Steven Carubia

In Reflections: 21 Cinematographers at Work, Laszlo Kovacs stresses that, "Different T-stops will record an image differently, even if the scene is lit under similar conditions...I always predetermine the stop and maintain it for every shot in the scene. When you change a stop during the scene [especially at 500 ASA], a lot of the ambiance is changed, the film starts reading things that weren't there at the other T-stop, and vice versa. I have been under the assumption that one could light to a deeper stop such as 5.6, thus granting the freedom to open up for shots where a shallower depth of field is desired, while compensating for the extra light with ND filters. I am fairly inexperienced and had not considered this a topic for examination. I'm sure results vary among different lenses and filters. Laszlo describes a situation contrary to my own yet equally relevant. He speaks of the detrimental effects of shooting at a stop such as T4 and then closing down to 5.6 for a close-up; via doubling the light in the scene. He writes, "...sometimes there's so much bounce light that some of the fill starts to bleed into areas that you don't want recorded." I would love to hear what the professionals among us have to say about shooting stops and deviating from them by the means described above.

With all due respect to film, Kodak is getting desperate and it's painfully obvious.

Seems like a cool guy to hang out with!

I need to build a light for a bathroom similar to a vanity light. I want 6 evenly spaced bulbs along a strip of wood or some sort of hard reflective material. What I'm unsure about is wiring. How do I wire the sockets in parallel? Most importantly, how do I ground this unit? I've included pictures of the porcelain sockets I have in mind and they do not have a ground terminal (nor does every other type of porcelain socket at Lowes). I want to use 14/3 SJOW wire and for this unit to generally be as safe as possible. I've read here and on Roger Deakin's forums how easy it is to construct these lights, but the details I'm requesting in this post are those which are never discussed! I look forward to hearing from you.

This probably warrants a new topic in the beginner's section, but I've included it here so that I need not reiterate the above information. 1. We had discussed my intention to derate the negative 2/3 and bring it back down in the color bay. I know that I need to shoot a grey card for each setup, but I'm not clear on what light it needs to be in and how to expose for it. 2. Do I need to inform Technicolor that my negative is derated when I bring it for processing, or do I reserve that information for the supervised timing? 3. If the grey card is meant to be a reference for the timer in bringing my derated film (overexposed) back to normal, wouldn't that sabotage any additional overexposure/underexposure that I may want to do in a given scene?

Shame.

Failing to bring it back down would leave everything over-exposed 2/3. That is contrary to my intention unless I'm missing something here. Also, are you suggesting that I underrate 1 stop on the darkest of scenes?

Thank you for the responses. We've established that I'm underrating. Having read your posts and spoken to someone whose opinion I value, my plan of action is to process normally; having shot a gray card for each setup, and then have the colorist bring the overexposure down by balancing to the card. Initially, I considered underrating by 2/3 of a stop, but I'd like to open this up to those of you who are inclined to answer. How much do you generally underrate your color negative for the purposes of creating density and tightening grain before bringing it back down chemically/digitally?

I am preparing to shoot a short on 500T with the SR2 (1.78). The film will ultimately be scanned to 1080p (16x9), digitally corrected during an overnight session, and delivered digitally. Since the director and I have established a fairly low key look, I plan on derating the negative by 2/3 for added density. My quandary lies in when exactly to bring it back down. I could pull process the film or simply process normally and darken it in the color bay, prior to anything else. What are the pros and cons for each option? I'm eager to hear what those of you who are experienced prefer.

I'm looking for the photometrics of a 650w Ianiro Redhead. The manufacturer's website is not very helpful.

This product also claims to have a color temperature of 2700K (accurate?) if that has any bearing on green spikes.

I've just learned that the CFL I posted a picture of has a CRI rating of 82. Does that help narrow your responses?

Thank you to everyone who responded. Your answers have exceeded my expectations. Lowe's has 12/3 SOOW for $5.83/m (3.3') or 150m (492') spool for $400 CAD.

Sorry, I don't know why the picture is upside down. It happened when I uploaded it.

I've done some digging on the forums for information on self-ballasted CFL bulbs. I haven't found a straight answer as to whether these globes flicker or produce a green spike. I suspect that the answer varies by brand. I've attached a picture of the globes that are readily available to me. They seem high quality, though the dimming feature is weak. Information and suggestions are welcome.