timHealy

I have done some simple effects shots on my arri hs sr and it worked fairly well for a project transferred to video, but some cameras may be better suited than others in design and one must consider the age and wear and tear of the camera. I did mine after I had new rails installed on my camera and some registration work done at Arri in Blauvelt after it was discovered that my camera "failed" a registration test. I had all sorts of get weave. If you are a student using school equipment I might be leary. I know how student cameras can get beat up and never get the service they need. So it might be prudent to err on the side of safety and choose a route like Stephen suggests, especially if this will be projected on a large screen where little problems get multiplied up on a big screen. I concur with Stephen that a registration test and transfer test is the way to go to protect your work and your financial investment in that work. Or else the shoot will be the test if everything goes wrong and you have to do it again. Or you may have to live with what you get. Referring to producers and production managers trying to do things on the cheap, a friend of mine always says "There's always money to shoot it right the second time." Best Tim

Firestarters are the nickname for 1200 watt Par 64 VNSP tungsten bulbs for the simple reason they provide a lot of heat both photographically and for real. you can easily put them in par cans, maxibrutes. or 12 light maxi's, but you start to come real close to 100 amps with the twelve lights which is the typical breaker on a US stage box. A weak breaker wont hold it so turn a bulb off hehehe. I tried a quick search and could not find it on the internet, but if one had some bulb catalogs you can find them easy enough or check in with your local expendable supplier or rental house. aircraft landing lights that Dimitri mentioned are more commonly called ACL's and they run off 28 volts, but to use them here in the US you have to use four wired in series tp rum off 120 volts. Thye are real easy to use in a dino light and replace the wiring with a new cable with four recepticles wired in series and plugged into the socket for one 120 volt bulb. Paskal in LA has this harness. Best Tim

"The same co-worker insists that Spike Lee's shot all of his movies on a Sony VX-1000." I believe Lee experimented with some video on Girl 6 and he did do one movie I know of with a few Sony PAL handycam cameras. If I am not mistaken, it was Bamboozled, but correct me if that is wrong. But for the most part the rest of his films have been shot on film including his current one Inside Man. I should add though Inside Man is about a bank heist and utilizes a few small video cameras for security camera type shots, but the majority of it is 35mm. Best Tim

"Super 16 is a gamble, while it may fit some films, people associate it with "Amatures" and the studios know this, so they may not be willing to allow the project to shoot in super 16." I don't think you have this right. There is noting amateuristic in the format itself. Perhaps the people using it are the amateurs. Super 16 is a viable alternative to 35 depending on the project, content and budget. The vision 2 stocks from Kodak are terrific in terms grain and quality. There are plenty of films and TV shows that make a creative choice to use 16 over 35 an illustrated in the article. I saw Hustle and Flow a few weeks ago and if I am not mistaken, it was done in 16mm and was a terrific movie. A director I work with wants to shoot a 16mm movie after doing a 35 film because of the unobtrusive nature of 16 compared to 35. Also I think there are a number of films that have done well enough in recent years that have been shot in DV and blown up to 35, to prove what really matters is a compelling story. Not "this is going to be a great film simply because it was shot in 35". We have all seen our share of crappy and great movies in all formats. Bset Tim

Shooting an anamorphic feature in 35mm with low cost equipment (Konvas 2m, lomo lenses) and a decent lighting package - aimed for a film festival. Script calls for CG characters, greenscreen work, cranes and dollies and those dreaded night shots in forests. Problems: 1. No $$$ 2. Little experience 3. No production team I think you answered your own question. There comes a time when a filmmaker must learn when not to do a project. It seems as though you do not have the resources (money crew experience) to do this very ambitous project at this time. I have been working in film for 15 years I would have to call in every favor and everyone I know to get something like you discribed done. And even with that, it would still be a challange and expensive. It may be better to aim a little lower at this point and make a great 16mm or DV film and get your feet wet. But that is for you to decide. Best Tim

If I am not mistaken, Bob Richardson did a lot of this type of shooting in JFK for the flashback and recreation scenes which I thought was a brilliant film. regardless if you believe in conspiracy's or not. Tim

Are you buying the lights new? perhaps they have lights that can be made for the US market. Are you buying the lights used? Then you could try a few options. But first are they tungsten or HMI? If tungsten then as Adam suggested, they probably could be easily changed if you change the bulbs and the plugs. But you would need to check the cable on the lamp too. Anything operating on 208 to 240 vac uses less amperage because the voltage is twice as high then 110 to 120 volts. So the cable may have to be changed too to deal with a higher amperage. All relatively easy stuff if you have the time, materials, and as long as you are talking about a few lamps. If you are talking about HMI's you may have to do some homework to see if the electronics can run off 110 to 120 volts. In the US, HMI's from 4k and down typically run off 110 to 120 volts and 6k and up run off 208 to 240v. But companies like Arri make their ballasts to run off either 110 or 220 depending on the market. I'm not positive, but I am relatively sure you would not have to change the bulbs like a tungsten lamp. I have seen 220v 2.5k and 4k HMI's in the US but they are not common. It may be as simple as switching a setting on the ballast, but one would have to check with the manufacturer. A good part of the reason for that is that the typical film electric distribution systems don't favor small 220v lamps in the US. We could use 220 volt lights here, but it would be helpful to have a distro system that favors that. Mole Richardson does make Stage boxes with smaller 30 amp (??) 220 volt outlets for smaller 220 volt lamps but they are not as ubiquitious as "normal" stage boxes. The most common 220 volt stage outlets on stage boxes are the type for an 18k. But with a reverse snake bite, one could use the outlet for smaller units as well. In LA it is more common to have boxes with large 220v plugs. In NY, camlock siamese and trimese usually do the job. Hope this helps in your decision. Tim

I don't know the history of the development of electricity here in the US, but residential homes usually have single phase into a house and most household appliances use 120 volts AC. Three phase is mostly commercial. Too bad we don't use 220 like there and europe because wiring can be smaller for everything. Typically, the only things here you may find in homes that run off 220 are electric clothes dryers, electric kitchen stoves, and large air conditioners. Perhaps some electric heat (which can be expensive) and water heaters (but typically they use natural gas). best Tim

I actually would give it more than 2-3 stops. film has latitude. you could easily go 4 or more. How are you finishing? if in video you can blow it out more in the transfer. If going to print in the analog world I would do it on the set. Alos on that film I think they may have used some processing tricks. perhaps you can find out some more with a google search. Tim

Lav, I wouldn't buy any film equipment unless you have a trust fund that you are living off of or you know you can rent it on job after job after job. It may not pay if you only get one job then th elight sits in your garage or basement. Talk with your rental house abount rates. In NY or LA it is typical to pay 1 or 1.5 the day rate for a week on a movie. You can also get a good rental if say you tell the rental house you need the equipment for a monday shoot. They usually aren't open on a weekend so you can pick up friday morning and shoot friday, sat, sun, and monday, return on Tuesday and pay for one day. Tim PS someone mentioned using a 2.5 HMI on a house hold plug. Maybe you can do that in some countries but in the US forget about it. It won't work for long if it does at all. Come to think of it 2.5 HMI's aren't being used much on the films I am working on. They just jump from 1.2 to 4k. It is much easier and a few less lights to worry about.

You have a lot of questions here so my first answer would be get yourself an experienced electrician/gaffer so you have someone to confer with and guide you. So here we go... since i have really only worked with blodies, redheads, barnies, kenos and similar, can someone tell me more about HMI lights? I understand how they operate and that i will need to run them of a ballast, but wonder how that ballast gets powered (obviously not from a house hold wall outlet)... must i get a generator out too? You can power HMI's off any sort of electricity as long as you just follow the rules of amperage and voltage that you would with tungsten lights. Small HMI's you can plug into a wall if you had to (1.2 HMI and under for US household typical 15 amp outlet - 20 amp hospital grade). if your doing 4k 6k 12k or 18k you need a large tie in or generator. What is the main difference between the flicker free ballast and none flicker free... if i cannot get the flickerfree stuff. I am to shoot crystal 25fps... Currently i am looking at getting some HMIs and am considering their cost difference when compared to the Tungesten sets, to have them run and all.... Older magnetic ballasts are not flicker free and you must shoot at HMI safe shooting speeds or you will get that dreaded flicker. Flicker free ballasts are electronic ballasts that basically change the AC wave so it is on all the time (that's the rough explaination). They change the ac wave from rolling to square hence the other flicker free term "square wave ballast" (google it for a better definition). As I understand it, flicker free ballasts may be flicker free from 20 to 30 fps all the time (check with the manufacturer) in the silent position and flicker free all the time in the flicker free position. HMI's are more expensive than tungsten but you get way more light out of them than their tungsten equivalent. How long do the bulbs last in the HMI lights? a long time. No need to worry about them unless they blow up or get green. I hear you cant kick them on and off as easy as the Tungsten lights... Some HMI's, especially large ones will not restrike when hot. You have to wait for them to cool a few minutes. It is always best to pan off a large HMI off when someone says turn it off, then when they say turn it back on and it won't fire the electricians don't look like jerks to the unexperienced eye. And production wonders what the hell is going on when they have to wait for a light to turn on and an inexperienced gaffer or DP tells his boys to change the head and creates a big display, then by the time the new head gets in place the hot head has cooled enough it comes back on. Been there too many times. By the way, HMI's and especially the large HMI pars are very powerfull and can easily start a fire or burn your hand or forearm in moments if you are using them without lenses. For safety sake, if you are not familiar with them, get experienced electricians. That is good advice too if you are using large generators. From some personal experience, to light an evening interior scene how many HMI lights would you use and which once in particular - 2.5K, 4K, 5K, 12K?? (if budget was no question)... say, you were working with a 200T that needed to be blown up from 16mm to 35mm. What other smaller lights do you tend to use in conjuction with the HMIs to best fill those shadows? Kenos? What spun works best with the HMIs? 512, 520s? All of these questions and many more are on my mind right now, so if you can help in any way, ill be very thankfull! I would say all these decisions are based on your tastes , the set (especially the size) and what you are doing. There is no real best not knowing what you are doing and how. Good luck Tim

I worked on Kinsey, shot in the NYC area, and Fred Elmes got the camera from CSC and the scope lenses from JDC. And David is right, Marc at Handheld has some and he once extended the offer to me to come over and check them out in the shop. I'm sure he would do the same for anyone. Tim

Most of the time I have seen book lights used, it will be a 4 foot by 8 foot book made up of the aforementioned materials, long ways vertical and pre made so that one may pull it out of the truck, bring it to set, and open it up like a book. Then it will stand up by itself, no stands necessary, and electrics pump a 2k, mini brute, or whatever into it. Or something like that. Best Tim

I shot a small project for myself last year in the Greek Islands and looked into buying film and getting it processed in Athens. But the film stock alone would cost about 210 bucks a roll compared to 135 (minus 10% for a student discount) in NYC. So I bought the film in the US and dragged it around Europe for a few weeks. American baggage inspectors in NY were the most knowledgable about film issues, with the Germans in Frankfort being close behind and having some really fancy modern technology inspecting carry on luggage. But I do not think it was x ray becasue it was in color. The Greek carry on luggage inspectors were very difficult and not familiar with unexposed film issues. They forced me to put it through if it wasn't faster than 800 speed (I should have lied and said so) and one guy who was trying to look at my camera (arri 16 sr with a zeiss t2 zoom lens) started handling it like he was a monkey throwing Samsonite luggage around. Not to mention, I had the impression he had no idea what he was looking at or what to do if he found any sort of weapon. But the film looked fine when processed and transferred back in NYC. I was using 50 asa and 250 asa 16mm. I think the best thing to do may be to put your film on your checked luggage wrapped in a lead lined box. But probably not practical. Best Tim

http://www.hydroflex.com/ Have you talked with these guys? Tim

What is a "lighting desk"? I have never heard of that one before. The old fashion Hollywood way to create lighting is to use the big tungsten lamps with shutters or a use a carbon arc lighting machine but you'll need DC to use that I believe. Of course you'll want an experienced electrician to use that one. Tim

Since all of my jobs are low or no budget, I usually try and shoot any running with long telephoto lenses. A poor mans way of tracking. With a little budget, a camera car or a 4 wheel drive ATV with a steady cam mounted to the back would be terrific. I haven't had any strobing issues come up but I wonder about the previous suggestion to making the shutter smaller. Wouldn't that make the exposure shorter, thus sharper and less blurred and there by increasing the chance of strobing? I can't recall having seen any films with dialogue during running recently, but I would think you could only get in so tight that would cover the up and down motion of a persons head with out constantly tilting up and down. An operator would have some difficulty with that. I think most films that show people talking after they finished running simply choose that as it is easy way out of a scene. I use to do a lot of running in the past and one challanging aspect will be able to find actors that are healthy and active enough to perform and talk during rigorous exercise. And actors who can do multiple takes. An actor doesn't have to be a marathon runner but hey couldn't be a couch potatoe either. But that is a problem for another forum (and production). Best Tim

I just used some vision 2 500 7218 for a few night exteriors of cabs driving in NYC under sodium vapor and though it is not great in terms of lighting stylistically, I thought the image looked great in terms of quality of blacks and grain. I never really liked 79 in 16mm and stayed away from it for years, but this stuff is really great. I am looking forward to using it for a dramatic street scene. Best Tim

Here in the U.S. I think the best way to use a 4 bulb kino flo on a battery is to use two 12 volt car batteries (and have a few on backup) and an inverter to power 120 volt devices. They will work well for sometime with one Kino. In fact Kino has something in their product line for that. In France I would seek out whatever standards you have there. Whatever standard car batteries are there with the appropriate inverter. I have not worked in Europe but I assume film lights all operate on 220 volts. I think I used a Diva light a number of years ago with a battery belt and perhaps it had a small inverter or a proper ballest to work with the battery. Best Tim

As I understand it, you will be better off doing any post color correction during your film to tape transfer. Even though it is "digital", as you use more effects in premiere or final cut, you will be adding artifacts and other things that the software creates in your image. What format are you working with? Perhaps someone who knows more than I do about this can make a comment. Best Tim

This sounds like a great idea to play with, but you don't necessarily have to completely remove the shutter. You could still use a strobe AND shutter so that you may see what you are shooting if the strobe itself flashes faster than a normal exposed frame. Say if the strobe flashes for 1/500 th of a second. This is how they shoot commercials, and the juices of a fruit ripped open or the water from a showerhead is photographed crisp and clean. The camera still operates at 24 frames per second. But one exposes for the flash itself. The shutter may be open before and after the flash, but theoretically there is not enough light to expose and blur the image before and after. They make the lights you need: http://www.unilux.com/ if you go that route. Of course you can do some high speed stuff as well. You are not limited to 24 fps. You could also get a similiar effect by shooting with normal lights and making the shutter smaller to 45 degrees or less. But I know you know that. If your strobe flashes for longer than 1/60 of a sec. and you wanted blurry images, then you may have to address the shutter issue, or use a camera that the shutter can open more than 180. I think Panavision 35 mm open to 210 or something like that. However, the strobe will have to be synced to the camera so that the flash doesn't go off during the pulldown or you will get streaking. Or perhaps you may like occasional streaking. You could also use a normal rock and roll strobe but it will not flash in sync with the camera. If you use a shutter it will roll in and out of sync with the shutter and expose brightly and then dim out to a point where it will get brighter again. And you may be exposing half or a quarter of the frame. See the end of Alien when Ripley tries to get in the shuttle to see strobes going in and out of sync with a shutter. Another issue would be, is it worth the expense of taking out the shutter and having it put back in after the shoot. But that's up to you. Like the man said. Test it! Good luck. Tim

If you haven't already, talk to the lab you will be getting your work done. See what they recommend. Then perhaps shoot a test before you do the whole film. And have the test blown up to 35. It will be worth the time and small investment to make sure you are going to like what your going to get. I would also prefer to use slowest speed film you can get away with, and overexpose say two thirds of a stop to get a good negative. But it will depend on what you'll be doing in terms of look and the subject matter. Maybe big ass grain will be preferable to the content of the film. Best Tim

I agree that a google searches can be a great way to start. But also try and get a copy of the ASC manual. It has a lot of good basic film camera and processing info in it. You could actually get an old copy and much of the material will be the same. As far as the video and HD part of the business, technology changes so fast I have trouble keeping up. Personally most of my work is film, but as soon as I get more video work, I'll understand more as I get the cameras and equipment in my hands. And do some searches on this site. There is a lot of good info here as some of the other websites like cinematography.net and cinematographer.com (sorry Tim). And by all means get a cheap super 8 or 16mm camera and start shooting. Like some others have said there is nothing like experience. Best Tim

Maybe this gentleman could tell you something: http://www.samdodge.com/entersite.htm He has some fairly nice antique cameras for sale, but they are too expensive for my budget. Best Tim

I few years ago I did some shooting at Steamboat Springs, CO with my SR. I recall that between the Sun, bounce back from the snow, (and perhaps the altitude) I was shooting about f16 with 7245 - 50 ASA film. and I did some 45 degree shutter and 48 fps work as work as well. So bring along some ND and stay away from the fast ASA stuff unless your doing evening magic hour/ night stuff. Colorado doesn't get as cold as it may get in Vermont so keeping your batteries warm is more important in the latter. I did some shooting where it warmed up to -5 degrees f during the day and I had to keep the batteries under my jacket next to my body with a cable down my sleeve or the batteries didn't really work. In the morning I had to run the SR without a mag for a minute or so to get the camera warmed up. At times it wouldn't run with a full mag on it from a cold start. So we ran the camera, put on a mag and did a take. I think the specs say you can use an SR down to -5 f, but if you are shooting in colder conditions you need to do your homework. I'd like to know what the folks who work in the Arctic do. Anyone here? It sounds like you may be in need of a handheld battery type light for your rail shots. A joker 400, 800, an arri pocket par 200w, or a kino (iforget the one you can yuse off a 30 volt??? battery) But again all these battery options will be affected in extreme cold. I usually by fresh kodak film from kodak. Recans may be cheaper but there is a small risk. It depends on your budget and is it worth the risk? Will your shoots be easily repeatable if something goes wrong? Best Tim