Marcus Taplin

Is there a difference from hot sunlight in Europe vs America? When researching to shoot a film based in London and with scenes in NYC. Do you think about changing the color of daylight to help sell the difference in cities? What motivates you? How much research do you do on the country or city? Or does't that mater to you? Thanks for your thoughts! ~Marcus

I have a commercial shoot coming up where we are shooting outside at a farm at golden hour. Was just on the tech scout and of course the clouds were not playing nice with us so the sun wasn't out. I have attached a pic of our location and a pic of what look I am going for but in the look picture I will have some grads and things to help bring the sky down to keep more detail. Just wondering what approach to lighting some of you DPs and Gaffers would take to this? I have a few ideas but wanted to hear other routes. I have access to tools, shooting on Amira with Lecia Summicron - C Primes. Appreciate it folks, ~Marcus

Thanks guys for the suggestions! Tested everything out and on shoot day everything went smooth. Can't wait to shoot with some anamorphics again!

Should be fine. I just shot on the Amira and a 16x9 sensor with 2x Cooke Anamorphics. You just need to create frame lines in the Fs7 for proper framing. We used the Flanders Scientific 24'' monitors on set to do the desqueeze for the clients. My SmallHD AC7 OLED also has a desqueeze option you will just want to tape off the side on the monitors so you know what your complete 16x9 frame is. You will for sure want to do a test though Good Luck!

Has anyone shot on the Amira with Anamorphic lenses? I know it can't shoot 4:3 like the Alexa XT or the Alexa Mini but just wondering what the process is. I have a project coming up where I would like to shoot with my Amira on the Cooke Anamorphics but still trying to work out all the tech details on it. Delivering to 16x9 but pretty sure client is still onboard for having it 2:39 aspect in a 16x9 space. Any tips or links with info on what I should research more for on set framing or how the post workflow works, planning to do a test in the next couple of days also. Thanks guys! ~Marcus

Here is the picture that closer represents the amount of fog I plan to have.

Shooting a D for N exterior scene in the next week for the first time and was wondering if you might be able to give me some advice. Shooting on Arri Amira with Cooke S4s planning to shooting 4k 60fps, will rate the camera at 800. We will have access to generators and some punch lights (HMI or ECO Punches) if need be. Also will be adding in some heavy fog and fake snow so wondering if there are any things to think about or watch out for when dealing with SFX when shooting D for N exteriors. I have attached a picture of our location the one that is in full day light with sun on camera right side on a cloudy day at 6pm. Also is a pic of our reference boards we are going for, we will have some heavy clouds of fog rolling through the scene that our actor will be walking though. I am planning to do some tests this week. But, wanted to ask for your advice if there is anything besides the obvious of trying to not shoot the sky

I am looking for a Gaffer, AC, Audio in Cleveland. Wondering if anyone on here works as a local there or knows any good folks in Cleveland. Also a rental house with a 1ton and some decent camera rental options. Thanks guys and gals! ~Marcus Taplin www.marcustaplin.com

I was wondering monitors or software people use to accomplish "Onion Skinning" on set? I know the small HD DP7 has that capability but would love to have a bigger on set field monitor then just a 7''. We are match cutting an action with different actor and cutting them together like a flip book or stop motion sequence. Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated. Marcus Taplin Freelance: Cinematographer/DP Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul Area www.marcustaplin.com

Wondering how DPs and Gaffers approach a situation where you have one morning/afternoon to shoot a scene with about nine setups and how do you keep the lighting consistent as you progress throughout the day? Cover all your wides and mediums in the light that fits the scene then punch in and cover your close ups when the light is more overhead? Do you flag off overhead for the closeups and then try to match the light from the morning with HMIs and other instruments? Trying to keep things moving quick since we have 9 setups to do but also want to keep quality up. Any suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated. Also looking at these shots from Trumbo looks really natural to me with some fill from a card any thoughts on the setups they used? The title of this post is a little mis-leading sorry about that. Should have been more along the lines of "Outside Lighting - Keeping it natural and making it look good at the same time" Thanks, Marcus Taplin Minneapolis/St. Paul ~ DP

Was able to find the look we were looking for, for the 1970s quirky mob thriller I begin shoot next week Thursday. Shooting on a set of Uncoated Zeiss Super Speeds Mark ii (18,25,35,50,85) with a series of Glimmer Glass filters (GG1/2,GG1,GG2) Thanks for the suggestions guys I do love the look of those old Lomos!

I am working on another film in March and was looking for advice on some lenses to test out. Shooting a Russian spy movie set in the 70s and looking for some glass to match that era. Shooting with my Amira. Were Zeiss Standard Speeds made around that time? Thanks for suggesting lenses to test out! -Marcus

I have a reality style commercial shoot coming up in Toronto on Nov. 20th with a tech scout on the 19th. Anyone have an suggestions for Camera ops in Toronto? If anyone owns a C300 that would be a plus.

I am looking to purchase a new Matte Box for my Arri Amira/Canon 17-120mm camera package. I use the 17-120 for 80% of my jobs but do often use primes if the shoot calls for it. Looking to purchase a matte box that is flexible with different lens. I have used the LMB-25 Arri matte box a bunch of times and don't mind it but wondering if clip-on is the best route or if I should look into something like a Chrosziel MB 415. Would love to hear some options from DPs or ACs on their favorite matte box of choice. Thanks, Marcus Taplin

What kind of rig do you think was used to create this lighting effect? Something positioned directly overhead rotating in a circle, with a hard source. Would love to see any rig pictures of something similar to get a visual idea. Side note: I know this is posted in lighting, but if anyone knows the name of a motorized slider/dana dolly that can support my Amira and do the same tracking move over and over that would be great too! Cheers, Marcus

Open to any comments or critiques on a new reel I cut together. https://vimeo.com/125423958

Great stuff David! The director and I are really focused on what emotion is being conveyed in each scene along with who is in control of the scene. That has made me come to choose if we are on sticks with locked off shots, dolly, handheld or for the flashback scenes Movi. Trying to give a real personality to the camera in each of these different scenes and how they are meant to feel for the audience. I really appreciate your guy's thoughts and feedback. I teach basic cinematography at my college and I love giving back to the younger generation of filmmakers and sites like this help pay it forward! Cheers! Marcus

Satsuki, Those are all great! Thank you very much!

Greetings, I am DPing my first feature film, it starts production in about a week. I am looking for advice or tips from DPs that have shot a feature before. This is a dialogue heavy film with lots of conflict between main characters. I am looking for any kind of advice on shooting dialogue scenes, communicating with your crew on set to be more efficient, clues on making sure you have coverage or just anything you wish you would have know going into your first feature. I know it's broad, but if you have something I would love to hear it. Story Summary As protagonist, Anna, cleans out her childhood home to help sell it, she stumbles upon a tiny mailbox full of letters from a mysterious childhood pen-pal. Anna originally discovered the mailbox growing in her garden with a letter addressed to her when she was 10. Heartbroken and angry about her parent’s impending divorce, Anna found catharsis and comfort in reading and writing letters to her new friend. 25 years later and similarly broken, Anna once again finds solace in the letters and embarks on a journey to find the true identity of her mystery pen-pal. But what Anna discovers is the last thing she expected to find. Thanks All! Marcus