[Bob Cole]

If you have lights on stands, you may want to bring an assistant who can carry the lights for you and make sure everything stays safe.

If the nursing home has a drop ceiling, and you want to avoid the danger of light stands, consider a drop ceiling scissor clamp to hang a small light from the ceiling.

Natural light is best, of course. Soft light from windows is very easy on your subjects and more flattering than most artificial light.

And/or, consider a small camera light just for filling in the shadows. That would avoid the problem of light stands and cables, it’s inexpensive, and if handled appropriately (with diffusion), can be beautiful. It would be even better to hand that small camera light to an assistant, who stands a couple feet to the side, so that your subject can look at the camera without squinting.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Todd Terry] “[Bob Cole] “Lowel is pretty good about keeping spare parts in stock.”

Because they have to.”

Yeah, that snideness was intentional. But at the same time, a genuine appreciation. I’ve needed spare parts for items from several suppliers, and Lowel’s procedure compares well with those of the more prestigious names.

[Bob Cole]

[Don Greening] “With your older Macs transcoding before editing is the way to go.”

Do you have a workflow to recommend, for doing that XDCAM->ProRes422 transcode? And do you recommend “normal” or “HQ” ProRes422?

On the advice of David Weiss, I’m considering a new iMac, but even so, anything that speeds up the process of editing sounds very useful.

Thanks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

I too have been surprised by the high price of new PL zooms.

What about repurposing used optics, that were developed for film cameras? Is there a technical reason that they wouldn’t be useful for a large sensor video camera?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

I’m guessing the answer is “no,” unless it particularly fills some need. There are usually good reasons for a product to be discontinued. I’ve always suspected that the perpendicular configuration of the lights in the Scandle is inefficient (relying almost entirely on the reflector to bounce the light), but I really don’t know. otoh, Lowel is pretty good about keeping spare parts in stock.

[Bob Cole]

[Todd Terry] “all-LED shoot”

Sounds great. Which LED lights do you like, and why those, for exterior shoots? I really like the idea of being able to operate without AC.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Cardboard tubes will work, and if you need extra length, you can nest one inside the other. Usually you’ll find that, though they are all labeled as 8″ diameter, one is small enough to fit into another. With a bit of overlap and some wrapping tape, you can create a long, light, strong, and cheap shipping tube -perhaps too long for air shipping on a given carrier.

Best strategy, as mentioned, is to use a real shipping company like FedEx. Ship to one of their store locations, roll up in your rental and you’re on your way.

Back to air shipping:
Light-weight cases from Lightware are good. But no wheels, except on one large case, afaik. And they are expensive. But strong and light!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Mark Shepherd] “When you focus at 24 and zoom in, the focus shifts.”

The usual technique is to zoom into max telephoto, focus, then zoom out.

I’d be interested in whether anyone has made an actual lab test of parfocal Canon zooms.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Thanks for outing me.

[Bob Cole]

Good problem to have. A second computer can be very useful for:

1. After Effects rendering on #2 while you’re still editing on the other computer.
2. Compression rendering on #2.

Bob C