Mat Fleming

Hello, I have an SRII which I've been using a few years but I have a couple of questions about it now which I thougt I'd ask here: 1) The exposure meter on it has never worked, it never bothered me too much but I'm about to shoot a few things in a situation where it would be handy to have that reference. I've never had an Arri Battery for the camera either and I wondered if the meter operated on a different pin on the power supply or something like that so That I could get it running. Any Idea? 2) one of the gate parts of the pressure pates of one of the mag fell off. the bit with the silver part which sits behind the frame being taken and black all around it. It looks like it was just glued on what kind of glue can I safely use to stick it back on again. 3) oh, and it isn't getting any younger - is there a tech I can use in the UK to have it serviced? Many many Thanks Mat

Hello, Thanks for all your responses and the links to interesting reads. I've been away a few days so I have only read them all just now. I love the elegance of the Geneva movement/Maltese cross but it's true they can be really noisy. thanks again Mat

Hello, I am a projectionist and a filmmaker and i was wondering if anyone can answer a question I've been pondering. Why do projectors have maltese cross intermittent mechanisms while cameras tend to have claws? Is it purely a question of size and weight or is there something else? I'm interested because I've always wondered, but also because I'm looking at constructing a camera for a project I'm doing, possibly out of parts of an old projector mechanism. Does anyone know of any resources out there which might help me? Cheers Mat Fleming.

Thanks everyone. I'll bare all this in mind for the shoot. It's tomorrow (oops, today. Time for bed. I'll post the results. cheers Mat

I am shooting a scene of a group of people on a beach. We want to shoot into the sun and whilst I have done a bit of this before I'd be interested in some opinions about what to try or experiencesw. what tools make different changes. We want flare and quite a blown out effect, but also we want to see the peoples' faces. I was going to try the sun behind someone's head and perhaps a reflector to bounce a little light back onto the faces. Does a lens hood make a difference if the sun's already in the shot? Is a polariser a good idea in this kind of shot? how would you go about taking a reading? - My instinct is reflective off their faces. I'm shooting 7201. I dont have any lights at my disposal. Thanks Mat

Hello, I already search for this on the forum but couldn't find anything. Can anyone recommend a gate brush i can buy in the uk? It will be used on a Aaton LTR 16mm camera. Thanks Mat

I thought making a positive would make no difference: Develop high contrast. Bleach Re-expose Develop again Why would that not give a high contrast positive? Thanks for the D19 tip. I'll have a look out, although my initial searches (in the UK) aren't coming up with it. You think this is better than a lith dev or something from a printer's? cheers Mat

Thanks Karl, I'm shooting a test this weekend, just ordered chemicals to make up a reversal bleach and i think i know a printer down the road who can sort me out with some developer. I'm very excited about this. I'll post a still when i can. Thanks again, Mat

Hi, Does anyone know if it's possible to eliminate grey tones altogether from 7363 intermediate film. I have heard you can use a lith process. Is this the same chemistry screen printers use for lithography? The second part of the question is when shooting how do i expose (i'm shooting in camera) for the threshold between black and white? Does this make any sense? Thanks Mat

Edit - [Hope this isn't hijacking the thread, I thought it might be nice to keep these xprocessing examples together for the next person who looks.] I processed my film. If anyone finds it useful you can see some frames scanned here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8425161@N02/2471222577/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8425161@N02/2471389441/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8425161@N02/2471924659/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8425161@N02/2471924957/ I guess scanning them on a flatbed gives an unrealistically high bit depth but I think you get the idea. I dont know why I got such different results re exposure. I think the blix found it difficult to cope with MP lengths it left the base pretty brown. All in all though, I'm pretty pleased with the results so far, can't wait to see the results moving. cheers Mat

The grain in the samples is really contrasty. How does it look when it's moving? is it totally over the top in that it distracts from what's going on or is it acceptable in your opinion? I know these things are completely subjective though. Thanks

Thanks so much for posting these I was searching all over for stills like this last week before I shot a film on Sunday which I intended Xprocessing. IN the end I exposed normal with the idea That I'll test C41 and retreat to E6 if a clip didn't come out alright. looks like I might need to push process too! Anyway thanks. I have high hopes now. Will post stills when I have some. Mat

I have used 7363 high contrast positive stock (usually used by labs for titles and effects) and Agfa ST8 (usually for optical sound recording). They dont have an asa rating but it's probably something like 4asa. I think any print stock would work, and you just adjust the ND filters accordingly. Once we tried shooting Ektachrome camera film, cross processing it and printing back to the same stock and cross processing again. looked alright if your into a grungy look. Mat

Thank you, This is all really helpful advice. I am borrowing the lights on Monday and shooting on Tuesday or Friday so we'll see. The ideas for shooting are turning a little bit Musical lots of variety in shots. I like the depth inside a tree, fruit in front, branches and person in layers. gotta cattch a train now Mat,

Yeah, I see your point about the realism bit. I suppose I mean that It doesn't have to look like a light from a nearby house or a street light or whatever. I'm more interested in it looking great (whatever that means). by reds and greens I mean the leaves and the cherries. Yes they are already red and green but would using red and green gels give them a hyper-real look? Or just cancel each other out? and I don't want red and green actors. It is an interesting thought about lighting it "how you want" because creating an effect you want on film isn't necessarily intuitive when you're positioning lights. I suppose I need to get more decisive! I like the "tungsteny" idea. Walking round last night I thought street light orange is quite great really. cheers Mat

I want to shoot a scene in a cherry tree at night next week. I know very little about lighting and have arranged to borrow a kit which consists of three blondes and three red-heads. Realism is not the aim in fact it's not totally written yet except for 2 female characters will be talking, climbing and eating fruit. The tree is full of fruit and I just want strong reds and greens and skin tones (and at the right time the twilight blue sky) Any ideas about how to make it extra beautiful would be really gratefully received. I've hardly ever used anything other than available light before (that's part of the reason to make this film). (I'm shooting super16, not sure what stock yet Something from the 'out of date' cupboard) cheers Mat

I use a Steenbeck in a darkroom to print b/w with. We have masked various light leaks in it, as well as the screen and put ND filmters under the triangluar prism (about 4 'stops' worth). In front of the 'gate' there is a cardboard mask which makes the light shine through a narrow slit (about 5mm) and catches some more leak. there is also an improvised cardboard filter holder where we can put ND filters to adjust exposure. Neg runs on one pair of plates, print stock on another and it works like a dream running at normal speed with the normal steenbeck lamp on as long as the tension's alright so that the 2 films hold on properly. Mat.

Or you can use a half-frame camera and shoot 3 seconds of film (72 frames) on a normal 36 exposure film! There are registration issues, and narrative filmmaking, as we know it, is pretty much impossible, but it's still a rush to see it projected. And there are loads of filmstocks to choose from at your local photography store. Mat

I'd love to know how recent b/w film "Les Amants Reguliers" (aka The Regular Lovers) was shot. It is very beautiful, shot by William Lubtchanski it looks effortless but I'm sure it wont have been. It won a cinematography prize I beleive at Venice in 2005. Looks like double X to me but I dont know.

I just finished reaing "painting with Light" the other day and I thought it was great. I have been looking at the world differently ever since. I now know why the shampoo bottles in my bathroom look so beautiful against the tiles at a certain time of day when the shower steams up the mirror!!. I had never bothered to break it down before - and I'm a bit ashamed because I've been making films for years. It has it's funny dated moments but I think it is all the more inspiring for its excentricity - the werd almost metaphysical chapter about light as a musical scale and stuff at the end. and the chapter on how women could be so much more attractive if only they understood where to be at what time of day. Ridiculous - but also brilliantly imaginative. It is very illuminating about the mind of a filmmaker knocking films out and really being business like too. Where he describes how we light women to beautify them and men to emphasise their individulity. He doesn't question the logic of course but it is still the approach people take and I think there's an opportunity there for someone to challenge that in their style. The introduction says Alton was a bit of a rebel and an outsider which makes me like him already. And sure, He gets technical about dated technology. But if you are a student or just generally aren't working somewhere where you have great means then references to "Duarc" lights are about as useful as talk of "HMI"s so it really makes no odds (in my mind anyway). It Just amazing to have my eyes opened to qualities of light. Sorry to ramble on. I could go on but i realise here probably isn't the place. I just finished it and it made a big impact. I'd be interested to hear others thoughts though. Matthew, if you want to borrow it i noticed you live in Newcastle - come to the screening of Touki Bouki on Thursday night at the Star and Shadow cinema and grab it off me - I'll be in the projection booth. (and apologies if we already know each other!!) Mat

Just wanted some thoughts on what different people thought essential in basic 'naturalistic' lighting. I shoot alot of film but lighting is still a mystery to me in many ways becasue I am an amateur and don't have a lot of kit or crew or time on my shoots. I always shoot in available light - maybe a stronger bulb here, a lamp pointed for fill there but basically available light. I wonder which single extra magic secret ingredient different pros out there would always carry to try to achieve a more purposeful look. I hope you don't think it's a daft question. I know every scene is different but I'm interested in general principles and thougts - imagine the scene is naturalistic and there are people in it. cheers mat

Hi I bought some recently, just by contacting agfa direct on 0208 2314301 (i think). It was 197.00 for 4000 feet (minimum order I think. it's really great stuff.

Thanks, If it'll work in the UK it's perfect. I'm determined to get this camera running again. It looked really sad lying a bit dead, and the operator who had left it sitting idle in a box for years looked a bit shame faced. So I've got to cheer him up (and get the camera to use for myself). I managed to call Arri in the UK and they might be able to find some of those rubber screw thingys. thanks again. Mat

I have been offered the loan of an ArriBL that has not been used for a long time. When we went to open the box we found the lugs that support the lens within the Blimp were missing. Where can I find a set of these? I have been searching the web for repair people to no avail. I'm based in the UK. I Suppose the next problem may be the batteries - do they tire if they've not been used? and the charger's been lost. cheers Mat

Thank you The poor man's method sounds like the one for me. You're sure it's the left side of the frame I want and the right that'll be outside the 1.33 frame? There are no zooms planned so that's not a problem. You're suggestion made me think I could put some kind of matte on for framing the shot and then remove it for actual shooting. Thanks again, Mat