Sydneys
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schools = Networking. Jobs = Experience. No matter what school you go to, you’re going to graduate with basic skills. It takes years to improve those skills. There is no replacement for real-life experience… Remember, every six months or so, all over the world, people are graduating from some sort of film/television school or related field. Robert Altman is 81.
In this field, people NEVER retire. They die on the set. It’s a fun journey, though… -
Get the polarizer that rotates, not the single piece of glass… The one that rotates has a little knob on top to rotate the glass inside the frame.
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“Pulling Focus” is usually a term used for the main function of a 1st AC, or First Assistant Camera position on film sets. It is a rather difficult job at times, when considering the person doing it typically doesn’t even look through the lens. It is their job to measure distances, and mark proper measurements on the lens. It is not unusal for the focus ring on a lens to move merely a fraction of an inch in a scene. It is an essential duty for steadicam assistants, who must use a wireless remote system. Some camera operators are willing to pull their own focus, but in some cases, both of their hands are in use, as is the case with a steadicam operator. You can’t compare the world of consumer and ENG video cameras to that of film and manual lenses… The difference in depth of field between the two is enormous, making the job essential in some cases.
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I will third this… STAY AWAY from Royal Camera (As well as the other company names they hide behind). What these scam companies do is this… They’ll take all of the accessories that originally came with the camera from the factory out of the box, advertise the stripped down version on their web site for a lower price, get you on the phone with a surly jackass, attempt to sell you the accessories at inflated prices as well as a ridiculous “Warranty”, and then tell you the item is on “Back Order” for at least 21 days. Yes, I’ve dealt with them, but they didn’t get my money. B&H on the other hand, has gotten close to $30,000 of my money, mainly due to very fast and reliable service and honesty… A reputable company will be honest about back-ordered items, among other things… And, they don’t make a practice of threatening you over the phone, or throwing out random insults and attitude… Royal Camera, on the other hand…
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Personally, I think you can get a pretty kick-ass film look with that combination of filter and camera… In my experience you will find plenty of folks who will have the entirely opposite oppinion of your producer… The point of such a filter is to make things soft, and that it does well… It also reduces contrast. I’ve used just about every filter I can get my hands on with the HDCAM line of Sony cameras, some filter effects, (Polarizer, for one, obviously,) you cannot reproduce in Post. The Promist filters are good in that they not only soften effects such as highlights, but they can reduce contrast, which is good when you have issues in sunlight, such as deep shadows and sharp highlights… The contrast reduction allows you to see pixel information where there may not have been any in the extreme dark and highlighted areas, thereby giving you a richer, fuller broader dynamic range in the image than what the camera may have been able to process without the filter, when you process it in post… (Personally, I’m a big fan of the Discreet/Autodesk line of video color correction tools, Smoke, Combustion, etc…)
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Does the light do what you want it to do? Don’t let a brand name stop you… If you can find used lighting, the technology doesn’t change that much from year to year, so you may be able to get a recognizable brand that way…
As far as how to light your scene, I really have only one suggestion… Side light. You’ve only got 2 students in class, and as it is an excercise video, I am assuming they are in good shape and are wearing tight clothing. Hit them hard from the side, and a nice wash from in front.
And yes, an umbrella would work, but personally, I would prefer the soft box, I find they distribute light a little more evenly, in my opinion…
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Why don’t you just ask the folks at the hotel if you can use their office spaces at odd hours? Typically, these folks are very accomodating. Or, at the very least, borrow some of their office furniture…. Also, personally, of the suites I’ve been in, they look very much like an office. They’ve had desks, decent chairs…. I think you’ll have a lot of luck with what exists within the hotel, especially if the suite is two rooms. Just snag the plant on that little pedestal in front of the elevator, buy some supplies from a local Staples, oh, and hide the Nintendo 64 controller that’s sure to be plugged into the TV…
Two other options… post on the local Craigslist, offer some sort of trade out, maybe? As a last resort, you could go to the local film commission, they will have exactly what you need, but but you may have to pay premium $… Doesn’t hurt to ask….
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Definitely with practice, you can eliminate a lot of unwanted camera movement. I’ve been using the Smooth Shooter about a year, but you can see the effect of wind in that piece… It was very windy that day. As far as a learning curve, after a couple of hours, you can get useable footage with it… Just stay wide… I use a wide angle lens with it as well. The hard part of steadicam is the slow, precise critical shooting and subtle camera movements… I’ve learned it will take me years to master this… The whips, wide shots, spinning and fast movements are rather easy to pick up. You can’t really get precise critical cinematography out of a Smooth Shooter, mostly due to the simple mechanics, craftsmanship and lack of weight, as mentioned earlier. (Very little boom range, as well) The smaller, simpler cameras and deep depth of field factor into the equation as well. But, I NEVER would have brought out a large rig out onto the race track… I was wearing that thing most likely 8 hours that day… I can’t carry the big one more than 20 minutes at a time or so…
Setting it up and getting it balanced takes about 20-30 minutes with the small cameras… Balancing is easy, as it is meant to be bottom heavy, so that part is easy. Definitely get a quick release for the camera, that way adjusting is much easier. ($85) If you’ve ever learned a jib, the basics are easier. It took me 2 weeks of practice with a Jimmy Jib to get useable shots… 2 years later, I consider myself at an average level with it…
Hope that helps,Sydney S.
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The Hands Free Transporter is 12,500 Euros… (Based on an inquiry 4 days ago) Not going to be paid off anytime soon doing weddings, unless you’re SUPER high end…
Regarding shake with the Smooth Shooter, there’s two factors… #1, it has a single arm segment, as opposed to two segments, and thereby has less between you and the camera. #2 is as mentioned, the inherent lightness of the setup. I add a custom machined 11 pound plate to my Sony HDV camera when I fly it on the full sized rig. (The arm I use can carry fron 13-63 pound cameras). As far as running with the Smooth Shooter, I’ve had decent success… When I’m at top speed, there’s a tiny giggle, but not too bad… And, it is INFINITELY lighter than the full sized rig.
Overall, I’m quite pleased with the results, but it does not completely eliminate all unwanted camera movement in every situation. There is a slight “Bounciness” that is simply due to the craftsmanship of the arm, but it is ever so slight… In some cases, this is non existent. My scenario was, I had been using a Glidecam 4000 with the body pod, (Check Glidecams site, if you haven’t seen it…) and when I upgraded to the Smooth Shooter arm almost exactly 1 year ago, (I think it debuted at NAB last year) I was simply thrilled with the results. The differences were quite significant. It got me so excited, I went out and bought a full size rig… (For full size cameras) There’s better quality out there, but at $2,500, (Including all accessories) it’s totally worth it, in my opinion… The next step up in price is at least twice as much, and it’s only a slight improvement… I have a couple of examples of its use on my web site…
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I personally own a Smooth Shooter, as well as a very expensive full steadicam rig. For the money, the glidecam can’t be beat, in my opinion. I have used it with the HDV cameras, and while it doesn’t really compare to the full rig I own, it is MUCH lighter, and does remove most if not all of the camera shake. It does not perform well in wind, though, but as it is so light, this is to be expected. I’ve ran with it, chased cars on a racetrack with it, used in on/in cars, ran around mountainous terrain with it, and I think the Smooth Shooter is the best stabilizing system that you can get for the money… Just my 2 cents…