Daniel O'Flaherty

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask opinion on whether it is a good idea to invest in a 4K reference on set monitor rather than a HD on set reference monitor? Is there any particular reason why 4k would be a better option? I'm currently thinking about the 4k Monitor Atomos Neon 24 or the HD Atomos Neon 17 or the Atomos Sumo 19. Would be happy to hear anyone's thoughts on this. Thanks.

Hi @Albion Hockney . The stadium lights I am trying get in shot but it may not be possible from the centre cam. I will have a 3 cam setup so I imagine I might be able to get the stadium lights shown in the 45 degree angle MID CU. I have a full body shot, a mid shot and a mid cu shot all from the subject sitting in the centre of the stadium field. Yes the idea was to bring the 20x20 to surround the talent so I can create a more 3 dimensional lighting on him and remove the flat lighting casting upon him from the stadium lights. That is a good point going through diff on the key side of the stadium lights instead of blackout I will keep that in mind.

Hi everyone. I hope you all are safe and sound. I have an interview set up to take place in a stadium football field. All the lights surrounding the stadium have to be on as they all are turned off and on by a single switch unfortunately . Now I am stuck in 2 minds. I haven't had a chance to light meter the location yet but I the plan to underexpose this by 2-3 stops; then bring in my key on the talent which will then be exposed (something big obviously like a M40 going through diff to compete with those lights). I'm also thinking of covering the talent from each side and front with a 20X20 Blackout to model the light more; potentially 2x M18s on megabooms for backlight. The debate I am having is will the Blackout be needed for both sides or just do 2x favouring one side? Also if I should add the M18's as the backlight or will the stadium lights be sufficient? The whole point for me is to make it as less flat as possible. Please see the idea of my floorplan and some references for the lighting. Once again any advice is appreciated or tips from people who have been in the same filming environment. Cheers!

@Satsuki Murashige thank you for your reply. I do agree it may best assist me to have a monitor recorder in a small package for proxy viewing and perhaps my own footage files in case I am on a job where getting the RAW footage is difficult due to time restraints or location, etc. I currently have the Shinobi which is a great reference monitor for me but I have been frustrated that it has no HDMI out or does not allow cross conversion (this hindered me recently on a shoot). The 2 main monitors I have been trying to decide against our the Atomos Ninja V 5' & the Black Magic Video Assist 12G 5'. Both allow recording, have a high nit brightness for exterior viewing, and great scopes accustomed inside. However the differences are the Ninja V is not able to cross convert and has no SDI (although there is an adaptor that can bring SDI to this but still no cross conversion). I believe you can record audio form the Ninja V which you can not from the BM VA 12G 5', although this is not really a big concern for me. The BM VA 12G 5' allows recording from an SD card slot as well as an SSD port which is handy; it also has Micro BNC cables which I have never used before but would at least allow an SDI connection on the body. I am really struggling to make a decision on these 2 as I cant see enough real world use of the BM VA 12 5' online to test and compare against the already established Ninja V. Any thoughts on this or experience perhaps with them both are appreciated to anyone reading.

Hi everyone, I wanted to get some opinions on what some of your favourite monitors to use on camera are? I am in the middle of researching which monitor would be best for future proofing and using on commercial sets and run and gun documentary type style projects while filming exteriors and interiors. There are a few features I am looking for: Above 1,000 Nits (for using on bright exterior days) HDMI & SDI input & output Colour accurate Offers Waveforms, false colour, histograms, selection of aspect ratios, etc Preferably between 5inch and 7 inch monitors A side question would be does anyone know of monitors like this where you can set the false colour values? This is surprisingly quite rare. Are there any thoughts I should keep in mind before purchasing? Also what are you opinions on monitor recorders such as the new Blackmagic video assist 12g? Any recommendations would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

Thanks AJ, Robin. I think from you said I will go ahead with LED’s to avoid any heat issues. But from my calculations I if I go LED I will need to be at 1 meter from the subject to reach proper exposure. Will this still be less heat wise that the m18 bounced in? Also can I ask your opinion on 2 last things that have been pondering me. I need to decide how to film in the box. There’s either poking the lens through a rubber slit in to the box and covering the front of the glass with a UV filter fir protection, OR another idea is to use acrylic or polycarbonate sheet on the end of the box and press the lens up against this, possibly using a rubber lens or skirting the lens to avoid reflections. Is one method preferred over the other in this situation? Lastly I need to cover the top of the box to avoid the rodent jumping out but need to put the light through here. Mu idea is a 255 Frost diffusion gel clamped down over the top. This should have the least effect in the light I think unless you know of any other that’s less intrusive. The other option was cover with acrylic or polycarbonate sheet but I worry that may affect the light passing through. Will the diff be okay? Thanks so much.

Hi Stephen! Yes I think you are right, my test shot I did is on Red Helium 8K FF, instead of Red Helium 4K FF (@120 FPS). Going by the crop ratio that would mean my 32mm test will actually need to be a 25mm! This is great as the wider focal length should help with the wider DOF. Perhaps F11 even F8 is a possibility now aha. I’ll be in a studio and the rudest in a dark box with only the light coming from the top. I really wanted a dual native ISO cinema camera it’s just rentals here in the UAE it’s harder to come by. Red Gemeni was first one my mind but it looks like it will have to be the Red Helium.

Wow thanks so much Robin, I will definitely give them an email.

Hi AJ, Thanks so much for your reply it is very helpful. The Venice is near impossible to rent here at the moment (I’m in the UAE), so my only shot really is the Red Gemeni, although that is quite difficult to find in rental houses here, it’s mostly the Helium or Monstro they have in stock. If all fails I will most likely be in the Helium and push the ISO to 2000. You don’t happen to know from experience how high to push the Helium before the noise becomes an issue? Almost tempted to use my BMPCC4K as that has dual native ISO, but production I don’t feel will be happy aha. I will be on 120FPS 4K FF, so that should crop in a bit and help with DOF as you suggested. I was looking at Arri Master Primes as I have used them before but I also am looking at Red Pro Primes and Tokina Vista Visions as they are also available. I need a sharp lens obviously as it’s just the 1 shot I’m getting so it’s quite important. Do you recommend any of these? Lighting wise I did a calculation recently basing it off a F16 - ISO 2000 - Shutter Angle 90. I decided on a M18 as I have the option to bounce it in to Polly or direct hit in to subject if I need more exposure (especially if I don’t have a dual native ISO camera). Apparently an M18 1/2 spotted at 5 metres will be exposed or 10% flood will be 3 metres. According to Arri Photometric's website 5 metres is best for safety from subject. Also a point is I don’t want the light to be too hot for the rodent that is why I’m not using any tungsten fresnel lamps. HMI is not as hot so hopefully this will suffice, otherwise I will as you say need a Skypanel S120 @ 1 Meter away to get the same exposure but at F11. Do you think I will have issues with the M18 and flicker? If that’s the case I will go down the skpanel route. P.S. That Infared looks super interesting thanks for sharing. The client will need it in color however but this is great to know for future.

Robin I most likely will be shooting on the Red Helium 8K. Do you know what is the max I should bring the ISO up to with your experience in RED cameras? I was thinking about the GEMINI for this due to the dual native ISO but it would be hard to get in to the studio in time.

Giray thanks for your comments they are helpful. Although it is only 1 shot I'm doing on sticks so its not too much of an issue the build of the camera. But I certainly will keep everything you said in mind!

Hi again everyone. I'm trying to recreate this look in the image provided below. Its's only this 1 shot needed. How do you reckon they did this and what lens do you think it was on? (reference image is at 1:26 minute: I have done my own test using my directors viewfinder app (red helium 8k lens on a 32mm Master Prime). Using a DOF calculator I recorded the following info: *NOTE: These results are all factored off an F16 F-stop (results will vary if we have to open up obviously but I hope this gives everyone an idea). · 32mm lens - 14 cm from back of box is where focus will start (this area is OUT of focus) - 51 cm in distance from the red tape measurer to the bottle centre of (this is all IN focus) - 35 cm from bottle to the camera lens is out of focus (35cm is the close focus distance of the lens – and this area is OUT of focus) - ***27cm height will be seen at the back of box – so it is important the height is higher than this so we don’t see the top layer of the box / roof (30cm is acceptable but you can go a bit higher if you want) Do these results look accurate to you? Also im relying on that 51cm to be in clear focus and will have to light this pretty damn brightly to get there. Any thoughts on this. Thanks.

Hi Giray, Thanks for your response. What would the benefit of an ENG camera have say over the Red Helium if you don't mind me asking? I think I may be able to up the budge for a focus puller but if i can get the area all in focus then great.

As always thank to anyone in advance who reads this and your generosity with sharing your opinions and experience. I am in the process of prepping for a particular shoot, one of which that I do not have any experience in the type of shooting, although I'm eager to learn. Basically, the job requires me to 1 shot of a small rodent being shipped in from abroad on a closed set in a studio. We are to film it inside a box with 30cm width and 100cm length; interior walls fully blacked out, and the box is filled with sand and a few elements of grass. In this box it will be able to move around freely and jump (the rodent can jump 12cm on each leap). I need to have a hole in the box for the lens. They need this to be captured in as high a frame rate as possible, however we are still concerned with subjecting the rodent to too much light which could potentially harm it. After speaking with the animal handler, he has told me the light the rodents are used to would be just a bit brighter than sunset, which is not great. This means 240 FPS is more than likely not an option but I would prefer not to go below 120 FPS (96 FPS is the minimum for sure). The shutter speed will have to be higher than the average for this also as the rodent I suspect moves and jumps quite fast. To add to this I will need a high F stop to capture the rodent in sharp focus to limit any soft shots (I am trying to get a focus puller on this job if budget will allow). So putting all these factors together it does seem I'm going to need to light this quite brightly , and if the animal care provider does not agree on the lux levels of the light I will have to sacrifice the F-Stop sharpness a but along with reducing the high frame rate. Now a few questions for anyone who may have some experience with filming animals in a studio in tight areas or in small mammal camera boxes: What lens/lenses would you suggest for capturing this creature? The client has requested they only need 1 shot, but I'm thinking if budget allows having a wider lens to capture the interior of the box and the rodent in a full shot, and then secondly a macro lens to hopefully capture an extreme close up as it jumps in mid air - poking the lens through the same hole just changing the lens (I'm thinking perhaps 2x Arri Master Primes as they are the sharpest lenses I have worked with before - suggestions are welcome on brand and especially suggestions on focal length? Its difficult to know this just going off a the 30cm width and 100cm length; I will only have access to the box the day before so will try to arrange a test even if its on my small Black Magic camera. Also any tips on if I should be thinking of using extenders or macroscopic lens adaptors for macro shots, or if I should indeed be looking mainly at macro lenses for this What cameras are recommendable? I personally am looking at the Red Helium as it has the option to record 2K in 240 FPS max and various other below frame rates, or the Arri Alexa Mini at 200FPS in 2K Pro Res. I originally actually thought of the Red Gemini as my research shows it performs best in low light situations, however this camera is not an option from my preferred rental house. Lighting: How can I light the rodent in the box? In my head there is 3 options - 1. Top of box is a netted material which will keep the rodent in and allow my light to shine through above it (any suggestions on material welcome) - 2. small LED's stuck to the interior top of the box - 3. A hole again through the box with a light shining though (although this means my lighting shape and direction can not change so quite limiting. ------ My first thought is to use an Arri M8 or M18 as the main light with a 45 degree back angle; Also putting in a small piece of white cloth on the interior of the box to get some light bounce back to fill in the front. (I'm lighting to make it look like a real sunlit setting). The M18 I will spot 50%. From my calculations 120 FPS at ISO 1200 with a shutter angle of 90 degrees at 50% spot would allow me to bring the F-Stop to 11 at a distance of roughly 5 metres. Now 5 metres for an M18 to the rodent may actually be to intense for the animal so an M8 may be more sufficient. Going by Arri's photometrics the majority of their lights are recommended to be kept at a safe distance of at least 5 metres but I assume that is not intended to mean for rodent size. Would be interested to hear if anyone has a solution for this in terms of using a different light or managing to put the light through the hole but at distance without leaving a gap in the box. I have to make sure the rodent is not affected by the heat or burned so I have been thinking going LED if I could get enough light in there for my frame rate. Any need for a Focus Puller? Normally I would of course want this crew member on board, but the budget is so tight right now and the nature of the shoot makes me wonder if their services would be void when regarding the speed and uncertainty if the animal. F11 should keep this sharp in my opinion, but again not doing this shoot kind of shoot would appreciate your opinions. I have attached 2 reference pictures of for the shoot. It is screenshots of the same type of shoot filming a gerbil in a confined space. Notice the hot slash of light across the sand, that is pretty much what I am going for. I am also trying to get the same focal length if anyone has suggestions on what this could be. I will have some pictures soon of what the box will look like so I will share that too. Any experience or suggestions is seriously welcomed so please let me know your thoughts or any questions you might have. Thanks so much.

Hi people, Would very much appreciate if anyone could shed some light on how this shot was achieved (in production and in post production). I can see its on a periscope camera lens for this shot, but is this just because they are shooting on a large film camera? Could this be achieved without the periscope if say using an alexa mini? If so what type of lens is ideal for this? And I assume the point of view digital tunnel is added in post with rotoscoping around the interior of the goggles first before coming in to full screen. If this is indeed the case can anyone tell me what they are raising in front of the actors face as the camera turns in the second picture? Thanks so much. Please find the clip from the movie (Timecode 00:25-00:32)... Also please find the link to the video showing the BTS (Timecode 00:42-00:45)...

This is what I was thinking. I think I saw someone actually show a build recently when doing my research. If I complete a build I'll post it on here for sure so you all can critique my shoddy carpentry skills aha

Skypanel S-60C is a heavy beast and requires a heavy-duty stand for it, of course it can't really be used in 1 man band situations so that is one negative if you ever get jobs like that on or very minimum crew. Also, it's pretty hard to rig up high due to the weight. The litegear 4x4 I imagine is more versatile so I would agree that seems like a better buy (Although admittedly I haven't used it.... yet aha). If the RGB control is the selling point for you then you could wait to see Aputures new RBG light should be releasing soon. I believe it is comparable to a Skypanel 30-c just a lot cheaper.

Thanks aapo! solid advice on the blinders will see if I can source them for next time if I have a problem obtaining LED fixture replica brutes or building them. Phil thanks for sharing the lightstar luxed! I'm sure this would be very hard to find in the UAE rental houses but will remember this as an option for future reference.

Thanks, David & Max! I wasn't sure these units existed until you mentioned it David but will be sure to keep these in mind to get that great stage look the maxi brutes give as practicals on the next one. No hire company here did these alternatives you mentioned however I didn't have the budget for the maxi brutes in the end it turns out anyway. Instead, I got hold of some rotating DJ lights and a few par cans to do the job and let off some haze. The maxi brutes would have been nice but I was very pleased with the final look this achieved; still gave the outlandish over the top star look that I wanted for the scene (Image below for reference...). By the way David I listened to your podcast talk on Go Creative recently with Ben Consoli, was a great listen, fascinating stuff really enjoyed it can't wait to give it another listen! Also looking forward to seeing what this crazy shot is you have in store for us for season 3 aha.

Yes exactly the Apture 'RC RGB' lights, they look great. They would be a handy addition to using alongside a background or accent light with coloured gels or an RGB LED. They also charge in the light socket and can then run wirelessly after that (minimum 20 hours - maximum 100min). So handy if you want to throw in practicals into your frame and either can't run its wire long enough to reach into your frame properly OR you want to avoid wires running through the frame.

Aputure will be releasing their RGB LED light soon which mimics the Arri Skypanel with colour selection and built in lighting effects and it is said to be slightly brighter than the 30-C. You may want to look in to this as it will be less expensive that the Arri Skypanels (think they will sell around 1,400-1,600 USD but worth looking it up).

Hi everyone, thanks for looking through and the advice ahead of time. I have a shoot fast approaching and I'm debating the best way to light my exterior scene for an upcoming commercial. We will begin shooting early morning and we will see a family enter an amusement park from one angle where the sun is backlighting them - and then we will need to reverse the camera to see their POV. It will be a very sunny day I'm sure with no clouds so we should get some nice backlight. I'm debating however whether to front lit with a large ultra bounce (20x20 or 12x12) using the sun to light the family of 4 as they walk in (Wide - Full shot of family - then MID CU of each member). OR if I should also blast some M40s/M90's into the ultra bounce OR light them using 2 of these lights with diffusion frames or softboxes over them. The location has access to 63 amp power so we could run cables to take this power. I want a high key commercial look but want to go down the wisest route here. I have attached a sketch (actual location) in order to get a better idea.... I also plan to use a Job at the back of the family at the end of the street for an establishing shot... Also after I get this I will have to move the camera around facing a street of performers so they will all be front lit by the sun. I could film this first in order to get a more pleasant look with the sun being lower (Maybe use the Frames with Diffusion in case of any camera shadow if need be) and then film the family. Reference Picture attached... Any thoughts you may have on this or experience with similar setups would be super. Cheers all!

Hi everyone! So I am doing a music video in a couple of days. 2 particular scenes I wanted to fill the background with Maxi Brute lights using them as practicals behind our band members (to resemble stage/star lighting). My location is a hotel and after speaking with the electricians there they have assured me they have enough power to run 2 of these lights off their main electrical room (the light is 3 phase and 62 amp I believe which has been giving the okay by the electricians at the hotel). I want these lights specifically to be used as practicals for when the band member walks on stage and we see these in frame lighting him from behind. Is there any other light that looks like the maxi brutes that I can use in the frame behind the performer? Or shall I continue down this route using these lights? Any suggestions would be appreciated or advice on these lights. Thanks! (P.S. This is the look I was thinking of)

Hi guys! Once again thanks to those on here for their help & support. I am about to do a shoot at a theme park on a dark ride. The client wants to show 2 rides. The 1st is completely pitch black except for some areas - eg. passing through LED fire ring, LED star, etc) but add not a lot of light at all. The other ride lighting is hitting the props/character installations but no light on the coaster or people. I went for a recce and the lights hitting the character installations on the 2nd ride expose around F 2.1. So I have gathered lenses that can accommodate for this. I am in the middle of planning what lights I will need to highlight the areas in complete darkness for both rides. I am trying to decide whether I need a 5k Arri Tungsten with 2x 2k Blondes or will 3x 2k Blondes be enough without a 5k. My idea is to not make them look lit in the most case going around the ride but more to just bring up the ambient light on the actors. I can take a 5k and bounce off Polly for the ambient, filling in other areas if need be with 2k blondes or just do this plan with only 2k blondes. If I choose to use a 5k I will have to do a long cable run from the control panel, however, I can power 2k's from inside the location. I also am debating whether to rig small lights to the rollercoaster next to our rigged camera for our reverse POV, so I have a consistent exposure on the actors while they go through the ride. Or if I should lock the ride off and try to recreate this with lights, a fan, and a dark background. Any thoughts on this also would be appreciated. I am attaching some pictures below. Please let me know your thoughts:

Hi Stuart. Yes I will have a chance to look at them tomorrow. They are Rola G80 5W. Their color temperature is 2000k so will be incredibly warm. But this may look quite nice on camera will have to see if I should dial my camera WB closer to this or leave it at 3200K