Matt Irwin

I too can vouch for the "cowpie." Incredibly simple, and very effective for insert cars and walk-and-talks with a western, among other things. (Derryl-- I think we've both worked under that same DP? The "cowpie" now seems to be called the "GVRD" for Grip Vibration Reduction Device!)

I have a project coming up that's shooting with a Mini35 and I want to use a Leica Noctilux (50 f/1) M-mount lens for a specific look in parts of the film. I've been told that ZGC makes an M-mount for the P+S adapter... is that true? Does the flange depth even work or does there need to be some additional glass behind the rear element? I would need a way to non-distructively do this as neither I nor production can justify / afford to purchase that lens to modify. Thanks,

Oh, now that's cool! What are the dimensions?

Makes sense to me. Thank you Walter.

I've noticed a number of rental houses requiring the use of 91 octane gas with their Honda gennys (I often use the EU3000is), but the Honda user manual specs' 87 octane as the fuel to use. Does 91 prolong the life of the genny and/or improve performance? Fewer oil changes? Is there any downside to using 91 (aside from price) with the Hondas?

Anyone using the Rifa EX system with Lowel's daylight compact flo bulbs? I'm thinking about an 88EX and wondering how the color rendering is with those bulbs. The photometrics on Lowel's site put that fixture with the 3-bulb flo adapter in between the output of a Kino 2'x4 and 4'x4. Once you diffuse a 4'x4, they would probably be about equal, no? This seems like it would be a great small-travelling, soft, tungsten/daylight system.

That's what scares me. Footage looking different between different web browsers is unacceptable for showreel/resume material. I don't want to lose out on a job because a producer looks at my site with IE or the wrong version of "X" plugin and sees pale, washed out footage. In your opinions, would flash video be a better way to go for this situation (having universally identical color/gamma), or should I keep messing with QT for a better solution?

Thanks for the help guys. This is asinine, but I may have found a solution... In Quicktime Pro-- -Open clip -Window menu > Show Movie Properties -Select "Video Track", then click "Visual Settings" -Change Transparency (drop-down menu) to "Composition." -Save clip Doing this made the same terrible looking clip look normal. [see attached screen capture showing original ( L ), export ( B ), and fixed export ( R ).] I previewed in Safari and Firefox, and fixed clip looks normal in both. Good.... What pisses me off though- and you were right Phil- is that when I check the original XDCAM clip against both the inital bad-looking export and the QT Pro corrected export using FCP, the image AND the waveforms look normal and identical for all three! It seems to be QT Player and Safari that are at fault...WTF. Now as long as the fixed clip looks normal on Windows + IE/Firefox, all is well.... right?

I'm trying to export a clip to put up on my site as a showpiece and been having trouble with color and contrast mismatches. The project was shot on film and TK'd to D5, and the quicktime file I was given for my reel was compressed in "XDCAM HD 1080p/24 (35Mb/s VBR)." I am exporting in Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 using Quicktime Conversion: Compression= H.264 Quality= High Frame reordering= yes Encoding Mode= multi-pass Prepare for Internet Streaming= yes - Fast Start Attached is a screen capture to give an idea of the before and after. Left-side image is the original XDCAM (looks correct), right-side image is after export to H.264 (looks like poop). I wish I was a codec genius... any ideas on what the problem is?

Good idea! That could actually work very well for this project... If I try it, I'll scan and post the results. Shooting tungsten-balanced film in daylight without an 85 (or other) correction filter will result in an overall blue cast to the image (aka "cool") because daylight is blue (5600K or more) when compared to warmer tungsten light (3200K).

Thanks Stephen, good info. I'll try a short load with a low con and push when we test. You think a #1 or 1/2?

I'm shooting an action short soon on super35, finishing to D5 (for now). It's all day exteriors in an alpine setting-- under tree cover, as well as on top of a barron hill with snow all around. This will most likely be in sunny/ cloudless weather. The director and I are looking for a hi-con, cold look overall and he really wants red to pop in a few scenes (blood on snow). I'm trying to do as much of this on the negative as I can prior to telecine because there is a possibility of a photochemical release print down the road. I'm planning on testing Vivid 160 at the location or similar setting with an 85, 81EF, and no correction filter. What I'd like to get an idea of prior to testing is how much latitude to expect from this stock-- how many stops over and under key can I expect to hold full detail, and where does information burn out or disappear into shadow? I've got action in front of trees/foliage, as well as wide landscapes and talent haloed with sunlight. Any considerations for shooting this hi-con stock in snow? Any other quirks or unique characteristics to V160? I'm used to shooting lower contrast films like Eterna 250 & 400, and Kodak '18. Thanks,

Michael Chapman has made a number of cameos in his various films. It's usually some random extra with a single line of dialogue, like a fireman or bellhop or something similar.

I just used exactly this rig on a shoot a few days ago that involved a period firelit interior. We had six 4x4 xmas light webs inside a 4x4 frame that was backed with mirrored bubble wrap for extra punch. Four webs were tied through a hand squeezer and two were non-dim-- perfect for soft wrap around fill. Rope lights work great in a clump for BS'ing candle light from a table...

Where are you located? If it were me, I would look into renting a package of fresnels-- from 2k on down to 150. One of the keystones of noir lighting is hard light and sharp shadows, something that is just not achievable with clamp-on worklights or old-school Lowel Lights. You could definitely get away with using halogen worklights for wide-coverage backlight, but if you want to go for those noir slashes and razor sharp shadows on the key/front side, you will need something with an even spread that is focusable-- like a fresnel. A lot can also be done with PARs and open face lights (redheads/blondes). Are you shooting for black-and-white or noir-inspired color?

Good god man! This looks great, Stuart. I really like how you played the hot backgrounds (all the more impressive with HD!)-- seemed like it was just approaching the edge of "unbalanced." What sort of units/gear were you using to balance those types of shots that took place under a porch or in a car? What was the ratio like between foreground and hot background?

Thank you both. We shot the scene a few days ago, and it went extremely well. Some of the best work I've done, at least in my mind. We did manage to track down a source for 3-wick/triple-wick (same thing to me) candles, but they were a custom order and out of budget... so the art dept. performed surgery on a bunch of candles with the help of a blow torch and a wire coat hanger. They were just as good but if we needed tall/thin candlesticks, they would have to have been custom ordered. Here's a still that was taken by my key grip to give you an idea of the look we came up with: -Two 3-wicks with a dimmed 40w torpedo bulb hidden behind to help the throw as needed. We shot super16, Eterna 400, with superspeeds at 1.3. (there's also a fireplace and some of our own fireboxes down and left of the actor. By the way, those 3-wicks can really stand their own as a source. The flames are so large that they really have a decent throw and output. I could expect about 3 fc on an actors face at a 3-4' distance with two candles.

Sachtler makes great heads. Very sturdy and smooth. One thing to note is that Sachtler's fluid drag transmission adjusts in click steps. I've found that after changing steps, it takes a little pan/tilt movement to "engage" that gear (at least that's what I've noticed w/ the Video 18 and 7+7... haven't used all their heads). I'm personally more of a fan of O'Connor and Cartoni's infinitely adjustable drag because it allows for finer tweakingt and the ability to change drag settings during a shot/take. That may not matter to everyone though.

I'll second what Rohan has said. I've had my Solo for a while now using O'Connor and Cartoni heads with small HD cams as well as an Aaton XTR and Arri SR. Handles the weight just fine. They seem a bit tippy with only the head on top, but once the weight of a camera is added they are rock solid. And don't worry about the lack of spreaders... once they're gone you'll never look back.

Scott and Robert-- that helps immensely. I will see about a pin-reg scan. Looks like we'll be grading during the HD transfer. Thank you!

Can 3-wick candles be purchased or are they a make to order item? I have a shoot coming very soon with a candle- and fire-lit scene and I need a good number of 3-wick candles. I was going to have the art dept. add wicks to 2" wide pillar-type candles, but if there is a place to purchase different shapes and colors, that would be ideal. I searched the forum and didn't find any posts this specifically. Google hasn't helped much either... (I'm in the Los Angeles area)

Thanks guys, I'll check out everything stated. Sorry for "remake", my brain is a bit drained at the moment.... ;)

I have a shoot next week that involves glowing CG elements to be comped in during post. It is a fantasy short with a few scenes where characters summon a glowing ball of colored plasma in their hand (different colors per character), and there is one shot in which one character "fires" the plasma at another character. I've been toying with some ideas about how to create a moving colored source that will be motivated by the cg and will interact with the actors and set. Ideally the source would be physically small enough so the CG element can cover it up or it can be easily comped out. A frosted edison bulb would be a good size, so I'm wondering if there is a source for color dipped bulbs in the LA area. In a perfect world, bulbs dipped in gel (like party green, steel blue, etc) would great. I'm concerned that bunching gel over a photoflood would be too large physically and would melt very fast. We are shooting 400T lit down to T1.3, so these don't have to be powerful bulbs. (200w would give us room to dim) Not looking for a blinding light, just something to interact on set. (checked studio depot and film tools, and they don't have anything like this)

I am shooting a low budget short on super16 soon, and there are a few scenes that involve CG elements-- glowing plasma figures of different colors, dark matter, etc. I've got some ideas about how to light for those effects, but I am a bit in the dark regarding post workflow... This is a bit of a first for me. As of now, we are transferring to and finishing on either HDCAM or D5. I'm wondering at what stage the CG elements should be added--- is it done on a cut-by-cut basis, are they added in the online? After grading? I am concerned about when the image and the CG are baked together in case we need to adjust color on one to mesh it better with the other. The effects are being done by an individual, not a post house, so resources are limited. I'm looking for (of course) the most economical way to do this while maintaining a good-quality blending. Most involved in the production seem to be looking at me for answers. Any information about workflow for this helps. Many thanks,

Jonathan, I've got an Epson 4990 Photo-- it's a flatbed with neg trays. I use it for 35mm and medium format negs and I really like it. Very sharp and very accurate once it's been calibrated. Great for personal work, web delivery, and 11x14 or smaller prints. I think Epson just came out with a bigger and better version of the 4990 for around $400. I went flatbed because I needed to scan opaques and odd-size negs, but as James said-- if you're scanning film only, a good neg scanner is a better option.