Luke Randall

Being tall (6'5) is a pain as shoulder rig is too high for most shots and squatting will knock your legs out quick. Cradling, slung under arm and pistol grip work well for me with small cameras like the digital bolex. I'm still trying to figure something out with the SRII though, it's beautifully balanced but any heavy weight in front of you is not good for more than a few shots. Easy-rig seems like an okay solution but is very indiscrete and no good once you start walking anyway. Any other tall guys out there? I've seen Chris Doyles "buddha pillow" rig which seems pretty good for chest height shooting but the commercial version (cine-saddles) are $$$ for what they are.

Ha Ha, yes it's always the Boom. I've been thrown out of the observatory area of Griffith Park. I also stole some shots at LAX. Had to time it in-between the police sentry movements. By the time I got back up to the car park to do the wide, cops on segways were buzzing around. L.A is the worst place to shoot without permits, you will get hassled by random people even in the suburban streets.

Are there any modern or accessible alternatives to use or adapt this shoe? I know it is designed to hold the Lightweight Rail System, which I'd like to do for lens support but the originals are hard to come by. It's nice as you can add rails without bulking up the camera underneath which messes with the balance when handheld for me.

Have you considered trimming your script so you need less stock, scanning etc? Depends on your intended distribution method, but 25 minutes is an odd length for a short film. Some festivals won't even consider shorts over 10-15 minutes. Audiences can be even more fickle. Cannes film festival for instance has a max run time of 15 minutes including credits.

To answer OP's question: Tiffen ultracontrast filters + desaturate in post and add a little color to your blacks would be a start.

Okay, I finally got it working! The image is very crude but fine for monitoring at tricky angles. I've been spoiled digital camera monitoring but the easy way rarely produces the best results I suppose.

I'm new to this camera so I might be missing something, but I can't seem to get a feed. I have the bnc video out on the video unit running into my dp4 monitor (in composite mode) , have the power cable running from the video tap to the arri camera base and a battery installed in the arri (it's powered). Pictures to follow, thanks!

Anyone know if a switchronix power base would work? it's 14.4 vlt but says "suitable to power up to two 12vdc devices". I got 3 arri batteries with my camera but I have no idea how long they'll last on set.

Looking for one of the old Arri variable speed units suitable for the SRII camera. Thank you!

Wow David, thank you for taking the time to write such detailed reply. That was super helpful!

Hello, I'm transitioning from digital s16 raw to s16 film on my next project and having trouble grasping metering and exposure technique for film. I was wondering if there are any good resources out there folks might suggest? Material online is skint comparatively, I have ordered some books, am reading up as much as I can and will be practicing and testing prior to the shoot, but I'm trying to lessen my learning curve. Am I on the right track? my takeaways so far: * (generally) Expose for the shadows, not highlights like you would for digital. Film suffers more from underexposure than over * Overexpose 1/3 to 1/2 stop for a nicer images and a more forgiving margin for error. I will be shooting talent, mostly outdoors in the desert, magic hour wherever possible, scanning and doing post in digital. To that end I chose Vision 3 250D (over 200T filtered for extra juice before losing light) with tiffen ultracontrast filters. I plan to shoot a test roll on location soon. Hopefully, that will help me understand a little better. I am very used to exposing raw to hold highlights (particularly the sky when outdoors) then bringing up mids and shadows in post. A half blown out sky in digital is a death sentence, fully blown can work in a pinch if out of focus. This is my biggest concern, exposing for talent outdoors and then having the sky half blowout in some un-usable way, how do you guys handle this? It's terrifying. How many stops over and under do you find tolerable? particularly on talent. Do you have a quick metering technique you use to get started ? I will be learning to use a incident and spot metering, but is there any uses for a dslr or s16 raw digital camera to help judge the final image? I heard Mathew Libatique used a DSLR snap at times when shooting Black Swan to give an idea of final image. Apologies for the glut of questions, outside this forum, it really is difficult to find satisfying information online for shooting film. Thanks in advance for any wisdom.

Hi, Can anyone point me to available variable speed units compatible with arri SRII cameras? Thank you!

One more question sorry. The Arri dual charger is UK 13A. Anyone know if it will be safe to use with a simple converter? Thanks!

Hmm it seems SmallHD actually make a cable for just such things! http://store.smallhd.com/new/Accessories-Including-Obsolete/DP4-breakout-cable

No worries Dom. I attach my arriB lenses to the digital bolex via Cmount adapter yes, essentially a metal collar on each lens that grub screws on. Shame the Angie 5.9 won't cover. The s16 version is rare as hens teeth and priced to match. I love shooting superwide aesthetically and practically as wide angle handheld is very forgiving and beautiful. I may have to resort to using the Zeiss aspheron. Anyone know what sort of converter I'd need to run the analog ccd to a digital monitor (smallhd dp4)? I only found converters going the other way...

Hi Dom, thanks for the info, I don't quite follow you re the viewfinder. The ccd is in place of the regular viewfinder? Here's another pic and the auction description. ARRI SUPER16SR MK2 Camera PL Mounted. The camera has a ARRI Video Viewfinder fitted with a CCD Video camera PAL. Composite Signal. This all works in Mono pictures. [A Sony Monitor is available ASK at extra charge + postage] 2 x Magazine in good order. 3 x Onboard Batteries supplied both hold a charge ok. Extension View Finder 1 x Twin Arri charger. 13A. plug fitted. Selection of Cables allowing the camera to run and the CCD Camera to also be powered. The camera has been checked for Focul Depth and therefore PL mounted lenses will Focus. The Ground Glass is Safe TV on a Super 16mm Outer frame. The paintwork is in good order. Cased in a Rigidised Aluminium Case.

Awesome thanks Kenny. 5.7? the kinoptik? I also have a zeiss aspheron made for the MKI 9mm and 12mm as wide angle option, but it's cumbersome and $$ to filter.

Thanks for the reply Jay. I've attached a picture for confirmation. And yes, meant to say composite not component!.

Hi, I recently purchased an SRII s16 for personal works, it's my first foray into shooting sequential film and I had a few questions. I understand most members here are very experienced so I apologize in advance for my ignorance. I have been reading the manual and watching many tutorials online, but some questions I cannot find answers for. 1. The camera has a CCD video camera module installed for use as a viewfinder. I am not familiar with this setup, the video out is component via a BNC plug. Is there any way to feed this to a hdmi monitor like my small hd dp4? or would I need a bigger monitor with component ports? Also, would it ever be possible to record the video tap with a time code, then use that specify what parts of the negative to have scanned/telecined? 2. I plan to use my arri b mount S16 superspeeds on this PL mount camera, I need to adapt and I'm looking for the most efficient and reliable way to do so. You can pick up CNC American made adapters for pretty cheap, anyone tried these vs the chunky and expensive MTF/Visual products style ones? I'm also wondering if there is a way to move these lenses between my digital bolex (s16 c-mount) and the Arri without constantly having to take them in for collimating. 3. My favourite lens is my anginuex 5.9 ( arri-B ). I think it's only a 16mm lens but it does cover the digital bolex sensor in s16 mode, however I believe Bolex s16 is slightly smaller than a true s16 film camera. To that end, I'm wondering if it will work, has anyone shot with this lens on the SRII? Thanks very much in advance to anyone who has advice.

Okay, will do. Cheers

Hi everybody, I'm experimenting with some super 8 on my next project and was hoping for a little advice. I tend to shoot at wide or ultra wide focal lengths so I am looking to optimize for that. 1. Planning on shooting with a Beaulieu 4008 ZMII, how is the optical quality of the schneider 6-66 1.8 zoom that is commonly attached? 2. How is the optical quality of the Ultra Wideangle III adapter commonly used on this lens? 3. Would I get better results with a prime like the century 3.5mm ultra wide? 4. I also have a set of s16 MKI super speeds that I use via a arri>B to cmount adapter on the digital bolex. Does anyone know how well, if at all these would perform compared to Schneider zoom? 5. Does anyone have any suggestions for developing/telecine, based in L.A. Pro8mm stuff isn't very re-assuring, spectre looks very nice, but someone recommended this place over both of them http://www.gammaraydigital.com/services/scanning, they use a 5k archival scanner and the results on super 8mm are said to be superb. Thanks in advance for any help.

Looking for a sharp wide angle for a beaulieu 4000 (super 8). I use the 5.9mm angie on s16 format, looking for something comparable with low distortion. The edmund optics listed above looks okay but it's an industrial Imaging lens by the look of it. Any suggestions? wide angle adapters? Love the shots from your short David. super wide, dutch action reminds me of Chris Doyle or Soy Cuba. Thank you!