[John Sharaf]

James,

You can not go wrong with a Diva 400 for the purpose you specify, however there is no doubt that the 400 Joker is a more versatile light; you can use it as a strong soft daylight source in the Chimera or as a hard key with the varios par lenses. In addition it can be used to light a back wall or even punch through a window. For this versatility you are going to pay more, about three or four times more, but if lighting is your business, ultimately you will pay for it, and then it turns into a profit center.

Owning lighting equipment is very much like a drug habit; most folks start with a tungsten kit light set and grow to owning kinos, hmi’s and entertainment lights like Source Fours. Add in the grip equipment, cable package and even a generator set and you’ll get the idea. Of course you’ll need a truck to carry your kit to location and/or a sound stage to make best use of your lighting stash.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Kristen,

If you feel you really need eye lights, the only possible scenario would be to tastefully use on-camera units. The new LED Litepanels are really nice and pretty subtle, especially with the built in dimmer, but they are pricey!

The challange in using this type of light is to keep it out of your other camera, and to keep from making shaddows which reveal the lights’ presence. this is a tall order and the better course is probably to do without.

If you want to keep the dark side from going black, another alternative is to use some kind of bounced fill light. This type of source can be made to be directionless and will not reveal an attemp to artificially illuminate a scene.

[John Sharaf]

Leo,

I’m suprised you didn’t mention the Goodman book (Goodman’s Guide to the Panasonic Varicam) as a source of information about this great camera. It is certainly better than the manufacturer’s instruction book, although I recomend that as well.

Neither book however is as good as a hands on demo from an experience Varicam user, but the books do become more valuable once you have a basic understanding of the unit, it’s software and various switches and controls.

This is not to say that an experienced betacam shooter can not just pick up a Varicam and make pretty pictures, but it is true that the many settings and features can definately be used to a cameraperson’s advantage if they devote some time and energy in learning about them!

JS

[John Sharaf]

James,

It’s my understanding that the XDCAM which has a 1 million pixel imager only uses half that amount in interlace mode, perhaps this is also true with the HDCAM!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Try Victory Battery in Chatsworth, Ca. They have a method of opening up the AB package and resealing it with fresh high quality cells. ask for Jerry!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Kristen,

As far as syncing the two shots up, the DVX does not, like more professional cameras, have time code input, so it is not possible to “slave” the codes to match. The low tech solution is to hit common sticks so that the editor can line up the two pictures. Advise the operators not to cut, but if they do, you must slate again.

Multicamera shooting does require some aditional coordination between the two operators; or else you’re likely to get matching shots which will be difficult to edit. Again, the simple approach is to assign one camera to tighter, and one to wider. Alternatively, if there are two people in the scene, one camera could key on each player, trying to keep “two eyes” as much as possible.

As far as the lighting, the “chore” you refer to is trying to place the lights so that there are no stands in the shot. The keys should come if possible from the direction the actor is looking (probably towards the other actor), so either hangers, boom arms or polecats are de riguer. Sometimes an omnidirectional source like a china ball or Chimera pancake lantern is good for this purpose; the trick here is to control the spill off the walls.

The main reason for this type of shooting is to allow the actors some freedom of movement and improvisation. An alternate approach is to use rehersals (even without the crew present) to try out these things and then repeat the best stuff with the camera (or cameras) rolling. You just understand that shooting with two cameras in every direction is difficult because one must keep the other camera out of the shot as well as compromising the lighting because of the difficulty of hiding the units and the method of rigging. You must really calculate carefully if this is the best approach!

[John Sharaf]

Rumor has it that panasonic has actually lowered the list price to $4200???

[John Sharaf]

Dusty,

Panasonic LCD kit prices as follows (all list):

BT-LH900 @ $4890
Portabrace Case @ $199
Power cord to AB tap @ $135
HD Isreali Arm & Slide Shoe Mount @ $197

Call Pete at Birns and Sawyer and mention my name for a good discount.

John Sharaf

[John Sharaf]

Dusty,

I have both an Astro (without waveform though) and Panasonic 8″ LCD and I highly prefer the Panasonic. It’s menu is fairly complicated but so are the Astro controls and the Panasonic has two HD-SDI inputs, which is helpful in lining up two-camera shoots. I understand there is currently a promotion in place whereby Panasonic is giving the monitor away with a new Varicam!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Bob,

It’s a good strategy to reframe if possible to eliminate the overexposed area!

All cameras have “white clip” circuitry, and the level canj be adjusted on professional gear. I believe the nominal level is 108 ire, but often folks set it down a bit, especially for live satalite broadcast, where I often adjust it down to 100 ire.

JS