Rick Amundson
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t know enough about the Canon to make a good comment. I will say that I’m not a big fan of the HDV yet. I’n sure with ProRes 422 it will be much easier to work with. I may be wrong but I don’t think the camera does a true 24p. Again, I don’t know the camera so I may be talking out of my a.. (wouldn’t be the first time)!
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The reason I went with the DVX is that I have access to several of them. I shot almost the entire film with 2 cameras running at all times. That allowed me to get all the coverage I needed in the short amount of time I had. Also, I’m not a big fan of HDV yet. I shot the film 2 years ago and the options for post with HDV were very limited. I shot a lot in DVCPro, but I didn’t have access to the SDX900 when I shot Indelible.
As for the photo, all that is on the camera is a matte box. I made the choice not to use the anamorphic adapter. The reasons were 1)it is hard to get a good focus with the adapter. I did a lot of handheld and action work and it takes a lot of time and care to set the focus. 2)the adapter has certain depth of field requirements for good focus. Using the small lighting package and dark locations (it is a dark drama) I knew I would always be fighting with the adapter. 3)I was using multiple cameras. That meant dealing with all of these issues multiple times per set up. 4)Knowing that I would not do a 35mm blowup (hey, I’m a realist) I decided that the 372 lines of resolution (the amount left over after adding 16X9 bars on top and bottom)would be good enough for DVD and the occasional projection.
In the end, I shot in full frame 4X3 but framing for 16X9 (using tape on the LCD screen) so that I had the freedom to make adjustments up and down in post. I needed it a few times when a light or mic got in the shot. After posting the whole film in FCP I created a nested sequence that I pasted into a new time line set up as a DV/DVCPro anamorphic sequence. Then I expanded the image to 133% in the motion control panel. I will say that I have projected the film in a movie theater with a high end DVD player and a powerful projector and it looked great. You could not tell the film had been blown-up slightly.
Also, I shot everything in 24P Advanced and edited in a 24pA timeline using FCP 5 on a G4 laptop. It was smooth as silk(although I like my MacPro much better).
As for deinterlacing 3 minute interlaced clips or re-shooting them, de-interlace them. It’s only 3 minutes at a time and you could effect the footage to help make the lower resolution.
Did I forget anything?
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I’m a big fan of the DVX 100. I shot my feature using the DVX 100A. You can see a trailer at http://www.indeliblemovie.com. In my opinion, it is much better to acquire in a progressive format if you are going to finish in a progressive format. You will loose too much information and resolution
by removing the interlacing in post. If you manipulate the camera correctly, the bigger CCD won’t be that much of an advantage, especially if you are not doing a 35mm blow up.
My #1 advice … start progressive, stay progressive!
ps. shallow depth of field
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Very creative idea. Should serve as a reminder that money isn’t always the answer to a difficult problem. However, it doesn’t seem practical in situations without a tall ceiling strong enough to hold the device. And it would be hard to duplicate a take.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
I’ve had good luck with the Sony Z1 and a friend of mine swears by it. The Canon is also a great option with the ability to customize with swappable lenses and an HD-SDI out.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Feel free to ask specific questions here or check out the articles on http://www.cinematography.net.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Actually, you can use the Firestore or similar hard drive recorder and set it to one frame recording. I did a project using it with miniDv over a 24 hour period and it worked great!
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
My other suggestion would be to throw LOTS of light at it (daylight balanced). As you stop down to hold exposure on the welding the rest of the scene will go very dark (especially if you are using a slow film stock, a couple of n.9s, a narrow shutter and 48fps or any combination there of). If you can rent at least a 2500 or 1200 hmi you can keep the scene from looking like welding at night. A 4k or 6k par would be even better.
As far as operating the camera, if it’s film, can you use a video assist monitor? If it’s video, you can use the viewfinder just turn the brightness down. I have tried to operate a camera in this situation using a welding mask, just a little too dark.
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 using a bare bulb system seems a waste of a lighting fixture. You may have need to use that light for something else while shooting b-roll, etc. Also, how well does the bare bulb fixture travel? I assume it has a case of some sort.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com -
Another option for hanging the black would be to rent two construction lifts as opposed to boom trucks. You don’t need special operators and they are much cheaper to rent. We use a local construction machinery rental house. They will deliver and pick up and it’s only a few hundred bucks. Then all you need are two crew members (ie interns, pas, etc) to go up and babysit the plastic.
Best of luck on the shoot.
Rick Amundson
Producer/Director/DP
Screenscape Studios
Bravo Romeo Entertainment
http://www.screenscapestudios.com
http://www.bravoromeo.com
http://www.indeliblemovie.com