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Stuart Allman

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Everything posted by Stuart Allman

  1. I shoot with that camera on a regular basis and love it. The shadows can be a tiny bit noisy at 2000 if you have a dark scene, but for outdoors or high key shots you should be fine at 2000. If you have low key scenes then you might want to drop the exposure index to 1000 in Cine EI mode. You'll lose a stop in highlights, but that shouldn't be a big deal for low key scenes. My experience comes from using the camera in CineEI mode with Slog-3 and S-gamut3-cine. If you use custom mode you may have a different experience since the camera will do noise reduction, I believe. I put a guide for camera setup on my blog... http://illuma.BlogSpot.com/2015/06/how-to-setup-sony-fs-7.html Stuart ------------------------------ illuma.BlogSpot.com
  2. Pete, I forgot to mention that one product I've used and really like is the Westcott Scrim Jim. It's a modular metal frame that snaps together to give you about a 4x4 diffusion frame and it folds up in a small duffle bag. I believe it comes with some diffusion and a bounce rag or two. The one I used was borrowed by the director, so I'm not exactly sure. It seems to work well for documentary shoots where you don't want to have to carry in tons of cases and you don't want to lug "big" heavy equipment, like a Matthews solid aluminum 4x4 frame. I used it with a 1k Fresnel flooded and it was soft enough. If you need to go a bit softer you can always use the barn doors as a diffusion mount and put some light grid across the front of the light doors to double diffuse. As far as spill goes...it wasn't a big deal for my particular shoot so a Chimera with an egg crate wasn't necessary. I also don't remember exposure being difficult. There are so many great options for lights out there that it's hard to recommend a particular model or brand. I can say that as far as color changeable LEDs go I've really liked working with the Fiilex and Cineo brands. I haven't had any noticeable issues with skin color on either. A few of my colleagues really like the BBS Area 48 light, but I haven't used them personally. I really love shooting documentary interviews. I wish I knew more directors who were into documentaries instead of narratives...Sigh... Hope this helps. Stuart -------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  3. Pete, The first thing to do is look in his eyes. That looks like a 4x4 or alternatively a 6x6 slightly further away. If you flood a 4x4 of 216 or grid cloth you'll probably get something very close to this as long as you have the distance from the subject to diffusion frame correct. You'll also notice a slight pick up in the shadows near his ear. More than likely that's a large-ish bounce just over his shoulder. A piece of foam core or a large fold out reflector would work. Stuart ------------------------ illuma.blogspot.com
  4. Frank, I believe the equipment was talked about in the latest issue of American Cinematographer. I think the infrared images were captured with a FLIR camera. I forget what they said about the night vision images. Stuart --------------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  5. I was thinking that they would use the squeegee method since we don't have the budget for custom acrylic. The grips are yet to be hired by production and I'm booked on gigs the next two weeks, so I may have to ask a friend to do the final inspection. The window in question has a round top edge and it's a very old wood frame window, so it would be difficult to get something that perfectly fits. In my house I used the Gila spray product from Home Depot as the "adhesive" to tint some windows with Gila gels. It's not perfect, but it's suitable. Sticky soda would be a bad choice in Southern California. We have problems with ant invasions and this is someone's home. The DP and director said they will be either framing wide in the room looking toward the window (establishing) or there will be action in the middle of the room looking at two characters having an argument with the window in the far background. So I think a few bubbles and imperfections will be fine. I think a scrim would be obvious in the wide shot. Besides, I think we're going to need at least 3 stops. The camera is an F3, so it's not like the Alexa in terms of highlight retention. We also have no big lights to blast through other windows besides shiny boards. I just wanted to check if there is a more professional way to do this given that I've never ND'ed a window for a film project before. From the responses so far it sounds like we're on the right track. Many thanks, Stuart --------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  6. Folks, I have a practical location where one of the key story elements is a window in a living room. Since we're in Southern California I need to gel the window so it doesn't go "nuclear" while we're shooting. What is the best way to apply a sheet of ND gel to the window? The assumption is that we'll start with a Lee ND/0.9 4' gel sheet because that's what we think we can get inexpensively. If there are better/easier/cheaper options I'd love to hear about them. Using "big" lights isn't an option for budgetary and crew experience reasons. The house is a 1940's style rambler with "old" electrical circuits, so I'm very power limited right off the bat. Thanks in advance, Stuart ---------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  7. Vivek, The Hive Bee plasma light allows you to dial in the color temperature from about 4500-14000K, so this may be a good light to get your hands on if it's available for rental in your area. That way you can keep the Red One camera near its native color temperature and just adjust the light until you find a "moonlight" you like. The Arri LC series might be another possible light to look at, but I don't have any personal experience with it. You might want to test how noisy the Red One is when you dial down the color temperature. You didn't say if this is the original sensor or the MX sensor. That might make a difference. Stuart ------------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  8. That is sooooo cool. Please post a link to the finished project when you're done. I can't wait to see what kind of creative things you do with it. Stuart -------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  9. Now I just hope it works! (at least it's cheap) Please post some pictures of the tests. It might even be cool to shoot through the prism for a mosaic effect.
  10. Well...you could always test out that same day delivery through Amazon Prime. So far it's worked for my friends. 2-day would get it there by Friday. Stuart --------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  11. Satsuki, What if you used the Dedo projector or Leko through a large glass "diamond". http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Clear-Glass-Diamond-shaped-Crystal/dp/B007L5OLNE ​ Don't you love the random stuff you can get off Amazon now days? Plus, it's an awesome looking paperweight after the shoot. Stuart --------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  12. You could rent Kino-Flo bulbs and do a bulb swap. From what I've heard they bulbs can be very affordable to rent - depending on where you are in the world. Stuart -------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  13. We produce videos as often as we have time and equipment to do so. We're planning on doing another video on camera car mounts next weekend. We have a backlog of topics, but Dominique is in film school and working full time at the shop, so there's only so much I can get him on camera. That, and when the equipment goes out on rental we're left empty handed. It can be really difficult to borrow demo equipment from vendors since we're not B&H or AbelCine. I went to Shane's workshop last year since Video Gear was a local sponsor (it was great), but I guess I'm too cheap or lack the dedication to pay for his site. However, I do pay for a "friends of the ASC" account. It's completely worth it for the subscription to American Cinematographer. The breakfast talks are a bit of fun too. Holly, Delphine, and the crew do a really nice job putting on those events at the clubhouse. Glad you enjoy the tutorials. We'll keep making them as long as resources permit. Stuart -------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  14. Here's your demonstration in real life. We created this tutorial a few weeks ago. https://vimeo.com/139154021 Stuart -------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  15. Greg, Maybe you could consider one of those ENG style on camera lights(?) They are a point source, bright, and would give you a source with characteristics close to a speedlight flash zoomed in. Plus, it would fit in a position just above the lens in a cold shoe, just like on a DSLR. Stuart ------------------------------------------ illuma.blogspot.com
  16. Well...LEDs really respond semi-linearly to current, not to voltage. They are, after all, diodes with a threshold voltage and a steep voltage slope from small current to large current. So you have to be careful when applying a voltage power supply to a string of LEDs. The diodes could be on the low or high end of the voltage threshold spectrum, based on LED manufacturing process variation. What you really want is a current power supply to keep the design within safely controlled operating parameters. Yes, if you don't go crazy on brightness then you can use a voltage power supply - but that's simply not me. I want something blinding most of the time - and I want it to be rock solid reliable. The other problem is that LEDs shift wavelength based on how much current you drive into them - sort of like a tungsten light on a dimmer. That's why a lot of vendors use DC drive at higher currents and switch to PWM drive at lower currents. That gives them a somewhat consistent spectrum. In my spare time I'm designing an LED ballast for 300W+ applications. I have the design work done, but the board layout is going incredibly slow (just my time availability). Driving lots of LEDs in a consistent and reliable manner can be a challenge when done to maximum power efficiency. Who knows if I'll ever finish the board and build prototypes, but it was a good learning experience. Stuart --------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  17. David, LED lights already have a blue "pump" built in. That's why there's always a spike in blue. Typically they are lacking in cyan and deep red.. So if the phosphor could fill in those cyan and deep red gaps you'd have something that could perform almost as well as tungsten for color reproduction. Essentially, the gel would be like the remote phosphor panel like you find on Cineo, BBS, and the new Arri Skypanel lights. I don't know if the phosphors exist that target those particular wavelengths. The trouble is that LED vendors and their phosphor formulations are all over the place. You could tune it for one LED vendor, but it would be off for other vendors. It's probably too much trouble and too much of an interim solution for Rosco or Lee to deal with. Stuart --------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  18. John, I noticed that the gel companies started making gels specifically for non-continuous spectrum lights. On Lee's website they have "LED Filters" as one of their major categories now. How well they work? Dunno. I had to return my C-700 demo unit. It's an ultra cool toy, but unfortunately the stuff I work on doesn't justify the cost of that tool. Now if only the filter companies could work on adding phosphors to the gels to "fix" the LED spectrums! That would be Academy Award winning. Stuart ------------------------------ illuma.blogspot.com
  19. Mihnea, You might want to go over the Roger's site and ask him. He's very open to questions and giving of his time, just as David is. I have no clue where either of them get the time! Another thing he does quite often is bounce off unbleached muslin. That has a slight tan color. But most of the posts I've read involve using a dimmer on a tungsten bulb. I bought a sheet of bleached and unbleached muslin at the fabric store very inexpensively just to have in my small quick fix kit. The local rental house doesn't have either available. Stuart ------------------------- illuma.blogspot.com
  20. I'm a complete newbie at DIT work, much less color correction. What I've noticed is a large brightness shift when I go between my Dreamcolor and non-Dreamcolor monitor, even though they are supposed to be calibrated the same. Is there a standard lumens setting for monitor calibration on a film set? ...or film work in general?
  21. Salil, I had a fixture with those large spiral CFL bulbs in them. You might want to calm your expectations for them. When I measured the bulbs they were actually about 4500K-ish and had a strong green bias. So do test them before you expect the bulbs to actually balance well with "daylight". ...but hey, they come out of a no-name company in Shenzhen so you can absolutely trust them, right? :) Stuart
  22. Freya, I produce blog tutorial videos for the local rental house. If you're ever in southern California PM me and you can come play with the toys we use - loads of c-stands and all. I like your Ikea light find. Maybe you can find a used Leko somewhere and really make a bright pattern! Over here they are inexpensive to pick up and completely versatile. It's just so much easier/cheaper to rent here that I don't bother to own lights.
  23. Freya, Considering the cost and availability of equipment in the UK, it may be cheaper to export yourself to the US or Canada. ;) If you saw the rental prices for Wooden Nickle in LA your jaw would hit the floor pretty fast. S.
  24. You have my curiousity. What is commonly used for lights, such as a 1k, in the UK? Surely not those flimsy starter photographic stands (I hope). I'm pretty sure my photographic stands would collapse under the weight of some of the sandbags I use with c-stands. I remember a well known cinematographer describing his work in India where he said the grip gear was basically a bunch of guys showing up in a truck. When you wanted a light place somewhere they would grab it and hold it there. Not tall enough?...they would hop on someone's shoulders. Hopefully it doesn't come to that in the UK. S.
  25. Phil, Maybe since you're in L.A. you can pick up some used stands and export them to the U.K. Then you'll be one of the few people renting c-stands inexpensively in the region. Sounds like a business opportunity to me. Life before using c-stands was rather difficult. S.
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