freddie bonfanti

hi Jo, yes been here for 6 months only, got 6 more to go. working mainly with Shaun Conway these days. Sydney is a great place, very skilled technicians too!

if you're on your own, without a gaffer or someone who can rig safely, forget overhead rigs, polecats and things you see in fancy cinematography posts. Just be clever and use what's already there, maybe boosting the pracs. if there's a mirror light already, or a fluorescent fitting, or something like that, look into buying a brighter stronger version of it. you're shooting on the 5D anyway. see where you're at exposure wise with your pracs and then start from there Since you're in a limited/hazardous space, try using small easier lights that don't get too hot (kinos, LEDs if you can afford it), and obviously being a bathroom be very safety conscious!

just watched it, Steve. well done, it looks great. hope it'll bring fortune and glory to you soon mate

For what it's worth, for myself I use the term "indie crap" with a degree of endearment but the real core of the problem is expressed in that very definition. In this country we have people shooting on DSLRs and we have very occasional big features and TV stuff, and we have absolutely nothing inbetween. This means that you are either on 75,000 a year, as our previous correspondent boasted, or you are on state low income benefits, and while I've never quite fallen to that level it is not hard to understand why this is a barrier to progress to those who are willing to endure the sort of mistreatment that larger shows require. i give up on this. you don't have a clue, obviously, because you don't really work in film and shouldn't talk as if you do. get informed, Phil, get your facts right. this is an offensive statement to the thousands crew working and making a living in the UK

The upshot of this is that nobody outside China, India or the US should harbour any hope of working on material they'll be able to see on TV because that hope is completely futile. Maybe you know all of the couple of dozen full time working sparks in the UK; good for you, good for them, not much good for the rest of us. i feel for you, Phil. how can you make such an idiotic statement? so utterly wrong. again, im sorry it didnt work out for you and it did for many others i PERSONALLY know, not only sparks. For the record - I don't, not anymore. I've been made acutely aware that working on upscale narrative productions is hell. Anyone who's seeking work on big American shows had better be careful what they wish for. Or even big BBC stuff - we've heard here recently that Lark Rise was miserable. why is it hell? whats your experience? the big jobs are easier because there's plenty of people and gear, it's all big and fancy and you've got to be on your toes all the time. it's a great experience. but so is working on an indie, or a cool promo, or a challenging tv drama. hell is part of the game anyway, things will always go wrong at some point But that's not the point. The point is that all this "it's there if you want it" stuff is nothing more than wishful thinking. There is a point at which wanting it will not get it. There are circumstances in which persistence will not win out. There is the reality that while one may be talented, there are hundreds of others just as talented. well, Phil, it really is out there. it's about building contacts and a network, meeting people, going to the company rentals, film festivals, events. I agree, a lot of it it's luck, being at the right place at the right time. i always found folks give you at least one chance, then it's really up to you. but that's my experience as a lighting technician/gaffer. if then we are talking about CINEMATOGRAPHERS, that's a whole different story. But again, wanting it and being clever about it does half of the job As I've said before, you might as well tell people that if they want to be an astronaut they can have it. We have no space program. We have no film industry. we do, Phil. maybe it's not 100% there yet, and maybe we don't produce our own blockbusters, but British medium/low budget films are being produced, then the tv dramas, the promos, the commercials. there's work out there! Film industry is all that in my book You know that. I know that. I also know I won't get on the next $150million blockbuster at Pinewood on the basis of my now very extensive experience making no-budget indie crap. For the record, folks, working on indie crap is often more fun than working on Harry Potter 17. The indie crap experience is often much closer to the ideal you had when you thought filmmaking looked like fun. i've got a very extensive experience making no budget indie crap. i started off in Scotland working on zero money shorts in Edinburgh and Glasgow and i was in Leavesden last year on Sherlock Holmes 2. I'm starting a huge film in Sydney in august. I have no family in the industry, i built my contacts on my own. Im not alone: ive got a mate who was at film school last year, worked on a few shorts afterwards, got his Part 1 and now is working as a lighting tech on Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. he wants to be a dp. what do you call that? i'd say dedication and perseverance. there's ways to get to the top, mate Every once in a while we have someone who's done well in the UK come by here and try to tell us that everything's wonderful. It doesn't happen very often, because there aren't very many of you. Great, you've had a couple of good years, good for you. Enjoy it while it lasts. 7 years actually, and counting. im loving it, Phil. i get to travel and learn and play and i'm having a ball. i'm not in a rush, i dont worry to much and im always learning. i'm a spark/gaffer, yes, which is probably not much in your book, but i proudly work in the FILM INDUSTRY (the Australian one this year) which is alive and kicking. there's plenty of others that do the same. a lot of clever people that never gave up and persevered and who are making a living of it. BELIEVE!

Phil, you haven't really answered my question. why do YOU think the industry is in such a bad state? what's YOUR experience? forget the numbers, percentages, the rumours and the rest of it and give us the facts. about the steadicam op, people as i said have good and bad years, which is very unfortunate, but it's part of the game. we work in the freelance world and there is no guarantee. i know a TV gaffer who used to be on 75 grand a year in the early naughties and then all of a sudden the phone stopped ringing and has been struggling since. but that's not because there have been less jobs, he simply lost two cameramen along the way. that's the other thing, you cant afford to be sloppy or make mistakes or behave stupidly (i learned the hard way myself) in this game, people wont bother calling you any more. there's very little room for error and misbehaviour i don't know you mate, but the more i read your posts the more i think i understand why you talk the way you do. you don't really believe in yourself, never mind the industry. you said that just above: "huge commercials and american features are inaccessible". BOLLOCKS. they aren't. not if you WANT them. the gear is the same, a 2k Fresnel is exactly the same on a wee short film or on the biggest Pinewood stage. so are clapper boards and make up bags...and if you can use it and believe in yourself the transition isnt too difficult. it might be long and take forever, but it will happen i know many BRITISH techs who started from the small jobs and got their way into the big gigs, mate. its not fantasy. it happens. i know a DOP who went to film school and got to shoot a feature in LA after his graduation (famous story you probably know who it is). But if it didn't happen for you, it doesn't mean you can bitch and moan and be so cynical about it all!

what you mean REAL jobs? a big american blockbuster? in that case no, you're right. if you're looking for film work though then there's lots of tv and commercial work going on in Manchester at the moment and Yorkshire gets busy this time of the year. where abouts are you based?

aw Phil, its people like you i miss most from home. the optimists! what do you mean it's far from all right? what exactly are you talking about? what's your experience? most of the folks back home i know are busy. sparks, ac's, art department, make up, cameramen/women. there's a few big AMERICAN features being filmed, some medium budget BRITISH ones, some indies and the usual shed loads of commercials. then there's the tv dramas, the small indies, the pop promos, the virals, the corporates and the shorts. then there's a few foreign features and dramas currently shooting on our soil employing British crew. all these jobs are paid, obviously some better than others, so people are making a living. and im not talking about london only. im including Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol in the equation. i guess im lucky enough to know a few techs in all these locations. so really, what are we on about? maybe we should define this industry thing. let's stop calling it film industry because we think it sounds fancy, let's call it FILM WORK. well, things are being filmed and plenty of people are making a living of it in Britain, on all levels of it, which is a fact. sometimes it's slow, sometimes busy, very unpredictable and work is never guaranteed. but nobody i know are really complaining so im guessing things are al right maybe SOME people haven't been busy and they're having a bad year, but that's a different story so please tell me, what is so terribly wrong with the UK film work? give us the facts, Phil. enlighten me. maybe im missing something?

that job's problem wasnt mr P. how can a top popular BBC drama like that suffer huge cuts year after year? lower rates, no accommodation, etc etc...it shouldn't happen really. i miss the UK film industry, there's a lot of great and varied work being produced there, on all levels. it'll be alright

or if you got a tradie's key you can switch the breaker off at the base ;-)...where abouts are you based, mate?

mr P is a misunderstood chap, i didn't mind him at all

don't get me started, mate. i was on it for weeks,on and off, two years in a row. the things i have seen and heard! and the sad thing was, the crew were always top notch. they deserved more

I know of one rather well budgeted BBC period drama had sets built in warehouses rather than hire a studio. Every time it rained (3 times a day, 340 days of the year...) they had to stop shooting because the noise of water falling on the unsoundproofed plastic roof was deafening. the one with lots of bonnets and a post office? i spent many days in there, shocking. no heating either!

wow, id make it down just to see what Phil Rhodes is all about in real life... sparks xmas drinks on tomorrow, Phil. come along

brilliant. write that book, Annie

Want to go to the best lighting school? start as an electrician trainee on a film set, mate

looks cool. make sure you get it PAT tested properly before you use it on set...if its old there may be dodgy connections and wiring... also, the fact that there isnt a protection for the bubble is a bit scary, if it pops the glass may shatter all over the place

LED brick lights. may not be the prettiest fixture of the arsenal, but spectacular for car interiors. easy to hide, bright and you can use the cigarette lighter to power them...they also come with their own diffusion and colour correction gels... god, friday night and im still online...sod it, im off to the pub

Xiao, if you're shooting in a domestic house without tiying in, you can only pull (usually) 32a per floor, which is slightly more than 7kw, as every floor should have a 32a ring main. each wall outlet is 13a tho which means the biggest lamp you'll be able to plug in a single socket will be a 2.5k HMI. however, and this is a qualified spark job, you could easily tie in in the house's mains and possibly have 100a at your disposal, depending on appliance, board and spare fuses. again, it really depends on what kind of house youre tying into. tying in 32a or 63a tails in the mains is the most popular thing to do on a low budget gig up north... i love doing exciting stuff like that, however having a gennie is always the best thing to do so if you could afford one, dont think twice and get it!!!! if you're planning on shooting in warehouse you will most likely find a 3 phase 400a breaker box, which means you could theoretically tie in bigger cable tails like .1 or .2 and draw almost 100k. Some warehouse however have their own single ph distribution already available so you may be lucky. tech reccies with your gaffer a MUST good luck

oh i forgot, youre from London...never met nice London sparks either...or grips, focus pullers, loaders...whoops ;-)

you've never met the nice sparks, Phil...the ones who never fell to the dark side...we love our job! we dont grumble all the time, we help out other departments!!! come and join us you grumpy bastard

depending how wide you want to go, the mini flo is a good option for a quick tight shot, being such a small light it wont spread too much and the falloff is quite sharp. if youre doing a close up then with barn doors open and no eggcrate you'll make it, as im guessing being a bus stop at night you wont mind the harsh artificial fluorescent look of the mini flo. also when you get the "car kit" there should be two mini flos rather than one which you can both use in the car cigarette lighter, there should be a mini y-cord included in the case. so if you put the two units together, building a sort of 2 bank mini flo then you may get a little more. its a tough call, if i were you i would come up with an affordable back up plan involving a bigger light just in case good luck F

jesus Phil, why dont you become a spark then? i mean youve got the knowledge and the grumpiness, youd be perfect...want me to put a good word?

LED's by the way - very energy efficient, but they have an even more horrid light than florries. I'm not sure they belong on sets at all... agreed, they are horrible, but the small brick lights ones are brilliant for car interiors and generally tiny and tough locations IMO

i really like the octodome...another thing i always wanted to do is to make up a type of fluorescent fixture like a kino which you can switch from daylight to tungsten without having to change the bloody tubes. its all about the frequency but i reckon its duable. obviously there really aint so much point now that LED lighting kicked in, i think fluoros may disappear once the LED technology will be perfectioned