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nchopp

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  • Occupation
    Cinematographer
  • Location
    Mankato, MN

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  • Website URL
    http://www.nmcstudios.com
  1. I've had decent luck with utility lamps off an inverter with some CTB on 'em. Then again, I'm not suer if you're talking about shooting INT or EXT of the car.
  2. nchopp

    H.264

    I've been trying to figure that one out for quite some time now...
  3. In regards to the truck portion... (I'm going to be speaking about high-end mobile production; D1 college sports and professional sports carried by ESPN or Fox Sports) The individuals serving as the "mobile colorist" are not called "shaders" or "mobile colorists", they're video engineers. They're manually controlling iris, white balance, and pedestal. All the main cameras are connected via CCU cable. ENG\EFP and interview cams are connected via triax or coax. Sony camera bodys and Canon lenses are the standard. The "color matrix" is NOT balanced by the naked eye, but with color bars and vectorscope\waveform monitor. It's referred to as "color balance" in broadcasting. The video tape operator is referred to as an editor, and there are generally 3 or 4 of them. One is running an ALF, which is an NLE command-line based replay system, and the other 2 or 3 are running the actual decks, with controllers for playback commands. Generally it's BetaMPEG for high-end sports production. When there are slowdowns in the game the editors will feed the ALF operator clips for him to digitize, he can acquire footage from any of the cameras (up to 15 or more for large events - usually closer to six or seven for average productions) and sources in the truck. The replay decks are all referred to by color - green, blue, red, etc. Cameras are USUALLY referred to by number, but this depends on the particular Director. I prefer number, but some use letters. Chyron is the graphics system of choice. Pinnacle has a BIT of a presence, but not nearly to the extant of Chyron. Sports broadcasting is very freelance based. The Producer and Director are generally the only two employees actually employeed by the network. All the others are freelance. There is no hail of compliments. But there IS one hell of a rush. D1 hockey (WCHA in particular) has always been my favorite. Sorry, my background was intially in sports broadcasting, so the mistakes in that part of the article kinda bugged me. ;)
  4. Yeah, Desistis are alright by me. Got 4 of those 1ks, 3 of the 2ks, a 750 flood and a bunch of 650s. They get the job done, for indoor work.
  5. If you're stuck trying to make video you've already shot look like film in post, you're already too late. No software in the world is going to bring back the highlights you've blown and shadows you've lost. Dirt, grain, and gate wobble effects are useless, unless you have a reason your film needs to look like something from the 30s. When was the last time you saw a feature film that had a gate scratch? It's not even a band-aid, it's worse than a band-aid. Putting a film effect on top of poorly shot video is like pointing a large, red arrow at it and saying: "Look, I can't afford film OR the time and experience to shoot good video!" Chopp P.S. CineLook is, in my opinion, a very much superior option to FilmFX. It's diffusion filters in particular are phenomonal.
  6. Where can I find an XL1 for $795? That's be great. Chopp P.S. McLuhan's not a philosopher, but a media ecologist.
  7. Because video represents reality. When we see NTSC, 30i video, we think news, television, something real. We already have our mindset - we don't think story-telling. Film represents narrative; the 24 frame motion blur, the contrast ratio. We're ready to suspsend belief a little bit. "The medium is the message." (McLuhan) There's nothing wrong with wanting your video to look MORE like film. If such was the case, I don't think we'd be seeing the ridiculous amount of excitement about the HVX-200, or the great success Panasonic's had with the DVX-100. We're human - we want what we can't really afford - so if we can cheat and get closer, so much the better.
  8. Necessity is the mother of invention. Was at location, didn't have a reflector - grabbed a mirror off the wall. Appropriately, my particular favorite brand of vodka. <grin>
  9. nchopp

    H.264

    An old Amiga can do a black and white effect in real-time... :-)
  10. nchopp

    Fireworks

    Good call on the china ball. A 650 with a softbox would work well too, in a pinch.
  11. nchopp

    H.264

    Our good friend Mr. Murdoch, is, of course referring to just about everyone here - as that covers all he's offended, attacked, insulted, and\or smeared. Panavision's out to take over the world!!! <runs to toss in Conspiracy Theory, it's been a while>
  12. It's not HDV. It's DVCPRO HD.
  13. nchopp

    XL2 Lense Maintanence

    A good waterproof case would be a must, too. LOTS of compressed air (the kind used for film camera lenses, not the stuff you buy at Best Buy - check out www.studiodepot.com ) is another necessity. Like mentioned before, a UV filter - or four, 'cause you'll likely end up ruining a few.
  14. A 4gb P2 card will net you about 10 minutes of 720. You'll get about 3 or 4 minutes of 1080. Those are at 24 - if you're overcranking you'll obviously get less time. :-) The 8gb cards are coming out at about the same time as the camera (August, I think), I believe. If I end up going for it, I'll be going for three 8gb P2 cards and a laptop with a Lacie Big disk (1.6tb or so). Just too expensive to buy enough P2 cards for a real shoot, but damn - no more digitizing. :D
  15. MPEG compression = MESS for chromakeying. While I haven't done (or seen) any side by side comparisions, I'd lean towards staying away from HDV for chroma work. The Panasonic HVX-200 is coming out in August. 24p, 1080, records DVCPRO HD onto a P2 card, or DVCPRO 50 at SD.
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