Dan Salzmann

It's a very good meter but I find it a bit unwieldy. For the passt few years I"ve been using a Pentax digital which has fewer bells and whistles but I'm used to it.

That's 70 degrees fahrenheit, isn't it?

Use all types of analog (binders, post-its, etc.) and digital (laptop, palm, etc.) technology to stay as ORGANIZED as possible. And as Kevin said "stay very aware of time.

Both Walter Murch books are very informative. First Cut: Conversations With Film Editors, by Gabriella Oldham is also very good.

I agree 7245 with a polarizer is the first option. I find reversal stocks grainier than negative stocks and this is most pronounced in 16mm.

Sounds like you know what you need to do. Try to work on films that have fewer scenes to light but really concentrate on lighting them. With faster stocks it is possible to do alot more with less heavy equipment. You might also do some personal projects that revolve around a certain type of lighting that you want to perfect.

I am DPing a super16 film with a first time director that is a fashion photographer. He insisted on personally choosing all costumes and props (there are a lot) instead of taking on a wardrobe and set dresser and this resulted in him been absent from crucial pre-prod. meetings. On the set he is wasting a lot of time fiddling with things that aren't in the frame as well as insisting that light levels are too high. I am shooting with Zeiss High Speed primes a half stop down from wide open and I have given him several crash courses in lighting ratios and sensitometry on set! He is forgetting that in film we can not work at the slow shutter speeds that are possible in still photography. Production is slowed down because of this and I am concerned about meeting the demands of the shooting schedule. Anyone out there ever encounter this sort of situation?

I hand sewed the belt loop with waxed thread but the flimsy Sekonic case literally started to come apart at the seams! Why don't the very with it folks at Portabrace do a line of meter cases? (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

I hand sewed the belt loop with waxed thread but the flimsy Sekonic case literally started to come apart at the seams! Why don't the very with it folks at Portabrace do a line of meter cases? (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

The Scoopic M or MS is a very good camera for MOS run and gun stuff. Easy to load, lens is very sharp and it handles like a giant super8. If only it was super16...

As far as I can see Pelican does not make anything that one can wear on the waist. Does anyone know if there are any well made holsters for the Sekonic 508C?

In fact I'm looking for a case for my belt. A holster if you will.

Greetings all, The very poorly constructed Sekonic case for my Sekonic 508C has been held together by gaffer tape for awhile now and I would like to replace it with a form fitting leather case. Any ideas as to where I can find one? I would also consider a very heavy duty cordura case if it was well constructed.

I second Kevin on the HMI pars. Lots of bang for your buck so to speak. If you're shooting a lot of day scenes consider the light loss and cost when gelling the tungsten fixtures.

I never cared much for the T-Max stocks. Medium format "amateur" Tri-X I found sharper than Tri-X "Professional". For me the impression of sharpness comes from seeing sharply rendered grain. Also the "amateur stock is slightly faster because it lacks the retouching layer on the base side.

I never cared much for the T-Max stocks. Medium format "amateur" Tri-X I found sharper than Tri-X "Professional". For me the impression of sharpness comes from seeing sharply rendered grain. Also the "amateur stock is slightly faster because it lacks the retouching layer on the base side.

I have been using the Sekonic 508C since it came out and am very happy with it. The 558C and other models offer display in the spotmeter's viewfinder but apparently use more expensive lithium batteries instead of regular AA's faster.

For me it depends on how I pre-visualized the scene or shot in terms of atmosphere and the stop I want to shoot at and what feels like the most comfortable way of working for the given situation.

Calmly and intelligently explain the problems and your solutions. If it's that much of a power struggle or other incompatibility tell him or her to find another DP. If you are sure that certain are not going to work, why waste your time?

Get some scrap film from a lab and a daylight spool or two and practice loading. Watch the film take-up with the camera door open. If the camera is old it might need a drop or two of sewing machine oil. Most techs at rental houses don't want anything to do with this kind of thing. I've got an old Kinecam from 1926 with a brass Cooke lens (cost £5 at a flea market) that I use for funky handcranked stuff. The uncoated lens does wild flares and colour reversal film goes really off. Camera just needed a couple of drops of oil to get rejuvenated.

Eyemo's are cool. Go make a movie with it! Know what the camera is good for and not good for. Be organised and shoot a movie!

Have you ever seen the developing technology in a motion picture laboratory and what it takes to calibrate, run and maintain it? There is no way that a private individual could compete with that kind of technology or have the consistant results that it offers. If you want some kind of funky inconsistant "experimental" look than you could try it in relatively small quantities I guess but just drying long lengths of film without dust is very difficult to do at home. Also careful and accurate handling of that amount of chemistry is no picnic either. Call a lab and ask for a tour and you'll see. It's also great for a DP to know people at the lab!

"Are French the only European filmmakers, who can create a real great cinema-look? When I look at all our cheap German movies, exceptions are so rare (Mr. Tykwers next film will be made in Hollywood?)..." Come on georgel, don't despair. Germany has great technical support and fantastic talent especially in Berlin. Get some people together and make the movie you want to make. I am a DP based in France and there are lots of talented people here. IMHO there is a lot of crap films here too. Just like everywhere else. The grass seems to be greener on the other side for you I think. Like Malcolm X said "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem..." I don't agree with all that Malcolm X said but I feel that this idea is applicable to many different situations including "artistic malcontent". It's tough here too, believe me!

I second GWPB on this! An eyebrow and a French flag are 2 different things. With what Chrosziel charges for their products they can afford to get this right and their marketing people should have talked to some pros about this.

Don't forget that in the 70's, lenses were less contrasty in general.