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Dwight Hartnett

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Everything posted by Dwight Hartnett

  1. I found this from abelcine a while ago you might find helpful. http://blog.abelcine.com/2012/12/10/abelcine-expo-highlight-filters-for-digital-cinema/
  2. That's not a great idea in practice I'm afraid. While I don't have hard data I'm going to call BS on the same model number = matching panels assertion. If you think about it for a second every critical grading monitor requires calibration to match any other given critical grading monitor of the same make and model but a consumer tablet made with a leftover Ipad 2 panel matches all others from the same batch faithfully? I would want to see some data to back that up. While not amazing the Ipad with Retina display has a better color space (though still sub sRGB) and performance than the Ipad mini and color calibration is still a serious weakness. I wouldn't recommend living and dying by the assumption that two given Ipads are matched (or even that they stayed that way if the did get matched). Unless you're producing content for the Ipad I would fight for a decent pair of matched monitors. While more expensive and less portable than an Ipad even HP Dreamcolors can be had for not an enormous outlay of cash. If you want something that you can set up in an office, on the truck, or a hotel room to time some stills that would be a good solution. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176106 Chances are your color timer either has one or has something else that it can be matched to. Xrite also has a probe that does a very acceptable job of calibration as well. That being said if you have a good working relationship with your colorist I'm sure an Ipad (I would insist on at least one with a Retina Display though) is "good enough" to communicate what your intentions are for a given scene. I just would not count on the kind of faithful color you are used to with your old set up. Here's a link I found with some data on Ipad mini color space: http://cdtobie.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/color-analysis-of-the-ipad-mini/
  3. As a 2AC I worked with one 1AC (since retired) who was a very accomplished 1AC in what was then Czechoslovakia. He was a very calm and personable man with that intuitive skill with focus I that some lucky ones possess. When he arrived in Canada in his early 50s (if I am remembering the story correctly) no one would give him a shot (he didn't know anyone) so he finally joined the union as a Camera Trainee and worked back up to 1AC. He did rise pretty fast because once he had his foot in the door it was pretty clear he had the stuff. And that's one of the things I love about the Film Industry in general and the Camera Department in particular. If you can do the job and stay hungry sooner or later (usually sooner and in an unexpected way) someone will give you a shot at it. Do a good job and you'll keep progressing along the path you set yourself. Try to fake it or if you simply don't have the stuff you won't stay in that position very long. Your career is as fluid as you want to make it.* *The trade off of course is no job security and stressful nights wondering how you're going to make that mortgage payment but one cannot have everything.
  4. They are a company out of Dallas, Texas. I came across their websites just now. Has anyone dealt with them and can share the experience? It certainly seems to be the promised land of used cine gear. Here's their websites: http://www.provideofilm.com/index.html http://www.usedequipmentnewsletter.com/ Thank you Dwight Hartnett DIT, IATSE 669
  5. folding is better on set (harder for the one you need to go missing), but I've seen both. I wouldn't over think it. Just get which one you prefer.
  6. I know I am trying to change my order (from the 2.5K micro 4/3 to the pocket camera). 4 grand for 4K is tempting, but I'll wait until they are taking orders for the version with a proper PL mount (or someone sets up an aftermarket modification service). What a great use for all that great Super 16 glass that is floating around.
  7. There is no path to becoming a DIT really. When I consider my background and the backgrounds of other DITs we have overlapping skills and backgrounds but no common path to the position. Things I would consider important: -A working understanding of colour theory and grading (some DITs come out of the post/editing/colorist disciplines) -On set and more specifically camera experience (I am biased but find the best DITs are generally ones who did time as 2nd and 1st ACs who understand the systems and politics of a film set) -you have to have a good mind for quickly absorbing technical knowledge. This job is always changing. There is always some new piece of software, some new camera system that production will want to use. You need to be able to figure out how to integrate it's function seamlessly in to the workflow you've developed with post. My advice would be try to get a job at a camera rental house, a post house, or in the camera department on a production that is shooting digitally. If you network (ie don't act like an ass) and get a reputation as a hard worker with sharp technical skills it won't take you long to break in.
  8. As an actual member of IATSE 669 I can confirm that you need residency to get in to the union. There is, however, a fair bit of (relatively poorly paying) independent film work in Vancouver as well. And yes, while the labour laws in British Columbia rank somewhere between Alabama's and Uzbekistan's for labour protection, the truth is that as a non-union camera assistant you will never work on a union show. Because the producers don't hire camera assistants. DOPs, Operators, and other camera assistants do. If a producer really wanted to get you on I suppose he could, but unless you're his favourite nephew it wouldn't be worth his trouble. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need citizenship, just residency.
  9. I ran in to a situation like this a few years back. It got to the point where we (the ACs) were sitting around the shot film, discussing whether to put in in our cars and drive away. We were professionals. We didn't, and I personally am $2500 poorer because of this. It's nice that the DP had your back. That was a real class act thing to do. But in this business, especially in the non-union world, especially when they don't have a bond with a payroll company, you have to start thinking about "How will I ensure I have leverage if my employer doesn't live up to his promises?"
  10. Phil is correct. A lot of the recording a 2nd AC does is to cover the Camera Department's collective bums when something goes wrong in the lab and they try to pin it on us (it happens. Not a lot. But more often than I see an assistant producer without a faux hawk)
  11. A place to put my coffee. Better yet, a place that makes coffee!
  12. Remember when the Cinematography Forums were about cinematography and not just another soapbox for people to run off at the mouth about absolute tripe? Yeah, me neither.
  13. I'll second the warnings about Western Digital. They tend to poop out under the sort of pressures one puts on them on set. Since a couple bad experiences, I've gone with G Raid and Lacie exclusively, and had no problems.
  14. I actually worked on a feature a while ago that did this (The Art of War 2) and it raised a few eyebrows when post swore it would cut together seamlessly. In fact, we probably shot a third of the film on the thing (it was a martial art heavy story, and the director loved the maneuverability of the thing). To be fair, I haven't seen it, and I'm sure the glaring flaws in the script would camouflage any glaring flaws in the cinematography, but it has been done at least once.
  15. They do. Those are your best two options. If budget is an issue, you could check out cineworks (cineworks.com iirc), although every now an then you get a piece of gear that looks like it just got rolled down a flight of stairs.
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