Sam Care

Hi Chris, Fuji's new 160T Vivid Eterna stock would be what I would recommend. It's incredibly sharp for a 16mm stock as well as having a lovely contrast, solid blacks and high colour saturation. With it's speed on a sunny day you will get the stop you want with the pola and shutter angle effect. However if it's overcast you may have to sacrifice something unless you can light actors a stop or maybe shoot at f2. If you are going to carry a faster stock with you for safety, the 160T cuts well with all other stocks in the Eterna range including the 400T even though it is slightly lower contrast. I hope this helps. Sam

I was told that an email would be sent out with the results as well as a letter. But so far I have only received the letter. It's just as well that I got the letter so soon because I am flying out to Nigeria tomorrow for a month. Best wishes. Sam.

I got a letter today confirming my place in the workshop this year on 1st, 2nd and 3rd August. And yes, Soul, I have managed to persuade the production I'm working on in July to fly me straight back to London after we finish on 30th July, so I will be able to make it. Good luck Sam.

I have created 2.35:1 frame lines in Photoshop within a 4:3 window and recorded that onto DVCAM as suggested. However I may want to shoot in 16:9 mode on the DSR 570 for better resolution and since the image is squeezed in the viewfinder how will this affect what I have done. Would the solution be simply creating new 2.35:1 frame lines within a 16:9 frame?

I am shooting a film on DVCAM with a DSR 570. I want to be able to compose for a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and was wondering what would be the best way to mark up this aspect ratio in the viewfinder?

I had my interview at NFTS this week with Brian T and co. It went well I thought. I was wondering how long it takes until they let you know if you have got a place for the workshop stage? Soul: sorry mate I thought you were someone else, so that's why you didn't get my prod co joke. Anyway hope your interview went well. Might see you at the workshop if we both get through. Best wishes. Sam

Hi mate, I got an interview at the NFTS too. I can make the interview but if I get through, I'll be shooting a film in Nigeria on the workshop dates. I was wondering if these dates were fixed or if they've been flexible in the past? Soul: how you gonna run a production company and attend the NFTS? Lol Peace. Sam.

Does anyone have any experience with both these dollies and know what the pros and cons of each are and how they compare? I am looking for a dolly to use in the studio and on location for film and video productions. Thanks.

I was hoping that some of you could share any tips, methods or information you take down on location recces. Also what is the best way to plot the path of the sun at different locations around the world in order to do lighting plans and help schedule the shooting order of shots? Any advice would be much appreciated.

What do you think you should look out for and consider when interviewing and choosing a 1st AC for a film?

I have a similar question but instead of Costa Rica to LA, I'll need to transport my exposed S16mm stock from Nigeria to London. Because there are no reliable labs in Nigeria we need to transport the stock to London, get it processed and then fly the dailies back to Nigeria as soon as possible. When transporting exposed stock from one country to another for processing, what is the usual procedure? I know that it can?t be x-rayed or it might get fogged. Are there any companies that can bypass x-rays at airports? I heard that Fed-Ex might be able to transport stock without going through x-rays? Has anyone had any experience using them? Any advice would be much appreciated.

When shooting in an extremely hot climate, what precautions should be taken in terms of maintaining the camera gear? If you are storing the camera in an air conditioned room overnight and then start shooting directly under the sun in the morning, does the camera need time to adjust to the temperature change? Is there any danger of condensation? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Are flicker free HMI's still flicker free at different frame rates such as 96fps or 150fps in combination with different shutter angles up to 45 degrees? Or are they only flick free at 25fps with 180 degree shutter?

Does anyone know somewhere in London where they hire Arri SR2 cameras with colour video assists? Is it even possible to put a colour video assist on one? All the SR2 cameras I've seen have had balck and white video taps.

Can anyone recommend any post houses in London that might give a good price for low budget s16mm features looking to do DI and 35mm blow-up or any labs for an optical blow-up?

I was originally going to shoot a mixture of 7201, 7205, 7217, 7218, all Vision 2, on a feature for 35mm blow-up. However Kodak have offered the production a discount on 7279 and 7274 which is from the U.S I think where they still produce it. If I go with the Vision 2 stocks I'll have a finer grained blow-up which the director wants, but If I get the Vision 1, we can afford more footage and a greater shooting ratio. My other worry is that if I went with Vision 1 I'd have to shoot most of it on 7279 because I don't think the 7274 is fast enough for the many car and apartment day interior scenes in the film, unless I shot them uncorrected which I don't really want to do.

I was wondering how much of a difference in grain there would be shooting 7279 vs 7218 or 7274 vs 7217 if you were intending to do a 35mm blow-up?

I was wondering how doing a S16mm to 35mm blow up optically versus a Digital Intermediate affects the editing process, if you want to use Final Cut Pro? Is one method generally significantly more expensive than the other? Is one method better if you know your going to have to create 35mm theatrical release prints and later release on DVD as opposed to just making one print for a short or feature to screen at festivals? Thanks. Sam

I am shooting a film in Nigeria in July. It is mostly being shot in and around Lagos. I was wondering if anyone has shot there before and has any advice or experiences to share with me. We are getting camera equipment from London, but lighting and grip are being hired in Nigeria. We are also considering whether to use a lab in Nigeria or in London. Thanks. Sam

I am based in London and am interested in training to be a Lighting Electrician/Spark. I have heard that most people starting out work at a lighting rental company for a few years while taking a part-time electricians course to get the relevant qualifications. Firstly I was wondering if there are any specific film electrician qualifications which you need to become a Spark in the UK, how long they take to get and where the best places to get them in London are? I was wondering if anyone knew of any other routes to become a professional spark? For example if you have an electrician?s degree do Gaffers ever take on apprentices with some experience in smaller productions and train them? I am looking to work my way up in the lighting department to eventually become a Gaffer/Chief Electrician and maybe one day a DOP. Does anyone have any info about the implications of this route in the UK film industry? In other words do Gaffers in the UK often step up to become DP?s or is that more common in the US? I would appreciate any information or advice. Sam.

Hi, I have recently finished shooting a short film on S16mm in the UK. I was worried about similar things to you like matching wides and close-ups with the weather constantly changing. One day it went from bright sunlight to a dark overcast sky with light rain. I was really worried about it, but since seeing the rushes and seeing the scenes shot on that day cut together, I have realised that you can actually get away with quite a lot. If you look carefully you can see slight changes in the weather, light, tones of colours. But most people who aren't DP's wouldn't notice. I have to say though that I would suggest shooting on Vision 2 250D 7205. It really is a great stock and the grain isn't any more noticable than the EXR 50D 7245. I feel that the 7205 is actually better when you are shooting outdoors in the UK with irratic weather. It allows you to shoot all day, in any lighting condition. Maybe it is the slightly lower contrast and colour saturation which makes weather differences match a bit better with the 7205 than the 7245. I was very pleased with it anyway. I also used a 1/8 Coral filter to help warm up and match the shots when the weather became overcast. It did help in making footage shot in overcast conditions look warmer and brighter. However watch out if you have a lot of green grass in shot beacuse it can sometimes put a bit too much yellow/orange into the grass, which could cause you more harm than good continuity wise. Hope this was useful. Sam.

Well that's a good question Phil. I have been doing a bit of research since you mentioned HDV. Read a interesting article (p32-38, Showreel, Issue 7, Spring 2005) which said: 'But what has become clear to me and others who have used the FX1 and Z1 is that the quality is somewhere between top-end Digibeta and HD. What this means is that a £3,500 Sony Z1 in the hands of a talented DP will achieve the same if not better results than a camera costing several times more than this...' So for an extra £1,200 over the price of a PD170 I can buy a Z1. Well it is sounding pretty good, so far. The article went on: 'It's encouraging to see the BBC showing postive moves in using HDV and carrying out stringent tests. They've already been reported as citing that HDV is the natural successor to the PD170...' 'So what has been the reaction of those in the market for the Z1? Well, if the mass secondhand sales of PD150's, PD170's and XL1's are anything to go by, it might seem quite obvious.' So after reading this, the question isn't why would you not buy an HDV machine if your interested in small camera documentary? The question is do I buy a FX1 or a Z1? What are main differences between the them? I am curious, does anyone have any arguments as to why I shouldn't buy an HDV camera over say a PD170?

Thanks for the advice. I think that I will buy the PD170. Sam.

I am considering buying a Sony PD170, mostly for documentary use. I was just wondering what other cameras were available in a similar price range, and how these compare to the PD170? I have heard good things about HDV but I believe these are more expensive? What I am looking for is the pros and cons of a few good cameras in the PD170's price range or slightly above. I would appreciate any advice. Cheers Sam

Thank you for your reply. I was wondering, do many DPs make a living only working in Holland or do some work in different countries like Germany, Belguim too? Would you say that most music videos, commercials are shot on digital in Holland because of the budgetary constraints or is there still quite a lot of stuff shot on film? What kind of stuff do you shoot and on what format? Regards Sam