Brian Drysdale

I assume that camera doesn't turn over smoothly when you move the inching knob on the sprocket wheel. Could be that the bearings and movement need a good clean and re-lubrication. If it hasn't been used for some time the grease may have become gummed up inside some of the gears. Although, it doesn't sound like that is the problem, it would just sound noisy. The fact that the camera comes to a sudden stop doesn't suggest this one. Although I would get it re-lubricated regardless once it's running correctly. You could remove the side of the camera that the battery slides into and have a look to see if anything is catching, or looks out of place. There are some belts inside that could be causing problems. You'll need Allen keys for that and be careful about the cables that connect the battery and the sound to the camera. If you don't see anything obiviously amiss I'd sent it to the camera repair people mentioned before and have them check it over. It could be a problem with the motor.

You don't need a large number of prints, 3 prints should be enough. Some shorts make do with only a couple of prints - I know one or two very successful shorts that only had two prints. However, if you need need an extra print you can always strike another one. You can get the festivals to forward the print next festival, rather than returning it to you.

For the festival circuit I would print on 35mm, most festivals don't project HD at the moment. Chances are you'd have to send a SD tape for digital projection, so all the quality you've paid for in production by shooting on 35mm will be lost.

On a low budget film the simplest way is just to get someone to compose the music for you, then have them sign a contract allowing you to use the music. Even songs like "Happy Birthday" need to be cleared. You need to have a correctly worded legal contract, it's not something you make up yourself. I know people who have managed to do a deal on short films for clearing a modern song from a recording, but there are usually tight time restrictions on the use. The people involved had the contacts in the industry to make sure that they were doing things correctly and all the paperwork was in place. However, it also reduced the life of the film, which didn't please the distributor. I'd forgotten the reason for the change to 75 years. I remember thinking I'd use a piece of classical music in a short I'd made, only discover that it had come back into copyright again. Given the background to some of those old cowboy songs, it might be difficult to trace who holds the copyright on a few of them. I suspect you might be talking about some old C & W songs and they will still have copyright. As everyone has been saying, this is a subject that you really need sound advise and you should get an up to date book on copyright, so you know the questions to ask. There's a chain of people who can hold copyright or you need a clearence from before you can use a piece of music. BTW Copyright also applies to to art work like posters etc that you might be using in your sets.

Yes, I haven't seen one for sometime, nearly everything in the UK is now shot 16x9. It does add a bit of extra weight to the lens, however, it's not so much that you'd notice it (it looks like there are two range extenders fitted). It's worth having if you're shooting a lot on both aspect ratios.

Using the 4 x 3 mode in a camera that can also shoot 16 x 9 means you don't use the full width of the CCD. This means that for the same focal length you'll have a narrower angle of view in 4 x 3 than 16 x 9. Some video lenses have a selectable optical element (found with the x 2 range extender bulge) that shortens the focal length of the lens in use, so that you can keep the same angle of view in both aspect ratios.

Copyright clearance can be complex. It will depend if the old cowboy songs are still in copyright. How long the copyright lasts after the death of the composer varies depending on where they lived. 50 years after death used to be the standard, but in Europe they increased it to 75 years. Assuming the songs are in copyright, you'll need to check with the music publishers of the songs that you are planning to use. They will negotiate a charge for the use of the songs, how much will depend on the clearance you need (you'll need world wide at the very least for film festival use). Allow some time for this process, they tend not to be quick. You'll also need your musician to sign a contract allowing you to use his performance of the songs and also his original music. You can find more info here: http://www.mpa.org/ http://www.patents-info.com/Default.aspx?tabid=178

Optex sell and rent film & video gear. They're the Steadicam dealers in the UK. They have also been involved with modifying Canon lenses for use in film & television and also their own Super 16 lenses.

Sorry to hear that, I've bought a lot of kit from them over the years.

There are good festivals and bad festivals. Many of the European festivals don't charge entry fees, but a film should have a promotion budget that can be used to sell the film. If you enter early in the US festivals you can get cheaper entry fees. You need to target festivals that are interested in the genre or style of film you've made. Often you get invited to festivals and they'll cover your accommodation, others will also cover your travel expenses. With the two shorts I've directed I was invited to festivals in the US, Rio and various European festivals. However, it is extremely competitive, so your film must stand out from the crowd and you must think how to market it effectively.

Personally I'd go for the Minolta. Although, I suspect you'd get the Gossen for much less. You don't normally need a light meter on a video shoot unless it's a big lighting rig. The professional cameras have zebras that are used for setting exposure. Commonly these are set for 70% or 100%. The 70% level is roughly that for caucasian skin. However, you'll need to work out the ASA of the video camera if you want to use the meter. Ideally you'd use a waveform monitor, but if you have a evenly illuminated gray scale with the zebras set at 100% just coming on in the white bar you can read off the f stop from the camera lens and work out the ASA. You need to make sure that the DCC or auto knee is switched off. Also, if the camera has a knee programmed into its setup menus, this method doesn't work. I'd also check with a 70% zebra against caucasian skin. It would be safer to use the zebras and get a good monitor.

You should always shoot with the shutter on with progressive, otherwise you get motion smearing. The normal setting would be 1/50 for 25p, which I assume you'll be using in Australia. You can switch the shutter off if you need the extra exposure, but be careful with the motion blur. I've shot at 1/250 using 25p, it's quite jerky how well it works would depend on the action. It's not too far from the "Saving Private Ryan" effect. You can see the effect in the viewfinder, so you shouldn't get any surprises.

With guns you need to be careful. In the UK a police firearms unit (their SWAT team) was called because someone saw the weapons on a student film shoot and thought there was a crime happening. Unfortunately, organization and paperwork go with the territory in filmmaking. If it's a high school project include the paperwork as part of your final piece - there could be some extra marks.

You should get public liability insurance at the very least. Some locations will ask how much cover you've got. Rental companies will insist that you have insurance for their equipment. If the location is on private property you'll need permission from the owners to film there. There are standard contracts you can get them to sign.

Try Millimeter at http://millimeter.com/ You can get articles from American Cinematographer magazine at http://www.theasc.com/ Hi Def stuff at http://www.highdef.com/index.htm

You have to plan the festivals that are worthwhile for your project. There are festivals that are interested in different types of productions and you need to pick the ones that are best suited to show casing your production. However, it does cost money, so you need to budget this out. Some European festivals do require subtitles, but a lot don't. You just supply a script and they'll either have a translator or sub titles using a separate projector. It's also worth visiting festivals, you make a contacts. A number of the European festivals also have markets attached. $300 to enter a festival. No way if your film is a short!

Get a great script and good actors. Without these you're not going anywhere, it just becomes a technical exercise. Cost everything out to tell the story in the best manner you can on screen with least compromise on production values. If the numbers add up do it 16mm, if not HDV.

A lot depends on the story you're trying to tell. From the DOP point of view film usually looks a lot better on the showreel. This is less of an issue for the director and the producer, where other things like performance become important. You'll have to weigh up what extras you can with do with these funds. Can you hire in extra lights, a professional actor, perhaps a camera crane? On the other hand does the mood of the story require the look that shooting on film brings? How the film is going to be screened around the festivals is another factor. I must admit that I personally usually prefer the student films shot on film, they usually stand out more from the crowd. Perhaps it's because more thought has been put into them because of their shooting ratio limitations. You don't really need a video assist, check the shot framing down the viewfinder and then the director can sit beside the camera looking at the performances. Get feedback from the DOP or operator after each take.

Is this camera a CP16A or a CP16R? I seem to remember the "A" referred to a built in sound amp. If it's a CP16 with a sound amp, it will have a zoom lens with a built in or dog leg viewfinder which I would doubt can be modified to cover the Super16 frame. I've heard of the CP16R being modified to Super 16. The CP16R would be the better buy for because you can change lenses. Also with the CP16 you need to check the verticals in the dog leg viewfinders, because if the lens gets twisted in the C mount, it knocks off the vertical in the viewfinder. Check the recent messages in the forum about the CP16, they give good contacts for this camera. You can shoot standard 16mm for the music video and get a telecine to a video format for editing. The cost will depend on a whole lot of variables. You'd be best calling up a few labs and getting quotes, many can do the whole process in house. See what kind of deal they'll do for you. The lights requirements depend on the needs of each project. The best results are with the slower film stocks like 100 ASA or 200 ASA, although you can get 500 ASA stocks which are good, but more grainy than the slower stocks. Film uses the same type of lights as video, however, the slower film stocks may need higher lighting levels than your video camera (which often have a speed of around 320 ASA) depending on the f stop you been commonly using when shooting video. However, I suspect a good idea would be to do a bit of background reading on the subject of 16mm filmmaking, the questions you're asking would need a book to answer.

Using the "Set Lighting Technician's Handbook" the definitions are: SCRIM: A circle of wire mesh, which slides into the ears on the front of a fixture and reduces the intensity of the light. A single dims the light by about half a stop. a double is about one stop. A half-single or double affects only half the beam ND (neutral-density): A gel or filter that reduces light transmission without altering the colour of the light NET: A black honeycomb netting material sewn onto a rod frame that is used to reduce the intensity of part or all of a light's beam DIFFUSION: Material used in front of lighting fixtures to reduce the light they produce. The "expensive baking paper" is diffusion. The ND gels are lighting gels that come in various grades 1 stop apart like camera filters. ND 0.3 is 1 stop (often described as ND3) ND 0.6 is 2 stops (ND6) and ND 0.9 is 3 stops (ND9) The nets often mounted on C stands like flags are, their frame is similar those found in flags. Although some net frames are left open across one edge, so that the frame doesn't cast a shadow across the subject.

Casting makes or breaks a film and has to be done with care. Friends are ok if they're right for the role and bring something to it, otherwise don't use them. If you're in London try the drama schools, I'm sure the students would love to audition for a part and to work on it for experience.

Final Cut is the program associated with Apple computers, but it needs the later models. You should check the Apple web site.

The problem with Super 16 is that there's picture where the soundtrack is on standard 16mm. Super 16 is used for either blow up to 35mm or 16:9 TV, it's not normally projected as Super 16 (although labs do have Super 16 projectors) so they're not common. Unless you can change the 16mm format in the camera (like the Aaton) you'll have work around the Super 16 set up. That is assuming you want to project a 16mm print with a soundtrack. One way would be to have the standard 16mm frame marked on your groundglass and just use that (you'd need a camera workshop to do this for you). However, without the Aaton's features, this will be off set and your lens distortions etc won't be symmetrical. If you were shooting materal for video, you could just mark a standard 16mm frame in the centre of the Super 16 groundglass and frame it up in the telecine. I recall there being a shoulder pad available for the CP16, but it's such a good hand held camera as is, that I don't think there were many around.

It would be extremely rare to have a 3 phase supply in a domestic house in the UK. They're always single phase. However, you will get 3 phase supplies in industral premises, but these are usually well marked. You may find that parts of a plant are on a different phases. However, this doesn't apply to other countries. Here's Germany as an example: http://www.jpoc.net/countries/germany/wiringandplugs.html

You can find a rough lay out for the UK here. http://www.diydata.com/planning/ring_main/ring_main.htm The 13 amp cooker socket is often used because it's on a separate circuit. The BBC's old basic standard lighting kit that the lighting electricians used to bring was 2 x 2k blondes and 4 x 800 watt Redheads and there was never any problems in a modern house. You can plug a 2.5k HMI straight into the wall. Just check that you're not overloading each socket (the 13 Amp fuse will blow). With a domestic mains tie in the biggest light is a 4k HMI or 5k tungsten. Health and safety will require an electrician for this and they'll keep an eye on the load.