Dan Salzmann

I use this lens with a hand cranked 1920's Ensign camera for "arty" stuff" It is rather soft but stopped down with fast film it is acceptable.

Polite bump on this since I would really like some opinions from other forum members on this film.

I use a Sekonic 508C which uses one AA battery that lasts a long time. Don't like having to depend on those occasionally difficult to find lithium batteries. It is very handy having the dual ASA and variable shutter angle options since in the "heat of the battle" doing those calculations very quickly is very useful. The dual ASA is nice when using fast film stocks with heavy ND in bright sunlight since setting the meter to the uncorrected ASA can give you off the map readings. My backup meter is my Pentax digital spotmeter.

For that amount of work and that small amount of film stock it might be wise to consider shooting in 35mm.

I agree. Many people want and have to get out of the house for their psychological well-being. I do not believe that things will degenerate to the point where everyone turns into a couch potato zombie. Has downloaded music killed concerts?

Plus window screening is often plastic or plastic coated which is likely to melt under the heat of the lamp

.3 ND will cut your light one stop and the tiny piece you would need for a 650W light is not expensive at all.

My thoughts on this: Meet and feel out the director and DP - storyboard, screenplay, general vibe. Get the rental cost and insurance covered. Find a young 1st AC that needs experience and that you can work with who you can practice with before shooting. Be selective, do a good job, make sure you get what you need for your reel. It is good that you want to get experience and are willing to be proactive about it. Be aware of when you should stop doing freebies.

Cine cameras are typically 1/48th of a second which is usually rounded off to 1/50th. Negative film does offer the most latitude but exposure for super8 does require precision since the format is so small.

The Scoopic 16M is not a sync camera but it takes very nice images and is easy to use and has a discreet profile - kind of like a giant super8 camera. Limited to 100 ft rolls however.

Alot of making a film is making the best of what you have available and knowing when less is more. Basically how to best orchestrate the compromises.

Heard a funny story that happened in the silent film era. Can't remember the film or the director but it was a scene in a dancehall. They hired some real "street toughs" as extras because it was supposed to be a seedy atmosphere. At one point the gaffer screamed "Rip the silks off the broads" to the electrical crew and the extras thought it was meant for them and they proceeded to tear the underwear off the female extras. Apparently a riot broke out!

This film is very impressing both technically and as a film. Stunning black and white cinematography by Christan Berger. No wasted anything, no mindless eye candy, no needless coverage, no needless virtuoso camera movement. Over 2 1/2 hours of pure genius by Michael Haneke and I suggest seeing it. Up there with the best of Sven Nykvist. A well deserved Palme d'Or at Cannes!

Green filters can be very useful for lightening foliage and grass.

Big wopping +1 on this! The (unfortunately) few women I've met who work as grips seem to be beyond immune to any insult by something like this. Matter of fact they seemed like they could probably KO me if they tried. Really, sometimes this "politically correct" BS really ticks me off. It often tends to be really counter-productive and a non-issue.

Perhaps "patience" in bold!

A good eye and a thirst for adventure.

I always thought a dinky was a smaller fresnel between 150 - 300 watts.

That is fair and the way it should be. Too bad it's such a fight to have access to our work sometimes.

The Leicina Special and Canon 1014XLS are very good cameras I have worked with. A sound camera is likely to have a more robust motor than most MOS cameras because it is designed for the higher 24fps shooting speed. I have never worked with a crystal sync super8 camera but know that sync was a problem when we shot without one. Remember that in a super8 camera the film transport mechanism is not in the camera but in the disposable plastic film cartridge and mechanical tolerances vary too much to assure really constant speed.

I think a Sachtler 7/7 is a good tripod for a Red. The O'Connor 2060 is very nice and appropriate for a Red as well. In my opinion any tripod suitable for a serious super16 rig is appropriate.

Frankly I would try to get a Nikon F3 stills camera for film. The viewfinder shows you 100% of the image and it is/was a very reliable workhorse camera. I think that with the cost of shooting photographic film it is important to really have a handle on the composition. Should be able to find rather cheaply these days as the "digital revolution" is upon us and people are selling them off.

Consider using some CTOND gel on the window and adding some fill in the room. This way you can keep the Dedos tungsten and not lose the light intensity you would with CTB on them. You would also gain some stop since you would not need the 85 filter on the camera. With 7219 this situation should be just fine.

I'll second the "get a good dolly grip". I've seen speed things done with little pocket metronomes instead of someone calling out the marks.

Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and realize that you still have your skill set and experience. The end of something is the beginning of something else.