Amsterdam NTSC shoot with 50Hz lighting question.

[Todd Mcmullen]

mike, your best, and really only reliable solution is to get there ahead of time and check it out and do some tests. but, you probably know this. If you can’t then you have to take what is given to you. You might want to taka a couple of lights with you so you can try to light your speakers a little better than the top light you will have from the house lighting. This may help you overpower the rooms lighting. hard to say without seeing?

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Paul Thurston]

Here’s the scoop,

If the rooms in Amsterdam actually have fluorescent lights or similar AC arc discharge sources, your NTSC cameras will pick up a 50Hz flicker. To fix this you set your shutter to 1/100 which will get rid of the flicker. You will lose 1 f-stop of light sensitivity. This works because the shutter speed is a multiple of the electrical frequency. The flicker, once recorded, is almost impossible to get rid of in post (unless you have a Discreet smoke and lots of time and money.)

-Paul

[John Hartney]

I’d also consider running from battery to avoid line noise. All of the cameras you are using have excellent DC uptime when using the fp90 batteries.

[Mike Hennessey]

Thanks all, I got a few more details. I just found out that the lighting at the hotel is all 50 watt halogen lamps. So what do you think, will I get the big nasty flicker? We arrive 2 days early and plan to do a test first thing. If it fails we will rent cameras over there. Can any one recommend a rental house in Amsterdam?

Thanks -Mike

[Paul Thurston]

Hi Mike,

Halogen lamps do not flicker so your NTSC cameras will not pickup flicker. On the other hand, if the room has fluorescent lighting for decoration purposes, you will need to set up the shutter speed to 1/100.

Enjoy your trip over there
Paul Thurston