Grant Fergus

"cameras are usually calibrated so they give the best image quality at their lowest ISO" I've heard a lot of people talk about using different ISO settings at the same FStop and noticing different level of grain and this often seems to be a decision made while engaged in a night shoot. Not sure exactly where ASA fits into everything but I'll look into it more. Here's an article that talks about ASA and also using a" 18% Gray Card" which I think is the same as the greyscale chart you were talking about. Where do light meters fit into all of this ? :) Grant :) http://www.digitalcinemasociety.org/TechTips.php?item=Rating+your+HD+Cameras+ASA

Thanks David, I couldn't really ask for a more comprehensive and knowledgeable response than you gave, I'll go back and read it a few times and you gave me a lot to think about and clarified a lot of things for me. :)

Thanks Brian, I wasn't aware of that, that's my display name changed. Any thoughts on the questions and pictures above? Grant :)

Hey Guys, I've just posted 3 images which hopefully worked ok. I think they get posted above, but let me know if there are any probs and I'll try posting them as links instead. They are screen grabs form the film: Love Me If You Dare http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364517/ The pictures show actor Guillaume Canet as he walks from light into a Silohuette. As it shows in the pictures, this set is lit with a lot of contrasting dark and light areas. There are bright pools of light and areas that are essentially pitch black. I really love the idea of playing with light in this way, but wondered how you go about doing it? And how do you avoid grain in the really dark regions when shooting on digital... Is it a case of having everything lit accordingly and then closing the iris until the areas with less light become very very dark? (and what would be the lighting plan for getting pools of light like this....) I guess it varies from camera to camera, but I'm quite interested in understanding how dark things can actually be and how to go about creating low grain dark areas when shooting on digital. Also :) I notice in the top picture (wide shot) that the surrounding walls are catching just enough light to give them definition and let you know there are actually walls there, but in the other two closer shots ie over his shoulder in the light and silhouetted mid shot from behind, the surrounding walls are much brighter... Was also wondering if people had any thoughts on that, would the wider shot be lit differently or is it that the wider shot is responding differently to the same lighting setup etc... Questions questions, :rolleyes: thanks in advance for any insight Grant :)

Hi there, I'm not sure if you'd find the following course interesting or not...I've not done it myself, but from what I've seen, its a comprehensive look at how to move the camera in relation to actors and the effect that has, ie what mood it conveys to the audience when you move the camera in a certain way. They acknowledge that experienced directors do this sort of thing intuitively/instinctively but do attempt to teach newcomers what emotion the moving camera conveys and how to avoid doing it at the wrong time and giving mixed signals to the audience. They've also used expressionless 3D model characters in their tutorials purposefully so that all the emotional impact has to come from the camera in the tutorial to kind of solidify the importance and effect that the camera can have in giving cues to the audience. You can check it here: The Master Course In High-End Blocking & Staging

Hey guys, In a few months time I'm gonna have to shoot a few scenes in a forrest that are meant to be scary and moody, sections "only lit" with torch light etc. The director has a pretty strong vision and is keen to avoid the look of day for night and thought about shooting at dusk onwards etc. any thoughts about night shooting? I guess the scene would have to be lit to some degree and how do you go about making something look like its really really dark and really really night-time, but not have a grain-fest when shooting on digital (HD) Appreciate anything anyone brings to this one, cheers, Grant :)

Hey guys, this is a question I've been wondering too, there seem to be so many varieties on the market at different price ranges it's hard to tell what's a good investment. I'm aware of the Indie Dolly: http://www.indiedolly.com/ it looks well engineered and accessible in terms of price....here's a more detailed overview on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI3y4Ie8Jzo MICRO DOLLY also looks pretty portable and useful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSAUyyph9uA I've also checked out tripod mounted camera movement systems which allow the operator to create the move by themselves, I think there are a few on the market but I've looked at the glidetrack: Cheers guys, I'm still undecided between a bit of extra cash for a dolly with track or a two metre glidetrack that is shorter but in some ways more versatile than a traditional dolly system, Grant :)