Daniel Stigler

A lot of this things are available, because crafty filmmakers felt that these toys would help turn their vision into reality and so they built them.

Hi! I suggest you check out the ASC bookstore: http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/acsstor...egory=Bookstore Try to get an internship at a camera rental place to learn about the gear. Try to get an internship at a lab to learn about the stocks. And study classic painting to learn about composition and light. To quote my DoP: "if you don't know how to light, light like Caravaggio. You can't go wrong!" And try to get whatever job at a shooting to learn about the real world. Good luck!

Hi Ryan! The groundglass of the IIC can be exchanged. It might not be that hard to find groundglasses that fit the IIC at a rental place as those are often used in the ARRI director's viewfinders. But when i remember it right (it's been some time since i worked with a IIC) the groundglass is not in the door...

When i have to add lines to a groundglass i add the new lines to the used groundglass in Photoshop and print this in it's original size. Then i put the groundglass on the paper with the markings on the groundglass exactly matching the lines on the print. I then stick scotchtape on the groundglass to add the new markings. This is very hard to do if you're alone so it's a good idea to have some help available. Another good idea is to shoot a frameleader after the modified groundglass is installed. All the best for the shooting!

Hi Tammo! Here's another useful link: http://www.arri.de/infodown/cam/ti/format_guide.pdf

I got/get my gear at photo stores, hardware stores, rental places, yacht supply stores, outdoor/camping stores and the likes. If you're interested i can put together a list of my gear. Jon Fauer's books give good information and are an entertaining read as well. It always depends on the shot which side i choose for pulling focus.

Do you mean you want to change the lens while the camera is running? The film will be overexposed as light will enter the camera without restrictions from aperture plates and glass. And you won't get an image. Well, you'll get an image but it will be abstract. There are movies where the lens was taken out of the mount and put back in during the take. I'm sorry i can't recall the names of any of this movies. If you change the lens while the camera is not running there's no problem. Usually the shutter stops in viewing position (closed). And even if the shutter would stop opened, this would be one exposed frame.

Dammit! I never got beyond 100fps... I'm shooting an imagefilm for a tire company in Capetown in two weeks. I'll encourage my DoP to go as fast as possible :D

Sorry. My question was intended to be a response to 808_Bass's original post. But then, have you been in situations where you would have done 150fps if it was in the budget?

How many times have you done 150fps?

It's a common phrase with the crew i usually work with. I guess filmcrews are bad company... :P

I don't know about the storage in detail, but i'll ask my DP. He got the stock from a friend. We shot a greycard and colorcharts at every stop the lens had to offer and found out that sensitivity of the film dropped to half the original rating. So when we're shooting we will "overexpose" 1 stop to get flat exposure. (I'm sorry if this sounds a little clumsy. My technical english isn't the best...)

ARRI offers a handcrank that can be wired to a 435. It electronically syncs the motor to your cranking.

I usually use the eyebrow and siders to get rid of lens flares. If that's not enough i take the matte.

Do you know what heads built for 2Cs look like? (Sorry, i couldn't find a picture online...) They have a metal frame with a hole on top to give room for the motor. Next to this hole is a screw that fixes the camera. I suggest you build a frame like this (should look like a shoebox with the bottom cut out) from sheet metal and mount it to the wedgeplate of the O'Connor. I'm sorry for this poor description but my english misses the expressions i'm looking for. Try to find a picture of a 2C on a tripod and it should become very clear.

I was told by a lab technician that what really harms the filmstock are temperature changes. According to him recans should be kept at a constant, low temperature but should not be frozen. A few weeks ago i shot a test with positive stock that was kept in a filled bathtub for the last 20 years. When overexposed 1 stop the images came out fine.

As a sidenote i'll add an assistant's point of view: Kodak stock is easier to load than Fuji, because the piece of tape used by Kodak to hold the end of the roll is easier to handle. Kodak stock is always cut at a perforation hole what makes loading a lot easier. Fuji stock is cut randomly. The color coding of Kodak cans is a nice feature. I made the experience that the infamous hair in the gate appears more often when Fuji stock is used. But the only reasons for choosing a stock should be aesthetic ones.

That can't be denied. But Rickii was asking for slomo and frame by frame playback which is easiest done by a laptop. For tap recording i'd get a small camcorder with AV input. I worked with some steadicam operators that keep small camcorders attached to their rigs to record all takes for their archive.

I did a low budget shooting this year with Nikon lenses on a mini35 adapter. SLR lenses are a pain in the ass when it comes to pulling focus. After day 1 the DP was sick of the breathing, so we switched to Cookes. What also made my job a lot easier... :rolleyes:

Do you have a notebook computer? If you do I suggest you get a small Analog to DV converter and record the videosignal to your harddrive. If you get an additional external harddrive and recording software (eg Quicktime Pro) you will still spend a lot less than $1000.

My favorite film noir would be Double Indemnity.

The 16BL was built from 1965 to 1975. Try to find some german television news from that period. The 16BL was the standard news camera back then. I have worked with some BLs and they all had stickers from different TV stations on them.

Acetone is very agressive and will also remove or at least damage the paint. WD40 is a much better choice.

I'd never put a Panavision sticker on anything. I'm an ARRI man!! :P

Such a conversion would be a VERY difficult project. It would mean to more or less build a new camera. I'm sure you're better off (financially and technically) buying a IIC or something like that.