Shooting on a Beach with 500T (and all the other troubles it brings...)

[Lucky Cheng]

Hey guys, I'm gonna be shooting on an Arricam ST next weekend, most of the work is beach day. Unfortunately the stock I was provided to shoot with (it's a small production but they wanted to shoot film...) is 8547 (Fuji Eterna Vivid 500T).

 

I need you guys' advice on a number of things:

 

-I read about 2000fc (between f/22-36 at 500ASA). Will stacking on 5-7 stops of ND impede my ability to see through the finder? Of course it will darken the finder a lot, but in theory, if you're actually shooting an interior lit to 500ASA, wouldn't you have the same about of light coming through the finder anyway?

 

-I'll also be flying it on Steadicam--will the signal from the tap be bright enough with that much density in front? Not sure yet if it's the standard NTSC tap or the HD IVS. Is the HD IVS brighter/more sensitive?

 

-What do you guys think about pulling a stop? I usually overexpose 2/3 of a stop on negative anyway, but on a beach I feel I should protect my highlights. I know there's a lot of latitude in the highlights, but how would underdeveloping affect this?

 

-How do Standard Speeds perform between f/11 to f/22? I never usually go this far down but I hear there are aberrations on some lenses.

 

-We're also supposed to go for a pastel unsaturated palette (I know....). What do you guys think about using filtration to try and cut down the poppy colors? Maybe a Lo Con or Ultra Con? Or should I just handle this during the scan?

 

-I'm thinking I don't want to throw on an 85 and alter the color in the finder. What kind of grain and bias shifts should I expect, and how should I deal with them? Would anyone recommend against not compensating?

 

Thanks for checking this out--if anyone can help with any of these questions that would be great!

[Lucky Cheng]

Wandering thought--the 250D is only one stop slower and would require only one less stop of filtration, but folks seem to go for it for rain-or-shine safety, so the filtration can't be too horrible for the finder/tap?