Marta Bobic

Thanks, Vincent! Looks good! I'll post some from my short when I have something to post! I think I will stick with the 7218 and the 85B, it seems that that is the way to go. And thank you David and Adam too, I'm grateful for the advice.

Thanks David, that clears things up a bit. It will be on negative stock, so that part's not a concern. However, how about the compensation side of things?

I'm shooting a short soon on 7218. It may sound odd, seeing as almost all of the film is in daylight, but as there is so little to be shot indoors I don't want the cost of extra stock I won't use, and would rather just use one for the whole thing. I know some people don't like having glass on the lens all the time, but I generally prefer tungsten stocks, and I don't like correcting the other way around (it never looks quite as good). So my question is, 85 or 85B? I read on the Kodak spec sheet for the 7218 that with an 85 the EI is 320, and with an 85B it's 200. But elsewhere I've heard that the usual 2/3 stop compensation applies to both. I know that an 85B is the 'proper' correction filter for modern stocks, but what is the difference visually between the two? If it really does end up as a 200ASA, then I may as well shoot on the 250D and just gel my lights with CTB for the interior scene. Any thoughts or advice?

Yeah, I know. Doesn't the 416 do single frames? But I do know what you mean. I'm certainly not hearing of a decrease in people using 16mm in the UK, and right now there just isn't a stable HD standard that's affordable. It'll all settle down soon, but the technology is changing so fast, with every manufacturer having their own preferences in standard, that using something established is more appealing than ever. If all of us could afford to shoot on a D-20, Genesis or CineAlta, we would. Or we'd shoot on 35mm. But 16mm is working fine and is widely available and really not that expensive, so it's pretty popular. Now, what to do....

Well, thanks, that of course is a good suggestion and even though doing it on film is more appealing, I did consider a DSLR because it would make life SO much cheaper and easier. Now, the issue with this is that the writer managed to structure the story in such a way that most scenes will be made up of both stop-motion AND live action, and the director wants the two to be fairly seamless. Meaning, that one character is human, and the other a doll, but both won't be moving in the same shot. I'm just concerned about how these things are going to cut together, because having one shot of a doll shot on a DSLR and the reverse on 16mm might look a bit odd and jarring. This is getting more complicated by the second!! Oh and did I mention that some of these shots will be exteriors? In the daytime? In October? Aaaah.

Thanks for the suggestion, Laurent. I'm looking into it, I think Joe Dunton have a couple. I'm finding it really hard to find anything cheap that has been converted to s16 though! Well, I know.... but sadly, the budget doesn't stretch that far!!

So... seeing as I hate it when people ask questions on forums that have already been answered, I trawled through previous posts (and got sidetracked by lots of interesting stuff) but didn't find a concrete answer. What I really want to know is can you do single frames for stop-motion on an SR3? I know Arri have an intervalometer for the SR3, but did I read correctly that it can only do 1/2 second exposures for single frames? I'm shooting a short on s16 with both live action and stop-motion, and I would like to hire only one camera for both if possible. Both live action and stop-motion are being shot at each of several locations over a few weeks and I'd really like to keep it simple and not hire two cameras for the duration. Also, I'd obviously like to save as much time and stock as possible - I really wouldn't want to shoot a higher frame rate and have the editor extract the frames I need in post as this is seriously wasteful and a pain. Also, I hear that I might need a capping shutter to stop light leaking onto neighbouring frames? Can someone explain this any better? Also, is the fact that the frames cannot be advanced manually a problem? If this isn't possible, does anyone have any advice on which camera would be best to use for the animation? I know there are some animation-specific hire companies in the UK who have adapted cameras and Bolexes, but from what I've seen so far it seems somewhat expensive. Sorry if these are silly questions, but I can't seem to find much information on this? I'll probably call Arri tomorrow, but I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Any advice is appreciated! Cheers!

Thanks for the info, Adam! I think I'll give Denmark Studios a call- it sounds perfect for this- there's no hallway involved, just a simple stage with a couple of actors as it's a fairly stripped-down comedy deal. See, it's quite short notice the big ones are mostly booked up, so I think my chances are better there, and the owner being nice is a major bonus. At the end of the day, anywhere will be better than paying the LCC to use their practically gravel-floored (but available) studio- I really wouldn't want to take any production there, though the guy that runs it is lovely and is certainly wasted there. I'll definitely check out Black Island and Duke Island too. As for the Shepperton part- I agree, it's lovely there. And in my experience everyone there is so helpful, which I'm genuinely suprised with these days. Sad, I know! Thanks again!

Thanks, that's very helpful! Marta.

I need a fairly small soundstage in or near London to shoot 5 30-second commercials in. I'm pretty aware of the larger studios but was wondering what the lesser-known options are, or where's best for something of this size. The budget is decent and the sets won't be too elaborate, something like a theatre stage or a school hall stage would be set up, and the lighting requirements are also pretty modest. The commercials would be shot on HD most likely, and it needs to be done around the start of November, which I am aware is rather soon! As this is a production for a large US agency with a pretty big client, it needs to be worth flying people over to the UK for, ie. a well-run good quality studio where things will go smoothly on their end. So any advice or suggestions would be hugely appreciated! Thanks! Marta

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the RedRock Micro 35mm adapter? I'm looking to buy a Panasonic AG-HVX200 and want to do the self-build option for the micro 35mm adapter. What I wanted to know was if anyone has recommendations for which lenses are best to use, and whether follow-focus is an option for 35mm still lenses (surely someone must have figured that out by now...)? I'm leaning towards Nikon lenses. Thanks!

Does anyone have any advice on good books for a student? I'm studying film (specialising in Cinematography) and would like to get to know as much as I can outside of my course, even though I have some experience on film sets; seeing as books are so ridiculously expensive, I'd rather get some recommendations from people who know about the subject! Of course I already have my ASC manual, but I'd like more books! I'm especially interested to know if there are any good books on 16mm as I will be shooting a short on an SR2 in a few months and I'm looking forward to it so much...would love to read all I can before I get going! Library books are all very well, but I'd like something of my own. Speaking of film, anyone know any good short courses in London on shooting film? I know they cost an arm and a leg, but it's something I'm willing to spend as much as I need to on. Thanks, all advice is hugely appreciated! Marta Bobic