Joseph Tese

Howdy! Looking at a 16' Box on Isuzu NPR. Considering installing a new liftgate (Railgate Style). 64"? Does anyone have any recommendations for lift-gate brand, length, and style - and any other specifics I'm not thinking about when installing? I see a lot of TommyGates for G&E trucks for some reason, but don't know if they are the most durable.

Yes - know about the form factors to eliminate confusion and promote consumer safety - But you both answered my question. The amount of metal is the same in both, so a 5-15 has the same ampacity as the 5-20! Thanks for clarifying. Joe

Nice. Based on the results, it seems like it can hold up compared to other leading LED competitors. How far were you from the source when reading?

I would agree with Robin.. Not only is the window visually screaming to motivate the far side key, but combine that with Robin's other point that keying on the camera side will make it flat. Your dilemma would then be hiding the lights, which is where a menace could come in, if you have the skill/crew for it.. or exposure to the cieling if there are safe rigging points. Do you have a softbox for the aputures? You can also provide a little bit of warmth on the fill side with tungsten. Can't really tell, or time of day, but windows might be blown with just the aputures, especially if softened. Were you wanting the chinaball in frame as a practical?

As most of us know, everyone pushes the 5-15 on a 12g stinger close to 20AMPS on set. Visually inspecting the 5-15 and 5-20 on the inside, they look identical, but not saying visuals are enough to determine its engineered ampacity. Can anyone know for sure that they are built with the same amp rating? I'm sure Hubbell or any other manufacturer would be reluctant to say so.

Epic! The color palette is delightful, and truly draws you into the times. Were you involved in the grading process?

EZrigs are good at "taking the edge off" of handheld. Not a steadicam, and obviously not a gimbal, but if skilled you can find a good middleground between the two. You can also adjust how handheldy you want it to feel. It also solves the microshake problem of smaller cameras, if applicable. My hips hurt after awhile with this rig.

Message is cult-ish, but I know the diehard fans will love it. And that's what counts. Looks good.

Just my opinion. I like the depth of field, wouldn't change it. Like the background / orientation of the room you chose. My first impression was to have him more on the left third (camera left), but I have to remember this is direct address. So that probably counter-acts that feeling. If you have a B-Cam, it might cut better. Agree about a little less head room. Also, I think the brighter pillow is making me feel like it wants to be keyed from the other side, but that's just me. Like the contrast in his face, maybe a little scratch on the fill side would look nice. Also maybe wouldn't take much to find out where the spot reflection on the top of his head is coming from and flag it out. I also agree slightly tighter, red tulips a little distracting. The right third of the background is the most appealing. I dig the busy colorful painting/mural thing, and the warm tones.

Know any established cinematographers who successfully accomplished cinematography and directing at the same time? I don't think I would/could/desire to do such a thing, but curious about the mentality and if anyone has implemented such a beastly idea into their workflow. In another world, there's been plenty of smaller corporate jobs where I essentially doubled, but is far from the work of larger scale narrative, among other things.

Would love to test it out - Do you have a few RGB Cyc Lights willing to send me? ? I would also want it to be decently clean. I wouldn't want to invest if it's going to be a pain each time, and most of the time it'd be done in-house.

Thanks for the replies - Interesting to hear this input. Nothing's perfect - No one's perfect - but that scenario, Phil, is totally crazy. I would expect with higher budgets and so many members involved, that the "more pre-thought and efficient workflows" would be a must and very common, but that's obviously not always the case. Curious if any other folks working on this level can answer any of my above questions.

Nice. Do you argue whether to make it in post or production? ?

This is an example of what sparked my initial question. So do you feel like it's common that the DP's opinion is over-run? Are we still early in CG realism where proper workflow is not established? Should the DP be consulted more during the post VFX work? Or - it seems like that's entrusted to the supervisor.. At the end of the day, could a DP cringe at some of the imagery being produced if sticks out like a sore thumb? Is it still his/her creative territory or input?

Diffusion frame overhead to knock out unflattering sun shadows. Bounce the HMI with card or play it through another diff frame for shaping. As mnentioned 2.5k hmi should be enough. If golden hour, not a problem for overhead diff, you can use the sun as backlight and HMI for fill. There's no insight to the set up / scale of shooting, so this could all change...

I've heard and see most aspiring DPs wanting to climb the ladder through the camera department. Lighting is everything. My argument is to approach it through Gaffing/Electric department. You are hands on with lights from the beginning, and will gain a better understanding of how light works. You will also develop the wealth of technical knowledge about electric, lighting, and how different fixtures operate. On the other hand, I also understand the need for understanding camera technicality, composition, etc.. But again, lighting cannot be compromised. Thoughts? EDIT: Embarrassingly, I may have posted in the wrong thread group. This should be removed or moved, as I can't find the delete button.

Looks great. Curious on your settings for each. Don't mind the darker mood - what are your thoughts behind that exposure? Be cool to see BTS of the lighting setups.

I watch some modern trailers and movies, and I think, Geez! This looks 90% CG. So CG, that I wonder what the thought process / workflow was between production DP and Post Artists. As a DP, how do you envision the final CG imagery in order to ensure it matches the look and feel of what you are shooting? How do you ensure that the CGI elements don't conflict with your lighting style - And is there a visa versa to that? Obviously, detailed story-boarding and animated pre-vis are a must? What do those steps look like, linearly? On these large budgets, who are the key members involved in bridging this creative process?

Thanks, Ed for the insight and pics. Makes sense. I'm okay making it slimmer for maneuverability - but now also considering the adjustable shelves point. Drill holes in the columns/vertical supports, as well as each shelf, and have removable metal pegs with cotter pins? Maybe instead of the weight relying on the metal peg, have welded bits of angles on each corner at different heights, so the shelf can slide in like a tray at the desired height. The only disadvantage there, is having to increase the overall length, as I don't want the welded lips to get in the way of working space. Thoughts? Joe

What's the advantage of having the C-Stands hang on the set screw vs the clip design? Not saying I disagree, but curious. It seems like you're confirming my precautions for strength. Might go back to the drawing board and keep the slimmer profile.

I sometimes find myself going through the rabbit-hole of design, mostly for grip organization. I've searched endlessly for models of grip/taco carts, head carts, and other variations online. There are only two suppliers/manufacturers, which you already know of - and for probably good reason! They provide the perfect already thought out cart for the industry. But to my surprise, I can't find many people inquiring or even going about their own endeavor on creating their own carts. Luke S. on YouTube (MTG) has made some great modular carts. I had a kick out of watching his build. Obviously the advantage (and where my boat lies) to creating your own is design ownership, but most importantly affordability (if you have the skills to assemble yourself). Attached pictures are a C-Stand card I welded with a friend. It's totally overkill, but I love it.. It was my first endeavor into welding, and I like the design we came up with, as it allows the stands its ability to rest on the bottom, have all the knuckles and set-screws free, while maintaining the user individual access to each stand. If I could redesign, I'd find a way to slide a milk-crate in the middle, but the narrow sort of "over-lapping" design is a plus I think. Anyway, onto my second endeavor, a small grip cart. The attached PDF (Vector) design is fairly simple, but I want to make sure it's the best it can be. I started out with a slimmer and slightly less long dimension of 40x26. but that required the 4 families of apple boxes to be shared across two shelves. So, it's now 44x28 (more or less) to accommodate all 4 families on one shelf. My only concern now is if it's too wide.. Most "cart ratios" I see from StudioCarts or BS seem to be tall and narrower. This feels like somewhere in the middle, which made me have to think of how to utilize the wider space. For the 5 shorties, I plan to use the same system as the C-Stand cart, using those clips to hold the column, and then bungee all of them. For the grip cart, the frame is out of 1" angle steel, which provides each shelf to be lipped. The bottom mainly for sandbags, and maybe some MISC electric (Lunchboxes, cabling, etc) or other misc for smaller shoots which will have to double to hold some gaff stuff or even heads. I will probably drop a wood base or some metal for each shelf. I'm trying to keep the overall height under 50". What do you like about it? What would you change? Dimensionally, could it find a home in a truck? (Again, thinking of common ratios for film carts). If there are any experienced welders, do you feel the 1" angle is strong enough? I'm trying to see if I need to put 1" square tubing under the angle, for the bottom base. Grip_V2.pdf

Quasar sells the QBlocks for $3 each https://www.quasarscience.com/products/q-block?variant=3620365123 You can do something similar but with their blocks. Here's mine: Also have another 12 that I retrofitted a 4bank 4' kino with. (Was able to squeeze 6 in there).

Not really my area of expertise. Anyone have any good resources for a very portable and compact mobile DIT station? I'm curious also if anyone has developed a a system to fit into a rolling pelican.. Of course, this mainly applies to lower budget smaller shoots. Thanks!

Hello, Seems like a simple question. I want to mount some junior fixtures on top of the grid (Not suspend them). I don't see this done often. My thought goes straight to a a regular grid clamp (https://modernstudio.com/collections/best-selling-products/products/grid-clamp-with-jr-receiver) Any thoughts? I feel awkward doing this, knowing that it would be top heavy (Instead of bottom heavy straight suspending) and could potentially be clamped at a slightly off angle than 90degrees. Thoughts?

It's hard to give feedback without seeing a live prototype in action, or without me asking more questions. You offer a solution, but tell me the problem it is solving. Where do I attach the light? Is the large hooky thing used to tighten the clamp? As Chris said, needs a stud to attach things to. I wonder if the clamping surfaces are too small. What would be its advantage over a cartellini? Cartellini provides more surface area for secure grip. Joe