Jim Ritscher

Great answer. Thanks David. My reason for thinking of 1/4 grid is that I want to knock down the contrast on my actors, but not have the background look ridiculously different (brighter). If anyone else has opinions, feel free.

We used a diner for a recent shoot in the Boston area. We used Google to locate possibilities. We got someone to let us shoot for free (when the diner was closed) because they thought the (short) film would help bring in more business. The question is always, "What's in it for them?" Get peopl;e interested in your film, and find someone with a car.

What rags do you use/see most often for, say, 12 x 12 overheads? I'm guessing the answer is silent 1/2 grid cloth. ("If you were only going to buy one.") Do you see any problems with using silent 1/4 grid cloth? Thanks for your help. And yes, I'll take good safety precautions.

I now have 5', 10', and 20' tubes. The 10' and 20' tubes are "schedule 80." (As I understand it, speedrail is schedule 40). I mount the 20' tubes on a roof rack with red flags forward and back. 20' gives you quite a run. As mentioned earlier, I use American lowboy combo stands with wheels. I was surprised to find that due to the geometry, the wheels don't add to the height of the stands. (low is good).

In a real diving situation, people tend to kick up silt. It would take a very fine filter to filer that out. Also, you would probably need a vacuum cleaner for the bottom (the silt would tend to settle). Is there money in your budget to replace their pump, should that be necessary?

I was researching high roller combo stands for use with an overhead butterfly. I wouild think you could use the same stands. American Grip makes some good ones. Also, check B&H. You can search for exact height, capacity, etc. I don't know anything about wind up stands.

There are two problems: lighting the hallways and lighting the people. I don't see much of a problem with the first. The left hallway photo looks like an underground hallway, except perhaps for the opening. Options for lighting the people: 1. Light from the doorways they are coming into/out of. 2. Put one or more light stands just before the people in the hall. 3. Put a Chinaball on a boompole, and have someone move it to match the actors. 4. try bouncing some light down the hallway. You might get lucky. This is one of those situations where you learn what to do by trying it.

Let me start this again. There is something about exposure you don't understand, but I'm not quite sure what it is. Do you understand that the object of the game is to place all important values (say perhaps excluding a glint off a bumper) so they range from dark to light in the image without clipping or losing detail? It's fundamentally an artistic process, not a scientific one, though there is a large amount of science involved. An 18% neutral gray card is designed to be a sort of geometric middle ground between light and dark values in a typical scene. And it's actually amazing how well it does, particularly if the scene has a fairly normal distribution of lights and darks. But if the scene you are shooting has either a lot more light values, or a lot more dark values, you will probably want to adjust the exposure to compensate, regardless of what the neutral gray card says. The problem gets tricky when the scene you are shooting has more dynamic range than your camera can record. Then you either try to adjust the lighting, or you make compromises. For example, if you're shooting a wedding you want faces and the white dresses to look really good – to have lots of detail and no clipping. You are probably willing to let go of some of the detail in dark suits. On the other hand, if you're doing an ad about dark suits, then there better be a lot of visible detail in the dark suits. For a given camera and picture profile, the placement of neutral gray can be a little arbitrary. One person might say, "I want to record 5 stops above neutral gray, and 6 stops below it, all with good detail and no clipping." Another person might say, "I want to record 6 stops above neutral gray, and 5 stops below it, all with good detail and no clipping." It depends on the picture profile, and what you're trying to do.

There is something about exposure you don't understand, but I'm not quite sure what it is. Do you understand that the object of the game is to place all important values (say perhaps excluding a glint off a bumper) so they range from dark to light in the image without clipping or losing detail?

I think the key word here is YOU (potential participants). It's obviously easy to get some great shots, but you need to convince people that these are potentially shots of them.

The basic problem with a safety film is that the company is probably trying to sell boring, boilerplate material that the audience thinks they already know. I think you need to respond to the core problem. Is there any way the audience can see the information as valuable to them? If not, why show it at all? How can you engage with the audience in a way that respects them?

Yes, I agree with this. I have a pair in Arlington, near you. Get them with wheels.

I need to buy some silk (etc.) for a 12 x 12 overhead butterfly, and I was thinking about "1/4 stop" (which is really .6 stop) white imitation silk. The purpose, of course, is to reduce contrast in the sun. My thinking is this: I don't want to knock the light down too much, just diffuse it a little, so that whatever is in the background will be at about the same exposure as my subjects. Does this make sense? What am I missing? Thanks for your help. --Jim

Go to http://www.dvinfo.net/ and read the "Ask Me Anything" (1-4) by Art Adams. Lots of relevant information.

A few random thoughts. I think it would be helpful to state what you need to learn. (There are many options here). Have you found any classes specifically for aspiring DPs? I think most classes (and especially long ones) will have lots of infomation you don't need. In my opinion, the most useful options for you are: Ask people who are further along in their careers to spend a little time with you. If necessary, pay them. (still much cheaper than film school). Find a DP and make him (her) an offer he can't refuse. Offer to assist for free, etc. Do anything on a film set (PA, etc). Buy a professional camera and some lights and go out and gradually develop a great reel. Take short classes on topics of interest. Buy instructional DVDs on topics of interest. (I find when I go back and see it again, it's almost like I never saw it). Wherever you are going, engage with the local filmmaking community. Just some thoughts. I don't think it's good to have unrealistic expectations about any one course. But maybe you'll find the perfect one for you.