Rick Amundson
Forum Replies Created
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As long as the shot is locked off (no movement) there is nothing you really need to do special. If you use a soft key light on the monitor, you could always layer the reflection it creates back over the top of the footage you insert to make it seem more realistic.
Best of luck!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
I think the the Steven Katz book is great. It will definitely help you understand the technical side of shooting multiple people.
Don’t forget, however, to use your frame and angles to help tell the story. Is there tension between these 2 people? Are they intimate? For example, you could frame a pole in the background so it lands right between the characters on the 2 shot to give a sense that the characters are isolated from each other. Maybe you can use tree branches to create a vignette to bring them closer together.
Anyway, don’t forget the art in your technical pursuit.
Best of luck!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Did you really ask how many GRIPS it takes to light a HANDSHAKE?
There’s a good punch line in there somewhere but I’m not sure it’s appropriate for this forum. Hey, there’s an idea. How about a new production jokes forum.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
I agree that it is a “detailing” issue. I’m not familiar with the settings in the JVC but you should look at the overall detail setting, maybe the vertical detail setting or vertical detail frequency but lowering your overall detail should solve the problem.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Great solution for no budget, minimal equipment shoots. I could see doing that in an office to open a scene. Now how can we modify that for side to side motion?
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
The Router Speed Control looks like an affordable option. I’m gonna have to get me one. We have several of the 1k Home Depot versions and they work just fine.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
I’m just glad that there is finally some one new so I can start to recoup from my secret handshake initiation.
Rick, welcome to the forum.
BTW, Todd, how many grips do you need to get done in only 45 minutes? That’s awesome!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Here’s a poor man’s solution. Light from a screen changes not only intensity but also color as scenes change location, time of day, etc.
The key is to create a large, soft source. Not knowing what instruments or grip gear you have, this can be accomplished any number of ways. Let’s say you have two – 1000 watt tungsten lights. Shoot those through a 4X4 frame of diffusion (216, 250, double Opal) and place the frame far enough away from the talent to get about 1 to 1.5 stops under exposure(remember screens don’t illuminate very brightly). You can also accomplish this by bouncing the lights into a 4X8 piece of foam core. Put a layer of 1/4 CTB on one of lights. Plug each light into a separate dimmer. You can find 1k dimmers at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Then just dim the lights at varying intervals and intensities. Don’t do it too quick as it will look fake.
Again, there are several solutions to this challenge based on your budget and equipment list. Be creative and go to a movie theater and watch how the light really behaves. Shooting with 500 ASA film will give you plenty of stop for a dark movie theater.
Best of luck!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Cinequipt is closing it’s Des Moines office and having a garage sale this Wednesday. I’m sure you don’t want to fly here for the sale,but you might want to call the folks from their main location in Minneapolis and see if they want to deal on HMI’s before the sale.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
If you shoot this scene your biggest issue will be the contrast between the headlights and the darkness around the vehicles. If you expose for the headlights everything else goes black. Expose for the darkness and the headlights will overexpose.
A few options could be to shoot before the sky goes completely dark so there is enough ambient light to help expose the scene. Set your camera on the 3200 setting to take advantage of what blue will be left in the sky. Another option (more expensive and time consuming) is mounting some lights to the semi that point off the road on either side. You’ll need a small generator and some fairly big lights (i.e. 5k tungstens or maybe 2.5 k HMIs) and you should of course test one night and shoot another. Lastly, just ND the headlights so you can open your iris to get a good ratio between the ambient light and the head lights.
My only other advice, don’t use 12db gain. +6 would be the max but only if you really need it. To keep rich blacks, use less gain and more lights.
Best of luck!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com