Chris Clarke

We were using the E series Auto Panatar primes. From memory we had the whole lot except the 85mm. On occasions we carried a 55mm Macro that I think was a C series. We also shared a 360mm with the main unit. I don't know what glass was in this but it looked like a rebodied stills lens with the anamorphic element on the back. Quite a badly marked lens, 10' - 20' is too close together considering that's where a lot of the action can take place on that lens. Maybe you know more about it? On interiors we generally didn't go under T2.8. I do remember shooting inside a van at T2 1/2 a few times. I would say our average stop for interiors was a T2.8/4 split. Sadly I never got to see any rushes but from looking through, the zoom matched very well to the primes. Similar focus breathing (squish!). During downtime we had a play with maglites etc to see what sort of flares we could get and to be honest all the primes and the zoom behaved differently. It might be of interest that we did a couple of shots on the 100mm at about 4'. You can eye focus that lens down to about 3'8" but it doesn't really bite. I'm sure it's there because you can focus through it but it never quite seems sharp. 5' is definitely where it starts working. Poor focus puller... Starting inside the minimum focus, handheld at 2.8! It's been a while since I worked with anamorphic and really forgot what beautiful lenses these are! I think it's all their faults that create what we love about them. Inkheart has wrapped now but next time I see Jenny I'll say hi!

I worked on the 2nd unit of Inkheart and was really impressed with the 40-80mm zoom. As Max says it really is a proper anamorphic lens. I believe they were built for Wally Pfister for the Batman film? I got a chance to do quite a bit of focus pulling in the end and really liked the markings on that lens. It's pretty small for an anamorphic and allows the camera to balance very nicely. We even used it handheld on a couple of occasions. At the end of the film we had two of them on our unit for some big scenes, we were very careful!

I think it's important to appreciate the 'feel' that each focal length gives a shot or sequence. I remember reading somewhere how when prepping for Citizen Kane, Greg Toland screened films for Orson Welles and would call out the lens for each shot as they appeaared on screen to give him a better understanding of what lenses do to a story. Lots of films I've worked on, as the shoot progresses you see the patterns emerge and can usually second guess which lens is going to be used (and put it on the finder all ready for the line up!) A bit of an extreme example of lens choice is Delicatessen where I think almost the whole film was shot on a 25mm. Maybe a 32mm for some close ups! Read articles in AC and ICG magazines and try to remember the lenses they mostly stuck to when you see the film in the theatre. It's all part of the neverending education.... :)

I worked with the operator of this shot, the fine David Dunlap. I asked how he did it and he explained that when working with Michael Ballhaus he was encoraged to zoom manually using a chrosziel damper with a zoom bar. They used it all the time on Goodfellas but it was especially useful for that scene as it gave him more feel during the shot.

It's important to have a range of clapper board sizes available to you. If for instance your on a fairly wide zoom, the focus puller might not want to rack to minimum distance to get your board sharp. In this instance you should use a large board a little further away. If your unsure where to put the board make your best guess and check with focus puller before you shoot. If it's good for him and the operator then make a mental note or even a chalk mark for yourself. An experieced operator will not mind if you occasionally ask him where's best for the board or if he can tilt down for you.

Get well soon John. Your contributions are always welcome and insightful. Best wishes Chris.

I read an article in the Guild of British Camera Technicians newsletter on a new light weight dolly that might be perfect for you. Combines a lot of the features of a Pee Wee but in a much smaller and lighter package. I've always found that you need a bit of weight in a dolly to get you smooth tracking. PD1

Buy some Space Blankets (silver on one side and red or blue on the other). Have the wardrobe department sew several of them to fit your 1000' and 400' mags with elastic in them to hold them in place. Keep your stock and rushes in large cooler boxes. Take it easy!! Work slower than you want to as the sun in the sahara can be dangerous. If possible try to split the day with a 3-4 hour break for the midday sun. It might be obvious but don't forget to drink water as often as possible. Sipping often not gulping occasionaly. When you get back to the hotel in the evenings, have a Dioralite rehydration sachet to replace the lost fluids. Enjoy the sunrises and sunsets B)

Hi there. I'm looking to buy a couple of Yaeger carts here in the UK. Does anyone know of where I might find an importer if there are any? I've checked out filmtools but the shipping costs would be silly. Thanks, Chris

Try Cirro Lite. Look under lighting kits and accessories and you'll find Road Rags. Regards, Chris

I'm about to start a film set in the 1500's. We have problem regarding marks for the actors and the focus puller. The costumes that the actresses will be wearing will cover their feet by about 3' in diameter. We are trying to come up with a way of marking them so that when they land on their mark, we have a guide as to how close they actually are. A mark for the edge of their dress is fine for them, but if they overshoot we don't know by how far? We have thought of having their dresses pulled up a little to reveal their feet but this won't always be practical. We are shooting two cameras so could often be in the scenario where the main camera is on a wide while the B is on a close up. Any suggestions?

In truth, I don't know how it does it. I did ask and was told 'not to ask'! Although the tech at Arri's was quite surprised when I explained to him our little hiccup. Maybe now I can ask :)

More D20 info. Our DP has found that he's not getting enough exposure in the blacks when using User 7. User 6 is 160 ASA and Gamma 2.2 is 64 ASA. On exteriors we are shooting 2.2, going to user 6 if the light drops. If we get to the stage where 160 ASA isn't enough we call it a day. He's decided that user 7 is not doing it for him at the moment. It would be nice if we could change the names of these settings as 'user 6' and 'gamma 2.2' are quite cumbersome for constant useage on boards, camera sheets and in conversation. Another interesting point is shooting in 4:4:4 HQ. We couldn't find a post house in London who could handle our rushes right through the post chain at this quality level. We are now testing shooting at 4:4:4 SQ or even 4:2:2. In terms of colour balancing, we set it to 3200K or 5600K to suit the lighting conditions. Then with each lens change we white balance through any filters that are in place. This takes out any possible variables in lens and filters (not fx filters obviously) but also serves as a good routine to keep on top of light changes throughout the day. The white balance bizarely doesn't require any white reference card in the frame? It takes an average from the scene it's looking at. You need the camera to be close to the shooting stop though. Only once have we had trouble with white balance - we were on an underwater head with the lens 10" off the water looking at a tree line on a lake. Everytime we white balanced we got a heavy green cast across the image. We eventually solved it by holding my clapper board acoss a part of the frame to give it a little bit of white. Seemed to do the trick. A useful thing we did, as we don't have flash mags here yet, was to velcro the control panel to the side of the camera body and run a long cable in the loom back to the SRW1 recorder. This allows the focus puller to control the turnover and also makes identing takes and checking timecodes a whole lot easier for me! The on/off switch is in a stupid place, on the front under the shutter. When we have an LCS motor rigged for the iris we can't get to the switch! It should be on the back of the body under the power cable socket, like an Arricam ST. I think they should also switch to the Arricam handle so you have a 3/8" thread on the front for mounting motors. The Astro onboard monitor needs a rethink. There are too many exposed controls for assigning the information you can view on the monitor. They should be in a deep menu or under an access panel as in the morning when we pull the monitor out of its case they all get moved. We plug the camera up and can't get any picture! Then we're on the phone to the engineer going through the menus to reset the bloody thing. Having said that, once it's up and running it really is very good. In 'Studio' mode we mount it on the camera, but when things are getting nasty (rain etc.) we send it back to the monitor where the DP can use it as a waveform. The back of the body needs a protective cover to stop the operator knocking things, especially if he's cradling it for a handheld shot. The optical look through is a really nice touch for an HD camera. A strange thing though... when you cut the camera the mirror parks in the open position so when you look through you can't see anything! You can phase it back but it's annoying. Of course this also mean that you can't see anything until you power up which kinds of defeats some of the benefits of having an optical look through. Also when you take the lens off, the chip is exposed because of this. It needs a software update to cure this and maybe a dust check button. To see an image on the monitors the shutter has to be turning. You completely forget it's running and when you remove a lens you get a real fright to see the shutter spinning. And, when you look through the eyepiece - keep thinking we've blown a 1000'!! Overall a fantastic camera though. Lots of little quibbles but it's definitely heading in the right direction. Me and the focus puller have enjoyed our week with it and learnt an awful lot. And, beautiful images!

A late reply.... I'm working as an assistant at the moment on an Arri D20 job. We shot exposure tests last week to determine the camera's ASA rating. We are using it in the 'Video' mode and have access to LUT's that replicate different ASA ratings. We have stuck with LUT #7 which equates to 320 ASA. The Astro monitor with the built in waveform is incredibly useful. The layout of the screen really helps with intepretating what's happening in terms of exposure. I think it also allows the DP to trust their meter more and treat the D20 as another 'stock'. Last year I did some dailies on Flyboys with the Genesis. I only saw it set up for daylight. I believe Panavision rated it at 600 ASA but the cameraman was exposing it at 400 ASA. I never saw it in use in tungsten mode, but I know they rated it differently when switched over. Hope this helps.

If you want to net the back of an ENG video lens, try the lid from a 35mm stills cartridge case. Take the lid and cut the centre out just leaving the ring. It clips perfectly around the metal barrel at the rear of the lens. You can use it to secure a stretched net and trim away the excess.

I heard from a friend of a friend who focus pulled a few days on Munich that Kaminski used as much as a #1 and a #2 Classic Softs at the same time for some shots! Explains some of that extreme blooming on the point sources. Chris

Thanks Eric. As is always the case most of it got cut out of the final edit... I guess record companies want to see the talent!

Thanks for your comments Rolfe. The city scene behind the set is a photographic backdrop. Some of the softness I think is from where the girls are moving and the backdrop is not far enough away. Due to the size of the stage we could only get it 15' back - not enough budget for a bigger stage as well as having to build two further sets in the space. I know what you mean with the height of the basement shot! We started off lower but had to go higher due to a problem with the set, a bit annoying. Looking at the stills, the hair and make up doesn't look to good I would have to agree. Having seen the final cut yesterday it looked better when in motion but on occasions the backlight did highlight some stray hairs. Glad you like the stills. Cheers, Chris.

Hi guys. Quite a few of you have given me some great advice over the last month or so while I was prepping for this shoot, so I thought I'd put some frames up for you to see and comment on. It's a girl band who are very poppy but are looking to go a bit sexier. It's shot on super 16 with an Arri SR3A. Fuji Eterna 500 stock and mostly with a number # 2 Classic Soft. I have to say, when the director presented the idea and look she was after to me, I didn't jump at it. High gloss music video's aren't really my cup of tea, but to be honest I think it was more that I was a bit intimidated that I couldn't do it! Anyway, take a look at the frame grabs, and please feel free to be as honest as you like.... Chris. Photos

Don't know if it's of interest but I worked on a commercial in London lit by Paul Cameron last year where he shot on 5229 rated at 800 and pushed 1 stop. Before the shoot he tested quite a few combinations of rating and processing. He said he liked the increased contrast he got from the push process but on the low contrast stock. I think it was the affect on the colours that looked nicest, more punchy than normally shot '29. Nice guy as well!

Maybe we should start a thread on I Am Cuba for this... I've attached an article on the film. On page 20 there's some interesting info on how they did some of those moves, incredibly inventive people. I_AM_CUBA.pdf

A few that have not been mentioned.... Dead Man (1995) Dir: Jim Jarmusch Ph: Robby Müller Down By Law (1986) Dir: Jim Jarmusch Ph: Robby Müller La Haine (1995) Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz Ph: Pierre Aïm I Am Cuba (1964) Dir: Mikheil Kalatozishvili Ph: Sergei Urusevsky All have photography that perfectly fits and reflects the mood of the film. The slow building presence of Down By Law & Dead Man, Robby Müller (IMHO) at his best. The high contrast and gritty feel of La Haine never seems to contrive or look down upon the characters in the ghetto. The beyond belief camera moves of I Am Cuba, cameras going up the side of a building, through the window, tracking through the room, out the window, to a panorama of a street festival, tilting down, tracking overhead the crowds.... all in one shot! And the sugar canes, shot on infrared b/w, becoming like feathers blowing in the wind. What I like about these films is that the camerawork never gets in the way of the story. Especially hard in a modern film that chooses to shoot black & white, a decision that draws attention to the photography automatically. Chris.

Hi. Do you think that using a DSLR is good idea or would shooting reversal stills be a better judge? I'd love to practice on 16mm but it's just not possible with the expense involved. I do realise that eventually I'll get to a point where I'm learning how different stocks react to exposure and will then need to test on 16mm/35mm. Thanks, Chris.

Casino Royale is shooting on Arricams. They're PanaArricams rented through Panavision London with PL lens mounts. S4's and Optimo zooms I believe.

This might be the same thing but what about an induction loop? You can run a few circles of cable around the performers that will act as a speaker that is picked up by earpieces worn by the dancers, like a hearing aid. You could use a timecoded DAT for the music and jam the cameras to that, giving you a sync reference. The room would be silent and you could record perfect sound from whoever you want.