[John Sharaf]

Chris,

I would be very careful useing “high color” setting; I don’t know why they even put it in the camera? They should have included (as F900/3 did) universal saturation control so you can selectively increase the saturation.

All that being said, it is still possible to use the matrix and color correction settings to create more saturated looks. Ideally you’d use a Chroma de Monde DSC chart and a vectorscope to increase saturation equally in all directions. It’s not that difficult. Furthermore, as long as the matrix is set to accurately reproduce the six vectors it’s a simple matter in post to increase the saturation.

Another factor of course is the amount of dynamic range that is invoked; the more you use the less saturation remains, same is true with gamma, it has an effect on the overall saturation. Ideally you’ll find some setting short of 500% that gives you control of your highlights and the strong colors you’re looking for!

[John Sharaf]

Vlady7,

Traditionally a documentary film is a film without a script or actors that portrays real people and events. Ideally the filmmaker tries to minimize their presence and instructions to the participants. It is often said that a documentary is made three times; when you conceive of the project, when you shoot the project and when you edit the project. At each phase there is an opportunity to discover the inner truth or veracity of the subject.

Some documentaries are short (under an hour) and others are feature length. Documentaries are rarely commercial, that is popular at the box office, but are usually made because the filmmakers feel strongly about a subject or topic, as is described as a “labor of love”. Some however, like “Woodstock” (and others in the concert music vein) have done well and survived as “documents” of particular times and social melieus.

The true spirit of documentaries, as opposed to fictional films, is “the pursuit of the truth” which can be very difficult because all filmmakers bring their own unique point-of-view to the party and must excercise great discipline to remain objective. This is why many people dismiss Michael Moore’s films (such as the hughly successful Farenheit) as not being “true” documentaries. Other filmmakers are sometimes more successful in hiding their agendas, even though their oppinions are just as strongly held.

With the proliferation of “reality television” the distinctions between fiction and non-fiction are now often confused, and even a sophisticated audience can be fooled by the use of documentary technique (like handheld camera and jump cutting) into thinking that a scripted show is real and true (Soderbergs HBO show about Washungton lobbyists comes to mind). It is therefore up to the modern audiences to be more decerning than ever about such things.

I hope this gives you some basis on which to pursue this topic!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Michael,

A search of the internet reveals:

https://www.hdexpo.net/workshops/varicampHome.html

Varicamp is a good thing; well worth the time and money!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Riley,

Victory Battery recently moved; new number is 818-576-9600.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Riley,

That’s basicly correct, although I’m not a fan of useing cigarette lighter connectors (especially for 30v source as you’d expect it to be 12v like in a car and surely will fry some 12v device in the future). A more professional choice is the screw-in Amphenal, and Mole actually makes a little household to Amphenol adapter for use with 30v batteries having this connector. You could try Victory Cinevideo Battery in Los Angeles at 818-840-2766 (ask for Jerry); they have such a unit at probably the same price, and he could also probably provide the pigtail adapter.

Also, be careful to de-lamp your 30v globe after battery use, because if you plug it into the 120v mains it’ll blowup!!!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Riley,

The Teenie-Weenie is a very versatile light; it uses 220v, 120v and 30v globes. For the portable lighting application you describe you’d use the 30v globes which are designed for use with battery packs such as the one you mention in the B&H catalog. I believe that the Lowell Omni light also takes similar globes!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Riley,

There are many kinds and types of portable lighting; not just on-camera models. These are convenient for the power reason you mention, you simply “hitch-hike” off the cameras’ power supply, and Anton Bauer has made this easy with their “power tap” connector. But if you have the luxury of having an additional lighting technician to hand hold or move the portable light on a stand that’s great, and can be a real benefit in making a beautiful source light.

But to get the portable light off-axis and off-camera, you’ll need another power source; of course to minimze extra gear you could use an AB receptical that provides the power tap and another camera battery, but a much more useful power source is a lighting battery belt (usually 7AH capacity). These are usually dual voltage; 12-14v plus 28-30v allowing a wide variety of lights to be powered either by 4 pin XLR or 30v Amphenol connectors. You could even use a 200w HMI (like a Joker or Arri Pocket Par) with the proper ballast and/or invertor. With the inverter you can even use a Kino
Flo, but what I most often use os a Mole Teenie-Weenie Mole with a 30v globe. This unit is powerful enough to even add a dichroic or Macbeth Blue Glass for daylight balanced applications.

If you rent such a belt, it’s a good idea to cycle it with a light before your shoot to find out exactly how long it will last, and then give it a full 14 hour charge.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Illannn,

Congratulations on winning the prize!

As regards the 24p, it’s really simple. If you consider that the tape you record in the Varicam (when shot at 24p) is the same as a tape you would walk away from a film-to-tape session you should understand. The only difference is that the first of the frames that is repeated in the 3:2 pull down cadance is “marked” in the user bits as an “A” frame and so it’s able to be pulled out into a 24p project in FCP or to be “filmed out” to film at the end of the editing process.

You are correct in your understanding that all you’ll need is a Panasonic 1200A VTR to digitize the tape into your Final Cut Pro. The great advantage to this “Firewire” workflow is that you don’t need any additional third-party capture cards or exotic RAID storage; simple and inexpensive Firewire drives will suffice and you’ll be editing in the native DVPRO100 codec.

The Varicam does have many settings that can influence the look of the camera; including Dynamic Range, Gamma, Black Stretch, Matrix and Color Correction. It’s a good idea to experiment before your shoot with these various settings and/or refer to the Goodman Guide to the Varicam for some guidance. Perhaps you could borrow this book from the Varicam supplier.

In any event good luck!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Mathew,

Yes, the TC is embedded in the HD-SDI signal! The only way I can get to it though is through my 1200A VTR to the TC OUT spiget. On my multicam rig however, which includes Copperhead Cine Fiber Cable systems, I route the TC from the TC OUT connector of the “A” camera back through the CH Base Station, to a conventional DA and then back into the other CH base stations’ TC IN connectors and then into the TC IN connector at the camera end. I also sync (genlock) all cameras to the same Tri-level-sync generator, which again is carried through the Fiber Cable System.

I’m sure there are other third party devices, perhaps by Evertz or Miranda that allow you to strip the TC from the HD-SDI, but you’re right, there might be delays of a frame or more.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Judge,

I think that’s true; you should look into the Anton Bauer HMI Ultralite; it’s a nice system with interchangable tungsten source and there is even a small Chimera accessory that “takes the curse off” the bright spotty on-camera look. All this stuff can be had for less money than the basic Lite Panel.

JS