Dickson Sorensen

Lens manufactures put markings on still lenses because there are many situations a professional still photographer (even with a through the lens meter) will calculate his exposure with a hand held meter. Some amateur cameras don't provide markings on the lenses as they just confuse the user.

generally increased development does increase grain size though it will also increase contrast making the latitude of the stock less forgiving. Perhaps your chair person who is someone who knows what he is talking about is concerned that you are setting up a risky process. If you want larger grain how about shooting regular 16 rather than super?

Still photographers don't seem to use T/stops, and tend to overlook the actual loss of light in the lens. I have no idea why this is. Remember it this way T (stop) is for Transmission F (stop) is for Focus I believe that the reason still photographers are not as concerned is that they are not trying to match different lenses to exactly the same exposure for cutaways and closups. They do not use Zooms with as many elements where the light transmission loss becomes significant. In still photography they have had much more control of contrast and exposure in the darkroom.

Does anyone think for a minute that most audiences go to a movie like King Kong expecting to see ?reality?? Remember that this is theatre and its purpose is to entertain and/or inform. Unless a film is represented as a documentary the filmmaker has the right to and should use any trick he feels is effective to convey his message (in as much as the producer has given him the time and funds to do so). It is a shame though that today?s audiences are so familiar with how the effects of modern moving pictures are achieved that they would allow it to destroy the enjoyment of the theatre experience. If a person goes to a Broadway show does he say, ?I could tell that the back wall was just a painting and couldn?t get into the play?? I hope not, yet the same person might go to a movie and say. ?The CGI Kong moved too fast for such a large animal so I couldn?t enjoy the film.? It?s a sad day when audiences are so jaded and skeptical of effects that they will let the smallest technical imperfection ruin the show for them.

King Kong: Was I the only one wondering how Carl Denham planned on synchronizing the live sound he was recording on the boat with his hand crank Bell and Howell?

Not a western but some of the most amazing photography of Monument Valley and the rest of the US for that matter. Every Cinematographer should know this movie. Koyaanisqatsi (1983) And if you don't believe me check out the user comments on IMDB.

The Mitchell Mark II or the 35S or as it was called in the studio I worked in years ago the R35. Is in quite loud. Louder than a IIC. It's a great camera though and can run at speeds up to 120 fps with double pin registration. Some of them also had the abiltiy to mount the mag on the back and there was even a 400 foot mag designed for handheld use. So darn heavy, I never saw anyone use the hand held mags, they sat in their case while an Arri IIC was prefered. The Mitchell NC is quiet. Not like a BNC but quiet enough to shoot sound in conditions where background noise or camera distance make it acceptable, outside or with long lenses. There were quite a few of them reflexed and in use in and around LA. I wonder where these cameras are now.

Do you mean Edmund Scientific? I understand that the company split a few years ago and is now two companies. Edmund Scientific and Edmund Optics. Edmund Optics supplying optics to the industry.

some of the very early conversions of Mitchells were done by using a pelicle instead of a rotating mirror. A pelicle is a very thin half silvered mirror. These conversions were less expensive but had the disadvantage of cutting the light to the film. Once a cameraman told me that he prefered that conversion as it didn't have "that annoying flicker." In any case to convert a camera you need a very good machinist and or someone who has done the conversion to your particular camera. There are so many great reflex cameras available why would you want to make a conversion now?

I only looked at the trailer but I think you are on to something. There are a lot of young people out there who would really enjoy seeing these films and schools who could use them as an adjunct to their curriculam. With DVD release the packaging possibilities are viable. This is a nitch market for sure. If the purpose of the trailer is to promote the entire series then you should add a voice over that clearly states what the series is about. I liked that you made it lighthearted and I think most kids would think it was funny that he dumped water over him at the end. good luck

The scaling factor for overcranking your camera for miniatures is as follows model speed = normal speed (24 for film USA) x square root of 1 over the model to life size ratio. example 1:10 model 24x square root 1/.1= 24xsquare root 10= 24x3.18= 76fps The water in your shot will be a little harder to deal with as waves don't scale well. I have heard of using wetting agents to reduce surface tension though I have no personal experience if this helps.

In a pinch you can make a quick diffusion filter by spraying dulling spray (hair spray or other clear liquid will also work) into the air and waving a clear filter through the mist. Do it several times to make it heavier. Be considerate and only do it only to your own glass and never to a plastic filter which would be ruined forever.

Could it possibly be a mirror shot? Looking closely over Orson's shoulder see that the pillaster is slightly softer than either the plane in front or that behind. There is also a slight darker cast to Orson. Having once done mirror shots I can tell you it's tough balancing your lighting and I can't even imagine having to do it with a rack-over BNC. This is the work of masters, Welles and Toland.

There must be a good word for ambidexerity of the eyes. The easy way to tell which eye is dominant is to line up your finger with a distant object both eyes open. Then close one eye then the other. The eye that shows no movement against the background is the dominant eye. Generally that's the eye that finds its way to the eyepiece unless of course your nose is so large that it smacks the camera. Keeping both eyes open while you operate is a good habit if you don't get confused.

The question is are you right or left eyed? I have noticed that some left handed prefer to use the left eye when looking through the camera and others prefer the right eye whereas almost all right handed people use their right eye unless they have some peculiar eye problem. Are those who are left eyed more creative or do they just have a lot more trouble operating?

the focal length of a lens is the distance from the opticle center of the lens to the film plane when focused at infinity. When the lens is at 2 times the distance from the film plane the center the object will be at 1:1. In other words if you have a 90 mm lens and set it 180 mm from the film plane then put a piece of film 180 mm from the front of the lens center it will be in focus and the image will be its original size. The problem with a zoom is that it has complex optics and the opticle center changes as you zoom and focus. Sometimes the opticle center of the lens can be outside of the lens. For working at high magnifications you should try to find a macro lens. Lenses designed for macro work are optimized for working near 1:1 magnifcation and will be sharper and have fewer cromatic aberations. I suggest you find a really good book on macro photography. Kodak used to publish a series perhaps now out of print you may be able to find at a library, Photomacrography N-12B, Cinephotomicrography N-2

I downloaded kids explore science running windows xp on a dsl line. It took about 2 minutes to down load and opened in real player, the video was in black and white, and the voice over sounded like she was speaking through a pipe.

You can make it without a degree. The most important thing is that you pursue your passion 100%. The best thing that school can do is put you in a situation where you can surround yourself with persons of similar passion both to inspire and to reinforce your passion. Film making is an art that requires a group effort. Make friends, get connected, participate in any way you can in the art and never let go of your goal.

You bring up a very important point. In order to see warm color you contrast part of the scene with cool color. For an example a warm light through a window (CTO) fill the shadows with a cool light (CTB).

The first thing to do is to look closely at Vermeer's paintings. He often lit his subjects from the left side with a very soft source, like one would get if you put a large diffussion frame in front of a side key light. Then you need to control the spill so that the light falls mainly on the actor's faces and a little on the wall behind keep the forground in the shadow. Vermeer used a camera obscura to paint giving his paintings a photographic quality. When you look at the forground objects they often seem slightly soft in focus. Shoot with a shallow depth of field. I have seen many of his paintings and I can tell you that they are not that yellow in person. Go for soft source side lighting with rich shadows. Good luck.

I have run Arri III's sidways, upside down and never had a problem. Make sure the tension is set correct on the mag however or the assistant may have a problem with that.

I also have a few of the Contax HS lenses. They are great lenses but not exactly the same as the glass you find in a Super Speed they were designed for a larger format and of course the mounts and housings are competely different. If you mounted them on a movie camera I don't think you would be disapointed with the image quality but for an assistant to pull focus with a lens like that might not make him happy. as far as going belly up I have heard no anouncements and their cameras are very much available

Mole/Richardson equipment is very well made however before buying used check out that they are working properly and will suit your needs. Plugs switches etc. set up for your line voltage. everything in the US is 110V. Replacement parts for Mole equipment can be gotten from Mole at www.mole.com

The Adobe video collection is a good start and is available in an educational edition at a good discount. You may not need the Pro version of After Effects for a while, you pay a premium for that. It seems that there are more and more pro editing shops moving away from Avid to FCP, this might sway your decision if your objective is to become a pro editor however if you are this may not be the best forum to be asking questions on. In any case by the time you are proficient in any of these programs new versions will be out and recomendations will change for instance right now FCP has multicamera editing, Premier pro doesn't.

If I understand what you are trying to achieve I will suggest 2 things. the first is that you need a very directional source of light. The best start with some sort of arc lamp with a parabolic mirror, check your local lighting rental for a xenon spot light. What you are looking for is a lamp that will give you a highly directional beam. I have also used aircraft landing lamps which have a very tight pattern. The second thing you will need is smoke or a fog machine so that you can see the shaft of light as it comes through the air. Position the light so that the smoke is backlit and the shaft will be stronger. I once saw a setup where mirrors were positioned to reflect sunlight from outside into an interior set. As you can imagine the effect was dramatic though the production was at the mercy of the weather.