Frank Otto
Forum Replies Created
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Leo, this is great stuff and should be archived! A nearly foolproof and easily folowed guide for novices and refresher for those of us who don’t do the portrait shot on a regular basis.
Thanks!
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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John:
Thanks for the tip on tulle…I haven’t used it in that manner but I’ll try it.
I know what you mean about the stretch…for years I’ve used “retainer bands” and an A.C.C. type cement once it’s aligned – problem has always been that I’ll leave it on for weeks at a time, then have to scrape the net off (and no, I’ve never dammaged the lens – it scrapes off with an orange stick)
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Hey John:
So is the Fogel now the prefered net? For years I’ve been using the Dior 1&2 tan rose and the Dior Midnight Black. Have these fallen out of favor or is there a major difference?
I mean, one pair of Dior stockings have lasted me ten years…but I am running out of material –
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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A warm/cold card is just a fooler…it fools the camera into thinking it’s balanced properly or that there is a uniform color temp. When you use the card, it’s just like putting a filter on the lens – it affects everything. The cards may serve a use…if you’re in an office with flo’s or the whole scene needs correction and you can’t correct individual light fixtures. You can still “paint” with your lights, but now you have to overcome the out of range white balance and possibly having to add more light with denser color gels.
Warming/cooling a scene with lighting gives you a lot more latitude. Say you need to warm a person, yet cool a wall – contrasts in emotion between a cold room and a distraught person. Or show the warmth in a room vs. the cold of the exterior light. The red glow of neon contrasting with the bluish (actually daylight)look of moonlight in a cheezy hotel room. And don’t forget the “pop” of making a person stand out – like in a live shot situation – hitting them with a 3200k light in a fading daylight scene…a warm card’s just going to redden up the late day look and fade your talent into it.
Granted, not everything we do is art…news lighting has always had the battle between fast and good and many low end commercials are in the same catagory – one hour to shoot, three hours in post for a budget station type spot leaves you little time to do more than throw up a pair of 1ks and light the room…hoping the talent stays in the sweet spot. But there’s nothing other than time and lack of interest that precludes us from making even the simplest car lot spot into art.
When you get the opportunity to do more than slash a light on a wall and build a emotional palette of color on the walls and objects in the shot, it brings out a noticeable emotional response in the viewer…draws them in to the story you are telling. Picking what you want to bring out OR make disappear is a vital part of lighting for mood and tone – emotional cues the viewer may need to get your message.
It’s what separates D.P’s from lighting camera operators.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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AND…
Yes, all our units were alarmed. Pager alarms for the driver, a howler on the exterior (kinda worthless) and a “piercer” in the cab – a 210db h.f. device that will bring a normal person to their knees if exposed more than 15 seconds to that high SpL.
If you go the piercer/shrieker route, check with local/state regs. for liability…in some jusrisdictions, criminals have the right not to have an instant migraine or their ears bleed when they try to rig you off.
Also be sure to have locked storage. The simplest thing was a two-drawer steel file cabinet with a lock…for parts, adapters, lenses, radios…anything that is really expensive, can’t be rack mounted and can walk away. Our cameras and vtr (3/4″ days) were in a locked laterial file cabinet, bolted to the floor with the top being used as additional storage.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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When I had Minicam Ltd. running in L.A. we had “generic” vans – white, grey, brown – unmarked, at least, until we got to the job site, then magnetic signs were applied for whatever network (ABC NBC CBS CNN WOLD)the vehicles were assigned to. Each unit had two door signs, a rear door sign and a pair upper rear panel signs, all stored on-board. Thinking about it…it kinda looked like “Mission Impossible”…changing out ABC logos for NBC logos in a parking lot…
Occasionally, if one was working an all day ENG assignment, we’d keep the signs on. As a “news unit” in So Cal the CHP might cut you some slack if you buzzed up the median or shoulders to get around traffic – or wave you into a news scene without question.
Note, this was before the “circus wagon” look that most news and production companies went to in the mid-eighties.
Driving around and non-working periods where you’re parked and away from the vehicle we found it’s better to have the unit unmarked…although with our units – clean, waxed, with microwave masts, antenna farm, exterior lights, road trunks and extra AC on the roof, you’d figure it was obivious the van had value. But on-site at events, a marked van “belongs” and gets a bit more attention by on-site security (talking large venue events and shoots here).
When Minicam Ltd. was morphed into Sandbox Studios, we stopped providing microwave units and doing live ENG. Our production vans had a simple company logo on the front doors – much like the film studios do in L.A
Do the markings get you more business? No. For stations it’s a promotional tool – the advance wagon for a traveling show. But for production, commercials, etc., it’s really only good for one thing – impressing the other folks out there who go “wow” when they see a production unit drive up next to them, and the client who wants to stroke their ego when your truck is parked in front of his store/home/venue.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Gary:
Glad we could help!
I don’t think there was an assumption about your use. The copyright morass is just so nasty these days. Most toys (and puppets kinda fall in that category) have their image/design copyrighted and in the case of several famous ones (Barbie, any Muppet, Gund Bears, etc.) they are also trademarked and service marked.
But try the guys at Puppet Productions…I worked with founder Bill Hawes back in San Diego and the quality and service is still just as good since their move to Texas.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Isn’t Local IA 756541@#$% the splinter local of the Cartoonist’s Guild? They broke away after the NLRB ruling re: that the Banana Splits charaters wern’t cartoons but puppets.
(btw – that’s funny, Tony)
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Oops…wrong url. The correct one is:
https://www.puppetproductions.com/
Note: I’ve used several of these puppets for training videos when I needed off the shelf “Muppet” types. Also be aware that Puppet Productions, although a company geared towards misnistry related support is, a fine company that produces a quality product for commercial use, so don’t let the religious overtones of their sales deter you from checking them out.
Prices are reasonable too – they sell singles, full sets of puppet players and costumes-accessories.
Cheers,
Frank Otto
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Generic puppets? Are you describing the standard plush hand puppet – the ones that look like animals? Did not someone design them?
O.K., so you’re likely not to have a problem with oh, say Kiel or Kamar or Prince or any of the hundreds of toy puppet manufacturers that make the plush type…but say you get a Gund or Carson or PuppetPeople puppet – those folks are protective of their characters…and unless you’re an expert in toy companies….well.
If you are looking at Muppet style puppets, there are several makers of “custom-type” puppets – Puppet Makers is one – see their site at puppetmakers.com
You can also build your own – there are plenty of books availible – most are felt and styrofoam construction and are grade school in skill level of construction.
I built a dozen a decade or so back for Nissan Motors – took me all of a month…it’s not that difficult – easier than setting a copyright dispute.
Cheers,
Frank Otto