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Kyle Reid

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Everything posted by Kyle Reid

  1. If you have a light that will actually do anything in the day time sun, you're fine. There's plenty of foot candles to go 700fps on a normal clear day.
  2. Thanks for the info! I'm in Baton Rouge working at Hollywood Rentals and we haven't sent out as many space lights as I would have thought since I've been here, even for the huge shows. BTW Work very closely with Marc Marino on the Pirates movies? Got to meet him down here, great guy.
  3. It's completely additive, if you double a gel you will see double the effect of that gel (color and exposure). Although it would be good to note that two halves do not make a full when we are dealing with color temp gels. For example 1/2 CTB creates a MIRED shift of -79, however, full CTB creates a MIRED shift of -137. So if you use two sheets of 1/2 CTB over a light source you will create a MIRED shift of -158, but full CTB only creates a MIRED shift of -137. Gels work in a linear fashion, whereas color temperature does not.
  4. When rigging 6k space lights, is there a set distance between fixtures that is typically used, or a formula one would use to to ensure that the area being light is uniformly exposed? I've been curious as to how the decision is made.
  5. It means that in order to compensate for the light lost (absorbed) by the 85 filter, that you need to open up the aperture to allow more light in. The amount of compensation needed is 2/3s of a stop, so to correctly compensate, open the aperture 2/3s of a stop. You can account for this change by setting your meter to a lower effective film speed. Since you are set at 320 film speed now, you can set your meter from 320 down to 200 film speed. This way you can meter, and correctly compensate for your light loss.
  6. I've done a bit of work with Rex Metz ASC using custom nets stretched and adhered to an open matte box frame. He was using material from high-quality lingerie in black and also tan. I think the look is pleasing, and I was wondering how other people used nets in front of the lens. I want to learn more because I'm very curious to use them in my own work, and not necessarily in just they ways Rex taught me. If you use nets: what material do you used, how do you made and implemented them in shooting, and what is your reason for choosing to work with a net?
  7. There's a similar thread going on at the moment, but in regards to top light. Yours is a more broad question on cheating lighting on the whole, but I believe the same reply is appropriate here. Everything you are doing as a cinematographer alters the reality of the space and time you are in. When you put up a camera and lights in a space real or fabricated you are changing it, you are making it what you will it to be. Why just stop half way and only light the master? Why not extend you artistry into the coverage? Why not ensure every frame you make is beautiful and in touch with the emotion of the scene and moment? What is worth more, dogmatic adherence to a way of doing something, or the holistic experience of the movie to the viewer? I believe it's more important to record an authentic emotion, a documentary photograph. And yes if you look at any movie with this eye you will go nuts. You'll wonder why every leading lady has a lower contrast, soft, wrapping key and the leading man has a harder chiseled light.
  8. The pastels will be helped more by the production designer, and so far the location looks like a go for that look. It's a cool space and you could light it in endless ways. What kind of lighting units and grip equipment will you be using? What's the scene? What's the tone of the movie? What's the genre? How many and who are the actors, Women and/ or men? Kids? What kind of action will happen here? We need way more information about this to participate in this process.
  9. How many of you light mainly by eye if not totally by eye? Is this a thing of the past? How many of you live or die by your meter? I want to rely less on my meter so that I can just be totally involved in how the light looks to me and not taking myself out of that process by forming a habit of constantly going to my meter and second guessing myself. Any tips on putting down the meter, and learning how to becoming more accurate in lighting by eye? As a student I've worked with ASC cinematographer Rexford Metz, and I was always amazing and intrigued at how close he would get without ever picking up the meter. I want to get to the place some day too.
  10. On the last project I shot I got too wrapped up in where the light should be coming from instead of where the light could be coming from. I felt pleased that I was using strict motivating sources when I light. Later I had the chance to work with peer of mine on a show he light as the gaffer. I was biting my tongue every time he had me move a key/ backlight into position where I thought there was no possible motivation. Then I saw the result of both his and my efforts. I did alright, but his movie looked beautiful because he wasn't afraid to put the light in the place that would agree with and enhance the emotion of the scene. I could have done and was fully able to do the same, but I was too caught up in the methodology and not the artistry. In the end my images suffered because I was too pig headed to just light the damn movie like I was supposed to do. Why would anyone hire, let alone pay a cinematographer, if they only put the light where it was really coming from? Any hack can do that.
  11. It would be hard to create a fast formula that would spew out how much or how little the audience was paying attention to the out of focus elements in the frame depending on how out of focus they were. Although with that being said, in comparison to a completely unintelligible background to one that can be understood, it seems likely ( with all things else equal) that the more readable background would have a higher chance of drawing more attention. However, I don't think it's something you can expect to put into practice and show off traceable results. Anyhow, to me, limiting focus is the probably least creative way to give an impression of 3 dimensions in cinema, but oddly enough the only one inherent to photography, go figure.
  12. When I work as a 2nd, I get the scene and shot number from the scripty. We slate using the radio phonetic alphabet (excluding I, O, and S). Sound speeds, I'll voice slate it, then 1st calls "mark it" after he/she rolls, I clap the sticks, and dash away.
  13. Day time interior of a pawnshop, large glass windows letting in the sunlight, the shot I'd like the effect in would likely be a head and shoulder closeup. No specific expectations for the lighting at the moment, other than it will be of lower contrast, broadly lit, and motivated by the large store front windows.
  14. That is the plan in general. I was wondering the best way to do it for the most controllable effect.
  15. Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any good insight into creating a reflection of a television screen (turned on) in prescription glasses. The shot would be framed up as a close-up with a character looking at a small old CRT television and I wanted to be able to reflect what they are watching in their eye glasses. it is not entirely important to be able to clearly see what they are watching, just a vague, ghostly, image is enough. In addition, what can I use to create the flicker of a TV? We will never see the TV screen in any shot, so I feel like I able to gut it out and stick some lights in there to do the job if the power of the screen itself isn't great enough. Any help is really appreciated. Thank you, Kyle Reid
  16. Really, why set it like the camera is set? Am I missing something here? You are taking a still image and you are most likely doing it without a tripod. Take an image that is sharp and exposed similar to how you wanna expose the negative. I assume you are taking the photos to judge ideas like contrast and color rather than exposure.
  17. I didn't know Rex had a hand in this one too! I have to ask him about when I go back to school.
  18. I honestly think that it would have to be decided in context, as would the use of other traditional composition or storytelling elements elements. We don't blink at using long or short lenses to enhance the perspective in different ways than we see as humans for dramatic effect. Having the ability of a character/ object to step out from, or recede into the frame seems like it could offer many dramatic possibilities just the same, but asking what would be a good use of it seems to me like asking what's a good use of sync-sound in the early days of sync-sound films, we still have to figure that out. I'm not trying to be abrasive at all as I have nothing invested in this technology, but it is exciting to think that we may have another potent tool at our disposal as films makers to strike the hearts and minds of our audience and keep them coming back the the theaters.
  19. I don't agree that "drama or story" cannot benefit from a stereoscopic presentation. I believe it is always a benefit for the storyteller to have access to a wide variety of tools that (s)he can use to communicate his/her vision to the audience. It certainly doesn't mean this tool can be applied to any film and make it more expressive and immersive. No, this tool has to be implemented as intelligently as other tools such as color, focus, composition, brightness, or contrast. Certain stories might not benefit from it, but just the same, certain stories are also better as novels, or plays instead of films.
  20. I'll third the inky with some diffusion. That's exactly what I did for closeups on the last film I shot, and it was a quick and easy solution.
  21. Oh cool, I didn't know it worked out to be 20% like that.
  22. I'm a graduate film student at FSU and have acted as BBE and here we balance our genny truck (3 legs) as described above with no issue. Other practical advice: 1) Stay informed about how many lights are going up and how many amps ( paper amps are fine) they draw. 2) Be aware of when a light or lights are being turned off and will not be used as expected. 3) If you cannot balance the load on all the hot legs with the lights that are being used, you will have to "ghost" a light, which is what we call plugging in an extra light on the necessary leg in order to balance the load and aiming it away from the set into a safe place. 4) You can use an amp meter to make sure the loads are reasonably balanced (no more than ~10 amps of inequality). 5) Attach the ground and neutral legs of the cam lock first and unattached them last. There's a lot more about safety with the genny than balancing the legs, be wary and read up on it, or ask a professor I suppose.
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