David E. McMurray

Verne wrote "The Professional Cameraman's Handbook", and several others. He taught at AFI and Cal State Long Beach. He was a mentor for me and here is a story about Verne. When all the students were at the first class of the semester, he would try to scare them off. He would tell us there were three text books and to read the first 100 pages of the driest one by the next class. It worked! We were always left with just the serious students that wanted to learn, instead of the students that wanted an easy A or B. The classes that come to mind are Lighting and Special Effects. If you want to learn cinematography fast, find a very good D.P. that has great lighting. Then work for free. There is no way to learn faster.

I guess I'm an old fashioned control freek. I would use 3200K bulbs and augment with tungsten lights as necessary. Worse case for cost, shoot with normal 2800K bulbs and augment with 3200K lights. I personally feel people do notice a lack of color balance, just because they can not articulate it, does not mean they don't feel it. And don't let the director tell you how to light unless he is a better D.P. than you, or you are getting paid. Because some times... they are a better D.P.! Thanks,

I don't know of any specifically for lighting. I would not recommend it frankly, unless maybe you are doing stage "concert" lighting. I would suggest letting your preferrence for what you see in the frame guide what you are doing. Don't get "stuck" on the hardware, think about what you would like to see and work toward that goal when you are on set. Just my two cents. Thanks,

Hi, I would recommend shooting several shows and then use what you feel is best from you shoots. This is much too short and is only one shot. Thank you,

The reason for thinking in foot candles is for choosing which light to work with on a shoot. One lights maximum is 250 f.c. while another lights may be 320 f.c. How far is the throw of the light from the source measured in foot candles? If I use this light AND I know how many foot candles I need for my exposure, I can decide what kind of light to use. If 64 f.c. is my exposure, and this light will give me 64 f.c. at 30 feet with full flood. Then I know I can or can not use it in my shot. I can also look at a specification sheet to tell me how wide the beam is at 30 feet. Knowing the foot candle information about a light tells me how I can use it. Foot Candles are a constant measurement with a light, T stops are a variable depending upon film speed and shutter speed. Once you start shooting it is a matter of preference. I prefer to shoot at the same T stop and light accordingly T2 in 16mm and T2.8 35mm. I feel the same aperture helps to provide for a more consistent look and uses the best part of the lens.

Your matte box needs a lot of filter holders. I think this is a tough order. Just have your hard ND12 & ND9 with pola. Black sky? Shooting against white snow could save you, but I don't know how you are going to see your talent. All your shots would have to be locked down if they have sky. Shoot a test before hand or die in the screening room!

Do research, this is how it use to be. USC & UCLA - Undergrad, 1 film Cal State Long Beach - As many as you can finish. As long as you finish them. This was several years ago. With this very important thing to remember. After four years at USC, if your professor knows and likes you, you can get a scholarship for graduate school. You can not do that if you go to Cal State. I suspect the industry contacts are at USC. They always have been for lots of fields, not just film. But if you want to shoot a lot in school, you can go to another school. Columbia in Hollywood shoots a lot. Volunteer at AFI for the student shoots just to see if you like it.

The video is desaturated and shot with florescence so HMI is closer than Tungsten. HMI will have missing wave lengths of light like the florescence, but not nearly as messed up. But other than any post tweaking, the shiny green floor under the florescence is what really gave it the eerie green look.

I've shot 8,16 & 35. I've looked at HDV format camera's as I shot film 20 years ago. For us both, I'm sure the issue is cost. Camera is just the start and not even the middle not to mention the end of cost. 1. What is your end distribution point? Mainstream PBS does not take HDV (too much compression) 2. What is your budget? 20 years ago 10 min. of raw 16mm negative was $100 dollars without processing. And that does not include transfer. And what about sound? Cheapest with Film, shoot Super 8 with a sound person, you will still need to transfer to digital, transfer sessions were $200 an hour 20 years ago. Cheapest with Video, depends on final distribution. I would like to shoot something for PBS. They want HDPRO format. Those cameras start at 6,000. Good luck!

By the Numbers: Eventually you will not do it by the numbers. To start, close your eyes and imagine what you want your scene to look like as if budget was not an issue. As you gain experience you will find that you can get a lot closer to what you wanted than you originally thought possible. Do not limit yourself in the starting imagination process. 1st-Light scene (set, area) aesthetically Light your master "wide shot", then shoot mediums and close-ups, Then light the Reverse Master Angle and repeat the process. That's the mechanical answer. Aesthetically.... You have to go with what you like, that's why you start with the imagination process where you pre-visualize what you want to see. Most of us have Cinematography styles we try to emulate when we first start that inspire us. If you have the equipment, go for it. If not, pool your light with snooted light bulbs and use work lights to throw dramatic wide splashes of light when proper. Create depth in your image. Nobody seems to do that anymore, its a lost art, it died with B&W. I would suggest trying to emulate old black and white films, lit so well as to create a 3D effect. I guess my bias is coming out now. 2nd-Select lens (Basically wide, medium or tele) based on desired look of shot. Do not put anything is the frame that does not belong in the frame. I don't care if you use wide, medium or tele. That one you need to use your gut, your going to anyway. But don't be sloppy with your framing! If it doesn't help the story, it shouldn't be in the frame, shoot tight. 3rd-Position camera at angle for desired look of shot. This question is way too wide open. This is an, ask 50 people get 50 answers kind of question. 4th-Take meter reading at point of actor (Or from film plane?) Again, my personal bias on how to meter. Meter from where you want your exposure to be over the range of the entire image. Usually I walk around in the scene with my meter to see what the light levels are doing. Meter with a flat disk, not a globe, but if you do, point it directly at the camera AND shade it from any light that will not also hit your actors eyes. It is critical that we see your actors eyes, unless you are intentionally hiding them for effect. 5th-Measure distance from film plane to: (Actor? To point between film plane and actor? From film plane to point behind actor? Can I just move the camera forward or backward until I see the focus I want through the view finder? Focus is from the film plane to the actors eyes. 6th-Set DOF Depth of Field will be decided for you by how much light you have available when you set your exposure. Ideally shoot 1 stop down from wide open for the cleanest image from the lens. So if your lens opens to T 2.0, shoot at T 2.8. 7th-Do I ?Fine? tune the position of the light, actor and camera till I have the appropriate light required for proper exposure? Answer One. Yes. Answer Two. You do it all at the same time. 8th-Shoot. Another thing in the list of many that I am confused about is the F stop/aperture charts shown on film stock data sheets for exposure. If (For example) it states 2.8-64 FC does that mean if using a 2.8 lens you need 64 foot candles or does that mean if 64 FC of light is what is present aesthetically (Or circumstantially) , then adjust ANY lens to 2.8? If the subject is lit with 64 foot candles... Aperture = 2.8 Shutter = 180 degrees (usually) Tachometer = 24 frames per second Yes, any lens at 2.8. Pretty cool huh?

In my experience I have worked as an AC for a Still Photographer who was shooting film with a film DP/Director. They were co-Director/DP. The photographer ended up working with talent, a very little lighting and a little make up. The film DP/Director did the lighting. And they did lot of stuff together. Music Videos, industrials, commercials for about three years I think. But its too much to DP/Direct a narrative film. You can write, then direct, then edit. Forget DP. When I say forget DP, I mean lighting. You can hold a camera if you want to... but you should be focusing on the acting. When was working as a DP, the only thing I wanted to hold was a light meter.

Hi Jonathan, How and what to use is always a little tricky. I will give you direct answers "critique" to your reel. On exteriors. I would remove the day exteriors, except the the backlit day at the cemetary. I did like some of the night stuff that you did. But you put a lot of day exterior stuff on the front of the reel that does not show off your lighting. Someone looking for a DP will watch the first 15 to 30 seconds of the tape and stop it. So you must put your very best at the front to grab them. Take the work you have done on a project and just use your favorite shots. Forget story. Put them back to back and add music. Think about the stuff that shows off your lighting and your composition. Think about quality, not quantity. Enjoy the process! Dave McMurray

1. I met one guy on a TV show in 89'. He graduated from film school in the midwest. Came to Hollywood, knocked on 74 doors before he got his first job a crane grip. With in 18 month was grip/electric making $900 a week. 2. Director/DP. That's all he did. Video or Film. Long days some times making only $10 an hour for all the hours he worked per day. He still has made the most beautiful images of anyone I have worked with to this day. 3. Producer/Cameraman. Kind of a brags a lot. But its also advertising for his work. It gets him more work. I don't care for the quality so much. But he is a busy son of a gun. 4. Being a hyphenated person in this business isn't a bad thing as this business can be fickle. "Garry Marshal" 5. My personal opinion. Shoot as a DP only, for free if necessary, but only DP. If you do anything else, you do it because the DP you work for is GREAT! I worked for free on several AFI shoots in LA. Work for the foreign students, they were the good ones, "sorry - personal bias" it was the late 80's. Things might have changed. You need to DP because you want people to see you as a DP. Not as anything else. Also remember, where ever you start working, that is where you will stay. It is difficult to move, not impossible, but difficult. East coast or West coast. Just my opinion. Good Luck! Dave McMurray

Hi Wes, Sounds like you don't know what part of film you want to do right now, or what parts, thats cool. I suggest you shoot lots of stuff, anything. Documentry, short subject, Public Service Anouncments. What ever grabs you. Just do it and see where it leads you. Get a camera, shoot, edit, put in music. You will get a feel of where you want to go and if it is for you. I hate to say this... but remeber that it is a business. Unless you are independantly wealthy. Good Luck! Dave McMurray

You have nothing to lose to take it apart. Keep the screws in a safe place. Clean it and put it back together. Same thing you do with the expensive cameras in the field. Dave McMurray

In the "olden days" you never let the writer on the set. Followed closely by the editor. As a learning experience... I think he/she is right. Great stuff for a DP/Camera Op to think about! Maybe the Director too. Dave McMurray

I have always used and old fashioned analog light meter. A red needle over numbers is much more intuative than digital numbers running up and down like a gas pump. I use the white flat disk to measure the light falling on the different objects in the scene. I never use the globe. I want to know what the light is coming from a specific direction and adjust it accordingly. But I must always take the time to walk around my objects in the scene so I know what is going on. It is not a quick way to do things. Use your hand and body to block light from particular lights you are not interested in metering. For eye sockets or other recessed areas. Don't get focused on the gadget. Think in broad terms. The camera pushes film. The most important part is the lens. In Film. Yours, Dave P.S. The metering technique is Alan Daviau's A.S.C.