Joe Lotuaco

Hi James, Can you give any more details about this rig? How is it rigged to the vehicle? How much weight can it support? How does it deal with deflection since it's just a single arm extended out from the car? Can the camera be rigged at various distances from the car or is it a fixed distance?

According to the DVD commentary, David Fincher explains that it was done on set with the camera operator (Conrad Hall, Jr) shaking that Panahead back and forth as the camera tracked in using whatever looseness was in the gears to get the vibration. The footage was then steadied in post so that Brad's nose stayed in the middle of the frame the whole time and then adding the film perf graphic.

Yeah, now that I look at it more, it does look like it could be a still photograph that they extracted the characters out of. But check out the opening and closing shot of this promo for another TNT show. There's a definite perspective change. The last shot where it tracks around the actors does look like it's the typical bullet time shot with a bunch of still cameras rigged in a sequence. But is there another way to achieve this that doesn't involve setting up a bunch of cameras? TNT Commercial

I've been seeing the new promos for all the new shows on TNT and they all have this effect that is similar to Bullet time (ie Matrix). I have also seen a similar effect done where the action will occur normally, then freeze while the actor/objects are suspended in midair while the camera will push in and around actors and then the action resumes without any perceived cuts. One example I can think of was in the first season of Heroes where the character Hero would freeze time and he would move around actors and objects suspended in mid air and then he would restart time during the shot. I know how the effect is done with a large number of digital still cameras, but was wondering if there was another way that the effect is achieved. At about 0:24

You could also get some luma beams and secure your dolly track to them. Although it becomes a heavy SOB, it's quicker to move around in the sand since you're only picking up one solid unit rather than a bunch of pieces of track, wedges, sheets of ply, etc. It's also great because you just have to level the 4 corners with some apple boxes and throw a couple more in the middle for support. I've setup 30ft runs in the sand with only 6 points of support and it worked out perfectly. For one setup we even had our A and B dollies on the same 30ft run of track.

I have heard a thing or two about the crew on that show...It wouldn't surprise me if that stuff was left behind by accident.

Do you happen to know which production it was? It's not uncommon to leave electric distro out after main unit wraps. Usually the electric rigging crew isn't too far behind to clean it up. We never usually leave grip gear out, except maybe stealthed frames. If it's a walkaway, we'll consolidate everything to one area, tarp it, and tie everything down. But we don't do that unless we get confirmation from production that there will be security. Granted it's usually the rent-a-cop type of security. For whatever reason, the electric crews typically rely on their rigging crews to come in and pick up after them, though they are usually more spread out with their gear, especially on exterior sets. But I've only heard of maybe a couple isolated incidents where stuff got stolen. However, on a show I'm working on, we had a condor with 3 LRX heads parked outside of a bar, when we returned to set the next day, the arm had crashed to the ground and the heads were damaaged. We're not sure if the hydraulics on the arm went out or if some drunk came stumbling out of the bar and thought it'd be fun to play with the condor. It's maybe the third incident I've heard of where something was damaged after being left out after wrap.

I have listed the camera on ebay with a starting bid much lower than my original asking. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170308386893

I am selling my Krasnogorsk-3 16mm camera package and I have a Canon 514XL-S 8mm also available. The K-3 is a bayonet mount and is standard 16mm. It was also overhauled by Du-All Camera in NYC. I've run only a few rolls of film through this camera for a couple projects without any problems. Everything is in great condition and the lenses were collimated by Du-All when I had the camera overhauled. Included are: K-3 body with bayonet mount Meteor 5-1 zoom w/ lens shade 12.5mm 2.2 wide angle prime Pistol grip w/ wrist strap Shoulder brace Cable shutter release Filter set for zoom (ND3, 2x Diopter, 3 yellow filters) Carry case I'm asking $400 for the package o.b.o. but if I can get my asking, I'll include the Canon and a roll of 8mm 7218. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Thanks! Here are a couple pics, the rest of the pictures of the set can be found here: http://s629.photobucket.com/albums/uu19/jlotuaco/

I was watching tonight's 24: Redemption, and I admire Mr. Charters' use of grad filters on some handheld shots as you don't really notice the gad moving. Or is this something that is done in post. He used a good amount of filtration to enhance the warm tones in the African scenes. It definitely feels different to the warm look he did for a lot of the exterior LA scenes in previous seasons. Also, during one of the actions scenes, (not to spoil anything), Jack and the group of people he is with run into the woods to escape bad guys and for a split second I thought they ran into a trap, as they ran right into a couple dark figures carrying some mean looking equipment....then I recognied the Panavision mag.....what a relief, that it was only the camera department and Jack is still safe. haha... I attached a screen grab of it.

Sign me up!

Nothing like running 200ft deep into the woods to the genny to strike a bank of lights and then running back to camera and take focus marks :P Good stuff man.

In one of the vdeios he mentions that if you take the sticker off a metal tape measure, it can be used for something. But he doesn't mention exactly what. Does anyone know what trick he's refering to?

Strike Force has what you're looking for I think. Their website is http://www.strikeforcegenerators.com/

I couldn't find any other mention so far about this, but if it has been discussed already, I apologize. I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie last night, and they played the trailer for the film in front of it and honestly, it was the best part of the night. The film looks absolutely amazing. The textures and the contrast of the image were what stood out for me at first, but the story itself looks extremely interesting. I was very excited to see Claudio's work and it was stunning. I can't wait to see this one, it's right up there with The Dark Knight on my "Must See" list.

Sounds like this has been a pretty difficult shoot. Are you finding this to be one of the more difficult one's you've shot in terms of logistically accomplishing the shots that are planned? Do you think this is down, to a relatively lesser degree, not being fully prepared/organized compared to other productions you've done at this budget? Also, I've always wondered when you come into situations where "Plan A" goes out the window and you have to think on your feet to come up with a solution and have to do thinks like rig 12x20s or a bunch of jokers, how do you prepare for these things in prep? When you and your gaffer sit down to determine your grip/electric package, were things like the 12x20s and jokers originally part of your package? I know most 5-ton+ packages don't usually carry these things, at least not in these numbers. Or are things like these part of a plan for another setup and it was a case of using what you just happen to have to make things work? With having to go back to pick up shots with entirely different lighting/weather, are you concerned about the shots matching or is this something you think you'll be able to work with in the DI? I also might have missed it in an earlier post, but are you rating the '19 stock at 320 ASA all the time or just in specific situations? With a stock that apparently has greater latitude that '18, what would be the reasons for rating it at 320 ASA for the whole shoot (if that is what you're doing) instead of just situations that will require it? Thanks for taking the time to keep everyone updated on your work!

Maybe try a two bank kino with one 32 and one 55 lamp. Then as long as you have a ballast with individual select swithes you can have someone flick the lamps on and off in a desireable pattern.

(By the way, the Fisher 23 Jib they had setup made it onto our truck ;) )

What a great show, I attended both days, met tons of good people and got to play with so many cool toys. I found it interesting that it seemed more of a "Phantom" show than a RED show as both TCS and Abel had a Phantom setup. I was really glad to see TCS bringing out some of their film cameras since the digital medium seemed to dominate in the camera department and honestly even though they had a RED camera setup next to an Arricam, I was personally drooling over the Arricam and 416 more, especially the C-Motion system with the new laser range finder. I could have played with that thing for hours. The seminars were pretty good, I attended both the ASC panel discussion on Monday and Jon Fauer's workshop the second day. The ASC panel discussion was amazing to have all those guys up there all with so much history and experience between them. I absolutely loved them debating the "means" but always coming to an absolute agreement about "the end". I forgot who said it, but they all seemed to agree that they more or less consider video/digital to be just another film stock and that it doesn't matter how you light something or what you're recording the image on, it just has to fit the individual story you're shooting. Tas Michos was great and Geoffery Erb describing the hour by hour breakdown of how he accomplished the clip they showed made my friend who's an electric cringe when he got to the "we were three hours into meal penalties" part haha. I was a bit disappointed by Jon Fauer's workshop on the second day, but I guess there wasn't much he could do with the limited time and equipment he had. His hands on demonstration was very basic. The best part of his presentation was when he went over to the Eastern Effects booth and Chris Hayes talked to the group about the various lights and gear that were on display (and I'm not just saying that because I work for them :D ). I'm sure of Jon had a proper demonstration setup, there would be more techniques in lighting he could demonstrate. All in all, it was great fun and you can't beat free beer and getting paid to play mini-golf :D

I think the main difference is the socket connection on the bulb. Standard par36 bulbs have two pins like regular par64 bulbs while FAY bulbs have a different type of pin connection.

I'm a little confused as to why moonlight is a hard light. Theoretically the moon is just a big bounce and it's also a very very distance source. When you move a light source further away and bounce it, it becomes soft right? But when I look at moonlight on a clear night with a full moon out, there are obviously hard shadows which I assume are because the distance between what's being lit and what is creating the shadow is relatively close. So is the light quality really hard or is it just perceived to be a hard light because of the relation of objects casting the shadows to the subject being lit? While we're on the topic of moonlight, what are some "recipes" for convincing moonlight? I've heard of people adding some plus green to a mixture of blue.

Loved this movie!! It really brought me back to my younger days. Hell, I even bought the new toys hehe. But I think I loved this one more for the characters than the cinematography. Lots of techniques and themes were used, but they were overused to the point that it distracted away from the story and was probably the best example to Chris Doyle's description of western films as telling its audience "Hey, look at this!!!!!!!" This movie, I think, was just lucky it had some (but not all) good, strong characters, especially Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Though it didn't spend enough time developing the characters of the other Autobots and Decepticons (or anyone of the humans for that matter), the potential to [re]create unique and lovable characters is there. I know I left the theatre wishing I had my own Bumblebee. Did anyone else notice how many magic hour shots there were? I can only recall only one or two regular daytime shots. I also noticed this affected some continuity when shots would show helicopters flying against a setting sun, then cut to them landing at dusk after sunset, then to a shot in a tent where the sun is still out, and then back to the control tower where it was night...all for action that was supposedly happening simultaneously. Obviously some of the shots were beautiful, but there was definitely a level of overkill of its usage. Not only did he have the sun in the background of a lot of shots, the extensive usage of lights in the background blowing out and/or creating lots of anamorphic flares was very very distracting and sort of headache inducing. I also noticed some pretty bad focus shots. The main one is the one in the trailer where Shia and Megan Fox see Bumblebee for the first time and he says the line "it's a super advanced robot, must be Japanese". It just looks so blatantly out of focus, I don't know how not only did it make the final cut of the movie, but the main release trailer. I'm glad Michael bay directed this one, he set the stage for what can be achieved in creating a live action version of the Transformers, but I really hope he doesn't direct the next one (he even publicly admitted he didn't like the Transformers before doing this movie until they told him how much money he'd be getting for it). As fast as he likes cutting, his usage of slow-motion shots really kills the pace of some of the action sequences. Was it really necessary to show John Voight getting off the helicopter in slow motion? If this movie were anything but the Transformers, I really don't think it would have as many people loving it and going back to see it for a second and third time..like me :blink:

Looks like a fun shoot. Makes me excited to get back on set asap. If I may ask, how long is your shoot schedule and how long is the final piece intended to be? I'm just curious to see what a realistic schedule is for a short shot on film.

Here's some details on my video assist on my K-3... http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...c=19269&hl=