Fred Neilsen

The imager size doesn't really effect the depth of field, it effects the field of view, meaning that a camera with a larger sensor will require a longer lens to produce an equivalent image as a camera with a smaller sensor would. This means that a 50mm lens would be required on a 35mm camera, while say, a 25mm lens would be required on a 16mm camera You probably already know that a longer lens will have a smaller depth of field than a shorter lens at the same t-stop, so the 35mm camera will have a shallower depth of field than the 16mm camera. Hope this helps, Fred

Yes, perhaps that was a bit subjective, though personally I thought that perhaps the cheap video "district 9" look didn't suit an epic period film, there's an entire post dedicated to it.

This topic has been covered several times on several different sites, in short, you'll get different answers depending on the people you ask (fanboys....) As far as period pieces go, 16mm could be seen as more appropriate (though then again they didn't have 416s and vision 3 in the 50s) mainly because it looks less sterile. In my opinion, the biggest deal breaker isn't necessarily the image quality (the red's acceptable) but the process, 90 second boot ups.... and low ISO/dynamic range (pre MX, but still somewhat of an issue), I generally shoot 16mm because it's quick and pretty painless. 16mm... Turn on camera, plug in timecode from master clock and shoot. If you want B cam, whip out your a-minima, turn on and press run. Remember that you will have grain, (I love grain, probably why I watch our public broadcasters, ABC and SBS, who shoot most of their dramas with s16) Either embrace it (Hurt Locker, The Wrestler, Everlasting Moments) or shoot at 250 iso, overexposed by 1/3 and minimise it. As far as the 50s look goes, the questions you've got to ask is whether you want it to be set in the 50s or look like it was shot in the 50s, generally, it's half way between the two. In my opinion a substantial investment has to be made in 50s production design and research, though excelent 50s production design could easily be ruined by sub par camera systems being used (case in point, Public Enemies) At the end of the day, both systems are good, film is probably going to look "better" and is generaly going to be easier to shoot, but, it amy come down to cost. If you can afford it (without taking away from production design or other departments), by all means shoot 16mm (or 2 p 35, slightly more expensive but feasible) Fred

With modern colour negative stocks, you should be fine, 2 stops is well inside the limits. You may, at the most, need to tweak it a bit when your scanning it, but the information is definitely on the negative. Fred

It's an interesting idea for a film adaptation, if I recall correctly the original story was a novel length picture book, set in france and illustrated in the style of film noir. It seems like a pity to use pretty much the opposite technology but oh well at least if it is 3D it's real 3D and not that post crap. Fred

In Highschool we performed a similar setup to the one you described for an art/drama project, we used a slide projector and what is known as a scrim (at least in Australia/UK - theater terms are very regional) though many low density cloths could work, it is best to use a specially designed fabric (you might have seen a similar thing being done in some hotel rooms with privacy blinds) If I recall correctly, theater scrims are quite expensive to rent, in the hundreds per day, though the theater rental house gives discounts to schools and long term hires. Your main concern wont be a polarising filter but making sure the area behind the scrim is extremely dark, you may need to work something out with gaff tape and duvetyne. Fred

Super 8 is the ultimate medium for a wedding isn't it :) After going to a few recently, I must say that the wedding "videographer" can get bloody intrusive, particularly with a massive JVC on their shoulders, and then when you see the sub standard tapes you cringe and go "what if..." "it would have looked so good if it had been shot on film..." It's nice to see there's an option to get that amazing s8 look. Fred

It seems that most of the theater lights that I have encountered use a standard household plug, I guess I just got lucky, it might be that the lower end/non professional productions/equipment use the standard 3 pin household plug. Fred

I recently shot a short film with theater lighting, it's actually quite a viable option, all you have to do is go up to your local/community theater or school (when a show isn't running) and ask them nicely if you could borrow their lights, try to get 650 fresnels or PARcans. You can then rig the lights onto the work light stand (by removing the G-Clamp and using the bolt that attaches the clamp to the lantern to attach the light to the stand) Theater lights are alright, albeit they're a bit more fragile and you have to work a bit harder to get a nice beam. Fred

Ah... cool, It's a nifty idea using the headphone port to output timecode signal, didn't realise you could do that.

I'm not very up to date with still photography lenses, but I can point you in the right direction, your probably looking for something.... Fast (because of the low light) something around f2.8 or faster would suit low light shooting. Wide (because of the small room) preferably something less than 25mm Cheap, well who doesn't like low cost... Anyway, based on this, you will probably be choosing a Prime, not a zoom, as primes are generally sharper, can go wider and are faster than zooms. Though sometimes more convenient zooms will give you less bang for your buck. A quick google search will give you plenty of local photography rental houses, where you can get a good deal on a prime lens (ask them for a specific lens choice based on your criteria), with a filter or two. Some of the larger rental houses even stock cine accessories like follow focuses and handheld rigs optimized for DSLRs.

Yes, an almost Vista Vision sized sensor with a lens wide open isn't always that fun to focus, you should still try and shoot this video with a 7D, after all, what your looking for is a point of difference and yours is production value. Although these cameras inherently produce a shallow depth of field, they are also quite easy to focus, after all, I'm sure there are still photographers who have shot wide open, on a 300mm lens (albeit they have AF and an optical View Finder)... There are a couple of measures that you can take to make it easier for yourself, Shoot wide angle (check, you will be shooting on something wider than 25mm, you may want to correct it for distortion though (though I personaly like it) Aim to shoot at around 5.6 or at 1 or more stops smaller than the widest setting (eg: 1.4 is wide open, so shoot at 2.8 ect) Avoid dolly or handheld shots, unless they are well rehearsed and quite simple/repeatable {*}You may find it helps to purchase the LCD to Digital viewfindere accessory, which allows you to transform your camera's screen into a nice viewfinder (as your optical doesn't work in video mode) As far as lenses go, both nikon and canon make some perfectly good primes which you can rent quite cheaply, though you probably know someone who owns one, albeit there not perfect for "proper" productions but they are great mounted on an HDSLR, If you realy want to use Cine lenses, you can rent a PL converted 7D (or have yours done, though it's expensive) and a lens quite cheaply. Fred

Yes, it is an expensive medium but you could probably get it for less if you shop around, though there isn't as much room for negotiation in price for super 8 as there is for 16mm or 35mm, you can still pin one lab against another if you are considering or planing larger quantities, you may be surprised at how much of a discount you can get by begging and crying "student film" - my new favorite line is "I know I'm just a student, but I really want to experience 35mm (or film...) before it disappears" As for home development, yes it can be done (sometimes cheaper than labs) though black and white is the easiest as the temperatures aren't as critical and the chemistry isn't that toxic, all you need is a standard developer and fixer (you can make a stop bath out of white vinegar and water) though this will produce a negative image out of the standard black and white reversal film, the reversal (slide) process is a bit more complicated in black and white, as it requires a second exposure and complex bleaches...\ Colour negative and Slide can be done BUT, temperature is critical (well not really as the results aren't going to be perfect and colour shifts will only add to the look) Hobby kits can be purchased at large photo stores, the C-41 is the standard for negative and E6 is used for slide, you can get interesting results by cross processing, running slide film through C-41 and Visa Versa... There are several methods, the Bucket Process (purchase 4 buckets, Water, Developer, Blix and Stabiliser) and dunk the film into the different buckets. After you have processed the film you have to remove the Rem Jet (carbon) backing with a sponge and some water, make sure to not get any of the carbon onto the emulsion as it will stain it... This is a fiddly procedure and takes some time and care. Note that your results will be wacky, experimental and full of lovely scratches and colour shifts :) On a side note, have you considered using negative film, the new Vision 3 line is very clean and crisp (which might not be the look your going for) as your only going to be scanning the film, this could be a viable alternative, its also probably going to work out cheaper, as more labs process ECN-2 (the negative process in motion pictures) J'amerais ecrir en français mais mon orthographe n'est pas très bien, Frederik

Oh cool :)

Hmm the time code Iphone stuck to the slate is pretty cool, is that a minjack to lemo cable?

The speed of film that you choose depends on many factors, what film stock you have available, the amount of grain you want, the light conditions and your desired aperture. Though it's nice to only use one speed of film, most people will opt for two, a high speed - interior/night exterior film and a medium or low speed exterior film. If your unsure of what film speed to choose, go to your locations with your light meter and fiddle around with some aperture and speed combinations until you get something your happy with (bare in mind that it's best to aim for an aperture of around 5.6 or more, as it's easier to remove light with NDs than to ad it) In short, most people shoot most of their productions on 500asa stock, as it is the most flexible stock, you can push process it in say a night exterior, or over expose it slightly to get a clean image (rate at 320). If you have many interiors, night scenes and overcast/afternoon shots, you'll probably go for 500asa film, whereas, if you have a lot of sunny exteriors, you would probably go for a 50-200 asa film stock. Don't make your job harder than it already is, you don't have to shoot a night exterior on 50asa or a day exterior on 500 asa - they are both almost the same price so calculate a shooting ratio for your different lighting environments and purchase accordingly. oh yeh... to quote Dov S.S Simons DONT PAY RETAIL, buy discounted fuji film, or get kodak for the price of discounted fuji or - EVEN better, Buy short ends, Recans and Buy Backs (don't get them off Ebay!!) Fred

As you are shooting 35mm, finding short ends probably wont be a problem, you can pick them up for 5-10 c/foot or $5-7/minute (in raw stock), note that short ends are often of questionable quality and should always be tested, (send them to the lab and have them perform a clip or dip test) As far as indoor or outdoor stocks, although it's nice to have T for tungsten (incandescent or indoor or warm light), and D for daylight (outdoors or with HMIs) many often ignore it and simply shoot either with filtration or correct it in post, I prefer the colour accuracy of tungsten film, and often only shoot that, irrespective of indoor/outdoor. Note that with stock choices, you should get what ever you can for the best price, (though a good 500asa film is useful) as there have been no "BAD" film stocks produced in the past 10 years (that is colour negatives, though the reversals are nice, with plus x black and white reversal outperforming the Red One in dynamic range and colour accuracy :) ) As far as metering is concerned, although you can get away with using an SLR to meter (I often did this with my bolex, setting the SLR to 1/60th of a second) It is best to get a nice light meter, there are several manufacturers out there, though seconic has long been the standard, A nice used incident meter can be picked up for around $100 though new digital meters sell from around $190. Ps Make Sure you test your camera before shooting a serious/important piece with it, this is also a good opportunity to practice loading/threading before it becomes critical. The standard tests to perform are: The Scratch test (run a small amount of unscratched film through the camera and look for scratches under a loop *note do not process as this ads a variable, the registration test should also be performed, it entails shooting a registration chart, rewinding the film (complicated...) and re-exposing, ensuring that the frame line was matched up, if the crosses on the photographed chart shift at all, you have some issues... The final test to perform is the test roll, entailing testing your lenses, filters and overall seeing the way in which your chosen film stock reacts to different exposures and lighting conditions (ensure you shoot colour separations and gray scales), you can also try out special processing (note that you should be especially diligent in keeping a camera report and slating when shooting a test roll as you want to record each combination that you try out) Good luck in shooting film :) Fred

We get allot of British and American (and yes even some canadian) TV here in australia, mainly through our public broadcaster, the ABC (which shows low budget US shows along side the high budget UK shows, so they are on a pretty even playing field) I've got to say that I quite enjoy some british TV, in particular Law and Order UK (is it still on?). With the advent of Digital television, the number of hours of television has doubled (with the ABC planing four public channels) most of the gaps in programing have been filled by UK shows and old re-runs like Get Smart and Macgyver and maybe even a little bit of local content... I was depressed to hear that our worst content, our half hour soaps seem to be exported to the UK.

This link has some very basic information which is specific to the bolex, but some tips apply to other cameras, the 2/3rds stop underexposure... http://homepage.newschool.edu/~schlemoj/film_courses/bolex_double_exposure.html I think a lot can be learnt from some very creative "lomography" camera users, there are some amazing double exposures, Testing, perhaps with a stills camera (if you have one with easy double exposure options) is the best way to go, in my limited double exposure experience, I find that a well lit subject with a dark background, re-exposed with something quite underexposed (or something with a large amount of black/dark colour) is the best plan of attack, you probably don't want two bright objects on top of each other. Another thing to keep in mind is camera movement, with one of the exposures probably needing to be locked off though then again, it's double exposure, one of the areas of cinematography with the least amount of rules, and the probably the most creative options.

After using the light meter app, I'm fascinated by some of the new apps available, In particular the "movie*slate" iPad app. it sort of looks like a timecode slate, combined with a shot by shot notes system (with some creativity it could be turned into a camera report) and some charts (bars, back focus, colour separations/grayscale - though they'd be useless off a screen) Has anyone actually used this app yet in a practical application? My only concern is that it seems a bit slower use and that, judging by the amount of punishment that my slate gets, a bit too fragile for the job. Other than that, it seems like an interesting idea, especially in low light situations.

Thought it was going to be educational, oh well... Loved the ninja slate. :)

I think Ikonoskop where planning on making a S8 camera but I'm not sure if they followed through. http://www.retrothing.com/movie_cameras/page/3/

Wow just saw it, it's up there with frontline as one of my favorite ABC comedies. It was nice to see an ABC comedy with excellent production value, (east of everything, though not a comedy is another current ABC series with great production value that comes to mind) I loved the shallow depth of field particularly the focus pulls in the conversation between the doctor and alex while he's getting his anus examined, I also loved the edgy look with the fast zooms, hand held and split screens. Ooo cant wait for the next episode. Fred

Dominic, does atlab offer negative cutting services? Are there still any negative cutters in Sydney/Melbourne?

Thank you everyone for clarifying my confusion, I guess theater lights seem like a viable option. So I might be spending more money on renting grip equipment than the actual fixtures, I don't really like the enormous lighting trees.