Brian Drysdale

The first car shoot I was on we also made our own bonnet mount from wood, It think it was made from two 4" x 2" and a 1" x 9" plank with holes drilled into for the various camera mounting positions, where we fitted an old Vinten tripod head. The mount was secured underneath the wheel arches by long 1/2" threaded stud bars. You could shake the whole car when you pulled the mount up and down. We also had a tray type job for mounting on the car doors, it was also made from wood so that you could mount a Bolex. We also mounted a Arri 16 BL just inside the windscreen for front 3/4 CU shots of the driver. BTW It's not the best camera for filming inside cars.

Sorry, in America hood or le capot in french. You can get a beam that goes across the front of the car that you can mount the camera onto. Once it's set up you can chance your camera position extremely quickly. http://www.egripment.com/en/ProductInfo.asp?ID=78 There are also suction camera mounts, but you'll also need to put safety straps.

Using a bonnet car mount a polarizing filter is a great help. I like setting it so you just get a small amount of reflection in the glass. However, the light does need to be in the right direction to get the best results and you need to keep an eye on camera shadows. If you've got the budget you can rig battery powered HMIs, or even rig a small generator in a trailer (sound mightn't like that one) towed behind the car. People have also rigged a black tent out over the windscreen to flag out sky reflections. Just be careful to ensure that the driver can see out, because they'll be both thinking about their performance and driving the car.

The XDCAM disk is a recording medium, in theory you could record DVPRO HD onto it. The data rate for HDCAM is 140 Mb/s, so you could record also HDCAM onto an XDCAM disk if required. Of course, the recording time wouldn't be that long - around 15 minutes I'd guess. However, you can see how Sony could develop a range of formats based on it rather like how the old Betamax cassette has ended up with HDCAM.

Unfortunately, Thomson don't have the marketing power of Sony. The XDCAM disks with a writing speed of up to 144 Mb/s have a lot of potential for formats with higher data rates. However, I suspect Sony are holding off at the moment to avoid causing problems with the HDCAM sector of the market.

It looks interesting, those productions that have been shooting on DVCAM with DRS 570s etc will be very interested. I believe that there's a 2/3" CCD version coming out as well. There have been quite a few low budget features that have been shooting on 2/3" CCD cameras using DVCAM and XDCAM HD should meet their needs.

That light box looks rather limiting. I'd make my own curved backdrop cove using white showcard if it's small object or background paper. You can get backgrounds made from white perspex - you can shine the lights through it (just don't put the lights too close). With a more open layout you'll have space to place the light(s) where you want them and also put in reflectors and/or negative fill to suit your subject. You'll also have a wider range of camera positions.

You can get a smoke machine that creates a low lying fog effect. On a recent film we had a one that is used in clubs - it uses a special fog fluid and has an ice compartment. The fog effect lasted a reasonable length of time, about the same as the normal smoke. You should be able to get one in places that supply clubs and DJ kit. We also had a mist machine for a haze effect.

Sorry, you're right about the Cin Log 709. I've got the curves on a Memory Stick, I've been meaning to use one of them on a production.

You need a down-converter, you'd need to check to see if the camera you're using has one fitted. Also. you can get your rushes HD down-converted to a SD format.

You should get some film and just shoot test material. Don't start shooting a "serious" film until you feel comfortable with the camera, try out the variable speed, change the shutter etc. You'll make mistakes, have edge fogging, wrong exposure and various other problems, but it's better to get these out of your system before you start filming some thing you feel is important. Once you see what the camera can do, ideas will come to you. The Bolex can do a wide range of in camera effects, but you need to be in control of the camera and plan how you want to use it. The film stock that you use will be another factor that comes into the equation, you should test that as well.

These curves are intended for grading in post rather than creating a look inside the camera itself as is the case with the SDX 900 set ups. Try here: http://jkor.com/peter/F900paint.html This give a good basic look that works extremely well. Unfortunately, it won't give you the range found in the Panasonic site. However, the site does go through the paint menus on the F900 in some detail.

Having a good script well acted and well crafted on screen will make your film stand out. The camera is just a tool.

I know a few people in design and set construction who work in film, TV and theatre. There are also some electricians started out in theatre. The main difference is the faster changes and re-rigging, a big setup might only be up for a matter of hours. They'll have to learn the different techniques, so there'll be some training required and building up of experience. Some make up artists do both as well. Also, quite a few directors & producers started out in theatre.

The old Aaton LTRs can be modified.

As has been mentioned, you need to lock the elevator off using keys. I shot in one last year and it wouldn't have been possible unless it had been immobilised. However, we also used the key so that the actors could close the doors on cue. This was a small elevator and with nowhere to put a light. I was planning to use Dedo lights either side of the doors, but these weren't any available on the day of the shoot. In end, we just used a Kinoflo above the camera which was more or less facing straight into the elevator. Unfortunately the practical elevator lights weren't strong enough to make as much impact in the actor's hair has I'd have liked, but it worked.

I haven't had this effect for some time. It used to happen with the old broad type quarz lights, where the barndoors were extremely close to the lamp and the heat couldn't get out. If you've painted the barndoors yourself, chances are the paint isn't heat resistant. Try using flags to get the same effect, you'll also get a harder edge without getting the smoke effects from the paint.

You could add + green gel to your tungsten & kinoflo lights (use the tungsten tubes) and put a magenta CC filter on the camera. You'll need a colour temperature meter to work out the strength of the + green & CC filters required. You may also need either 1/4 or 1/2 CTB on the film lights to match the colour temperature. You can get specialised correction filters if you know the type of fluorescent fitted in the bus. US tubes are different to tubes in other parts of the world. An alternative is to put filters on the bus fluorescent lights to match the tungsten, but I think you'll lose a lot of light. I'd shoot with tungsten stock (how fast will depend on how bright your bus is - remembering the transmission factor of the CC filter) and then grade out the effect of the 1/4 or 1/2 CTB when printing - you'll be losing light using the CC filter.

The Aaton 35III is noisier than the Arri BL4. I believe the Aaton is about 31dbA (not sure if this figure is with a barney fitted, it used to be), although 3 perf is quieter at around 24 to 25 dbA.

I cross processed some 7240 a few years ago. The look in the video rushes was very different to that on the final 35mm blow up about 6 months later. I learnt later that cross processed reversal is pretty unstable. However, it didn't matter so far as the story was concerned, it worked out since it was supposed to be a nasty flashback.

You should go with what ever formats and workflow your post production people can handle. It's very easy to come up with a system that introduces problems down the line. I was reading an Article in "Showreel" that was about transferring 24p HDV from the JVC to 35mm and they had real problems getting it to work even in a high end production house because it's still early days for HDV (especially 24p). So, you really need to work all this out in advance.

It's common for the editor to be responsible for the timing in television, particularly on documentaries. Often the DP is working on other productions and is unavailable or there has been a number of DPs working on the same production.

In tests being discussed the vertical resolution of the JVC HD100 at 700 lines in 24P, is higher than that of the Canon at 540 lines in 24f. This what you'd expect to find with a progressive v a field-doubling method. (In 60i mode the Canon had a vertical resolution of 700 + lines). The horizontal resolution of the cameras doesn't enter into this particular issue, (The Canon came out at 800 lines v the JVC's 700 lines.) because one of the advantages of shooting progressive frames is the increased vertical resolution. As the article states, the Panasonic AG-HVX200 looks like it should be retested with a different camera.

It's still too early to say what the impact of P2 going to be; there's extra kit required to download the still rather expensive P2 cards when you're out shooting. XDCAM has made a bigger impact in the SD market and I suspect the new XDCAM HD format will be giving Panasonic a hard time. 24p has an important place in the indie market and JVC has been trying to address the demand. It's unfortunate that the original HDV specs didn't include 24p. Until the price of the P2 cards drop, I can't see them making much progress in the price driven consumer market, they're more for the professionals. I suspect that the 13 stop dynamic range is way in the distance for prosumer cameras; the latest high end HD cameras would love to have that range.

HDV is the consumer format for HD, past experience with DVD players etc. indicates that prices will drop in the longer term. There are single chip HDV cameras on the market at the moment. The HDW 700 & F900s have been around for a while now, so you'll find the older cameras on the market. Also, the depreciation on camcorders is steep that the prices of the early cameras will now be noticeably lower. There are so few Genesis and the D-20 cameras around that they won't have an impact on the pricing of the other cameras. They're also in different market sectors to HDW 700 & most F900s.