Edit: I just re read your post, my apologies, my reply didn't really answer any questions, anyway, while the higher ISOs are nice, you shouldn't have to use anything above 800 (and normally 400) on the 550d at-least, these high speeds are so noisy that they may as well not be there (I believe much of the grain is removed through complicated processing of the image, not available in video mode, though I may be wrong) there have been some amazing things done with the EP cameras (just type in EP camera test on youtube) I assume you've done a bit (or a lot) of research to settle on so I'm sure you have good reasons to want to purchase, and if the only thing making you hesitate is that it doesn't shoot at some ridiculous ISO like 6400 then go for it, you wont need the ultra high speed in normal situations.

It really depends, there's no one size fits all, my first camera was a 16mm spring wound bolex*, they're tones of fun and produce great images (within their limitations). While I would highly recommend these types of cameras as "your first camera" thats all they really are, a first camera, you cant shoot an entire feature on it and you probably wont be doing many paid jobs with it BUT its a great way to learn discipline (shoot an entire short on a 2.5 minute roll), framing/composition and the other fundamentals. Because you mention the micro 4/3rd cameras I take it you want an affordable camera that is versatile and produces good images for this micro 4/3rds and DSLRs are the way to go. While I don't have much hands on experience with the m4/3 system (yet :) ), I have been spending a lot of time shopping around for one, my tip, watch the camera test videos on youtube (they are really helpful) and read the reviews, once you've found a camera with an image that you like the look of, go to one of the bigger chains and have a good go with it but don't let the salesmen try to upsell you or sway you into purchasing equipment you don't need. (I recently went into a reputable shop looking to buy a lumix, and was almost upsold to a 7D) (*or BH filmo/kraznogorsk)

I've read through most of this post and It reminds me of a snippet that was given to me recently, from the Sydney Morning Herald, 17th January, 1930 "Sir, It is little wonder that attendance at talkies is said to be failing off. Most of the american pictures shown are absolute rubish and an insult to one's intelligence, while the harsh low class voices and accents are a continual strain on one's nerve. Moreover quite a number of pictures are highly suggestive and would be harmful to young people; how they ever got past the censor is a mystery. English pictures with pleasing accents are a welcome relief after American talkies. Patrons would also welcome the occasional silent films which are most restful." See, Nothing's changed :)

I know, it's almost ridiculous, I called kodak, asking about a student discount on 800' of 7213, I assumed they would offer 10% off, to my surprise it was a standard 40% student discount, I guess 16mm and super 8 are gateway drugs and kodak is trying to get me hooked (they've succeeded)

At 1:48, Oh my, that scared me so much.... That cant be true!!! Ahhh!!!! Nooooo... House, I can understand but Lawrence of Arabia??? What's happened to the world??? You know what, screw quality, my favourite "producer" quote.... "the audience cant tell the difference"

Have you considered working at a rental house? Its a great way to thoroughly learn many different camera systems and make contacts with ACs and DPs passing through and picking up equipment (you could get some loading or 2nd AC work through it too) Fred

There used to be an article on a lab's website (Neglab) which explained that the civilian xray machines were fine, giving a small amount of even radiation, and were safe for anything under 500asa, to my understanding, the luggage Xrays, however, use a much stronger concentrated beam, looking for any suspicious shapes, the suspect bags are then either X-rayed properly or hand checked (it may be the other way round, the beam being there to get a more accurate look - I'm not too sure), it is this beam that often appears as Xray fogging, which is why the fogging looks like small blotches, as opposed to a consistent fog across the entire reel.

Great, thanks, I'l give deluxe a call, I guess being a bigger lab, they would most likely be open further into the holiday season.

Hi, my preferred lab was(is) in fact Neglab, however, if I shot more super 8 or 16mm reversal (neglab is strictly colour negative in 16 & 35) I would probably use Nanolab.

Hello all, I'm planning on shooting a spur of the moment film to be entered into a short film comp who's deadline is January the 6th. Anyway, my preferred lab is currently closed for Christmas, and, in my little protected bubble of world, I haven't really ever had to deal with any other labs before... I was wondering, are many labs still processing over the next couple of days If not in Australia, I was wondering if sending my film internationally (by priority airmail... expensive) could be an option. Thank You All for reading Fred

Film Calculator is a great widget for the mac (It may be an iphone app aswell) you just type in your feet/meters of film, your format (anything from 8mm to Imax) and it gives you the running time. (One drawback though, is that you cant convert running time to feet/meters required - meaning you have to type in a number of feet, then ad or subtract, repeating until you get the correct value) You can download it here. http://www.filmsourcela.com/cool_production_widgets.html Fred

Ah, I see, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, they sound very cool though :) You can achieve something similar with two polarizing filters in rotating filter trays, I guess that might be a variable ND is. Fred

HI, I'm sure Mr Keth got the ND bit, it's more the variable part - do you just mean a standard ND filter, or is it some sort of contraption where you can actualy change the degree of darkness? There's no reason a standard screw on Photo ND filter wont work on your lens. The tiffen and lee ones are great, but some of the cheaper ones work fine, your main concern is glass quality and how neutral they really are, you don't want coloured tinting. Remember one size rarely fits all, you'll probably need to buy two or more filters of different degrees of darkness (you can stack them to get a third even one that's even darker) as well as a soft graduate ND, which come in handy all the time, especialy with the more limited DR of some digital cameras. Fred

(As much as I hate answering like this...) It realy depends on your circumstances, remember that digital cameras are rarely a good investment for personal projects (unless you earn more per year from it than the deflation in value). I would strongly recomend renting and trying out different cameras, especially before committing to a purchase. If you dont want to rent, shoot in unusual hours, on weekends or for long periods of time, then purchasing a DSLR could be an option - while they have their drawbacks, when shot properly and carefully they can produce excellent images and a complete kit (good lenses, memory cards, some sort of hand held rig, a monitor etc) should cost less than 5000 dollars. Fred NB: Do not neglect sound - As much as I regret saying this, sound is much more important than camera - by which I mean poor sound will ruin a film, poor images will merely make it look somewhat cheap. It is a good idea to hire either an experienced sound man, or his assistant for your short - believe me it is money well spent.

The conditions are perfect, parative dollar, cheap super 16 gear and a film lab that owes me a (massive) favour... It looks like it's time to go on a 16mm splurge...

Super8 is a mort artsy format now days, I f I were to make a super8 camera, I would follow the business model of lomography (lomo/holga) - a manufacture and promotor of toy/plastic lensed cameras. They have turned cheap medium format russian and chinese cameras into $50-200 art making tools (imagine the profit margins- on something that costs maybe 5 dollars to make) lomography.com In order to take off again, super8 needs be accessible (an easy brick & mortar way of getting film processed, plus an excellent online service) new- hip/cool (nostalgia and the much craved gritty street fashion look could help) - endorsed by talk shows, seen in fashion ads (as the lomo Diana often is) and above all it needs to be easy - fully mechanical (or cheap electronics) and auto metering (or perhaps no meter, but simple easy exposure guides) Fred (I may be repeating what others have covered, forgive me - I haven't read every post)