steve laramie

Prince of darkness deserves it.

Like all terms in film it in my opinion comes down to area. Around here I always say and hear striking. It was what I was taught and it is what I hear and say on film sets. However... I have never said striking without everyone in the room looking directly at the light.

expect 150 per minute.

Arri doesnt make C stands to my knowledge. However Kupo stands are great. They arrant very traditional but I work with them allot.

Gritty eh? Play with those banners on the windows to act like flags. I would black wrap the front of them so no light sneaks through and blast a 5K tungsten through on an angle about 5-10 feet from the window. I would then get art department to add some light haze so the light comes in on streaks. I would then put a 1k chimera on the side of the counter backed up about 5-10ft for ambiance and then another 1k chimera in front of talent about 5-10ft back for ambiance. Both chimeras with egg crates and half CTB. I would balance for day light to give a blue gritty feeling. I also like your idea of some lamps with CTRs lighting the product behind the counter.

I DPed 8 films with the HVX200a and redrock M2. It is a nightmare. I always demand a truck load of lights and fast lenses for every shoot. I recently shot a feature on a RED and was amazed to see I COULD light a scene with just practicals. FYI this should be in the cinematography section not cinematographers tisk tisk.

Ha that cant even begin to be excused.

Thank you Pete. Yes their was one movie I shot where the editor squeezed it. I cant figure out how to un squeeze it so I just use minimal clips from it.

Please critique my reel. (exported half quality) http://vimeo.com/6336867

Thats the first reel I saw that actually tells a story. Great job.

Content was great but you need to cut it down allot. It is way to slow and dull which takes away from showcasing your talents.

I happen to like the filmtools setup. I wouldnt recomend buying the "AC survival kit" or whatever they call it because its allot of stuff I would never use. But thats a good belt setup you can buy the belt system piece by piece.

It didnt smell bad to me but I used to do natural gas hookups for barbecues and knew the smell. It scares me that our highly qualified crew didnt pick up on it. Seems like it should be in the grip book.

I just pictured that scene from fight club with the apartment blowing up after my gaffer said the smell of gas was probably fine... I made everyone get out of the room after we turned the gas off and the house fan on then in about 30 minutes we were good. Any other scenarios like this you guys can think of?

I was recently DPing on a set which was a kitchen interior. We had the lights setup but just before we struck them I told everyone to stand by. I smelled gas. I checked the oven with a grip and the pilot light was out which filled the kitchen with gas. Did we almost die or am I being overly careful? This got me thinking to ask you guys of some other small things like this that can be a major threat.

I rock a Ford F-150 with a bed cap as my grip and/or camera truck on low budget shoots.

What is your budget on this? I have some good but expensive methods.

I would setup a large black backdrop (visaversa for white) then put a C stand behind the backdrop with a gobo arm going through a small opening with a 2k fresnel on spot with no barn doors mounted on the end via grip head. I would then fill (assuming its a wide shot) with 2-3 1k lights backed far away and diffused with Chimeras with egg crates for frontal fill. For the white background I would do the same setup for the black background except I would setup 2 6x6 silk frames and shoot a 1k or 2k through each one to light the white back drop.

No this is quite common. Its use is exactly what it sounds like. They can use the small mirror to check under stuff like base plates and anything else. I really cant get a good example of use but I know it is a very common trick.

A 650 should be sufficient. I would close the barn doors and spot it so its more directional. As long as its a dark background behin the haze it should work nicely.

Their was an interesting discussion on RogerDeakins.com where Rogger rigged over 10 dollies with lamps on them for that effect. Probably out of your budget so I would say panning the lamp would be the best way to do it. I would use a 650 fresnel backed far away with a half CTO.

Yeah we do a good job at it to.

Go Philly. Rarely been able to find other DPs in the city.

Thats really good stuff. How did you get that gritty green effect in the first few shots? Was that gelled or in camera?

As long as you arent flying the flag out when you move it I dont see it being a problem. Just bring the arm down and keep everything as compact as possible and then move it.