Joe Taylor

I'm shooting both and have been for over two years. Clients still want film, but I play around and shoot some stock (for High Def requests) with a Canon D1. For 35mm astronomy work, I mounted an Arri 2C to a telescope mount that had it's own dedicated trailer. I was doing :15 min. tracking exposers for that. You can see one of the shots in the second link below. For doing astro-photography/astro-cinematography with a DSLR, I piggyback the camera on a Meade ETX 125, a full setup that I can carry with one arm. There's no way you're going to mount a 35mm film camera to a consumer grade telescope. It's so much easier with a DSLR setup. Yes, the DSLR sensor is much more sensitive for doing long-exposure work, especially deep sky photography. But I still stick to my formula for both formats when shooting moonlit landscapes and get excellent results with both.

Use a high speed film, I've always used 500 Speed Kodak and some Fuji. 2.8 at around :25-:30 sec. will give you a nice sky filled with pin point stars. If you go longer than that you risk getting star trails, but that may be what you want. I usually use a wide-angle lens, that way you pick up pick up some darker areas of the sky and a good chunk of the Milky Way belt. To get a moon lit night landscape with stars, do the exact same "formula" above. Try to have something in the foreground for a subject. After that experiment with different settings. The great thing is is that you never know what you're going to get. I've been doing this for 15 years and I still get all sort of happy accidents. The biggest threat to your shot is light pollution. Get as far away from the city as possible. Check out my links below to my film "Dead Lonesome." Experimental film about ghost towns and the western landscape. All time-lapse in 35mm.

"To store a digital master record of a movie costs about $12,514 a year, versus the $1,059 it costs to keep a conventional film master." Quote from the NY Times Article. Why does it cost so much to archive a film? I can understand why digital would cost more. But $1,000+ to store a box of film... I can imagining the government paying these prices, but a company in the private sector....?

Can anybody recommend a good book or two about the art of Audio Recording in the Field? Thanks

Exactly! How did these guys manage to come up with both a F23 and RED? You'd think having the rare opportunity possess two high-end cameras and the time to play with them, they'd do something more scientific then cruising around maybe thinking that their results would amount to a real and honest comparison. For the straight on shots were they shooting through the windshield? If so, this could have a dramatic effect on the shots.

Okay.

Thanks for the link. For distant thunder, would a pro use a pair of shotgun mics?

REDUSER booted this "Mike Miller" hermaphrodite (and other assumed handles) for trolling the forums and talking really pathetic trash.

When recording the highest quality "Distant Thunder" and "Hushed Winds," doing this in the field, what would a professional use in terms of microphone setups. Thank You

A Canon XL2 side by side with a Canon XL H1, shooting the same exact subject with all of the elements the same. Playing back the footage from these two cameras on identical High Def monitors, how are they going to compare? Those in the know who have seen such results and can offer no B.S. answers, I'd appreciate hearing what you have to say.

Please! Please! I meant nothing but praise for all of your help-- Michael, you get the most kudos. Your replies to everybodies questions are nothing but sincere and are beyond helpful. "Rant" was an ugly description. What I meant was you seemed to have some "reservations." I guess I used it because I had/still have my money stuffed in a jar for that Nizo Pro. I suppose I'm grossly in need of one of those film-school-like edcumactations in the Super 8 video trade and could use a sharp word and a swift boot to get me started proper.

Hello Michael I had read your sort of rant against Nizo's and their problems (seperate battery packs for different features) and with tripod mounting issues and the needing for jumpers and such to allow them to mount. I assumed that the Professional was one of those witht the screwy handle. If this is not the case with the Nizo Professional then I take back what I said. It's just that the Nizo sound about as ideal as any camera made for the sort of time-lapse work I hope to shoot with. And thank you for you kind words with my film "Dead Lonesome." Once I scrape the bucks together for a RED (as long as they build the intervelometer in the future model as they clim they ill) you'll find when applying my craft world wide (with a souped up Super 8 in tow.) You can get some of the greatest footge withat that little frame and no amount of digitl mumbo-jumbo can create and it's real-- organic. Some one mentioned the Bolex H8. I considered it and it would top my list, but where am I going to get the film? What if I wanted to shoot the new Super 8 negatives through it. No go... right? Thanks for everybodys help. You guys/gals run a hell of a forum with none of that uptight elietism (sp.) found elsewhere. Just joking.... sort of.

Okay, I thoght I had it narrowed down to the Nizo model for time-lapspe with time-contolled features, but then there are some serious issues regarding tie downs with the handgrip. This could be a serious problem with for me. So you on the know. **WHAT IS THE BEST, WITH MONEY NOT AN ISSUE< HANDS BEST SUPER 8 CAMERA AVAILABLE. CONTROL OF TIME-EXPOSURES IS AN ABSOLUTE*** Thank Your all

Excellent Michael, I think there is a Nizo in my future.

I had to see this one twice, always a good sign. I think oen fo the most intersting and hauntign shots was when the Sherrif and Chiurg (sp.) are sort of seeing one another through the punched out locking mechanism. Really creepy.

Hello!! Thanks for all the great info. Aboce and beyond in help. Yeah, I figure I'll have to scrap the Beaulie (sp.) and get a camera with built in time-lapse (exposure features.) I'm sort of confused which cameras have true time-exposure abilities that are controlled, i.e. I set the exposure duration. It seems that they work simply by exposing until they have soaked up enough light, not the best method for tricky shots. Thank you for all your help.

Hello All Would love to step up my time-lapse trade from 35mm to Super 8. Don't know beans about Super 8 cameras though. I've inquired and gotten great responses about high-end Super 8 cameras with time-lapse and importantly time-exposure abilities. I have a Beaulieu S2008 that has a manual single frame jobber. Has there ever been an intervelomer made for this camera? Where is a good web site that has great descriptions about Super 8 cameras with good pictures? Any good coffee table like books?

Excellent!! I had no idea there were so many options. I'll start at the top of your list. Thanks.

Can anybody tell me where I can buy film for the Bolex H8? Also, what about processing? I called the wizards at Pro8mm and all I can hear was them scratching their heads.

Would love to do some time-lapse work (primarily time-exposures) in super 8, but with the exception of the Bolex H8, cannot find any capable cameras. Are there any super 8's out there that can do any time-exposures?

I chucked a Bentley out of an airplane at 13,000 and it was still chugging away when we found it an hour later in a soggy field. I'm so damn proud of that piece of crap that I gave it a place on my mantel, dirt and all. It run out of film long before it hit the ground. My next sacrifice was a Canon XL something at 3,000. It still runs too.

Another Good One! Fiona Apple's "Nothings going to change my world" Beautiful Video.

Werner Hersog's new film has been getting great praise for it's cinematography, but I've searched high and low and can not find any information as to what it was shot on. I've seen several production pictures, but I am not sure what kind of camera is in the pics. It almost looks like a HD camera-- can't be sure though, since I've read that Herzog is a "man of celluloid." I'd also be surprised to hear that they would risk shooting in a total electroic medium in such a cold, harsh environment. Does anybody have any hard info as to what format "Encounters at the End of the World" was shot on?

The reason the picture quality is "poor since the footage was shot with 16mm cameras." That's what DVD Beaver says, anyways. Sigh. I'm all for the 1st and freedom of speech and all the other good stuff, but when people write as a profession and do so believing that they are doing so for the benefit of their readers it would be pure nirvana if they knew what they are talking about before "educating" their minions. This is even more true in a film community. This guy, "Eddie Fing," is writing about a film and acts like he knows a thing about film production but looses credibiltiy with what I guess is a fact in his book.

Thanks Freya You expect to see this kind of crap on video game sites or forums dedicated to assult rifles, but I was sort of shocked to see it stink up a site where I would hope people were a little more progressive and open minded. Thanks for saying something.