Carlos M. Icaza

David Sloan http://www.rgbcolorlab.com/ sells motion picture rolls for film cameras. Also, there is a special processing that needs to be done. My undesrtanding is that the 5245 is what you would need since it is the 35mm of the 16mm 7245. (Am not a film guy just yet). Hope this helps. C.

Folks, here are some of the picts from the super short I shot two weeks ago. keep in mind, my gaffer built the car mount and build the cheese plate. http://www.ansca.net/rig/index.htm Enjoy, C.-

Hey, I just got mine today. About 15 minutes ago. I'll be watching it within the hour. Dave, how can I get you to sign my box :lol: Carlos.-

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/...8.ap/index.html (oops, my bad, meant to post this on the dvd section of the forum). c.

Aside from Davi's suggestion, you might also want to consider shooting in early morning or in the afternoon. The midday sun cast's horrible shadows, blow outs and the highlights are just horrible. I would do most of the shoots in the afternoon, carry lots of daylight balanced practicals. C.-

If you are going to shoot film and none of the places mentioned by Cris provides you with the equipment you need, try CineVideoTech in Miami which is a lot closer than KalihFohnia. http://www.cinevideotech.com/ Las Islas de Ometepe in Lago Nicaragua are excellent islands as well. And don't forget Rio San Juan, the only river in the world where salt water sharks ingress into fresh water lake. Carlos.-

I have lit car interiors with small kino's and some flo's from Home Depot that I picked up for about $12.00. if it is a driving scene, you will need to get an inverter so that the kino's plug into. The Home Depot versions were batterie powered. Shot on Xl-1 not film. The Kino's invariably gives you more power and more light fill. But the flo's from HomeDepot does serve is purpuse as well with little less light output. C.-

Hi Greg, I too have been into photography for quite a while and the questions you pose are of interest to me as well, but would like to ask you the following, How would you go about lighting the aformentioned scene if you had the tools to do so? C.

Oh, and a very small detail to keep in mind, one that gets overlooked all the time, see if you can try to shoot when there is a full moon. Every bit of light that can help is always welcomed. My $0.02 ;) C.-

Hi, Hey, sorry for the short notice. I'll be in LA tomorrow in West Hollywood. If anyone is around that would like to meet and chat about DP'ing while sipping some coffee in the area, love to meet up and get to know the real person rather than their keystrokes. :rolleyes: E-mail me if you are interested and I'll forward you my contact info.. Carlos.-

I think you have plenty of light. You won't be able to light it up like a big Hollywood production but you have enough juice to light the appropiate places. Try to get some very high risers for couple of the 2k's and rig them as high as you can so you can get some back light fall off make it look like a moon. Also consider some CTB. Maybe a 1/4 for some of the lights to conote moonlight. Don't know what your scene calls but a suggestion. Cheers, C.-

Seems to me that there is a hassle to acquire data if you don't have a firewire interface. Seems to me as well that if you are going to go and purchase a video card (ATI or whatever) and or a dazzle, might as well buy an entry level minidv camcoder. Perhaps that would be a better investment. After all, you can still connect your Hi8 to the in video of the miniDV and adquire it as if you were using a Dazzle or an ATI card. I use that method to capture all my vhs tapes. I connect the video out of the vhs into the video in of my zr-20 and I record into the miniDV tape and capture it through firewire in to my mac. Maybe a bit tedious but it works. Maybe you want to consider getting a miniDV? Cheers, Carlos.-

I second Phil and I agree with you Dan. But firewire is firewire and the data has already been captured into the tape. you are just adquiring it. Cheers, C.-

Dan, Funny you mention that. I have shot most of my work on an XL-1, and whenever I capture footage into my computer, I capture it from a ("domestic") ZR-20, also from Canon. I have done that for most of the footage I have shot and never had a single problem. But of course, it all has been NTSC, and I beleive that it should be the same with PAL. Cheers, C.-

Am by far the least experienced when it comes to shooting in film since most of my exposured (pun intended) has been with miniDV. But, let me ask you this to facilitate other members in answering your question, how many 2k's do you have ? You mentioned that you have a 15k generator. Does that mean that you have seven 2k's? how many other ligths do you have to supplement? How big of an area are you talking about to light up? Want to backlight ? Fog light? I lit a beach scene for a short not long ago and I supplemented my two 1,200 HMI PARS and a couple of 650's and a 1k with about 15 Tikki Torches to punch up the bonfire. Maybe something like that could work for you, some tikki torches or oil lamps? If you want to cheat some fog light as in the Village, park a bunch of cars together and turn the lights on... Cheat a little here and a little there, might work.... My $0.02. C.-

If you are mac based, then the choice is Final Cut Pro. Don't know how old your Mac is but, you practically get iMovie for free, as well as iDVD, they are not the pro versions of the products but you can get some editing done rather quick. There is also Avid, the other standard in non-linear editing software. It is a tossup between FCP and Avid, and practically it boils down to how much $$ you are willing to spend. There is a new bundle suite that Apple is selling now called the Production Bundle. You get Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro and Motion and is retailing $1,299. As for camera, I have only used Canon XL-1 and I have been very happy with the results. My business partner procured it at a store sale at a very steep discount. Being biased to Canon, I would probably say, look into the xl-1 or xl-2. As for doing documentary by solo? Sure, but it will take a lot of time. I always tell people, filming is a collaborative effort. C.-

You have a sony viao and is an i.link which is actually a firewire interface made for sony. Unfurtunately, there is no cable adapter that I know of that goes from S-Video, A/V RCA to i.link. You might have to end up getting a "Dazzle". http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.a...253&Langue_ID=7 Hope this helps. Cheers, C.

I too have that problem of being too focused and I have a tendency to let the Director direct and keep meself out of the troubles. Luckily for me, I have gotten to know some of the crew that has helped me in the past really well and they have thick skin too and can trade barbs really good with me when I get too focused and reticent. I have learned to smile and kind of make funny goofy faces when things go kaput. It releives some of that aloofnes.... C.-

Bob, I would first try http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.1de9c1bf That's the Premiere forum from Adobe itself. The only other one that I know of is http://www.uemforums.com/2pop/ubbthreads/p...iere&PHPSESSID= C.

Aside from being yourself, Jesse, let me chime in and allow me to interject some additional suggestions. I). Be prepared. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare !!!! You mention that you have a couple of months. Be overly prepared. You want people to respect you above and beyond. Be Prepare. There is something wrong when the director is not prepared. Reeks of "inexperienced". Work with your DP on all the shots. Make it so that you and your dp finish each other's shot. Come into the set and make sure you have an agenda, shot list, crew list, etc. Print copies for the crew, and hold regular meetings from now until principal photography to make sure your vision comes through, and take suggestions from everyone(doesn't mean that you will implement them). But if you only have your vision in your head how is everyone else going to execute it for you. As said before here, be honest and let your crew know this is your first time, but if you are prepared beyond prepare, they will forgive you and actually earn your respect faster. Most likely, they will feel, if this guy wen to the trouble to do all this, means he is willing to learn and he has an agenda. And people respect that. Think about how you have felt when you have gone to meetings when there was no agenda. "INEXPERIENCED". But when someone young is at the head of hte table. Jeeez. It becomes "Young Hot poop that doesn't know crap, who does he think he is wasting my time". II). Use your words judiciously. What I mean by it, is, someone suggest your main actor wears a blue shirt the day of the shooting, or someone suggest something else. Don't just shout "I don't like bue", or "I don't like your idea". How about "Hmmm. Never thought of blue as the main character's color, but how does it fit into the story?". Bounce back suggestions, and watch how quickly they fade away. There is a huge difference between retorting arruptly vs amicably. This one is more in the liking of "MATURITY" vs "IMMATURE". III). Be honest, If you don't know the answer, say so. If you want it your way, say so, but see above. Be cordial. IV). Don't have your friends be the actors or grip or anything else. Erstwhile, I was in a shoot, where one of the main characters was the directors best friend. What a catastrophy. While everyone else on the set was expected to be at their most proffesional behavioiur, this actor, being a directors friend, was making a jester out of himself and out of the director. He would yell cut when he flubbed the lines. He would yell for "Makeup" after camera began roll. He would pickup his cell phone and pretend he got a call from some Hollywood big shot. Guess what. I don't really care much about him, but I never worked with the director again, nor everyone else from that shoot. Friends can spoil your image but also work for you, see next point. V). If you feel, have a confidant on the set that has nothing to to with the movie, and doesn't care about being in the movies, but rather, is a trusted individual that would keep an eye out on your behaviour. Someone that you can trust to diffuse you in case things get heated. I know sounds silly but at the 13th hour and the 75th take, things can start getting pretty unplesant. VI). Want people to stay in line and focused with your vision. Go to an art store, and get some of those boards that you can insert pins and on each day, pin your shot list, storyboards, crew list, crew times, lunch times, driving directions etc. That shows expirience. This way, it will allow you to point to the board in case anyone has any questions about anything. After a couple of times, everyone will know where to go in case they need an answer and guess what. If you have a sheet of paper that says LUNCH 1:30pm. Guess what? Miraculously, lunch will be at 1:30PM and someone on the crew will know when to call it in and tap you on the shoulder to let you know lunch has arrived rather than go up to you and keep pestering you while you are working with your actors. and last, I promise, I know I wrote a bible.... VII). Thank everyone and everyone for a wonderful job at the end of each day, or for hard sence to film. Go to each one of your crew and thank them for their hard work to make your vision come true. Pat them on the back, the little things. If one of your crew needs to head home to walk their dog, but is at the middle of a scene and is a protracted scene, walk up to them and whisper, hey its ok to go an walk your dog/whatever, we have the scene under control. Guess what, that person right then and there will not only earn your respect but also work that much harder when they comes back. And last but not least, throw a wrap party. Use your directors charm and woo a restaurant to give you discount if you have budgetary concerns, but take some $$ and take your crew/cast out to a dinner even if it is at a pizza joint and you have had pizza three days in a row. Man, nothing beats a director that is greatful. Thank everyone and make fun of tense situations, and let them know how much you appreciate their effort into making your movie and how they helped you achieve it even though you know you are young and wished for more experience etc.... Some of the suggestions here, are just that, based on your fear of not being taking too seriously because you are young. I have been on both spectrums, but what has saved my butt has been the fact that I have practiced some of the above suggestions. Just the fact that you shared with us the fear that you have says a lot about you and that you are willing to listen and learn and that you know your place. I think you will do a good job just because it takes a lot of cojones to recognize that. Good luck to you and let us know how it works out and I apologize to you and the rest of the board for writing too much :-) C.-

Michael, I use Tota's with Chimeras. And they work pretty good. The problem is that the chimera takes lots of space. For interviews they are great since it softens the light pretty good. Also, Chimera's are expensive. I have two tota's and two omni's I use with small/med chimeras and I like the result, specially for small places and in some interviews I done. I also have umberellas and I have experienced the same problem you describe. But, for filming, they are great for backlight and fill light in areas that I can't get a 10" fresnel. I used a tota in a bedroom and I pointed it back into foamcore that we taped to a corner of the wall. The small size of the tota gave us more room. But dang it. You cannot escape how hot they get. Regardless of what light you use. In a bedroom scene, with all the people and lights, it gets steamy pretty fast. :-) If I would start again, I would probably get the Arri's, but I dint' have the $$ then to do it. C.

I would recommend that you download the software since it has a free tryout and then run Premiere de-interlacer and compare yourself which one is best. Different settings yields different results. So you can try out and compare. Cheers, Carlos

I seen it, never used it. I have only used Magic Bullet. But the price difference says to me, you have nothing to loose. MB is $795.00 and you need After Effects (between $795Standard-$1495Pro). The website says you can download a trial version. Might as well download it and try it out. Do do a couple of sample scenes with enough minutes in lenght so that you can see a difference when you apply the effect with the software. C.-

Phil, HA !!! Even then, I was on a flight to Florida and I took couple of movies to watch on my laptop. I picked Minority Report because the in flight movie was (as usual) horrible. I think it was The Wedding Planner with JLo. Regardless, the person next to me was ogling over my shoulders and kept making comments about the movie, and even while I had my headphones, proceeded to ask me if such a part had already passed. Jeeez. C.-

Michael, Am currently shooting my short. On Thursday I went to my studio and I picked up all my 10 C-Stands. Then I told my director to pick some up for me while he was at a G&E rental house. He told me how many and I said I wanted another 15. We had a total of 25 C-stands, and *WE* were short a few. Grrrr.... Quickly one learns the call "Hollywood it". C.-