Ronnee Swenton

Thanks for all the help guys. I got some good news today that our producer might be getting us the XT M. So the workflow will have to be slightly reconfigured once it's confirmed. Regardless, I'm not too upset about being limited to 422 for highspeed footage considering how different it typically looked in some of my favorite movies shot on film. The under exposure, grain, and jarring shutter/flicker that filmmakers had to deal with with film. A bit of color information lost isn't the end of the world.

Thanks Satsuki. If that is indeed true about the Alexa's TC reliability, then I'm going to follow your advice. The main reason for recording to the pix for the 4444 files was to be able to record highspeed footage in 4444, instead of 422 as the limit is set for the Alexa. I guess that's another question in itself...if the pix can handle the highspeed footage via rec out (if the alexa transfers via the project framerate I imagine it could, but I'm not sure if that's how the process even works) Worst case scenario would be I'm forced to have 422 highspeed shots.

I'd like to record prores4444 from the alexa with the pix240i, while also having the alexa slaved to the pix for timecode. Is this possible while still allowing the pix to follow the Alexa's record/stop record sdi commands? I don't trust any digital camera to keep accurate timecode, which is why I'm trying to get the Alexa to be synced as a slave to the Pix240. This way the sound will sync up perfectly with both the pix 4444 footage as well as the alexa proxy files. Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Well with that's said, has anybody every flew a flying moon and what was your setup and resulting measurements? Perhaps I can get an idea by scaling down from somebody else's measurements.

I'm familiar with calculating direct light sources using photo metric data/calculators, but have never encountered a sure fire way of figuring out an exposure for a diffused light. To me it seems like there are too many variables to get it perfect but I'm interested in a ball park or at the very least an "ideal" result. I wouldn't mind a general answer, but I do have a specific setup I'm interested in calculating for if any one is able to help me. I'm considering creating a flying moon about 20' vertical (bottom of the 5x5x5 cube). 4 2K Juniors pointed at opposite corners, the entire cube covered in bleached muslin. I'm trying to figure out what my exposure would be directly below at head height, and what the maximum horizontal distance from the cube I could pull a 1.4. I'm slightly nervous I might need more power, which I imagine will be the case.

I have to shoot in a location with fluorescent fixtures. T12 F20 rated. Will Kino T12F40 bulbs work in these fixtures? The location also has some T8 fixtures as well, and I'm curious if I can fit T12 bulbs in them too.

So I figure Guy will be the first to answer this for me, but I have two Honda EU2000i's and a parallel kit and I'm considering making a DIY 30Amp edison socket receptacle. (2 20amp outlets in parallel) I've read that in standard parallel, you can only pull up to 20 amps on the dual 2000i's. This is fine for the 2K I'm trying to run, but I'd also like to utilize the other 10 amps available for smaller lights. Am I approaching this the wrong way? Thanks, Ronnee

I use primarily V mount batteries and only own a V mount battery charger. A friend of mine recently gave me a few AB batteries and a AB/V mount adapter and I was wondering if it might be hazardous to charge using this adapter. I normally would assume it wouldn't be an issue, but I've heard some horror stories of batteries melting. Thanks, Ronnee Swenton

Hey guys, I've been doing some research to avoid any flicker issues I may have with my magnetic HMI's. So far, from what I've gathered throughout searching these forums and elsewhere, I've come to this conclusion: I should run my 1200 magnetic HMI on a Honda EU Inverter genny (thanks Guy for the article) to avoid fluctations in hz. This will give me a very acurate 60hz cycle. My camera's shutter should then be set to 1/60 to prevent any possible rolling flicker. At this point, a few last questions I have are whether or not I would benefit from using 24fps rather than 23.976. Is this redundent if my shutter is set at a definitive 1/60 (as opposed to an angle equivalent)? Will 24fps avoid timecode sync errors (assuming all devices are synced correctly)? and in your personal experiences is a 1/60 shutter less appealing than the standard 180 degree or 1/48 shutter? My end format will be 23.976 HD for television. I understand there will be a minor speed change in editing, and I'm fine with that if it saves trouble in production. Thanks again, Ronnee Swenton

Thanks for all of the help so far. I'm going to do some tests with the equipment I have now, bulbs sealed in the plastic spheres, hooked up to a grounded dimmer which will be on a gfci and a grounded genny. It will be a while until I can share my results, but I'll let you know how the test goes. Thanks again, Ronnee

I didn't think gfci's would be safe enough to operate with lights underwater. This definitely simplifies things. Since I plan on using low amps, I was considering either plugging into the location AC or running a puttputt genny originally. Is there a better option in regards to my situation? Thanks for all the help so far Guy(s). If I did go the battery route, I figured a way to use a car battery and custom LEDs safely, but I would need to order parts, assemble and program LED clusters, and hope it doesn't flicker on camera. I'm much more inclined to go the AC route with the dimmer devices I already own and incandescent globes as long its 100% safe.

Thanks for the replies Phil and Tim. Your absolutely right Tim, I'm probably better off just running the power down from a dimmer. My friend who knows much more about electricity than I also enlightened me to the fact that DC or AC, if it's a strong current it doesn't matter which is which, it's gonna sting. He reccomended I hook up multiple dimmers to a few seperate small battery sources and run the power down into the spheres, being sure they're sealed properly of course. His logic is that if an accident does happen, a small battery won't kill anybody like a hot source from a genny or tap-in would. I plan on using 60 watt globes in each sphere. Probably adding up to 360 watts max split between two dimmers. Does this seem like a suitable approach and is there anyway I can manipulate the voltage by choice of battery to make the current safer while still having the juice i need for the globes? I'm also interested if anybody knows of any dmx dimmers that would be more suitable for this installation than what I currently have, which is the DP-415 (http://www.elationlighting.com/pdffiles/dp-415.pdf).

Unfortunately I don't have permission to edit posts yet, so I apolgize for a double post. EDIT: I'm just recalling now exactly what this looks like on camera. It's more of a rolling strobe effect than a solid strobe on/off, which I don't think would be aesthetically pleasing. Is it at all possible to find a small battery operated DMX dimmer that could work with standard incandescent globes? I believe running the DMX cables underwater is safe, especially if the ends are sealed off.

I was considering going that route. The editing will be pretty choppy at this specific section of the video, so PWD might be fitting. I would have to do some tests to be sure. How do you feel about this product? http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/850634093/2013_best_selling_12_4w_battery.html?s=p

Hey all, This is my first time posting here, but I've read the forums for a while and I finally have a problem to solve. Anyway, straight to business. I have a director who wants to shoot underwater in an in-ground pool. My goal is to create a china-lantern type minefield of lights throughout the water hooked up to a DMX controller. AC current is going nowhere near the water for fear of frying the talent. So what kind of options do I have to get this to be 100% safe? My friend is an electrian and suggested that all the lights should be DC battery powered, which I believe is the safest route. My main problem now is how to supply a DMX signal to these lights and be able to dim them. I'll be using sealed plastic spheres (8"-14" diameter). I'll take solutions outside of those parameters. As long as I can achieve dimming control over the spheres I'll be content. Thanks guys.