Lucita Jones

Hi! This is my first time shooting and editing HDV. My final goal is to obtain a 26 minute short with a film look w/o using Cineframe mode. I 'd like to hear your opinion about the proceedure I have planned to follow: Shoot HDV on mini-DV tapes. Shoot at 50i as a means of getting a film look through deinterlacing. (Supposing that PAL will offer better color depth and image quality) Capture the material on DV quality using FCP5. Edit the film and generate an EDL Capture the original HD shots according to the EDL Deinterlace to 25fps using a plugin from FCP5 Slowdown to 24 fps and pitch shift the sound Transfer to NTSC for distribution in NTSC countries My concern is about editing on DV and then re-capturing on HD through use of an EDL. The reason why I would edit on Dv instead of HD is because of space and time...Is this a valid enough reason? Would this work? Thanks for all your advice

In other words, Image quality being the same....Plus> I will be shooting several takes of each shot.... Conditions will be quite normal.... Storage is not an issue because I will back everything on a HardDisk... There is no insurance company involved.... This means I will shoot my low budget shortfilm on Mini Dv Tapes and not the more expensive Digital MAsters. If any one suggests otherwise, please let me know. Thanks all for your input LJ

Could you suggest any high - quality deinterlacer that I can use when editing with Final Cut Pro 5? I have heard about Magic Bullet, is this a software or a plugin? What do I actually need to deinterlace my material shot on 50i on my FCP5? Thanks LJ

But I would imagine that the price difference would account for a better color reproduction?!

Hi I am about to shoot a shortfilm using the Z1u. The film is intended to reach film festivals and cable TV. We are not 100% sure that we will Blow up to film, but image quality, detail, color reproduction nad film look are very important for us. We will be shooting under normal conditions, i.e., no extreme humidity, heat or cold. In choosing between the more expensive Digital MAster tapes and the regular MiniDV tapes, I have read that the digital MAster offers more protection against dropouts. But other than that, does this tape offer better color depth, image quality? Protection against droputs isn´t my greatest concern since the miniDV tapes worked great for me on a documentary I shot under really harsh conditions (by the ocean, under the rain and camping). So if I didn`t get droputs there, I hardly expect to get any here in the city. Can someone please tell me more about the Digital Master and image quality? Thanks LJ

I will have to disagree with you, if you mean to say that high and low refer to height. High key means that more of the image is well exposed. A high key image can have a high or low contrast ratio. (The Cafe scene in "Jules et Jim" is high key with low contrast ratio) Low key means that more of the image is in shadow, and the contrast can be both high or low. High or low keys do not refer to the height of the lamp with regards to the main subject, rather to the MOOD of the lighting design in that particular shot. I think David put it quite well. Thanks, LJ

Wow I am amazed, that looks beautiful. How many hours were you there? Did you correct the exposure as it got darker? I like the look of the buildings with the rain and dark clouds. Where did you shoot that at? Thanks LJ

Hi! I am interested in doing some stop motion using the Z1U. Has anyone had any experience which s/he might share? Any related links or info ? Thanks LJ

Thanks Matt for your help. I have heard that not only the tape but the heads of the camera can get damaged after playback. So I am concerned about both, heads and tape. Thanks again, LJ

Hi I will be shooting a documentary in an island where there is no electricity. I am new to the ZiU and have a couple of questions I'd like you to help me out with. I appreciate it. Here they go: 1. How BAD (if at all) is it to playback in the camera to check if my recorded material is OK? Does fast forward and rewind damage the heads? Could it cause drop outs? What if I playback the miniDV tape I am recording on a separate consumer mini DV? Will a tape recorded in HDV playback on a regular miniDV camera? Would I be risking that my tape get dirty from the other camera? 2. I will be charging the batteries on a generator that can be found in the island. What precautions should I take? Should I take a voltage "regulator", or just conect the batts directly to the generator? THANKS! LJones

I absolutely AGREE with you. Another thing I regret is there not being a separate 70 - 100 IRE Zebra switch for checking exposure. Its really time consuming to enter the menus just to switch from 70 to 100 or whatever one wants. Or ist it that I am too zebra dependent?

Thank for the advice....Is it common practice to store the telecine material simultaneoulsly in two different formats, for example Digi Beta AND DVCAm?

Thank you for the useful links. Regarding the telecine, I can store the images I transfer on all types of video formats (Digital Beta, DVCAm, HD, or even a hard disk) What should I base my decision on? Which is the most reliable for online editing and for generating an EDL? Thanks, LJ

Spanish IS my mother language (and I will always defend it!) but I feel more comfortable reading about film technique in English....Its good to know that your book is out in Spanish, is the Escuela de Cine y Video that published it from Argentina? I will look it up. Muchas Gracias, Lucita ;)

Hi, I´ve only read about it ?many years ago and in Spanish?and now I have to do it....And I am totally confused.... Which are the steps I need to follow in order to achieve a 35mm release print from a 35mm camera negative? There is developing, preparation of the negative for transfer, off-line editing, etc. When does the negative cutting come in? How about the intermediate negative? Is there a website that describes the laboratory processes step by step? I'd appreciate any info. Thanks Lucita

I have a Mac and am fine. But my question is : are LCD screens any good for color management? No, I really don´t think so. The angle of view will make an image look very different. Yet I hear of all these photographers working their images on Photoshop. Are there any truely realiable screens in the laptop world? Whats your experience? Thanks.

Hi, I understand that blowing up from S16mm to 35mm will increase grain, but will it also increase color saturation? I want to obtain a fine grain, color saturated print. This is the stock that I am thinking of using. I'd appreciate learning from your advise and suggestions...especially regarding the rating of the film. - EXT day, springtime, with that awful haze typical of air-polluted cities: EXR 50 with polarizer (for saturation and bluer skies) rated at ISO 12 (overexposed 2/3 for brighter color, compensated 1 1/3 for pola) Should I use a filter to beat that ugly haze? - INT day with windows in shot. Lit with kinoflow and ambient light that will hopefully reach 250 fc. Might also use color corrected tungsten 2K for raising ambient light 7246 rated at 160 - INT night. Lit with tungsten with key lights of about 200 fc 7277 rated at 200 Am I going about it correctly? This is my first S16mm film where I do the lighting....I will be posting many questions in these days, I appreciate your help THANKS

Great tip about removing the lenses....When I get some pics I will post them. Thanks to all.

Great and interesting advice from all of you. In the end I rented two tungsten 2K fresnels which I convcerted to daylight (Full ctb) for one scene and, for another scene I used at 3200K, after building a box outisde the window. It was Ok, but I stil missed having MORE light coming from less weighty lamps. Next time I will consider the Kinoflos and I will definitely re-read Almendro's book for inspiration. Thanks everyone.

Interesting...What happened to your color temperature? If it's an interior /daylight and you bounce tunsgten against a mirror...I would say it will cool down. Do you worry about this light's color temperature at all? Could I gel the mirror as a soluction for converting tunsgten to daylight without losing so much light from the conversion? Thanks...

Hello This is the scenario I am faced with: No possibility of renting HMI's Totally aware that correcting tungsten to daylight means a great loss of light Will shoot in an interior with a large window SO------ As I see it, I have two options for shooting this interior daylight scene: 1. Gel the window to bring the outside color temperature down to 3200 and use tungsten lights and tungsten film inside the room, or 2. Shoot with daylight film and use mirrors and reflectors to fill inside If I want to CREATE an effect with the light that enters the window, i.e, the shadow of a curtain on the wall, I would have to use a powerful light from the outside. Again, since I dont have HMIS, it would have to be either a 2K or 5K, or a else use a mirror to direct the sunlight. The second option is risky because the sun will change position throughout the shooting, and the first option requires a very big light (how much I don`t know, but it still requires turning tungsten to daylight). For both options, I will depend on the light level from the exterior and my continuity could well be at risk...Should I just try to avoid the window and curtain it? What should I do? Thanks, I am williing to hear your advice Lucita Jones B)

Based on what has been discussed here, I'd appreciate some guidance for dealing with this situation: 1. The scene takes place early in the morning in an interior lit by a large window 2. I want to put a light near the window to add contrast to the scene and want to match all lights to daylight 3. Production can't afford HMIs, just tungsten light fixtures Which of these options would you go for? Shoot w/ 250 D film, place a CTB gel on the tungsten light, and deal with the resulting loss in light level. Shoot w/ 200T, gel the window with CTO, and convince my low-budget production to buy enough gel, which is unlikely Build a black tent outside the window to block out all daylight, and light everything with tungsten. Maybe add 1/4 CTB to the light to raise the color temperature and make it cooler. (What color temperature does early morning light in a clouded winter day have?) Thanks for your suggestions

"The Return" Dir.: Andrei Zvyagintsev year 2003 Cinematography : Mikhail Krichman This is cinema.

Thank you everyone for your opinions and suggestions. We decided to switch to 16mm and buy more film to be on the safer side. I still believe in 2:1 ratios, but I will try it with a screenplay that has been written specifically for such a limitation. For now, I'll store my 35mm short ends until I find an affordable camera and shoot something short and experimental. (I want to use an old Bell & Howell camera, for instance) Thanks again .;)