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Jacob Mitchell

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  1. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi everyone! Thanks for the replies, good to see some approaches I can integrate. I love the white sheet idea inside the car. Some more context: - The car will be parked in one position, with talent only ever outside the car. - I have choice over time of day, but it can't be blue hour as this would ruin consistency with the other parts of this scene. I'm going to try to get the most backlight on the car as possible so aiming for 3-6. Luckily we're shooting in winter, so sun will be quite low most of the day.
  2. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all! Been racking my brain for a while on how to best light a car for a spec I’m shooting - specifically in the desert, exterior, during the day. Unfortunately our piece has a lot of narrative moments, so I can’t shoot during blue hour/sunset as this wouldn’t leave time for our long scenes and totally throw off the consistency. Long story short, I’ll have to deal with the sun - that being said, does anyone have some tricks for dealing with the big, flaming ball in the sky? My current thought is to just use sub as backlight, edging the car and potentially losing the reflection, and then using some soft 12x bounce in one of the car’s blind spots. I figured the sun being direct in any sense would look bad and secondly adding diffusion frames won’t work for some of our wides and would be seen in reflection.
  3. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all! I will soon be shooting my first car spec. I'm doing as much research as I can in order to craft a well-polished and beautiful piece, and to understand the logistical requirements and best practices. We're aiming for a very moody, narrative driven off-terrain piece, employing a black arm setup as well as some drone work. Looking for some guidance, tips, advice - what has everyone learned from their car shoots? Looking back, what would you have done differently from the beginning? What technical difficulties did you overlook?
  4. Jacob Mitchell
    Hello everyone! I would love to get some opinions on the following. Let’s say you’re shooting a narrative, a 10 page dialogue scene over the course of 2 days. This scene takes place in one location, with blocking all in one vicinity. Would you rather A) Shoot 5 pages/day, jumping around to all of your camera/light setups for those 5, or B) Shoot 10 pages/day, shooting out half of your setups like wide, two shot, etc. Theres interesting pros and cons to both; as a DP I jump for the 10 page idea so I can be efficient with setups and time, yet a director might see benefit performance And continuity wise for the 5 page option. Worked on a feature recently where this problem arose, and would love to hear everyone’s opinions and logic.
  5. Jacob Mitchell
    I feel that in most cases, as a DP I hire those I trust and have worked with multiple times, as this experience has helped us work more efficiently together. And with the people I work for, producers and directors, they trust me in my assigned position, and therefore trust my hiring choices as well. This is where the less talked about part of DPing comes in, the leadership and team management aspect. Often if I bring my favorite Gaffer, Key Grip, or 1st AC in, they have a choice over who is below them, be it 2nd AC, Cam PA, Grip, etc. Of course there are exceptions, for example if I'm doing a very complicated sequence over water, but my go-to crew has no experience working in water, I will likely outsource for those more experienced for the job. This is where maybe the producer or director knows someone, and therefore does the hiring. Like most things, this all depends on the "level" you're working on. Since I started making films in high school, to now non-union freelancing, I feel I have had full discretion on who I hire to be apart of my team. The only time I haven't is when maybe the director or producer are looking to bring in one of their people, either as a favor or a suggestion. In terms of union, I'm not up to that level yet, so I don't quite know. Also I should mention, technically speaking, I "hire" them, but I'm not the one sending them emails of contracts and such. I forward their contact information on to the production and they take care of the rest. Here's a list of positions that I can have a choice over who is hired. I've bolded those who often have say in who is hired below them: Camera Operator (Steadicam operator, crane operator, gimbal operator, underwater team, drone team, etc) 1st AC (focus puller) 2nd AC (in some cases also a film loader) Camera Tech (for specific scenarios) Camera PA Gaffer/CLT BBE/ACLT Electric/SLT Dimmer op/Board op Key Grip BBG Grip Rigging Team
  6. Jacob Mitchell
    For starters, it most definitely looks like Alexa just from the dynamic range. In terms of lenses, its hard to tell. Seems super fast, maybe a 1.4, the bokeh is almost perfectly circular, and the focus is crisp but still has a nice falloff to it. No funky vignettes or artifacts dominant. Looking at the subjects' edges against overexposed backgrounds, you can see some very slight green chromatic aberration. Makes me think of one of the many Zeiss super speeds, but the flaring on the super speeds has a more blue/purple dominant tinge to it, where as I'm seeing a more polychromatic range in the flaring. The colorful yet well resolved flaring reminds me of the Ultra or master primes. Past this it's hard to tell. Don't see any mention of Panavision on the Vimeo description. I feel like most DPs like to credit them.
  7. Jacob Mitchell
    Yeah the arri mags are an absolute breeze! Also is the intermittent mechanism on the XTR different? I heard somewhere that it doesn't have a registration pin like the SR.
  8. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey all! Shooting a small music video on S16 soon, and wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the Aaton XTR vs. SR3 vs. 416. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each when compared against eachother? I'm seeing XTR packages are almost half the price of the SR3, and our budget is tiny so I'm trying to see what I'm giving up for the cheaper price.
  9. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all! I'm interested in pairing the Zeiss CP2 lenses with the Arriflex SR1. Will the flange depth on the CP2s be a able to work with the SR? Is it possible to pair these two? Thank you!
  10. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey everyone! Wanted to open up a discussion of the subliminal effects on an audience/contrasted moods that are conveyed in a push in versus a pull out. I've been thinking a lot about them lately, and of course there's the typical application of these shots opening/ending scenes in a very traditional matter. What does everyone think about these shots from a mood building and emotional point of view?
  11. Jacob Mitchell
    Love the link Macks... wonderful example where it clearly has the film look, but isn't distracting to the viewer. Here's actually a short that I am really looking to emulate... has the perfect balance between "grungy" yet not distracting
  12. Jacob Mitchell
    Wow Tyler! That is damn crisp... almost looks like 35mm 2-perf and not 16mm! How did you achieve such an image? The exposures are absolutely spot on.
  13. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all! I'm starting work on my thesis at Emerson college, and would like some tips/general exposure advice for 16mm. I 100% plan on shooting on film for my thesis this coming year, and have been researching into different stocks, prices, cameras, etc. I have shot with 16mm for one short in the past, and really loved how it came out. However, my main grievance is the sometimes over-softness and over-grittiness of 16mm, and it seems this often happens when pushing the stock too far with underexposure. Can I get some advice as to getting the most pristine/sharp image with 16mm? How does the camera system effect its clarity? Are there certain categories of lenses I should stay away from? How should I treat exposure with film to get the most "grainless" image?
  14. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all, I'm starting prep work for my college thesis at Emerson and I'm researching into the different challenges with shooting the project on film. I'm particularly thinking 16mm, just for budgetary reasons, and can't seem to find a Super 16mm camera that shoots up to 300 fps other than scientific/military cameras. The film is about a track athlete, so I'm wanting to get some very beautiful, frozen moment shots of our talent running. Does anyone know of any cameras that shoot as high as 300 fps? I see most of the HS cameras from Arri only go up to 150 fps. Thanks!
  15. Jacob Mitchell
    Hi all, I am hoping to get some Cam PA gigs while out in LA for the semester and was just wondering what everyone's perception is of the Camera PA. What are their duties/responsibilities? What is expected of them? Was just looking for some outside input to know what to bring to the table. I imagine it's nothing glorious, and with a good 1st and 2nd, I could see a lot of standing around waiting to help being a reality. Thanks!
  16. Jacob Mitchell
    Thanks everyone. Very helpful information. How is one able to get inside the globe housing? What are “steaks and tips”
  17. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey all, This has been a question I've had for a while. Are there a specific type of globe/light source that is commonly used to replace practical bulbs? I.e. If you're trying to reach a certain exposure, and want to use practicals, where could one find an assortment of different globes to reach a certain light level? Thanks!
  18. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey everyone, Ill be heading to LA soon for a semester at Emerson College, and Im one part terrified, one part very excited. My goal is to make as big a splash I can, and attempt to land a few gigs as a Cam PA, 2nd AC, Cam op, and hopefully, DP. In a most ideal scenario, I hope to gain enough momentum to take a semester off in LA just for jobs. So, my main question is: What are some things I can work towards to get my name out there and get jobs? I have a good understanding of marketing oneself and have pieced together a strategy from pure logic, but what has everyones experience been?
  19. Jacob Mitchell
    Thanks for the knowledge everyone!! I love hearing the science and chemistry behind everything.
  20. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey all, I was recently drafting my personal contract which I was taking from Imagos template contract for DPs. Here is the template: https://www.imago.org/images/pdfs/CINEMATOGRAPHERS/MODEL%20CONTRACT%20FOR%20AUTHORSHIP%20-%20version.22.01.08.pdf . In article 7.2, its speaks to Copyright Collective Socities. I understand the purpose of these copyright collectives, but after some searching, did not find any socities of note in America that cover motion picture professionals. Since this is from Imago, are these Socities more common in Europe than America? Does anyone have any more info on joining a Copyright collective?
  21. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey all! Just finished the ASC Manual and there are a few spots that speak about "Ground Glass". From what I've collected, it seems to be a piece of glass that works between the gate and the reflex and often includes different aspect ratio guides? Can anyone give me a clearer definition? Thanks, Jake
  22. Jacob Mitchell
    Hey all! Got a shoot this weekend with some gear I am unfamiliar with, mainly a set of Kowa Anamorphics. What is everyones procedure/best practices for a camera test? Additionally, we don't have access to focus charts, etc... what are some substitutes? I've heard of using a dollar bill, etc Thanks!
  23. Jacob Mitchell
    One final question... I will be throwing an 85 filter in front of the lens, which means I'll be rating at 320 ISO. Going along with my look and trying to get the most out of 500t in exteriors, should I further overexpose?
  24. Jacob Mitchell
    Thanks everyone for the info! Through it all, I'm mostly picking up this: - Shoot lower in terms of T-stop as the 16mm medium is a bit smaller and has less DOF compared to 35. We're actually going WFO for stylistic reasons, so that's covered - I like the idea of what the 320 rating will do for the shoulder of the image, and it makes sense that I'd need to keep everything right above the toe to reduce grain. Aka: bring in bounce for subjects' faces. - Isn't a stop on the density curve about .3D? Correct me if I'm wrong! - As far as grads, we could likely rent them. With the amount of landscape we're doing, they'd be nice to have. Emerson actually just got our SRs modified for S16! I think visual products hooked us up with an entire fleet. Emerson supplies us with about 1600' of 500t, so as a student with debt it's really hard to pass up.
  25. Jacob Mitchell
    Kenny, thanks so much for the advice! In terms of final image, I am going for lots of blooming and blowing out the whites in the sky. Sounds like this will help reinforce.
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