Leo Ticheli
Forum Replies Created
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The remake of “Carrie” was shot with no shutter to increase the motion blur.
Fortunately, this is quite easy to test; turn off the shutter and have a go. You’ll have a shutter duration of 1/24 second, which is pretty long.
Good shooting!
Leo
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First, this is the VariCam forum. There is a forum for the F900.
Second, you’ve cross-posted on at least three forums here. Please don’t do this.
Now, on your problem.
Did you shoot tests and evaluate the results before the shoot? Was the image acceptable to you? To your client?
Did the client comment on your use of the filters before the shoot?
Did I understand you correctly that your client said you can’t use softlights with HD? Where do you find people like that?
I don’t believe it’s at all necessary to shoot with mist filters, at least not with the VariCam, which is what I use. I can imagine only rare circumstances that call for that kind of diffusion on a properly setup professional HD camera.
Of course your eye and your style may depend on the filters, but your client should know and approve that before you shoot.
Good shooting!
Leo
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I also leave the Dark mode on all the time.
Setting up a VariCam is not such an easy task; you need patience, experience, a very good monitor, scopes, and, of course, DSC charts.
Plan on spending a good deal of time doing the setup.
If you don’t feel confident, hire a qualified camera engineer experienced with the VariCam; mistakes can have rather tragic consequences. I’ve heard certain errors can require a trip to Japan to fix!
We recently upgraded to the “H” model and it seems much cleaner, although I’ve not done comprehensive tests as I’ve really change my setup philosophy and preferences a good bit.
Good shooting!
Leo
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Please give us some specifics, and we can get a better handle on things.
I’m having trouble understanding why you are contemplating selling. If your business is profitable and you anticipate success going forward, why sell?
Help us out with some facts:
1. How many full-time employees do you have? What effect with the purchase have on them? This is such a people business, I can’t understand the value of buying your company if the “engine” that makes it go is not part of the deal. Surely the buyer can’t be interested in the gear. Do highly skilled people go along with the sale?
2. What sort of equipment is in your inventory? What’s the ratio of the market value to the debt on your gear?
3. How does the offer compare with the yearly net? What’s the multiple?
4. Are you just tired of what you’re doing and wanting a change? Are you still planning on moving to New Zeland?
5. Are you so involved with your new product development that you can’t do the production business? If so, is the sale of your business profitable enough to fund the development?
6. Please tell us more about the cable TV job offer! What exactly are they asking of you, and will that give you time to work your new products and have a personal life?
Please let us know any specific information you can share and the very best of luck with all your endeavours!
Best regards,
Leo
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Only when both parties win, is a contract a good one. Why is there such a short non-compete agrement? If your clients love you, why would they wish to be served by someone else? Why would they not ask you to serve them after the ninety day period, leaving the new owner out in the cold?
Sounds like you have many irons in the fire, a television production business, new products development, and the possibility of accepting a full-time job that could leave little time for your other various interests, not to mention a personal life.
Best or luck,
Leo
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This is certainly off-topic here at the FCP forum, and, considering the nonexistence of the RED camera, probably off-topic almost anywhere except chat.
I personally would love to shoot with a 35 MM sized chip HD camera before I finally hang up my spurs, and I applaud undaunted innovators, but I wouldn’t bet the farm that RED will do what we hope it will.
Let’s not forget that neither Sony nor Panasonic will be asleep at the wheel over the next couple of product cycles.
Almost anyone can design an ergonomic box with a lens mount and a holder for a chip; the challenges faced to bring it to market are considerable. Getting the image off the chip in a form that is manageable and usable is no mean task. Storage is not the slam-dunk many believe and this is fundamental to success. Work flow must be simple, reliable, and universal.
Finally, let’s not inflate our own importance; we cinematographers represent a tiny segment of the market, so the cost of development, manufacture, and after-sales support must be borne by few customers. That’s why items such as Chrosziel accessories which seem relatively inexpensive to make, cost a great deal, and highly complex devices, such as multi-megapixel still cameras for consumer use, are so cheap.
On the other hand, if Sony, Panasonic, and the others fail to innovate and RED actually produces the dream, I’ll be in line to buy one.
Good shooting!
Leo
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ALL the “Sony-style” Tripod plates suck, except for the Chrosziel; once you use it, you’ll wonder how lived without it.
Not cheap, however.
Good shooting!
Leo
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I just finished another white background job, which went extraordinarily well; a few tips from this, fresh in my mind.
First of all, I almost never white balance, saving this procedure for extreme situations. I must add that when the lighting is that bizarre, it’s usually discontinuous spectrum, and no amount of white balance can add color that’s just not there to begin with. I would say the white balance never fixes the problem, so I’m back to a preset and color grading in post. Those awful warehouse lamps are the scourge of our business and I pity those who have to work under them; they probably go home at the end of the day and kick their household pets.
I use the presets almost exclusively with the camera setup to my preference. There is great debate about this issue, preset v. white balance, and it’s been well covered at the Cow for anyone willing to do a search.
If you’re using the same camera, backing, and lights in different locations, your whites should match. More importantly, your skin tones will be consistent. If your lighting or backing changes from location to location, and you white balance, you may introduce variations in skin tone that will also have to be corrected.
I advise lighting the background first, bringing it just into clip. Add lighting to any areas that fall below clip and waste light that’s too far above. You must use just as much care in lighting the white backing as you would a green/blue screen; consistency is paramount.
I don’t recommend starting with a grey cyc; all this accomplishes, in my opinion, is that you need a ton more lighting to burn it out to white and you’re right back where you started, with the backing going just into clip.
I usually “cheat” a bit and hang a big Chimera F2 over my back cyc to produce a beautiful, smooth backing, but on this job we were hanging pictures from the grid with monofilament, so we had to use Altman’s and some 4K’s to hit dark spots.
Now light your foreground subject to an appropriate level relative to the brightness of the backing. You’ll have to change the intensity of your key depending on the skin density of the subject. Obviously, darker skin is much more of a challenge in such a high-contrast situation and the quality of the camera and format really come into play. Those cameras with limited dynamic range have a real problem achieving satisfactory results.
It’s not a complicated procedure, but it’s harder to achieve perfect results for all the reasons I mentioned in my previous post.
Good shooting!
Leo
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I’ve replaced our VariCam with the new H model; contact me off list to discuss the old one.
Best regards,
Leo
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A white background, which at first blush appears so easy, is actually quite difficult.
The real trick is bringing the white just into clip and having just the right level on the foreground. If the background is relatively too hot, you will get milky spill around the subjects. Too low, and it looks muddy.
The problem is compounded by automatic circuits in displays and the limited dynamic range of almost all video cameras; only those at the high end are able to hold sufficient detail in the highlights without crushing the mids.
If your subjects are dark complected, the task is even more difficult.
By the way, the auto-iris is probably the most dangerous device ever put on a motion picture camera and is totally out of place for professional applications.
Good shooting!
Leo