Michael Totten

I'm on a small documentary project that's traveling all around the world. Is there such thing as a C-Stand that will fold up or break down for easy travel on a plane, train and automobile. We've been renting locally... but sometimes it's more of a pain to find a grip house in some of these remote locations than it's worth. thanks.

I think you're right. We'll have a bunch of different diffusion on the day. thanks guys.

Michael thanks for the detail description. Very helpful. Your setup is very close to what we were initially talking about. Our setup is currently this: Instead of the keylight playing double duty as the backlight we opted to use 1K's mounted on the ceiling rafters as our backlight. We have 1K's cross keying which we'll blast through doubled opal. For the frontal fill we'll be using china balls or perhaps kinos. The lights will be mounted out of the shot, up on speed rail. I'm questioning the opal though... it might be better to go with a more heavy diffusion.

Yeah I actually have a couple china balls in my kit that I could use. What's the difference between a china ball and a gem ball ? It looks like the gem ball is just built to last but that the light they produce is very similar. thanks.

Unfortunately we're shooting on three HVX-200's with the fixed lens. I thought about using 35mm adapters (which would certainly soften her in an appealing way) but it's hand held / shoulder mount. I guess I could've used the "net" trick with an adapter as well... but with the fixed lens that won't work.

Does anyone have an example of how they would light a 3 camera interview. Cam 1: Medium two shot, profile (main) Cam 2: Medium OTS C/U on subject Cam 3: Medium OTS C/U on interviewer Also, the subject is a celebrity musician who is somewhat of a diva and is VERY concerned about her age showing. I keep thinking soft overhead light will be the most forgiving for her. Perhaps I could build a 20' out of speed rail and use kino flo's through quarter grid. Thanks in advance.

That's what I said to the producer. :lol: I'm sure I could bring an arri kit... the problem is that then I have to search around for 220 globes which are kind of hard to come by last minute... although I did find 2 of the 3 that I would need from "Visions of Color". The other thing about the arri kit is that the brightest light is a 1K and a lot of the time that's not enough....It's hard to say when I haven't been to the locations. My gut says an 800 joker bug would do the trick. Someone mentioned a 400 as well. I think I'll probably end up going that way.

If you had to choose one light to travel with for two weeks in the UK/NY that would be used primarily for sit down "talking head" interviews, what would it be? I'm thinking of an 800 HMI, which works well in most any situation.

We're using the red camera, which is fairly compact.

Nice. Where did you guys rent (or buy) the gear for the mount? I was thinking of buying from filmtools in LA.

I couldn't find any other threads about this particular kind of set up. Basically the whole scene will take place in the back seat of a car. No camera movement. So the camera needs to be mounted in the front center part of the car somehow (pointed straight back and center). preferably as close the the front (windshield) as possible so that there will be more room lens wise. The camera operator will be seated in the front passenger seat and then there will be a driver in the drivers seat (I know this takes up needed room) ? Any ideas? Suction cups, c-stand arms and cheeseplate?

Thanks David.

Thanks David. Curious what the advantage is using a Zeiss digi-Prime or perhaps the Zeiss Digi-Prime 6-24mm zoom over let's say other cine-style lenses such as the Fujinon C or E-Series Cine Zooms. The thing that attracts me to the digi-primes is that they open to a T1.6, but beyond that what is the difference? Some people say they're more "film like"... it confuses me though as I hear they're much more SHARP. To me sharp feels like video. I guess you can get a shallower depth of field in certain situations because they're faster? so that's the more filmic characteristic ? thanks, michael

Wondering how digi-primes translate to 35mm. I've heard it's 2.5 times. Is this correct? For instance... A 24mm digi-prime would be the equivalent to a 60 mm lens in 35mm ?

Looking for a skilled and experienced 1st A/C who can pull focus remotely. This is a two day local music video shoot that will take place on stage or directly outside of the stage (no company moves). Shooting day into night on both days. Shooting Dates: Sunday Oct. 7th & Monday Oct. 8th. A large portion of the shooting will be handheld and will take place in minimal light. Not only will the camera be moving, but the talent will be moving as well. We will be shooting on the Panasonic Varicam in unison with a set of Zeiss Digi-Primes so our ASA rating will be around 320 and our fastest lens stop is a T1.6. It is likely that we will be shooting wide open or close to wide open most of the time... so our DOF will be shallow and the focal plane will be thin, (challenging situation). We will be using a Chrosziel Wireless Remote Follow Focus or similar. You will have a native HD monitor for visual reference if you choose. Responsibilities include keeping talent in FOCUS, building / managing the remote follow focus system and working with the 2nd A/C and camera P.A.to keep everything pertinent to the camera department running smoothly. If you can do all this and are interested in the job, then please feel free to contact me! Thank you : ) If interested please email me at: doondoon@mac.com