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Pete Raynell

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Everything posted by Pete Raynell

  1. Thanks David, Interesting to know, so am I understanding correctly that the Netflix 4k requirement only applies to the acquisition format of Netflix originals? And they are happy to stream sub 4k deliverables for programs brought from other studios? I still find it hard to believe that a modern drama such as Animal Kingdom would be delivering at such low res these days, it seems a big compromise just to get the 2x anamorphic look in 16:9 but I'm sure they had their reasons!
  2. Hi there, Recently a director approached me wanting to shoot with 2x anamorphic glass, but with a 16:9 aspect ratio. I have done this before on the Alexa SXT shooting 6:5 4K Cine Anamorphic 2.0x mode, but it doesn't leave a great deal of resolution to play with. I noticed recently that Netflix here is Australia is showing season 5 of the drama Animal Kingdom, from everything I can find online it looks like they shot on Alexa mini S35 with Panavision T series lenses. I'm curious how they get around the Netflix 4k requirement in this situation? Any ideas? As all the 16:9 anamorphic options I can see with this camera / lens combination still leave you with an HD final image or slightly larger.
  3. So I worked with the same DP again last week, same lenses, and same technique with the diopters. I paid a little more attention to the monitor this time. Heres what I noticed... Shooting on Mini LF with 50mm rehoused zeiss contax at around T2, focus was at about 4.5ft on talent, we where shooting in a park with extras in the deep BG out of focus, maybe 50 ft away from camera, when a 1/2 diopter was placed in the matte box the out of focus extras in the BG became far more blurry and out of focus.
  4. I recently worked on a shoot (shooting alexa mini with rehoused zeiss contax glass) where the DP was always using a diopter in front of the lens, even though the shots and required focus range was well within minimums, I did not get a chance to ask what the reason for using the diopters was, but from what I could tell on the monitor they where shifting the focal range of the lens to make the bg appear softer as we where shooting in a small room. Am I correct in assuming this is another use for diopters besides achieving closer focus? or is there another aesthetic use I might have been missing? Pete.
  5. Turns out this technique is called the "Double Dolly Shot" or "Floating Dolly" , Director Spike Lee uses it in a lot of his films.
  6. Thanks, examples like that are exactly what im after to show the director. really need a few more!
  7. Hi all, I'm planning on doing a shot where the actor is standing on something like a western dolly, the camera is then rigged off the dolly (most likely on a stabilised head), as the dolly moves the camera and actor move locked together to give the effect that the actor is sort of floating/sliding along. Firstly is there a name for this technique I'm forgetting? I was thinking along the lines of Snorricam, but the camera is not connected the the actors body. Secondly, I know I have seen this effect before but can't for the life of me remember where, can anyone suggest some references? Thanks, Pete.
  8. Hi will, Thanks for sharing, I would be very interested in having a play with some of these looks if you're able to share? Pete.
  9. Hi all, I’ve had a lot of experience shooting digitally, primarily with Alexa and Red and have developed a large knowledge of this format and the nuances of digital cinematography over time. Though I like the many attributes of film I have actually never shot on it besides the odd 35mm and 120mm stills when I was younger. I started shooting digitally at a time when film was no longer viable as an option where I live. However It seems that there is bit of a return to film and availability of stock where I live again, and I’m getting interested in shooting on it myself. Though the thought of doing so is a little scary to me having never done so before! I have access to an Arri 435 or Panavision XL2 cameras, though not limited to these body’s I was considering shooting on one of them, I was also thinking of shooting on super 16 to cut my teeth. For the sake of the argument let’s assume I want to shoot on Kodak 500T 5219 in studio. I do have a firm understanding of the different properties attributed to different stocks in terms of colour and grain, and how pushing and pulling can effect this. I also understand how to handle and store the film as well. But I do have a few questions (I’m sure some are pretty dumb! So bare with me) Exposing the film: I’ve found myself using my light meter less and less and exposing off my properly calibrated monitor also utilizing false colour when shooting digitally. - Is this any sort of a guide to work off with the video tap on newer 35mm film cameras? Or should I solely really on my meter to expose? - To check my lighting and exposure one thought was to have my digital stills camera handy on set, is this a common practice? - How forgiving is modern film stock compared to say Alexa raw files? - As mentioned, when working with digital I really rely on my monitor to say slightly under expose certain parts of the image on purpose, is this something you can usually get a rough guide of off the video spilt? I imagine the split be treated as a framing guide only, (this is probably one of those dumb questions) Developing and Scanning: - Once the film is exposed, am I correct that the needs to be processed in a lab to create the developed negative, then the negative needs to be scanned to a positive in the form of a digital file for post etc? If so, - Where do certain effects get applied if required? I’m assuming if I have exposed under or over on purpose in order to push or pull the stock, then this gets done in the lab developing process? And other changes that I would be used to doing in a normal digital grade get done once a digital scan is created? - Are there any other things you might suggest to someone with advanced knowledge of digital cinematography that would be helpful for their first time shooting with film? Thanks, Pete.
  10. Thanks David, this is very helpful, I have a set of HBM filters and was thinking of purchasing the 1/8 black pro mist for exactly the same reason as your last post, this answers my question perfectly! Pete.
  11. I'm trying to find a comparison of these two filters or at least understand the attribute's of both to compare? I'm assuming they are very similar, accept the black pro mist will change the overall contrast of a scene more than the HBM, especially if changing strengths. For the sake of the argument though I'm only interested in the difference between an 1/8 black pro mist and 1/8 Hollywood black magic. Pete.
  12. Thank you, I don't believe open gate will work as we need to deliver in ProRes, though the Arri frame composer tool does show an open gate pro res option for Open Gate 4:3 2.8K in ProRes. I thought open gate was only applicable to Arri Raw recording? or is this something new? We also need to be able to output the desquezed image from camera to monitor, so not sure of this will be an option using those methods. I now have the option of shooting with the SXT instead of the Mini , what seems like a better option is to shoot in the 6:5 4K Cine Anamorphic 2.0x mode available on the SXT that gives me a 4096 x 1716 image that I can crop the sides off for 16:9 with some wriggle room. I understand the camera is up sampling but it's not an issue for this job.
  13. I have a studio job coming up that I would love a second opinion on. The brief involves a young actor made up as an old man, walking through a white studio space past various props delivering lines. As the spot progresses his appearance changes at certain points and he starts to appear younger (eg: he starts the spot bald , removes his shirt over his head whilst walking to reveal his hair has grown back, and another gag where he wipes his hand in front of his face and his skin is less wrinkled) This spot all needs to appear as one continuous tracking shot and the ageing transitions to be fast and seamless. The way I am currently approaching it is to use a motion control robot on a 40ft track to do the camera move, and also have a video split operator on hand doing overlay work to line our actor up. The obvious variable in this situation is that the actor will never land in exactly the same spot on every take. So I have suggested we use the video split to get this as close as possible. Then request a VFX team in post do some Morph work with something like the RE:Flex Morph plugin for After Effects to avoid just trying to use something like a cross dissolve that may produce ghosting as the images overlay. An example of this morph plugin is can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrySJ4dJwBc Has anybody here had experience with this sort of thing before? Am I going down the right path? Would love a second opinion for the reassurance with this one! Cheers, Pete,
  14. I am shooting a spot shortly on Alexa Mini that we need to deliver in 16:9 prores 25fps. However I want to shoot with x2 Anamorphic lenses as the director has requested anamorphic flares. From what I am reading the best way to achieve this for the highest possible resolution is to use the following setting in the mini - "ProRes 16:9 HD Ana (for situations where the look of anamorphic lenses is desired but the end product is full 16:9 HD without letterboxing)" Am I correct here? Or is there another way to do this to achieve higher resolution that 1080 x 1920 by extracting in post from a different anamorphic mode? (from what I've researched I would only gain horizontal resolution and loose vertical if I did this) Just want a second opinion in case I'm missing something... HD should be fine but I would like a little more resolution where ever I can get it as there is the possibility of some slight post reframing work on this job for match cuts. Cheers, Pete.
  15. It's quite a subtle effect, but you can see an example here shot at 23fps, where the fish lands in the boat, it's been used mainly for comedic purposes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu2u2cTO33E We have done some camera tests today and in camera looks more natural than speeding up in post, I can't really say why.. it just does, so I think ill stick with the in camera plan, the advantage obviously of speeding up later is the 25fps option is there in post if required. In terms of keeping my exposure consistent switching between 23 and 25fps I think ill just adjust the iris slightly.
  16. Yes I made this point to him as I know it's a feature that can be turned on and off in premier pro. But he seemed to think it was not the case.
  17. Hi all, I have a shoot coming up and was having a discussion with the director today who asked if we could shoot under cranked for a few scenes at 23fps for a 25fps delivery. I suggested shooting at 25fps and then speeding up in post as he could make the decision then and still have the 25fps option if he wished. He said he would rather do it in camera as the post option tended to cause what he called "frame blending" I'm happy to shoot under cranked in camera (Alexa SXT), but I started to wonder about his comment.. I can not see any reason why adding the speed change in post would cause any problems as you are just removing some progressive frames? Am I incorrect in thinking this? Cheers, Pete.
  18. I'm moving house and in the market for a new TV... OLED, LCD, Plasma, Ultra HD, Full HD, HD , the options and brands seem overwhelming! So I thought what better place to ask than here what most of you guys have in your home to get and idea of what to look into. Thanks in advance! Pete
  19. Thanks for the info Matthew, I can't really see any reason to use the "Manual" or "Auto Manual" settings then if "Auto scan" does all the work. The only situation I can think of is if perhaps flicker is present at high frame rates such as 1000fps in auto scan mode, then maybe you would use the manual feature to try and find a sweet spot and eliminate it? Even then I would assume this would be a very experimental process. I'm still curious as to just how many FPS you can shoot with these new ballasts past 1000?
  20. Hi there, I have recently purchased some new Arri lamps with the new high speed ballasts, I'm interested if anyone can offer a little more insight into the high speed scan function, specifically the "Auto manual" and "Manual scan" settings. When would you use these over Auto scan? And what is the difference between Auto Manual and Manual? Also, I have not used these lamps recording over more than 500 fps yet, however Arri state they can be used up to 1000 fps and beyond.. Does anyone have any experience using these over 1000fps and how far is "Beyond"? For those interested this is the only information Arri seem to provide - The EB HS high speed ballast, allow HMI discharge lamps to be used for high speed recording up to 1,000 fps and beyond. As the first ballast of its kind, the EB HS offer a new AutoScan feature that ensures optimum light and image quality with a minimum of effort. ARRI is now offering this popular AutoScan mode in the 9,000 W class with its new EB 6/9 HS AutoScan ballast. Users can select between fully automatic operations (AutoScan) and manual frequency control (Man), or combine manual frequency setting with automatic monitoring and adjustment (AutoMan). Using the AutoScan mode requires no further interaction by an operator. After a two-stage scan the lamp frequency is selected and set by the ballast; all parameters are continuously monitored and adjusted automatically if required. Thanks, Pete.
  21. Reading up a little it seems that adjusting the screens brightness may have been a solution as it affects the on/off rate of the PWM LED that causes the flicker. http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1362457985 This would explain why another shot (an ECU of a smart phone) presented similar problems but when the phones screen brightness was turned up to 100% the flicker was no longer present. Pete.
  22. Many years ago I remember working with a DP who gave the best boy on set a great book that was solely on the art of lighting faces. I have been searching the web to see if I can find this book or one similar to share with some of the technicians I work with. Though I have not had much luck. Does anyone have any recommendations? Pete.
  23. I recently completed a job that required some shots to be done in a retail store, this store had an 12ft x 6ft LED screen feature wall playing the companies latest TVC. The director requested this be used in some shots out of focus to add some movement to the BG. On the recce I noted that the screen may produce flicker and that a camera test should be done prior to shooting, and any adjustments to the screens refresh rate be made accordingly, however due to time and budget this was unable to be done. On the day (Shooting Alexa, 25fps, 180 degree shutter) In Australia (50Hz), the LED screen produced noticeable horizontal banding consistent with a screen refresh rate being set to 60Hz not 50Hz. Switching the Alexa to 30fps confirmed my suspicions (or so I thought) by removing the banding from the LED screen but producing flicker in all the small prac lights in the store that where our main light source. We where on a tight schedule and I had about 10 minuetes to try and eliminate the screen flicker problem, with the Alexa set back at 25fps. As the screen was controlled by software remotely I spoke with a technician over the phone who switched the screen to a refresh rate of 50p, this helped though did not completely remove the screen flicker. I got the technician to switch to a multitude of different refresh rates hoping to find the sweet sport, as well as trying different shutter angles in the short amount of time I had with no luck eliminating the problem. The best result we could get was actually to set the screens refresh rate on the software to 60i. Though with banding still slightly present the decision was made to frame the screen out and use a different BG. The finished spot looks great and the client is very happy but I am left bugged by this issue and wondering If I have missed something? Has anyone come across this issue with large led screen? The screen was made up of what appeared to be 12 - 3X2ft panels, they where all connected via ethernet to what appeared to be a group of video hubs (controlled remotely) Could it be the changes being made in the software where not correct as other settings may have been in play from the video hubs hardware or the screens them self? Or have I missed something really simple here! I thought I would share in case someone can point out an oversight I may have made. Pete.
  24. Hi there, I recently shot a music video on red epic dragon. This was my first time using the red camera and I’m attempting to color correct this project my self in Davinci resolve. With a limited amount of time and quick turn around required. The project was shot in 5kHD 25fps Color Space – DRAGONcolor2 Gamma Space – REDgamma4 The client has specified that the final project will be distributed online with the possibility for TV broadcast and they recommend using Color space: ITU-R BT.709 (I believe this is the same as Rec 709) I’m grading on a calibrated screen that can operate in the following color spaces Rec. 709 AdobeRGB Rec. 601 sRGB DCI-P3 Emulation At the moment I have the clips raw settings in resolve set the same as the camera Color Space – DRAGONcolor2 Gamma Space – REDgamma4 And my external monitor is in the Rec.709 color space By then adjusting raw settings (WB, tint, FLUT, etc) and some small primary corrections I am happy overall with the image on my calibrated monitor. If I set the Color space to Rec.709 instead of DRAGONcolor2 I notice the color tones change slightly but am still happy to grade in this space. However If I change the Gamma Space to Rec.709 the image is extremely washed out and the raw contrast control seems to only shift the whole image exposure up and down rather than separate the highs from the lows. I seem to have to do a lot of work with the curves to get the blacks black again etc. As I am no colorist so I am left with a few questions of what settings I should be using… Can I simply leave the raw settings to Color Space – DRAGONcolor2, Gamma Space – REDgamma4 and grade with my monitor set to rec.709 and my final delivery will be the same as what I get on my rec.709 monitor? OR Should I set the raw settings to Color Space – rec.709, Gamma Space – REDgamma4 ? OR Should I be setting the raw setings to Color Space – Rec.709 ,Gamma Space – Rec.709 and then adjusting curves etc from there. OR Considering this is primarily going to be for online web delivery (with potential for broadcast) should I be working in an sRGB color space instead? Or even do 2 versions one graded in rec 709 and one in sRGB? FYI – My experience with grading goes as far as usually working with Arri Alexa footage shooting in Log-C with the rec 709 LUT in camera. On the small handful of projects where I have not had a colorist to work with in post I import the Alexa Log – C footage to Resolve and apply the Rec-709 LUT and make and corrections from there and send it out for web and broadcast.
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