Benjamin Lamb

I'm looking to put together a totally independent, non-union project that would effectively be a promo/ad. I'm wondering if anyone here could give me some info on average rates for high-end cinematographers (those who shoot national commercials/music videos) for a day shoot. Also averages for DPs who are a little less established? Any info is much appreciated! Thanks everyone

I'm looking to buy a high quality external blu ray player for a MacBook Pro and am wondering if anyone here can offer advice on the best options available. There are basically three things I'm looking for. 1). Easy of use/compatibility with MacBook Pro 2). Region free 3). Able to copy/burn high quality blu rays I don't know if there is a machine out there that does even those three things, but I'd very interested to hear some suggestions! Appreciate it guys!

Thanks guys. I figured much of that was accomplished in post. Is that a pretty simple effect to pull off?

Wondering if someone can explain to me how this lighting effect is achieved and what it's called: It's kind of like an oval of light around the subject....with dark edges. I've seen it a few other places. Thanks.

Would you opt for a Red in that instance?

Okay, I see. If I may, is that something that you as a cinematographer, David, would personally feel comfortable with?

Would it be possible to reframe shots with an Alexa in the same way that Errol and Mr. Chappell are reframing their 4K footage even though the Alexa is not a true 4K camera? Would it be possible if one were not shooting open gate?

Do you have any suggestions on how to find a great colorist?

Anyone here have experience with Company 3 for DI work? How are they? I believe they're one of the best out there?

I know that the cost of color timing varies extremely, but I'm wondering if someone might be able to give me a ballpark range of the cost of a short film of about 20 minutes,. Also wondering what a state of the art company such as E Film would charge to grade a 20 minute short. I'm guessing for a film of that size, it would be an hourly rate? I emailed them, but they never responded. Thanks. Also, as an aside, does E Film do DCP creation?

I think it really is an issue of trailers being 1080p and resized to 2K as David mentioned. Certainly there are problems with the timing of trailers, ect. but the easy way to judge is just by looking at the green band at the beginning of the trailer; just looking at the text, if you are close up toward the screen, you can see a serious difference in the pixel quality of the trailers and the features. The trailers look like they are on a high quality laptop. But I'm still surprised that most films are projected at 2K. I really didn't know that. Is there a huge difference between a 2K and 4K DCP?

Really, only 12-15 movies a year are released in 4K DCPs?

It seems that there is a pretty substantial DCP quality difference in trailers vs a feature in an average cinema now. So is a feature most commonly projected via a 4K DCP in a cinema and the trailers projected at 2K or something like that?

Thank you so much Robert and thank you Satsuki for the help!! I'm just wondering if you might know if the interviews you shoot with Errol are shot using boom mics, since we never see lavalier mics on the subjects. Also, do you have an opinion on the Canon C500? Would you feel as comfortable shooting an interview with a C500 as you would a Red? Thank you again!

That's seems smart. Yeah, I emailed AbelCine and they seem great, but the prices are so high. So much higher than Adorama. Then I just had a friend who has had a lot of experience with them tell me they were pretty good, so... But that makes sense about what you said. Are you basically just out of luck if there is a problem at checkout?

Does anyone here have experience with Adorama rentals in NYC? They're prices are really cheap compared to other rental houses, but online they seem to get pretty mixed reviews. I've heard from a few people that really love them, so I don't know...

I've heard of that technique being used before, I guess I just didn't consider it in the context of an interview, but it really seems smart. Is 4K necessary because the added resolution makes it easier to get closer up without compromising image quality? When you say "one day prelight", is that just a day in the studio/location with a stand-in figuring out how the shot is going to be lit? How long does that typically take? If you wanted to send him an email about this thread, that would be amazing. I'm really interested in knowing more about his method. It's also more difficult since there is not as much online info on it as other cinematographers' methods. Thank you for suggesting that. That makes sense about shooting plates. They would probably shoot that in 4K as well?

I know that movie was shot on a stage, so maybe they had more freedom to light.

That's a really ingenious method! So he shoots a medium shot with a prime lens and then in post, reframes it to make it look like it's a multiple cameras setup? Does Chappell move the camera at all when shooting or is it totally stationary? And is the image just cropped to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio in post? I'm really wondering about the green screen. Maybe this is a silly question, but where do they come up with their background designs in post? Are they designed from scratch as a visual effect by someone, or are they standard designs in a program? And the background moves when they cut, like it's a practical background. So did they take the stationary, medium shot, then apply the background to the green screen, then just makes cuts after that? If that makes sense. Here's another example. It's a film Errol did for IBM. There are many interviews in it, but you can see one example at 5:09: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrhDaAmn5Uw Also, I'm wondering what they generally use for a microphone. I never see a lavalier mic. Is it a boom mic or just a hidden lavalier or something? Sorry for so many questions. And thanks again, this is really so helpful!

Thanks! That's really helpful. Just for clarification, so the Interrotron camera would be a medium shot, then there was another camera for CUs right next to it? You didn't mean they were also reframing the Interrotron in post for close ups did you? If it's just a matter of two cameras, side by side, it's interesting how it looks like the subject is looking directly into both of them. Also, what kind of lighting setups does Chappell tend to have for Interrotron shoots? I heard he likes to keep things "simple". Thanks again.

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how Errol Morris shoots his recent interview work. Here's a short example (starts about 1:15): I believe he shot this on a green screen with a Red camera. I understand his "interrotron" method, but does anyone have an idea how many cameras he shot/shoots with? He has these "jump cuts" in this interview and I can't tell if he's cutting between different cameras, or if it's the same camera, just with a cut. Also, does anyone know if he shoots these with prime or zoom lenses?

Thanks for the advice everyone. I was also considering instead of a Mercedes/BMW, changing the vehicle to a NYC Yellow Cab. I wonder if that would provide more options (or fewer) in terms of junked cars, ect....?

Thanks. Is it only the camera crew that wears them, or do other crew members where them as well? I don't think I've ever seen a DP wear them. Are they basically just used as walkie-talkies?

Sometimes in bts videos, I have seen what I believe are members of the camera crew (camera assistants) with an earphone in one ear...anybody know what these are used for? Is this used so the camera crew can communicate with each other? How common is this? Thanks.

What is the difference between shooting 2k or ARRIRAW on the Alexa? Sometimes I will see on a monitor under "sys" that someone is shooting 2k, but I don't understand how this differs from shooting on RAW.