[John Sharaf]

If you want it to look like 24p, shoot 24p. The Varicam will lay it down on tape with the 3:2 pulldown at 29.97, just as if you shot on film and sent daily print to telecine for tape transfer. Remember to set shutter on camera to 180 degrees (1/48th) to completely match the film motion.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Arik,

I hope I don’t sound elitist or snobby, but no book nor training video will equate with matriculation at a university level film school. I can say this because I have both an undergraduate and masters degree from UCLA in Cinema, and it took me the better part of seven years to do so.

In addition to the books, classes and mentoring that went on there, there was also the extensive practical knowledge gained by working intensively with many other students in the production of hundreds of projects.

In addition, these types of schools have extensive facilities, such as stages, studios, libraries, dedicated rental shops, etc. which one could never otherwise have access to. I would suggest that it would near impossible to master the skills required of a professional without such access. The alternative is a length apprenticeship in an industry setting, but the drawback to this approach is is narrow view.

The greatest benefit of all however of the film school experience is the lasting relationships forged there which benefit all the parties throughout their careers. Filmmaking, despite the well known auteur theories is really a group experience and learning in a vacuum or by one’s self can be a very limited way. Ultimately, filmmaking (and I consider a cinematographer to be such because he/she must really be familiar with all the skills involved) is a process of communicating within a group, whether is be a two-person news crew or a hundred person feature company, and again this can not be learned in an isolated environment.

I know that it takes a lot of time and assets to pursue such an end, but I believe there are many extension classes, and other opportunities out there (more now than ever) to become a member of a learning community that will ultimately lead to the knowledge required of a cinematographer, not the least of which is watching hundreds of great classic films and discussing them with others who share your interest in photography.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Robert,

In the past, when the government committee tried to create standards for high definition (ATSC) there was a war, basically between the computer folks and the television folks. Neither won. Instead the committee created seventeen (or eighteen?) standards including 720, 1080, progressive and interlaced at various frame rates.

These standards will exist for a long time, because they really only come into effect next spring, when the digital transmission is mandated to begin.

You need not fear buying any HD camera as the formats are convertable and transcodable. The biggest danger, as has always been the case is the longevity of the recording format, and that which most prosumer cameras use, HDV is the most flawed and most likely to disappear in the near future.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Matthew,

I agree with you that Panasonic has dropped the ball with the new Varicams. First off the 3700 does not go to 60p frame rate, so it cannot really be called a “Varicam” and by making the 2700 only 720 capable they are creating an impossible situation for the freelancer who must service both 720 and 1080 accounts. I was told at the last NAB that this is because they could not create an 1920×1080 imager that would not overheat at 60p, but if that is the case they are prematurely bring the Varicam replacement to market; it must be both 720 and 1080 with a native 2.2 million pixel imager and have frame rates from 4-60. This combined with the AVC-I codec would make it the best and most capable 2/3″ camera on the market and would be a no-brainer upgrade for any varicam owner/operator that can convince his clientele to go P2 workflow.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Jeff,

Zebra set only has one level, that at which the zebra’s appear. They do not have an upper “limit” so that any thing above your 70% setting will show zebra. This is proper, and the reason why I, and many others, set our zebra setting to 98 or 100, so that we essentially use the indicator as a warning of impending clip and overexposure.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Kat,

Kino tubes can last for thousands of hours. They fail more from physical abuse than from excessive burn time.

Each tube is about half an amp so you can plug many units into a household circuit before you need work about blowing a fuse. This is one of the main advantages of kino flo lighting.

Finally, color temp will not change significantly because of use, other than to say that it does change as the unit warms up and gets hot. For that reason you might want to re-white balance after the lights have burned for an hour or so. Diva’s do have a tendency to burn green (and different than conventional Kinos) so many folks who like to shoot at preset white balances will often use a small amount of minus green (magenta) gel to compensate.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Kat,

The simple answer is yes, as there are standard sizes for baby mounts on light and stands. Be sure and mark all your gear with the same color paint or tape labels though, so when you are mixing up with other crews or rental gear you’ll be certain to get your stuff back at the end of the day.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Ernie,

I totally understand your position and have no intention to flame you for doing what you have to do. I own two decks, both the older 1200A and the 1400 and have to tell you that they’ve been an excellent investment and a great add-on both in production and post production, and I believe both are in profit already.

The reality is that when ever I shoot Varicam, the client must import it into their NLE and that’s when the deck comes into play. I offer it as a preferred rate of $300/day and in LA (subject to availability) that is kind of the going rate. This way I can often “switch” a client from another requested format (usually DigiBeta).

I’ve always considered the camera and the deck as a system, invaluable together to assure backup and workflow and then when it comes time to sell, the combination of the two assures the buyer of that same, and I can create a package price so the new owner has a complete system with which to service himself or his clients.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Ernie,

Of course there is extra wear on the camera, at the very least you have to rewind the tape(s). I know that it might not seem significant where only one tape is involved, but it’s just a bad habit that if exploited on a long term basis will cost the camera owner extra money in maintainence.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Tom,

The HDX900 in 1080 mode writes progressive frames at 24, 25 and 30 fps and interlace at 50 and 60, the same as other multispeed 1080 cameras like the Sony F900. I don’t believe you’re offered 59.94/60p in 1080 only in 720. The difference is that it always records at 30 frames/60 fields per second and therefore includes the 3:2 pulldown. The slight advantage to using the 1080 mode, even though it’s a native 720 imager is that the horizontal resolution of the recording is 1440 vs. 960, as both 720 and 1080 suffer some horizontal downrez.

JS