Daniel Meier

Last weekend I shot a music video on the BMPCC and FS700. The director wants the final clip to be 2,35:1. Since this was a no-budget shoot we were limited to DSLR lenses. I really had a hard time getting a narrow depth of field in my shots, since I had to back the camera up so much to not cut of the persons head or torso. What if I were to shoot this same shot with a 1,33x anamorphotic lens. Would that extend the horizontal field of view (to the sides) so I wouldn't have to back up any longer?

Thanks, Michael! I shot it on the Canon 814 XL-E with the built-in lens (CanonZoom 7,5 - 60 mm f/1,4) . For exposure I mostly used the incident meter on my Sekonic L-308 DC and stuck to manual exposure. Kinda turned out a little overexposed in some cases, yeah. But I rather like my image to be a bit over than under, to reduce the grain. (FYI: the Vimeo clip has only the raw, ungraded footage in it)

I got my first reel of Super8 footage back from the telecine company. (Passwort: dk) I'm very happy with the results and even more so that the camera I bought is still doing it's job right. But I wonder why the Super8 stuff always looks so much more grainy, dirty than 35mm or 16mm. I shot that on a roll of Kodak's 200 ASA Vision3. Is it because you are exposing, processing and scanning a very small area of film compard to 35, and thus all the flaws (like grain, dust, defocus) become much more apparent?

I looked through the camera for framing purposes. Maybe I'd use sunglasses next time? Or a contrast viewing glass.

Lately I've been doing a silhouette shot an hour before sunset (on Super8). I had a hard time looking through the viewfinder because the sun was so bright. That's why I'm asking.

How do you spot meter very bright areas? is it doing any harm to your eyes, if you - extreme situation - would spot meter the sun? Same question goes for optical viewfinders. Are they coated in a speical way to protect the human eye when filming against bright sunlight?

Mitch, where can i download the additional 140 LUTs for the 7Q+?

Thanks Hunter! Could you post a sample frame with the fisheye screwed on?

I'm looking for a way to get a decent fisheye lens effect on my Canon 814 XL-E. The mounted lens has a 58mm lens thread diameter. I thought of putting a screw-on-adapter on it, since the lens isn't interchangable. Any experience or recommendations, you guys?

Maybe this is to distinguish between first untit and second unit operators. Whereas if there is just one unit then they leave it as "Camera Operator". Just my guess!

Phil, thanks for your motivating words. I recall that the semi-circle thing would've been tricky, because of the sound recording. There might have been issues with the vocal track, as it would've gotten much more "dirty" (more background noise of othere instruments). Maybe that's why they rejected the idea.

Thanks Vivek and Satsuki for your critical feedback. @ Vivek: Nice example of using practicals. We actually didn't use any daylight source. I just added a little bit of CTB to the Backlights for the backing vocals. @ Sat: I also wanted the band members to be closer together. But they insisted on this classic stage line-up. Although there was no stage, nor was there an audience. I wanted the lead singer to back up a little and let the pianist and guitarist surround her. So that she would be in something like a semicircle. This would've also enhanced our shots, that unfortunatly now lack of depth and foreground elements. All in all quite a throwaway of potential due to lack of time. Like I said, we recorded four videos on that day. Plus the audio was produced live as well. So there were some compromises to be made. Here is the lighting diagram:

Thanks for all your answers. I'm going on a trip to Copenhagen for one week. There I'll be shooting the majority of the footage. After that I need the film to be in the camera let's say once a week for about 4 - 5 hours. What do I have to consider if taking the cartridge out of the fridge? Just leave it in my room for 10 minutes and then take it out of the bag?

No consistency needed. It's not going to be for one project. Just some cutaway, B-Roll shots. Your answers made me decide to not leave the film stock in camera for more than three months. That should be a good compromise.

Thanks for the answer. By "DI" I meant any kind of digital post processing. Do film cameras always slow down their film transport after recording is stopped? Meaning that a hard cut can only be achieved in post? Or is this just occuring if you continue recording very quickly after stopping?

I'm going to order some fresh Super8 cartridges of Vison3 50D and 200T stock. As the pricing is really high, I thought of shooting very carefully and rarely using one cartridge for about 6 to 12 months. To get as much different shots and locations on one stock. Is it possible to keep the stock in the camera for that long, halfway exposed but not developed? What do I have to regard in terms of physical stress, temperature changes, storage of the camera?

At 00:10, 00:13, 00:19 I often see these flashes when watching stuff shot on film. To me it seems like they cranked down the FPS or Shutter Angle while shooting. Am I right with this? Or is this effect created during processing or in the DI?

Maybe some of you feel like giving a critical feedback? That would be nice!

Here's what we ended up with: We had about 3 hours to light the set and another 3 to setup the cameras and grip. We didn't hang any lights down. They were all on the ground using tripods. Mostly diffused or bounced. And some LED-PARs for the background.

I shot this on a Sony FS700, 200 FPS, S-Log 2. Used the Canon 24-105mm and Tokina 11-16mm. The steadicam was a Glidecam HD-2000. I did quite a bunch of grading. But it stills looks that flat because the weather was really bad that day. Overcast, rainy... Also I didn't want it to be too saturated. That vintage look was desired. Here's a before and after:

This is just me and my friend dorking around in a forest in Berlin :D

Hi! We want to shoot a music video on a FS700 + Steadicam using the Odessey 7Q to record a cleaner signal. To reduce weight on the steadicam we want to leave the Odessey off of it and give it in the focus puller's hands. Is it possible to feed the 7Q with an HD-SDI signal coming from the FS 700 but going through a wireless video transmission system first (Teradek Bolt Pro) and then still maintain the RAW recording option?

Thanks David, for this very in-depth answer.

What's best practise to shoot a standard dialogue scene using only one camera? Is it that actor A will do his whole part and the camera records all of that and then the same thing goes for the reverse angle of actor B. And then the editor decides who is to be seen during what phrase? Or this decision made by the director on set? The more economical way, so to say. (to only record that parts of an actor, that will make it in the final edit)

Sorry, I don't have that much of an idea. Let's say at the point where the editors are doing their first rough cuts. Maybe someone could post a sample frame. Me and my workmate were just wondering if the flat look of a log image is just an invention of the digital age. He said that e.g. the Canon C300 puts out images that look more similar to film stock than the S-Log2 image of a FS 700, because the C300's image is not as flat.