Tj Williams
Forum Replies Created
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Robert thank you for the very exact expert and useful information!
Thomas -
We have traveled both ways fm the US and suprisingly the real problem occurred when we wer bringing gear back into the US.
Each individual country has their own rules and proceedures probably be best to visit the consulate/embassey of the country you are proposing to visit. For instance we traveled in Africa with only an equipment list signed by US customs but in New Zealand were required to have a carne.
All the best on your travels
TJ
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Hi Nelrem
this has come up for me a lot also. Despite the above comments it is common for producers to use different shooters with different sd equipment packages to shoot different segments of programs.
Now that there are more choices in hd cameras we will be seeing this more commonly also. If the edited master is being put through the Davinci at the end, then the various cameras will match suprisingly well. If budget is not so good then it becomes more of a problem to match for each of us.
One possibility that I have used is to get a tape of a facial closeup from another segment of the show and have your local tech try to match as closely as possible on your camera system using this as a reference on the same monitor. The charts and numbers thing usually does not work much better even between similiar cameras. Another concern which wasn’t adressed here is similiarity in lighting style and composition as these are way harder to fix in post color matching.
I recently worked on an HD program for PBS which had 1080I 1080P Varicam and digital betacam footage. There is no place in the program where the audience gasped….. “Oh my gawd they changed cameras” yes I can probably pick out the different shots, but we didn’m make this for ourselves.
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Perfect Performance Panapink P2 or acroynymically…. PPPP2
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One thing we do a lot with the manual focus lens is set a Preston motor onto the rods instead of the focus wheel control. Either the Preston or Bartech have good response which almsot perfectly duplicated the movement of the control wheel. Even on a tripod or dolly these wireless systems:
a. prevent the assistant from inputting unwanted movement by moving the lens, especially in a fast/long focus change
b. Allow the assistant to stand where they can see distances/marks more clearly/allow the assistant to get off the dolly to make movement and operation easier. -
One thing about the film look that you may not be considering is the butterfly shutter in every film projector since about 1937 What happens in the theatre is that each frame is actually projected twice. So the actual number of frames you see per second is 48. This of course is done to smooth out the flicker. The old silent films (pre butterfly shutter and lower frame rate) were of course called the flicks! for the obvious reason.
In many years of shooting film for TV especially in 16mm. When we could afford the extra footage we often shot in 3ofps. The results to my eye were better looking. There is nothing magical or beautiful about 24fps it is simply the slowest rate that film could be run with the early sound recording striped on the film.
When we consider the film look I feel it is always important to talk about how the camera is smoothly supported in movement with dollys steadicams and cranes. The look of wheels operating. The careful and often artistic lighting, and the approach to each shot which involves much more time planning blocking lighting and care in composition than is typical of video shooting.
Although not technically accurate about the Varicam I feel the first poster here has a point about the attempt to have Varicam video look like film. The predominant beauty of film has more to do with, the gamma, the dynamic range, the ability to capture subtle shading of both bw and color information and finally the craftsmanship exhibited by the more experienced and larger crews who typically shoot in film. Inasmuch as video cameras move the gamma curve extend the dynamic range and differentiate between shades of bw and color they will be capable of looking more like film. This will work out especially well when the crew/support/and style of shooting are similiar to the long proven methods used to produce movies.
At this point video cameras do not produce the full range of image quality of 35mm film. Certainly they are rapidly getting closer. IN some ways (such as overall resolution) they exceed film. 24P by itself without the other changes which are both already developed and coming in next gen. Electronic Cine. cameras is really just a marketing ploy to move people toward accepting electronic images as some how more film like. Really film is beautiful it is not just a flicker and pull down artifact.
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Why the switch to XD cam HD. Why not stay in 24P HD Cam the whole time. Is this a budget issue? Usually you get a better deal on one camera for several weeks at once. My understanding of XCCamHD is limited but I believe it is even more compressed than HD CAm. We have shot several projects where the interiors were done in HDCam and exteriors in Film. The results telecined together very nicely. Perhaps if the B roll isn’t that extensive you could shoot it in film at a low ration using a cheaper mos camera which you could have over a longer time for less money to offset filmstock/transfer costs. In a sitdown show intending to go to 35mm or big screen it may be advantageous to look at some of the new direct to disk HD systems, as you will be in protected enviroments.
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We have a 700A which we have used for several years and which lead us to much better work. As a result we are considering selling it and moving on up to a CineAlta. the 730 750 cameras are similiar to the 700A in features and image quality. The 750 is about the same the 730 slightly less quality. Both these cameras usually sell for more than a 700A. Both these cameras use the slightly smaller body and weigh somewhat less than a 700A (If you become interested in buying a 700A, contact me off list to discuss) I have also shot quite a bit with the 730 especially as we have a client who owns one. The images are very good. Actually from an image standpoint it would be difficult to justify moving up. We now have some clients who are insisting. The camera is just like using a betacam. The controls are similiar and easy to find in the dark. These cameras require an HD lens as regular B mount SD lenses will fit but vignette at the wide end, 16/9SD lenses will cover but don’t provide the full image quality.
The biggest difference from BetacamSp is Focus. These cameras must be focused exactly and even when it is hard to see on a field monitor it can come back to haunt you in post on a larger screen. Backfocus is also much more critical and needs to be set while looking at a sizeable screen. Overall I’d have to say that moving up the really PRO HD gear will in all probability bring you much better work. Of course you need to be taking some pretty good looking pictures.
All The Best,
TJ