Michael LaVoie

On the DVD they describe how the kitchen table was built with the foreground legs being longer and the floor sloping downward on the camera side. This is to make it appear larger than Jim.

Most High schools don't offer much in the way of film education. The equipment is too expensive. It's really something to study in college. In the meantime, read these forums and get a subscription to American Cinematographer. It has a lot of ads for good books on the subject of filmmaking. Also, pick up Christine Vachons book- Shoot to Kill.

That's 60 mm of space between the center of each rod. But double check that to be safe.

I think what you're using is the 15mm rods with 60mm of space between them. That size is standard for 16 and the smaller HD & DV cameras. It is a one size fits all from that standpoint. The follow focus gears however are different pitches depending on the lenses and rings you're using. You're in luck in that you haven't bought one yet. Redrock Micro just came out with a mattebox with stackable rotating filters. You can add up to 4 rotating trays. It's a hard matte design similar to Chrosziels but at less than half the price. I own a Chrosziel 450-10 and I love it but I'm constantly needing to tape filters to the front because I only have 2 trays and only one rotates. I knew this would be a problem but no one made more than 2 filter trays for a smaller HVX mattebox. The only 2plus tray alternative when I bought it would have been a swing away version costing up to $6000. Finally Redrock filled this gap. If they're of any quality, I'll sell my chrosziel. On the other hand, if they're anything like Cavisions gear, it will be a complete waste of money. I've returned 2 Cavision matteboxes because they're constructed very poorly. At least, the affordable ones are.

Check out NYPG. Under the search category on the left, click on equipment and then select whatever type of rental house you want.

The "cinema-verite" shooting style worked in The Squid and the Whale much better than in Half Nelson. It's only an opinion but when I think about why I liked it for Squid I think it might have had to do with the fact that there is more interaction between characters in that film and more physical movement. It sounds simple but there may have just been more motivation for the camera to be unsettled and therefore you don't find it as distracting. In half Nelson, I felt that I was being imposed upon by the unmotivated shakey handheld work that was at times, completely unneccesary. There are times when this works and I think Ellen Kuras happens to be a master at making this type of shooting totally unnoticeable to the viewer. In Half Nelson, I was distracted. I mean, Ryan Gosling hardly moves at all. Literally. I think an approach more like Tami Reiker's in High Art would have better served the story.

If you're in the US, the first step is establishing residency in either NY or LA. If you're already in either town you have a leg up. Next would be working at any job you can in order to save up enough money to not have to work for about 3 months. Then take whatever PA jobs you can on low no budget films and try to help out the set technicians. You won't have to work for free for very long before you start getting regular paying work. Avoid PA'ing on Hollywood productions. It's a total waste of time. The set techs want nothing to do with you and you'll be treated with indifference if your lucky. Try and get onto smaller productions where they need help and you can actually learn some skills. If you're good and you have a good attitude, set technicians will get you paying gigs as either a grip, electric or if your in camera as a loader or 2nd 2nd A.C. No matter what department you pick to try and break into, the people you see working have a very hard time finding good people with the right attitude so they'll notice you right away if you have both. I'd say that's 80% of it. The rest is showing up on time and staying focused on what your doing. You'd be amazed at how far you'll go and how quickly. Most of the crew I started with is too expensive for me to work with now. I started DP'ing immediately after school and that takes a lot longer to break in compared to the A.C.'s and grips that I started with who are all now in the union making more than me. It all depends on what you want. If you want to shoot, I'd be careful not to crew too much. Learn what you can from professional grips about how to safely handle C-stands and lights. Learn how to load cameras and magazines and then bail and start shooting. Directing is a totally different thing. But if I were you, I'd learn as much about cinematography as you can before trying to direct.

Backlight is sometimes hotter because of the reflective nature of skin. Keep that in mind. You can often use very little light for a backlight but It's important to know the hair color and style of the subject. Long black hair that's left down requires a lot more backlight than someone with blonde hair that's put up in some kind of bun.

Backlight is sometimes hotter because of the reflective nature of skin. Keep that in mind. You can often use very little light for a backlight but It's important to know the hair color and style of the subject. Long black hair that's left down requires a lot more backlight than someone with blonde hair that's put up in some kind of bun.

Take another look at Three O'Clock High. It's got some incredible camerawork in it.

I ended up handholding a shot with an HVX and the mini-35 adaptor when the police told us at the South street Seaport NYC that we needed a permit or we had to lose the tripod. Needless to say, it was a frigin nightmare. I could barely hold the thing and the monitor on the topmount was the only way I could view it so I had to have someone throw duvatine over me which meant I couldn't see anything but the image. I couldn't shoulder it though. I had to cradle it. They make a breakout viewfinder with a shoulder mount. I didn't rent that cause I wasn't anticipating that situation

I found the company that makes the ignitor. I'm shipping it out to see if they can fix it. If not, it's $500 to replace it. Considering the light was only $300, I think it's worth it.

According to the folks at Sunray, it's a matter of matching up wires. They said it's either a 2 or 3 wire igniter. That and the physical size (whether it fits in the light) determines whether it will work. I'll ask about the ballast compatibility.

I need an igniter for a 575 Sunburst HMI fresnel. Can I throw an Arri or Altman igniter in there?

Try these: http://www.bluemaxlighting.com/42w_power_c...lb_412_prd1.htm Wattage is 42. The CRI is 94. Color temp is 5900K. I made 3 boxes with Choroplast shells and put 6 bulbs in each of them. They seem to each measure up to a Kino Diva light in output. But even with a CRI of 94, I usually add 1/8 minus green and 1/4 CTB to match my HMI's. Still, The fixture I built cost $150 in materials including the bulbs. Cheaper than a Diva light and I actually have more control with my own softbox. Add some mylar or something else inside for a reflector and you'll increase the output substantially.

you have to update the firmware in the camera. It's simple. All you need is an SD card. You download the update from https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/ and open that (vsi4598g folder ), place the (private) folder on the SD card and then load that in the camera and there are further instructions on how to start the update process. After that it's all automatic.

I'd do an adaptation of Catcher in the Rye. But something way more true to the story than Igby Goes Down. That or Franny and Zoey. I'd also like to make House of Stairs into a film.

So, what's the deal with the 8 gig P2 card. I have 2 and I've noticed that they both only hold about 7.16 gigs. They fill up in the camera and when I load them in a Powerbook it says I'm only copying 7.16 in the contents folder. This is after formating the cards too. Can anyone explain this? Is it the same principle as a harddrive where a 150gig drive is actually only 145 or something because of it's own system.

I just wanted to second the assesment of Cavision's Micro Viewfinder. It's awful. Like most of their gear. But it is cheap.

Just discovered that Sunray isn't a company. It's a product line. The company is Leonetti. I should be able to ask them directly.

I was just wondering if anyone has a number for Sunray HMI. Their website is down and I found nothing on Google. I need to find a uv glass filter for a used 1200 par and 575 par. Both sealed beam. Does the bulb itself have that coating on it? Seems stupid that it wouldn't. Is that why there's no glass in front? I doubt the lenses are coated in anything. Does anyone have experience using Rosco UV gels when their is no apparent glass fliter. My only concern with that is that it would be a hassle.

You lose 2 stops but you deduct that from however you're rating the camera. If you're shooting with the HVX for example and you normally rate it at a 400 and you read your key light and get a F5.6, you know that with the adaptor, you'll be setting your lens to 2.8 That's how I normally do it. That or change your meter to whatever ASA gives you that proper deduction.

Every once in a great while you may have a violent lamp failure. it's very rare unless someone changed a bulb with their bare hands and got their fingerprints and oil all over the bulb which then heats up and cooks the lamp leading to a possible explosion. They're generally only prone to explosions when they're at the end of their life and usually they just go out without blowing up. As for safety precautions, with any open face source, if you're using it to light actors, you will want to have a metal scrim in front of the lens. If you're using them as set and background lights which is more of what they're meant for, you can keep them empty though you want to make sure no one is in front of them. I'd use a scrim just in case. It will cut your light amount a bit but it's worth the peace of mind. For talent, you want to use softlights or fresnels.

If I were you I'd put an ad on Mandy.com It's a good resource for crew. But if you include an email or url on this thread you will probably get a few responses just from this.

That was my first thought but I heard from some electricians that a 20 amp circuit won't trip till you put over 25 amps on it. A 2.5 is supposed to draw 23. I know it's cutting it close but I'm just looking for a way to avoid the hassle of a gennie. Why the heck did someone come up with a light like this that's just over the limit? It really sucks.