Travis Shannon

On 11/20/2022 at 2:24 AM, Petros Goritsas said:

Regarding the Arri alexa mini , I am still trying to figure out what is the main difference of sensor rate and project rate as my clips where saved at the "wrong" fps (25fps) and I shot them at 24fps( sensor rate).

 

Not sure I entirely understand your question but the key difference is that the project rate is the base frame rate (ie you are editing on a 24fps timeline in your nle so you want the project rate to live at 24fps to match) as opposed to your sensor setting which generally matches your project settings but can also be manipulated to shoot off speed ie for slow motion (if you’re shooting on a 24 fps timeline and your sensor is at 48 fps you are now recording 2x slow mo bc you have double the frames) this doesn’t matter if you’re not syncing to audio but as you’ve found your project timebase and the Audio time base need to match for sync hence you set your project rate at the beginning in tandem with sound. I don’t deal with post at all so no idea what the solve is here, best of luck. 

Hey Ramsey,

just got my copy of the blu ray and after watching the behind the scenes featurette it seems principal photography was done for the most part on an Aaton XTR Prod with s16 zeiss super speeds. 

One of my favorites, ASC shows that it was shot on fuji but that’s all the info I could find- I just ordered the blu ray which apparently has 13 minutes of bts so if I can spot it, I’ll post it here. 

Makes sense, I always inch manually but was curious about using the motor to accomplish it- as you say though I can’t really see a reason for it, thanks for the input.

The ACL has no phase function built into the body, for those of us with variable speed motors, when putting on a new mag is it good practice to run it at 2fps (or whatever the lowest option is) for a second or two to let the film catch at lower tension or is it overly cautious? If not, why? 

Did you ever find a 10-30? 

highly doubt you’d break the set but if you have a spare 25mm or a lead on one I’d be happy to purchase, good luck on this sale, these don’t come up often enough- especially with the kowa badging.

Speaking of eyepiece mounts looking for a cinema products orientable finder mount for my acl 1.5 if anyone has any leads, already tried visual products to no avail and AZ is a no go as well. 

Sold

I’ve done two 16mm jobs overseas and when production asked camera crew to fly back with the shot stock we all pretty firmly put our foot down and opted for them to ship it, there were just too many failure points in the chain and we didn’t want to have to carry it on like a briefcase handcuffed to the president. No issues with shipping and while I’m sure both work I just see less apparent problems with shipping vs airport security, also it’s getting dicier and dicier asking for hand checks as airport security seems to be going down in quality rather than up, best of luck in whatever you pick.

For sale is my beaulieu r16 with original ergonomic non powered handle as well as the powered handle/battery grip. Was just serviced by duall in 2019 and battery was also recelled in 2019 and comes with charger, case, donor r16 body and port caps- asking $800usd

also have an angenieux 12.5-75 in great condition for an additional $500 that makes this a great mos setup.

Reach out/message for pictures as image links are always spotty here, thanks much.

On 10/12/2022 at 6:00 AM, Stewart McLain said:

One could argue that since film editing was the only entirely new artistic craft to emerge from the advent of motion picture storytelling (the other elements already belonging to existing photographic methods or theatrical traditions),  editors are actually the only true filmmakers.

Although it's probably more accurate to say that the only true filmmakers are editors.

Are VFX artists not artistic? 

I thought from the post title I was going to hate this but this is actually quite sensible to me.

3 hours ago, Mei Lewis said:

Additionally, they should be learning how best to use the various types of autofocus that are appearing in non-cinema cameras like the A7S3, FS6 and various Canon cameras - this will filter up to the cinema cameras eventually. Using autofocus properly and in combination with manual methods is a real skill, and it can do things that are pretty much impossible with solely manual methods.

This comes up on this blog a decent amount and while it’s not untrue it’s also a bit myopic, the reason those cameras are able to have such advanced AF systems is because the camera is using a dedicated AF lens with motors inside, cinematographers have for years been using mostly pl or pv mount cinema lenses that can not integrate such tech because frankly they would be huge. It’s possible with external motors but it would have to exist within the ecosystem of something like a preston with a light ranger or like smallhd’s rangefinder af integration which is nowhere near as accurate because it can’t detect faces or contrast and would still need to be operated by a first AC making dedicated focus decisions. I agree that the best firsts can and do rely on a bit of both (although only very relatively recently) but it’s important not to minimize how different these systems’ implementations are in the real world. 

On 9/1/2022 at 3:45 AM, Chris Barker said:

 

 

Thanks very much for the responses (and apologies for the delay in response).

4K would be optimal, though I'm guessing 2K will suffice (I'm independent director/producer and don't have distribution or external requirements on deliverables set up before production).

My budget can extend to what the projects need, within reason (the ceiling is probably around $10K).

My gut feeling is to go for the Gemini, though it's difficult to spend so much more on one than a used Arri. I'm guessing the other RED models might have issues with the low light/high speed requirements.

I often operate as a one man unit, so the extra weight of a cheaper Arri could be an issue on some shoots.

In regards to matching RED/Arri footage, is it just a matter of latitude and colour (the former probably being not that noticeable, and the latter easy to match)? Would the overall style/feel of the footage not be noticeably different?

Many thanks

What arris are you looking at that are significantly cheaper than a Red Gemini?

1 hour ago, Jared Christopher said:

Why can’t I find these anywhere? I’m building out my Aaton XTR kit and want to add a few of these but they’re impossible to find! https://www.oldfastglass.com/arri-zeiss-ultra-16

For the same reason that there aren’t a bunch of 416s floating around, these were the most advanced s16 primes Arri ever made and the price tag and quantity produced matches that, most are in rental houses like the one you linked. 

1 hour ago, Edith blazek said:

So I was thinking back to something @David Mullen ASC said on one of my posts awhile ago, about the "the desire to spend a lot of money to own a lot of lighting equipment" and looking back, it brings up something i haven't considered and kinda accepted as a yes uncritically, and thats whether cinematographers should even aspire to own lighting gear. I took it as a yes owing to online spaces beating the drum that cameras aren't important but that lenses and lights are, "Invest in glass and lights" they say, which isn't completely wrong, but just kinda misleading as people say this, but then when pressed on what they mean on lighting, they always mean lighting gear (either in the individual fixtures themselves or in how many fixtures) that is really only good for interviews or really small spaces and not in any filmmaking scenario that takes in larger spaces (as it would defeat the idea of the Ultra portable lighting kit you can have with your personal little camera bag and take with you around the world like all of those travel vloggers), as from the past year I've been seeing lighting setups and the conclusion I've come to is that the amount of light needed is heavily underestimated by alot of amateurs, including myself. I can only see someone hitting ceiling after ceiling with lighting gear and going for more and more in response, which then I ask, why bother? Why not avoid the hassle and just stick to renting what you exactly need? I always answered this to myself by saying that maybe the rental outlet may not have what you exactly need or in locations you may not know what availability you will have access to, hearing about Roger Deakins expansive use of maxi brutes or Sean Bobbit's of six 18ks for a gymnasium really sobered me on this, making me take a step back on whether to really go for an extensive lighting kit to own, even if i was going to rebt it out, let me know your thoughts.

You’ve basically answered your own question but the fact that you need basically a truck to house enough lights necessary for a versatile enough shooting setup means that it’s a far more likely and practical investment for a gaffer rather than a dp and most larger name and commercial DPs I work with own a ton of glass and bring basically no lights or if they do own lights they’re co-owned with a gaffer they often work with and are thusly going out on more jobs than just that particular DPs. Not practical advice for everyone but I really feel you should just rent them, lighting is so important you really don’t want to be constrained to just what you’ve got in the garage. 

5 hours ago, Leon Brehony said:

Watched the first episode of the Rings of Power series - it's alright. I like the design/costume/general aesthetics - but... When will this obsession with wide lens/shallow DOF die?

I find it so off-putting. Bright day exteriors where the back ground becomes nothing but blur and bokeh... two shots with only one character in focus... Close ups where only an eye is in focus... I feel like it's detracting from the storytelling - surely lighting and composition are enough without this massive 'blur radius'.

I'm also not convinced of the argument that it's a way of making digital capture feel less 'sharp and clinical'. For me a good chunk of depth of field is a thousand times more cinematic.

Just ranting and I know that it's a simple flavour of the month thing but it's distracting me from nearly every modern show/film I see (the DOF shrink between season 1 and 2 of Barry was insane and I had to stop watching).

If anyone has any insights into why this is happening and when it will go away I'd appreciate hearing them 

All valid, though I’ve yet to see a worse offender than Army of the Dead. The predilection of less than stellar DPs not only insisting on shooting on ultra fast glass but also insisting on shooting them wide open just for the sake of doing it I think plays into this as well. 

9 hours ago, Perry Paolantonio said:

Stock. I think. My ACL 1.5 has this handgrip. It's more comfortable than you'd think, since you you can adjust the angle. I always wanted a wooden handgrip like the Aaton though. 

Each of those slides holds a wratten filter that goes into the camera body behind the lens. 

Yup. My 1.5 came with the same grip, honestly really like it, more ergonomic than it looks.

2 hours ago, aapo lettinen said:

here are the Framerate Presets in the current version of the firmware. Let me know what you think about these and if there is something very often used which would be good to have a factory made preset (remember that the user1 and user2 presets can be set to ANY fps by the user)

This current version has 17 objects in the FPS menu so it is on the edge of having too many presets to be fast and nice to use. But let me know what you think about these (and if there is something definitely not needed, I can remove or replace it with a more useful preset)

The current menu has:

user fps 1

user fps 2

6.000

12.000

16.000

18.000

22.000    (for action sequences)

23.976

24.000

25.000

29.976

30.000

33.333

44.000  OR 48.000 depending on the maximum motor speed

48.000  OR 50.000 depending on the maximum motor speed

50.000  depending on the max motor speed. OR the maximum speed the motor can handle (if the motor can  do 60fps then this preset is 60fps)

External Input (enables the use of a external frequency generator for additional speeds or for speed ramps)

I could personally forgo one of these for an inching speed 

1 hour ago, Tyler Purcell said:

I mean I don't see a market for this. The center of lenses is always the sharpest. So using 35mm style lenses on 16mm is totally fine. Just look at all the FF coverage lenses being used on 35mm imager cameras? It's a non-issue. 

It’s not about center sharpness, it’s about crop factor, s16 is ~3x so a speed booster would open up wide range of new wide angle lenses to be used with an extra stop of light. Just because you don’t see the market doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

3 hours ago, imran qureshi said:

Hello all,

I am focus pulling in a one take music live session. We can do multiple takes.

We are going to be shooting wide open on a 25mm DZO vespid prime lens at t2.2 (will close down accordingly if we end up needing a deeper stop for focus). Sensor is 35mm (canon c300mk3).

The subject is stationary but the camera starts off wide and tracks forward to a close up. The move will be entirely handheld. I will be using a remote follow focus (nucleus m).

I know that for a Dolly move, many focus pullers use the bolt in the middle of one of the front wheels as a reference point to place incremental marks on the floor either based off the lens markings or just 1ft incremental marks. 
 

In my case, as it is handheld on an easyrig…should I be using the operators feet as a reference to place floor marks?

I was originally thinking I could ask the operator to put a bit of camera tape on both shoes in line with the floor marks so that I could use that as a reference? (Ie, when the tape on either foot aligns with my floor mark, I know to hit my mark).

or should I just simply try to eye the floor marks so that its in line with the sensor plane throughout the move? 
 

any ideas greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

Just wanted to chime in to say that you’ll make no friends by asking operators to tape their shoes for you everytime you have a handheld push in- As Gregory said, keep it simple and feel it out.

On 5/30/2022 at 11:08 PM, Max S. Moore said:

I am interested in finding out who the DP was for certain music videos. But after some research, I am not having too much luck. IMDB will provide some credits for music videos, but for some reason the DPs are not mentioned.

Can you guys thing of a way to get the credits for a specific music video, most notably, who the DP was?

 

thank you

Have you tried IMVDB? It’s only for music videos so generally has the most crewing info- other than that start checking YouTube/vimeo annotations. 

7 hours ago, Dennis Toeppen said:

You make a deal, you keep your deal. If you buy something that is not refundable and change your mind, it's your problem, not the seller's. I am not running a Nordstrom store. I am an individual seller. Comply with the terms of my contract or get sued.

It is not incumbent upon me to pay round-trip shipping for every flake that makes impetuous decisions and experiences buyer's remorse.

You don’t have a contract, eBay has a contract. You are selling on their platform, that’s why you are subject to their rules, if you have a bunch of gear sitting around you’d like to move and don’t want to deal with this make your own website and find a way to make transactions with private parties (really not that difficult these days) kind of strange how much effort is going into this thread. 

On 5/23/2022 at 1:01 AM, Andries Molenaar said:

Here and there they may be a professional filmer with plenty budget but this is going nowhere.

Likely they are not going to sell more than from the earlier Logmar which only sold out the beta-serie and only after a long time.

BTW NATO is into setting standards for grip equipment?

 

To your last point- NATO rail was used on weapons as a standardized rail system long before it was repurposed for mounting camera accessories and camera mounting isn’t grip. So no.