Matt Irwin

Benjamin, Fluid head aside, I recommend you take a look at Miller's Solo 100mm legs. They are 3-stage carbon/speaderless with a bowl height range of about 9" to 7' and a carry weight of about 4lbs. I bought a set not too long ago and took it on a shoot that involved heat, cold, rain, mud, and heavy dust-- just beat the poop out of them. They are very easy to clean in the field, not that I needed to... no grit in the locking rings, very stable, angle locks are very durable. I should have left the babys and hi-hat at home. Haven't taken them to the arctic, but I've been told by other shooters that they perform very well in extreme cold. I actually just finished a shoot with an XTR Prod and my Solos handled the camera and an OConnor 1030HD beautifully. Compared to other carbon legs, US$900 doesn't suck either.

I did try a new battery, but no love. I just discovered by accident that if I press LB and then very quickly press CC, I get the CC reading! But it doesn't work if I just press CC. Weird....

I just bought a used mint Minolta Color Meter II. I've been playing with it all day and it's been working fine. Now the CC reading does not show up-- not "CC 0", it just doesn't switch over from Kelvin or LB. Is there something I don't know or am I sending it in for service tomorrow?

I might be using the new-ish Angenieux 7-81 T2.1 HR on a S16 shoot soon, and I will not have the opportunity to test the lens before hand. I don't really have any misgivings about the HR glass, but I am concerned about breathing. Is it as bad as the 11-138 or older Ang. zooms? Wouldn't mind hearing an overall opinion of the lens as well... Thanks,

Thank you both. That answered my question and then some. I had a feeling the flange depth would be too close for that to work.

Is there such a thing as an Aaton(body)-to-PL (lens) adapter? I might need to use PL lenses on an Aaton Standard mounted LTR (as an additional body) on a shoot soon. Trading the mount to PL in this case is not an option because the camera is privately owned (long story, low budget).

Both bulbs are blown/dead. A flash along with a small "pop." I wasn't the one that removed the bulb, so I can't say wheather there was arcing. What would it look like? Burn marks on the porcelain? I'm guessing it was coincidence. Could be the mains power, though that seems unlikely-- it was a modern building in a public school. I don't think a plug polarity problem would cause a bulb to blow, especially with an electronic ballast between the plug and the head...? Electronics are very picky...

I was recently on a show where we plugged a 400 Joker (the older design) into a clear practical outlet. Five minutes after striking, the bulb popped. We replaced the bulb, and the light was plugged in elsewhere. The next day, we were in the same place and a newer 400 Joker-Bug was plugged into that same outlet. A few minutes go by... popped again. Different head, different ballast. If it was not a coincidence, what would cause this? Something to do with the outlet? Wouldn't the electronic ballast shut off the the head if there was too much or too little voltage? Any ideas? This was a covered exterior in 80ºF weather.... no "extreme" conditions.

"A/B" maight refer to the projector's ability to quickly change between two reels. That would mean the projector has two lenses, lamp housings, and movements... so maybe I'm wrong. Just a guess.

Not that I'm aware of. I'd think that he would have brought it up at some point.... I'll ask again.

A-HA, that's it! So much for the pickup truck.... Thank you, Mike!

Anyone know of any books, resources, videos related to Jordan Cronenweth? The only things I know of is his chapter in "Reflections" and the AC artcle on Blade Runner, which doesn't get very technical. He is one of my greatest heros and sadly, it seems, one of the most under-appreciated cinematographers ever. Looking for anything... set stills, articles, books, whatever. Extra points for a picture of the "replicant red eye" setup! ;)

Thank you Adam and A. After hearing that, I will see what kind of price I can get for the Ultra Primes. I've been dying to try them out anyway. I've heard of the Elite primes, but haven't heard anything about them. If you remember, would you be willing to post the results of your test? My shoot is in December, so it could still be helpful. Many thanks,

Thanks for the ideas guys, I'll forward this to her. To the Vancouver guys here: When I was working up there, I was introduced to a guy that made AC pouches, belts, and other crew gear and sold his product out of a pickup truck at all the rental houses. He also made an insulated slush-proof ditty bag. I bought some pouches and a belt and they're still as solid as when they were new--- best gear I've ever used. He always had Canadian flags stitched into everything-- very cool. Anyone know his name? Website? Company name? I would love to get my hands on more of his stuff.

That sounds cool! Are you talking about the DVD special features? I have yet to sit down with both the director and the FX supervisor together, so I should know more specifically what they need in a few days. I'm trying to come up with some "ammo" for that meeting. You have a point... Once the glowing CG element is in, I may be able to get away with BSing the source direction a bit...

I have a project coming up that is a fantasy/midieval setting which takes place mostly in a night interior tavern lit with candles/fire/oil. There are a few scenes where characters produce a glowing "totem" (call it plasma in the form of a ram's head/ lion/ etc) from their fists that then shoots across the room and hits another character. The color of the totem varies between characters-- one is blue, one is gold, green, which may change. I'm trying to figure out how to create a lighting effect that will interact with the actors and set that travels and looks like it's emitting from the CG element. One idea I had was to use dimmer cues to "move" the light across the set, but I realized that would very likely eat up too much setup/rehearsal time (We won't get much of a pre-rig), and will probably look pretty hokey if not executed well. Another idea was simply a lightbulb on a black stick operated by an electrician in a duvetyn ninja-suit... As of right now, none of these shots are moving. I don't have a big lighting budget, so I can't go very deluxe with the equipment. I would like to avoid greenscreen in the interest of time and budget. Shooting Super16, stock TBD. Finishing to D5 or HDCAM. I haven't done much work like this, so I would love to hear some experienced advice! Many thanks,

I have a low-budget project coming soon that takes place in a midieval tavern lit with oil lamps, candles, and a fireplace. I don't plan to use these as the only sources, but I do need some lenses that can handle the point flares of candles without producing double flares and ghosting. I'd like to test some primes or a zoom, something that will not cost a fortune to rent... The new Ultra primes may be out of price range, but how about SK4's? Zooms? Anyone have experience with this situation? Shooting Super16, stock TBD.

I know a beginning AC that's trying to build up her kit... She doesn't want to drop a car payment on the big CineBags tote-- just something organized, durable, and affordable. What are a few "favorite" set bags out there? Something semi-compact that can tuck in close to camera with the spare mag and battery? I've used Portabrace doctor bags as well as Galls police / paramedic bags, but everyone has their favorites for "X" reasons...

I just saw it last night at the Landmark. What a truly humbling experience. I was noticing so many subtleties to Cronenweth's work that I never would have seen in the 30+ times I've viewed the film before. I noticed that too. We probably missed them, since the effect is done with lighting. There were many more occurances that were much more subtle (and not noticeable on a DVD), highlighting points in character arcs. Genious...

Thanks Marc! The diffusion is actually Rosco Silent Frost. I tried it during tests and fell in love with the soft shadows and high transmittance. It ended up being the only diffusion I lit through (with the exception of windows, which was either 216 or frosted opal). Those last two day ext CU's were keyed with a 2500 PAR and an 800 Joker on either side, all through a 4x8 of silent frost. The lights were gelled with 1/8 CTO and the diffusion was roughly 5 ft from the actors.

Thanks Bill, Yes, you're right: Gamma was Black Press, Matrix was Norm. I was working in Film Cam mode, simply because it makes more sense to me. We didn't have to deal with any TV sync, so I never switched to Video Cam during the shoot. I don't remember exactly, but I think my pedestal was at -5, I was using Skin DTL, and was + a couple points on coring, detail, possibly v-detail (?).

Thank you Justin and Alfredo. Funny you should mention "Brick"-- That was a key visual reference for the director. This was not the same school- Brick was shot at (I believe) a school in Oceanside, CA. We shot on Jr. High and Sr. High campuses in Upland (which is +/- 70 miles inland from Oceanside).

No worries, it's one of those best-kept secrets that shouldn't be kept. Happy to pass it on!

There is a simple solution to this: Buy the Canon brand cable (made for the XLH1). It's the same D-terminal plug, but the build quality is much higher and the connection is much more solid compared to the Panasonic cable. I shook the connection violently when we first used it and there was no interruption of feed. According to the sales guy at a large film/video supply place here in LA, many Panasonic reps come in and buy the Canon cables to use at trade shows.

Here's a closely related question.... Has anyone ever fired a 4k from two Honda EU3000's with the parallel kit? I've been told that setup will sustain 5500w, but I've never put that big of a load on it.