Matt Irwin

Just paint 'em black and no one will be the wiser! B)

Moles are definitely tank-proof, though the design has remain mostly the same for decades and I think there are some better, more modern designs out there. The heat vents give off a lot of spill and the some of their units dont have a top clip for the barndoors (huge pet-peeve of mine). As Sam mentioned above, Arri's would be my first choice, especially for personal purchase. The 10k's you linked to look like they've seen a lot of use, but as stated, Moles last.

By "consumer grade" what kind of tubes are you referring to? Cool whites? Warm whites? What type of fixtures? If you aren't using motion picture tubes, there will of course be the issue of green cast and color balance which you will have to gel for. I don't think there would be a problem with flicker if you are using an inverter that'll give you 120v/60hz... anyone else?

Just make sure that the plywood pieces aren't warped and carry a box pf cribbing and wedges. And a level. The plywood will absolutely work fine, I just suggested the track if you really want to control the dolly movement.

Does the source of the light beam have to be seen in the frame at any point? A beam projector or a leko (maybe a VNSP par?) would be better for a beam than a fresnel, methinks. If the source is out of frame, a piece of foamcore with a hole should work. You'd just have to move the light parallel to the sheet of foamcore and pan the light to keep it on the hole.

Owen, Do you go to the Brooks Institute? I've heard that Brooks film students have to do an assignment like that...

No, I don't think Fujis are wet. I've used them before without issue, but I normally stick to Panasonic tapes for everything non-Sony. That's just the brand I chose to stick with.

Couldn't agree more. Sony tapes will gum up non-Sony decks and cameras over time. If you are not shooting on a Sony camera, don't use Sony tapes. I've had to replace heads because of Sonys.

How about making an adapter for the wheels that will enable the chair to run on round track? You could get some triangular aluminum stock, and mount 4 skateboard wheels to 2 sides of the stock. So if you look at a cross section of the stock, it will look like an inverted triangle with the wheels on the bottom two sides. (does that make sense?) You would need 4 of those wheel units. You could then make 2 square, shallow, U-shaped trays that that the front and rear wheels sit in and attach the wheel units to the bottom of the trays. You should get something kind of close to this: These are meant to adapt a heavy hydraulic dolly to track for high-speed moves, but a smaller version should well for a wheelchair. Of course it would make more sense to make a western dolly and adapt that to track because then you can put a tripod on it. Using an actual wheelchair as a dolly can somewhat limit your movement as far as operating goes.

I heard somewhere that the english language song they used was the one that goes "hello my honey, hello my baby, hello my ragtime gal..." (don't know the title).

That's actually fairly common practice. Using 2 cameras is a good way to speed up coverage and is a great way to deal with action that needs to be perfectly matched or ad-lib dialogue. If you can get two cameras, go for it. That said, I should caution you about over covering a scene. Just get what you think is necessary to tell the story the way you want it told. Having two cameras each with 60 min run time can cause some people to go for every angle ("why not? tape is cheap..."), but really, over covering tends to waste time both on set and in post.

Hi Brian, How big is the window? Depending on the size, you might be able to get away with using the units mentioned above if the window is relatively small. Do you want to key through the stained glass window? If the window is "chapel size" , you are going to need bigger units than 1200's or 2k's. Stained glass eats up a LOT of light. I've seen a musco positioned literally a foot from a stained glass window with little effect on the inside (on a day interior, that is)... If you aren't keying through the window, maybe some 1k pars to create some shafts? What kind of look are you going for?

:lol: HA! "Baby, you're like an 18k on a cloudy day." "My camera's rolling, why don't you bang my sticks." (Too far?)

Dead on, Tim. I can't even begin to count the times I've needed a matte box and was extremely glad to have one. The fact that a matte box "looks cool" is a bi-product. Matte boxes are a worth while investment because, unlike cameras, they don't become outdated. Not all of them are expensive-- I've seen both a bellows- and rigid-style matte box/rods system from Cavision for around US$400. Not bad when compared to $1200+ that you pay for Chroziels and higher brands.

If your end format is primarily webcast, DV should be fine. If anything, you will probably be downresing the footage rather that upresing. If you like the features on the DVX, get the DVX. If you think you might be doing some narrative work that will be shown on a larger medium, you might consider the Panasonic or Sony HD(V) cams, but the DVX will still work just fine for low budget work. Just my 2¢.

There are cheap ones out there, but it's unlikely you'll find a 3 color meter (used) for less than US $200. I saw a Gossen Sixticolor analog meter on eBay for $60, but it only reads blue<->orange, and not green<->magenta. The choice meters are the minolta digitals, but they will run close to $1000 for the latest model. You probably could use a DSLR, but I wouldn't judge color from a still on anything but a calibrated monitor (at least for these purposes).

Just compensate for the filter. It doesn't matter if your film is daylight or tungsten balanced. You would meter the same for (example->) ASA 320 tungsten and ASA 320 daylight. An exposure meter will read an HMI and Tungsten source the same way: it's all light. If you have access to a color temperature meter, you will be able to determine the color temperature of each of your sources and which gels (if any) you need in order to achieve the look you want. If you are shooting on tungsten (3200k) balance film with no filter, a candle will render as very warm (mid-2000's k or less) and the HMI will be very blue (about 5600K, same color effect as adding full CTB to 3200k source). Personally I'm not a fan of the un-gelled HMI "Skinemax" moonlight-- I think 1/2 CTO on an HMI (or 1/2 CTB on a tungsten source) looks better, but you should test some gels to see what you like best. Maybe use a video camera with a 3200 white balance if you can't afford to test on film?

Cineform and Wafian are developing a DTE recorder that does HD-SDI and component HD in and records to the Cineform Intermediate Format. It looks like you'll be able to get 720 10bit 4:2:2 out of the HD100's component ports. Yeah, it's analog out, but at least it's not HDV. They say it will record all HD formats and framerates, and the SDI and component ports should mean compatability with the new Canon and the HVX.

My thoughts exactly. That's true, for an overall green cast. I think the "uncorrected cool white" look can be gotten away with just fine, as long as there is a white (or warm) light reference in the scene or whole film isn't that way.

Not necessarily. I've wired up quite a few 4 bank t12 ballasts (bricks, not kinos) without issue, and I am by no means an electronic expert. Zip cord, add-a-taps, connectors, and a wire tool is all you really need to wire up a homemade fluorescent unit. Wiring aside, I think building a fluorescent light would be easier than a a tungsten unit because you can work with lightweight plastics (like plasticore and thin- gauge ABS sheet) as heat from the lamps is not really an issue. With tungsten, you're stuck with heavier materials that won't melt. Just my 2¢.

A repelling harness and a jet pack?

Just wathced those clips... I WANT ONE!

Nikatsu, You're talking about complact fluorescent "coil" bulbs right? I know I've seen daylight balance compact fluo bulbs (no green cast) before. They were in a scoop-like fixture with three sockets, can't remember the brand though. I saw them in the still photo section at Samys Camera. That said, there have to be tungsten balance bulbs as well... Where are you located? I could point you to a few fluorescent places if you're in LA. Fluos aside, I agree w/ Michael. Just find some photofloods that will work with the socket rating.

Yeah those shots were a bit moody. If it were me, I would have played the opposite angle, using the sun through the window as a backlight with some bounce fill. Nice stuff though.

Well, masking in post will definitely knock down your resolution. Getting 2.35 optically will at least preserve your horizontal res. I believe you will want to be in 4:3 mode on the camera to get 2.35 from those lenses. Also consider the additional amount of light required from using anamorphic lenses, not to mention the weight... If you can afford it, rent one or two anamorphic lenses and one or two spherical lenses and see what works best for you/ what looks better to you. I wish I could be of more help, but I don't have experience with the mini35/anamorphic combo...