Ken Minehan

Hi guys, just a quick question. I was watching the behind the scenes of BBC's Human Planet series. There was one episode about a tribe of people in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. If you see the link below, i was interested in the shot at 1 minute 59 seconds. The camera tracks back from the tree house to an extreme wide angle. In the behind the scenes the DOP describes setting up for this shot, but when the camera is at it's widest, i don't see any of the cables in shot.. How do you rig it in such a way so that when you track back all the way you don't see the cables in shot? do they touch it out in post? Also another side question. Their main cam was the Panasonic Varicam. Any idea which model they were using? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wGNr3bb5xw&playnext=1&list=PLE4BF69F24F311D9B Thanks Ken Minehan

Yep, thanks David. I eventually worked it out. I asked one of the distributors (who happens to be a Panasonic HD Guru) and he told me to: Step1 : copy the “private” folder into the SD card Step 2: insert the SD card into the camera Step 3: go to menu – File –CAC card read – select the correct no. of file – read Step 4: go to maintenance – CAC Adj – yuo can confirm the lens model no is there. Ken

Hello, i want to find out about the shelf life of E series P2 cards. We have 5 x 64gb E series P2 cards. We have had them for almost 2 years. When will i know when the shelf life of the card is up. I don't want it to suddenly not record during a shoot. Is there any way of knowing how long i have? So i can prepare for it. thanks Ken

My mistake. The message that comes up is "lens Initialize is not completed". thanks Ken Minehan

Hi guys. When i turn on our HPX3700 varicam there is a message on the screen that says Lens File Not Initialized. Any idea what this means? Thank You Ken Minehan

Hi Guys, I am having trouble installing a CAC file in to the HPX3700 varicam. The lens is the canon HJ14ex4.3. I have downloaded the appropriate file from the Panasonic site, transferred the file to an SD card, placed the SD card in to the HPX3700, gone to "CAC file card read", then clicked on title read, but nothing seems to come up. Am i doing something wrong? If anybody has had success in installing the CAC file to a varicam, i would love to hear from you. Thank you. Ken Minehan

Great, thanks for the info. Another thing i forgot to mention... I have a very simple shoot coming up where i have to shoot a testimonial. The client has asked us to shoot in HD, at a very low cost. This is why i thought of the Sony EX3 (great pictures, HD, Cheap). Do you think this is a good idea? regards Ken Minehan

Hi Guys, this may sound like a stupid question, but here goes. Is the Sony EX3 full HD? I have shot with it and i like the picture that it produces. I have read the spec sheet and it does say that it shoots 1920x1080 in HQ mode. Here in Singapore, people are often confuse the distinction between HDV and HD, and the EX3 is priced in the high end HDV range. Also I think i feel a bit skeptical because compared to P2, you can record more data on the card. Is this because it is more compressed? I am also asking because the company that i am currently working for is starting to produce documentaries, where the networks require HD content. Is this camera good enough for HD networks. It would be much appreciated if anyone can clarify this for me. thank you Ken Minehan

that's right, my mistake, it is 23.98. It seems like that cameras that can shoot at this frame rate are the bigger HD cameras. My client has told me that they don't have much of a budget, are their smaller (Cheaper) HD cameras that can record at this frame rate? I apologize if the above question sounds very amateurish. regards Ken Minehan

I have a client who has asked us to shoot a video message in full HD, at 23.94fps. Apart from the Sony HD cams and Panasonic Varicams, what are the other cameras that can shoot Full HD at 23.94fps. I am in PAL country, so all the cameras that i have access to are PAL sets. Thank you Ken Minehan

Wow, that's such a good idea. thanks for the tip. ken

I totally agree, it's an amazing video. It too quite a while to load but it was worth the wait. Excellent animation, edit, and sound design. Ken Minehan

Thank you guys very much. all your comments have been very helpful. My shoot is not until next month so i still have time to do more research/tests. In the mean time if you have more comments or ideas, please let me know. Cheers guys. Ken Minehan

Hi Guys, I am shooting a low budget short film about a boy going through his basic military training. There is a day scene that requires the main character to be running in the jungle while it is raining. I have never done a shoot using a rain machine before so i have some concerns. I will be using the Panasonic hpx3700, 25fps, 90deg shutter. In one of the shots, i was hoping to run with the actor (handheld) through the rain to capture him running in a mid shot. I was hoping to cover this from in front of him and from behind him. what' s the best way to water proof the camera? How do i keep water droplets from hitting the lens? Any advice on running backwards with a camera? Is there an a more effective way to get these shots? Looking forward to hearing from anyone with tips and advice. regards Ken Minehan

Thanks Phil for your explanation. The article you attached is exactly what i was looking for. For me to convert 24frames to 25 frames so that i can broadcast in a PAL country, will i need to go through telecine? Or is pulldown something i can do in FCP? thanks Ken

Hello guys. Can someone please explain to me the meaning of pulldown. What does 2:3 or 3:2 mean. Is this something that can only be done in telecine? I'm in a PAL country, and a client asked for true HD (this i understand), with 24p pulldown (this is the part i dont get) thanks Ken Minehan

hello guys, What is the best way to go about doing photography timelapses. I want to shoot in the highest resolution that the camera will allow me too. Do you need a hard drive to store the pictures instead of a CF card? How do you know at what intervals you need to shoot at? I would assume the intervals would be different when shooting clouds or traffic. Anyone with experience on this, would love to hear from you. cheers ken minehan

ok, thanks guys. Most of the shower shots are going to be quite tight so i should be able to shoot long lens and shoot from out side of the bathroom. This should allow me to avoid the misty lens. I haven't seen the bathroom yet, but hopefully the design of the bathroom will allow me to do that. is there steam machine? That can create thick plooms of steam? I'm not sure there is such a thing. ken

hello guys. I have a commercial coming up soon for a shower heater. The production company asked me how to achieve alot of steam in the shower. I realise this may not be appropriate for this forum, but i thought maybe there were guys on the forum who have experience with such a thing. The concept is quite simple. The only thing i am having difficulty with is how to create steam. the idea that i have is: Cool the bathroom down with a portable aircon, then turn the shower on Hot before the talent gets in then adjust the heat to talents liking, My only problem with this is the fogging up of the lens, how do i avoid fogging of the lens but still have the steam of a hot shower? regards ken

Yep, i totally agree with you Jonathon. On set there are 1001 variables to take in to consideration. As with the equation i stated earlier it is a rough guide for someone like me with limited experience to be able to work out if the light you hire will be strong enough or not. Once you have enough experience and you know that a 5k 30ft away will give you a certain amount of light. Then of course you have no worries. As for me I trying to work out 5k through a silk at a certain distance will be enough for my key. For this situation i felt, been able to work out was very helpful. especially when the shoot budget is quite tight and i dont have the luxury of renting things i wont use. regards Ken Minehan

Hi ramis, i dont know if this will help you. I think it is difficult to work out the lux or footcandles of bounced light but i did read on this forum this equation: 100asa@ f2.8= 100 footcandles. and 1footcandle = 10.764 Lux so i think as long as you have these 2 equations you can work out the intensities of light based on the photometrics provided by arri for example. I have a shoot coming up tomorrow and i wanted to work out if my 5k fresnel was going to be enough. so i used this calculation. I know that i'm working on 250asa, and that the 5k flood about 5 metres away was going to give me 3560 lux. So with 1 footcandle =10.764 Lux, i can work out that i will have 330.73 footcandles. therefore when 100asa@ f2.8=100 footcandles. i can work out that the 5k flood at 5 metres away is going to be, 250asa @f5.6 1/3 =330.73 footcandles I'm gonna put a silk in front of that which will take out 2 stops max, so my key light will be f2.8 1/3. Theoretically that should be right. ken minehan

and i forgot to add, with a silk in front of the light that takes 2 stops off, i should be getting some where around f4? How does that sound. havei got my calculations right? regards ken minehan

ok, thanks guys. I have another question. I always struggled with this. I read the photometrics of the arri 5k fresnel and it says that at 10metres we will get 3775 Lux. So then what will be my f stop if i'm shooting on 250asa? I have read on this forum before that: 100ASA @ f2.8 = 100fc and knowing that 1fc = 10.764 lux. therefore 3775 lux =350.7 fc would i be right in saying that i will get just over f8 regards ken minehan

How many stops does a full silk take out? thanks ken minehan

ok, thanks for the reply. The reason i posted the question was because after the shoot i felt quite demoralized. I felt that there must have been something i could do to match it better. But thanks for you reply ken