[John Fishback]

The two bulbs are not interchangeable. One is designed to be used with 120v service which is common in the US. The other is designed for 220v service as is found in Europe. Plug the 120 into 220 service and watch the bulb go pop. Plug the 220 into 120v service and it will light, but be very dim. I’ve never tested this, but I’d guess if you compare the output of a 120v, 1000 watt bulb with a 220v, 1000 watt bulb they’d be similar.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

I believe both outputs are active at the same time. It’s easy to test as you have the camera. Of course the quality of the two signals (HDMI vs. composite) will be noticeably different. Using the component out will get you closer to the HDMI out than the composite.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Your budget is fairly low if you want to be able to achieve a simple balanced look. You don’t have to go crazy with the budget, but $250 is skimpy. Checkout Alzo Video for high-quality lights with very reasonable pricing. There’s a link to their video tutorials at the bottom of the page. It might help you form ideas of the number and kind of lights you’ll need to get the job done. Last suggestion is to browse the Lighting Design Pros Forum on the COW.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Another suggestion is Shotput Pro which will manage off-loading, naming folders, byte-by-byte verification and more. IMHO, the verification capability makes it a must use when we offload cards. And you can simultaneously offload to multiple drives if you’re as crazy as I about having multiple backups.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Checkout Alzo Video’s on-camera lights. We have the 790L. It’s flexible, dimmable, comes with various filters and the price is very competitive. And it works off-camera, too. It’s handy when you need to hide a light in a car or on a set.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

There may be other drivers or components that aren’t happy with 10.6.8. When I installed that update on my MacBook Pro I experienced immediate kernel panics when trying to boot up. There are no AJA drivers on the MBP. I reinstalled 10.6.7 and all is well. If anyone has an idea of what else could be causing the kernel panic I’d appreciate a heads up.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Compressors work by setting a ratio: 2 to 1, 4 to 1, etc. What that means is with a 4 to 1 ratio the compressor only lets its audio output rise 1db for each 4db rise at the input. It’s “compressing” the dynamic range of the audio. The threshold adjustment on the compressor sets the point where the compressor starts to operate. For instance, a threshold of -40db means the compressor acts on any sound over -40. That would add a lot of compression compared to -10 which would require louder audio before triggering the compressor.

Other common adjustments are attack and release. Attack sets how quickly the compressor starts when seeing audio over the threshold. Release is how quickly the compressor stops compressing after audio drops beneath the threshold. All these controls interact so setting them can be somewhat of an art.

I’d suggest starting with a ratio of 3 or 4 and experiment with different settings for the threshold. Leave the attack & release at their defaults to start. Listen carefully to the audio as there will be a point where you start to “hear” the compressor. The audio sounds crushed. This is generally not good. Raise the threshold or lower the ratio.

If you watch your meters, you’ll probably see less of a swing from softest sound to loudest. That the compressor working. At times it’s necessary to add output gain because as the compressor works it may lower the apparent audio level. If you Google, “using an audio compressor” a bunch of advice will pop up. Be aware that there are new Congressional guidelines governing how loud commercials can be.

Final Cut has a compressor in its audio plugins. It can work well, but its controls aren’t the best. Pro Tools comes with compressors, too. You’ll find them in the Dynamics category.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Beautifully done!

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

This is a must see for people thinking of using large sensor digital cameras. I’m not a DP and this shootout opened my eyes to many camera parameters and how they inter-relate. All the cameras have strengths and weaknesses, and knowing them allows us to get the most from a particular camera. I look forward to the next episode in this shootout series.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN

[John Fishback]

Thanks for the heads up, Tom. I’ve used Klaus’ plugins for years. It’s good news he’s producing FCP X plugins. I’m sure more and varied will follow.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN