Albion Hockney

I think you can make a nice argument that for logistical ease and consistency you need some 4k's or nice size HMI heads to do day exterior work, but in all honesty with modern camera technology you can get away without that stuff and generally will result in a much more pleasing image.

4K's through diff to get exposure is a much harsher source then an 8x8 or 12x12. It's one thing if its a big production thing and you have big guns out there ....and I guess it is another thing to if its an interview for the golf channel and you just need consistency but for the most part I much prefer the image working with overheads then HMI's ....maybe if I had opportunity to be on a bigger sets with lots of crew and bigger heads ....but really it just doesn't seem super necessary.

Every production calls for something different which is why most people rent packages for shoots. Most people who own, own paticular things they always like to use or rent it out.

if you are a novice I would say that money might be better spent in a different way right now. Just get out and shoot its really not about the equipment ...beautiful films have been lit with nothing more then a few light bulbs (a movie like eternal sunshine has no "movie lights" on set even).

Thanks for that Rob.

keep in mind though rota pola filter stages are for a circular filter... not 4x5.

the difference seems to between having intention in lens choice vs creating a pretty picture without understanding the context of its place in the film.

I often find watching student work or low rent films you will see ackward cuts in shots ....all nice looking frames ....but they are ackward because they have no place in the paticular film.

I think its super imporant early on when working with a director to establish some sort of the theory or ideas behind use of focal lengths.

David do you by chance have any stories or insight on establishing such theories with directors you have worked with?

Lenlsess pars are a new technology designed to replace lensed pars so I dont think its a situation where you would really choose one or the other. Seems like if you have the money get the lensless

unless of course there are some drawbacks to the lensless which no one has mentioned yet.

certaintly examples of both exteremes. A famous japanese director ozu would only use a 50mm lens ...wes anderson films are mostly shot at 40mm anamorhpic. On the other end action movies somtimes have everything between 14mm and 400mm. The film blue valentine is a good example of using focal lengths with purpose. The scenes shot in present day are all very long lensesed on tripod to create a sense of distance where the nostaligc past is all shot at a normal focal length handheld

Yea on tungesten film it would be way more blue. both in terms of the hue and depth of color as daylight on tungsten is a pretty strong effect ( stronger then what is shown here)

I'm sure they got part way one camera but the tealness I would attribute to grading

The difference is substanial though as the lenses all have patterns in them and the quality of light must be a little different. I still haven't used one of the new heads and had the same questions.

Anyone have any problems with the new lenseless pars?

t4 at 320 a phone is not going to do it on its own even with the "flashlight" mode. I would tell the DP he needs to compromise his Exposure choices (higher iso wide open on the lenses) or you will need to fake the source meaning that it will not look as natrualistic of course.

You can probably look into the brightest phone on the market and see if it will do it....but I doubt it.

With a lightpanel or any other small daylight soft source and some flags and black wrap you can probably get a similar look but as the talents face moves around or the phone moves around it will not match perfectly so thus being less natrual.

what are thinking about building....your saying a phone prop with a brighter source in it? .....maybe you could look into installing some LED's on the front of a phone and hiding then wiriting that into some sorta battery but that would take some serious work to get right probably ....have you seen the roscoe light pads maybe that could work?

Sorry this is my 2nd post quickly here (new to the forum). I am kinda Mid level DP and I have been growing work with a few different production companies (commericals). I'm really looking to start working with more producers/production companies (would really like some MV's). I feel I have a pretty good reel right now and that people should be interested, but I'm a bit networking challenged I guess.

I'm aware obviously the best way to kinda get in is just via people you know well....IE a good realtionship with a director who is coming up (which I do have some of to) ....but none the less I'm trying to push forward myself a bit.

How are others expereinces cold contacting production companies and potential Job leads? any etiquette you follow? any suggestions for getting your reel to the right places

Hey just curious what peoples typical practices are for this. I am kinda mid level dp I guess ...All Non Union .... I do some work that pays a good commerical rate and also some stuff where its like high end corporate interview with just a couple crew members.

Generally speaking when I get called for a job I tell the producers I will reach out for my key crew members and I generally ask the producer what rate they have for given postions (gaffer, key grip, etc). The only reason I really get involved in my crews rate is because sometimes jobs pay more or less and I have 1st pick crew members that probably wouldnt work for $300/day on a lower end shoot or would be doing it as a favor if they did.

Anyways I'm just curious what others practices are for this. Do you always pick your own crew and do you tell the producer what their rate should be?

Hi David, I really like the lighting in this scene you did a good job balancing the line between natrualism while still getting an adequate exposure on the faces.

Couple questions regarding the setup if you have the time to break it down. What were you using for the big sweep on the backround in the wide shot? (by this I mean the light hitting the ground and the bulding on frame right).... is that on a seperate condor then your backlights for the talent?

Would you be able to break down some of what you have going on in the backround ...Guessing you have some specials like on the trees and that house in the rear?

and this is just out of curiousity as someone who as only ever done a couple setups near this size. About long do you take to light that wide shot for a scene like this. I assume you have a large crew at play 10-20?

Thanks much for any insight always helps to learn from seeing how people approach their setups !