[Todd Mcmullen]

Mark,
I have not seen “Broken Trail” but I can tell you that the DP, Lloyd Ahern ASC, is a very good cameraman. He has many years of experience and has shot many westerns. I started working with Lloyd as a camera assistant on a film called “Wild Bill”. Also Directed by Walter Hill. It is a beautiful movie. You should check it out.I have done many projects with Lloyd and I can tell you he does not make a practice out of flat lighting. I would say that he probably shot “Broken Trail” the way he normally does and the network pumped up the image for broadcast. This happens quite a bit. Not sure if it was shot on HD or film. I will check.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

neil, you will be able to import p2 files without .txt file. Try copying a .txt file, if you have one, to the folder you want to import. If you can’t, then you have to have your contents folder at the root level of your drive. If you are pulling from lacie, then put contents folder of folder you which to import on the outside of the other folders. open fcp hit import p2 and it should appear.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

I wonder if the cow powers will want to change the forum title to phonography. hmmm

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

for sure. how about a close up. 1 inch from actors face.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

yes, thank you for the tip.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

Gary,

The ideal situation would be to shoot the exteriors either later or earlier in the day, when the sun is not so demanding. If you have no control over that then I would hope for the playground to be under some trees or a canapy of sorts. If not, throw on a polarizer and get a few good wide shots of kids playing, then go in for controled coverage. Maybe even use a few nd grads if you have alot of sky to deal withon the wide shots. Other than that, you are forced to light your kids to match ambiance to controlo your contrast. When I mean light I also mean you can use a bounce or a shiny board, 6×6, 12×12 grif. I think you mentioned these already. When the sun is really brutal I have used a 12×12 black over the subject and lit it with my own lights.
This works great but you need a crew and a little time.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

you can put the contents folder at the root level in your drive. I have also copied .txt file from one folder to another with success.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

I would avoid the firestore at this point. I had been looking at it as well but it is just too un-predictable, un-native, and just too expensive. And you have to buy an additional battery just to get the full life out of it. I would look into a couple of 4 gig cards and if you are in a studio just offload onto a powerbook and store on HD. with 4 gig you could archive some stuff(b-roll, etc) to dvd. I have 2-8gig cards and a 4 gig and I have been using this workflow with no problem.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

Thanks guys for filling in the blanks….

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader

[Todd Mcmullen]

hmm, really your own style and look,

maybe a small fresnel w/ barn doors-100 to 300 watt for a kicker or special, a couple of china balls for key, with your own bulbs, daylight or tungsten, easy to fold up, a 300 watt or 1k par for a background light or a hot special and a roll of black wrap and c-47’s(clothspins)
a couple of special color gels and some diffusion, 250, opal, etc.. oh get or make a couple of dimmers that you can put practical lights into.
stands and a couple of sand bags.

this should make a nice small package that you could manage. You will have to experiement with shooting windows during the day they may blow out
or they may not. If you do see the actual window and light source you may have to balance the subject with the light coming through(or close) and that will require you to pump up the volume of the light on the subject which will get them hot and uncomfortable. I try not to see window if it is too hot. I will simulate window source by using par in background or on the lower part of the subject.

I just did an interview with a 1k par and a small 2 bulb kino flow. simple yet tasty.

Todd McMullen
Flip Flop Films
Austin
Cinematography Forum Leader