Stephen Perera

I guess the amount of lubrication on your nose depends on how much pressure you are feeling! haha care to mention who the 'greats' are??? thanks for the tip....I like this one!

Hey Gregg yes pulling the lens is what I will do as I cant see anything down the lens hahahahahahhaah oh and lets be clear _not that anyone has accused me of anything other) I'm just a person with the passion, drive and dream of shooting something worth while with my beloved film....no more no less.....a movie lover since day one, an observer of good cinematography since day one as that is in my blood as I'm a professional graphic designer/photographer with nearly 30 years experience...THAT I can claim....cinematographer....in another life maybe.....in this one with bowing respect for the real crews and people that bring us those great moving images

thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out as usual and yes of course would like to walk into a set to see how its all going down as that would be invaluable......I'm listening to podcasts and watching anything and everything in the way of advice from seasoned people (im good at spotting the amateurs a mile off)......I'm just looking to start off with 'good habits'..... BTW the nearest opportunity I have to attending a real set is the fact a good friend of mine is Antonio Banderas's private jet pilot and if he films anywhere near (my choice) I can attend a set! Sir Banderas is from Malaga, just 90mins up the road from me in Gibraltar.....

I did that but the Cooke Varokinetal on the Aaton XTR zoomed at 50mm at T2.5 doesn't allow me to see the gate down the lens with the torch as the many elements throw up too many reflections.....nice looking as they are I might add haha......the only way I can see the gate is inching the shutter to open (thus exposing 1 frame) after taking the lens off...is this ok????? thanks for your help

OK I tried that...zoomed all the way and open the iris but cant see anything with the torch etc....so whats the norm on AATON then....so I produce a good take and I want to "check the gate" as you all say...that means I have to take the lens off.....when this is done I see the mirror down position and thus the gate is covered.....so what do i do hit the advance one frame switch which takes the mirror off and exposes the gate and thus I lose one frame to the light to check all is well???? (I really enjoyed your reel by the way)

thanks very much that is great advice....Im using a Cooke Varokinetal 9-50mm

haha thanks no i have no tricks up my sleeve yet haha

I've come across what looks like an affordable dolly and track system (concept) from CINERAILS which allows you to use standard 20mm PVC tubes found all over the world....are there any more recommendations for dolly and track for us mere mortals who spend from our own pocket????

All tips welcome for handling camera whilst on set/ location shooting....what are your do's and don'ts.....scratch test after loading by running off how much film? gate hair checks when lens is changed but why if you shoot with one lens only would you take it off half way and check the gate? etc etc anything and everything you do when you are shooting that I can add to my 'to do' and 'not to do' list!

thanks a lot everyone

yes this proves my theory really....regardless its consistent readings even though the markings are wrong so I'm making my own markings.....testing it out on 3 metres so if they concur job done

haha indeed...the good thing is now I know they fly apart so will be extra careful when clicking lock and unlock

I have a TIFFEN and a SYRP variable ND filter and BOTH are wrongly marked for stops as far as my metre is concerned....checked against my friends metre and he concurs....is this normal that they send out product wrongly marked for stops???? I have a Sekonic L858U and a Gossen mastersix... ...I need to use variable ND filters cos if not I would have to spend loads of money on matte boxes, etc etc etc and filter sets which id rather use to buy film stock etc

Part (a) broke and I glued it back together....you can see the cement line...I'm glad this happened before going out to shoot as now I am aware of it....imagine trying to find the small screw after it all explodes out on location! haha impossible

I glued it and its fine.....mine are plastic.....I said rip off cos 60 dollars for that piece of plastic seems too much to me....

thanks for that Jean-Louis...based on the crazy price it looks like I'm going to a) just use the other magazine and b) super-glue the part like Allan Giles (aaron service guru in the UK) suggested!!!!!! wow, rip off or what!

Hi all where can one get spares for Aaton magazines....specifically the part I have highlighted in the image.....I need a couple of spare core holder core-lock mechanisms for one of the magazines I have…..the one on the feed side came apart catapulting small springs etc and the other came apart as has a broken metal piece….I can put one back together but the other one won’t hold as the metal is broken……if they are cheap and easily available let me know and I will buy more spares….

......at last a considered, well written review from someone who saw it.....when I created this thread I was hoping for 'wonderful discussion' and appreciation of the cinematography but it went another way...."its ambition alone is what should be taken seriously"....could not have put it better myself....how people cant see this is beyond me....

cos you feed it in as normal as if it were a 400 ft film thus no need to alter.....

great stuff will see what its about

thanks Heikki and everyone else in this magnificent resource cinematography.com......it so happens there are a few labs in Spain....I can just send film by land courier no probs.....just wanted to check prices really and how they compare....

what abut film going through airports/ x rays etc etc if it goes DHL etc???? prob best to stay local to avoid all this even if means a bit more cost? what you think?

thanks for all the info

Hi all getting back quotes etc for scanning my 16mm film in Telecine HD or 2k in Spain....was wondering how it compares with prices in UK and USA...have to work out budgets....thanks for any help

regardless of me doing my own testing what in general have you all found with it?