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Shooting People
Lars von Trier The indie section of the International Movie Database features an interview with Dancer In The Dark's Lars von Trier. Go to http://indie.imdb.com and click the interview link. I don't know for how long that link will work. Cheers, Mart. Disclaimer: I am neither employed by the imdb nor believing that Dancer in the Dark is the ultimate in cinematograpy. Still photography of video projection Can anyone advise me of the correct shutter speed at which to take authentic still photographs of a video installation so that the images are captured as freeze frames? If you have access to the tapes, you could digitize
the stills that you want and then process them to your liking. Film Domains Since the UK won't be my only place to stay,
I can now offer a couple of film-related domains: If you are thinking of setting up your own production company, you might be interested in the domain www.polarfilm.com Polar Film has its own logo (actually a choice of 3). The reason I am selling this one is that our company had to change name. Don't use this name if you are planning on doing serious business in Germany or Norway, as companies with the same or a similar name already do exist. And three more generic domains on offer are:
www.londonshopping.net If you need help in setting up your own domain, I can help you for a very fair price. Send any offers to me. You can also visit www.martweiss.com to get your own film related e-mail address. Choose from more than 20 domains! Deferred payment contracts Just a general note on deferred payment deals: As far as I understand BECTU, deferred payment contracts are illegal As far as my own experience goes, deferred payment contracts lead to you working for free. I have never received any payment out of a single deferred payment film, and that includes a feature film which was shown in the West End earlier this summer. So, if you want experience, go for a deferred payment film, but treat it as a freebie with the off-chance of getting some payment in the far future. If you need to feed yourself, find something else. Cheers, Mart Camera and Sound Ops for Streaming production _no hand-helds (always tripod) also: DV Cam Tape Format 1. My DV Cam can record on mini-DV tapes (which are much cheaper)... Has anyone done any tests or is an engineer who knows if there is any real quality difference The difference between the miniDV and the DVcam
format lays in the tape speed, thus DV tapes come in 60 minute
lengths, while DVcam runs 40 minutes. The tapes themselves are
identical in construction, and neither myself nor some colleagues
could find a difference in taping DVcam on DVcam tape or miniDV
tapes. you@film-maker.co.uk & Camerad 2.0
You can get a free yourname@film-maker.co.uk
e-mail address by going to http://www.film-maker.co.uk Steam Any advice as to best avoid condensation on the lens.
Make sure that the lens has the same temperature
as the warm shower - if in doubt rather a few degrees warmer.
Check with the user manual that the camera will sustain the temperatures,
with consumer cameras you can never be sure. Snow machines I need to produce rather large amounts of [snow]
If you are on a very limited budget, you can
try putting polyboards into a food processor. This works for fairly
wide shots and not much wind around. helpful advice from someone who was bitten If anyone on this mailing list gets an oppotunity to work for a company called [omitted] don't take it. [...] they cancelled my wage cheque !!!! This is one of the many good reasons for joining
BECTU, a phone call and they will put their lawyers in touch with
the company who refuses you to pay. They also put up a "Ask
First" list of companies who previously have been relaxed
about paying their crew. What was Breaking the Waves shot on? The inserts between the sections of the film were done digitally. I am sure that the American Cinematographer had an article on it. If you are in London, check with the BFI library. I would need everything to be as cheap as possible. Good luck with that one. :o) What does a 45 degree shutter do? can someone please tell me what a 45 degree shutter does on a camera as I have been told now by two different DPs two conflicting answers.A smaller shutter angle means a shorter exposure time for each frame. Therefore each frame gets less blurry (if there is any movement). This technique is used quite extensively in "Saving Private Ryan" in the battle sequence. A small shutter angle leads to "crisper" pictures, but also to more strobing. You will notice this more when there is a lot of movement involved. If you have a camcorder with different shutter speeds, you can simulate this effect. Film something with fast movements (or do a quick pan) with different shutter speeds. You will see the difference. This effect can also be quite thrilling when there is flowing water in the shot.
Cheers,
Mart PD100 questions Do any of you use the Sony miniDV tapes instead of the dvcam tapesYes I do on a regular basis. Try a couple of brands of tape and stick with the one you like. Personally I do not see the point of spending much more on the tapes with chips. I'm sure you'll get 40 minutes out of them Yes, DVcam gives you 2/3 the time of DV. Besides
that (resulting in more resistance to drop outs), DVcam and DV
is exactly the same format. Cinematography books Can anyone recommend a really good book on cinematography? I'm looking for something fairly fat that explains lighting, camera & film techniques (and jargon!). Amazon list a few but none of them seem to be that up to date, and they're all pretty expensive - I can probably go to about 30 UKP but only if I'm getting something that's truly worth having. A good start is searching the archives on http://www.cinematography.net Public Liability Insurance Urgent - We are a small group of independent filmmakers who are about to shoot a non-budget short 5 minute film. The location is the Great Northawn Wood, Broxbourne Area, Highways. In order to do so we need a Public Liability Insurance. Does anyone know whom can we contact to get it at a VERY low cost? The cheapest option I know of is by becoming
a member of Bectu. Among many other benefits, you will have a
personal liability insurance. See http://www.bectu.org.uk
for details. [N.B. This applies only to crew, i.e. producers
cannot insure their production simply by becoming a member. For
production isurance, try AON or Allan Chapman & James, amongst
others.] I'm thinking about buying a Sony DCR-PC100 and a PCG-Z600 TEK.I've been using a PD 100 with a PCG-F400 and Adobe Premiere. Some of it has been used for broadcast. Though the capturing with the Sony programme is a bit dodgy, it does give you full-frame 25 fps - but for this you have to make sure that your disk is 100% defragmented. Sony provide editing software on the laptop preinstalled, but I don't know how good it is.It is indeed very basic, enough to chop together some holiday clips, but for anything more serious you should get something along Premiere et al. For any longer projects I would always recommend a workstation solution over a laptop one. The screens have better colours, you can even have two screens, harddiskspace is cheaper and easier to upgrade. And a laptop costs more. and the i-book is a bit cumbersome The new ones are amazingly flat and sexy. See
http://www.apple.com
for more details. And as far as communication between Apple laptop
and Sony Camera are concerned, I would not worry. Apple was the
one to develop the firewire standard in the first place, and their
machines are made for the visual industry. If you have the choice,
I would highly recommend the Apple. Does anyone know what's happened to Martin Weiss at all?He has moved to Norway, has gotten married to a very lovely lady (http://martweiss.com/yes), started a production co. (http://www.weissfilm.com) and is to become a father this summer (no link yet :o) I had been using the free e.mail space he'd offered quite happily, but now I can't get at it. Last week I moved servers for martweiss.com,
which turned out to also effect some of my other web sites, such
as the one where the free you@film-maker.co.uk service is offered.
I am sorry for any inconvenience caused and hope that this will
not happen again on the new, faster server. The problem was solved shortly thereafter. DVcam and mini DV size when captured Does anyone know how much larger files of captured footage in DVcam will be?It will be exactly the same size (roughly 1gig for 5min of footage.) DVcam records the same amount of information as DV, but uses a higher tape speed and thus provides a steadier signal. (And, yes, you can use miniDV tapes to record on miniDVcam). Cheers, Mart
Dazzle / DV and USB
I'm looking to transfer DV to a laptop thru a USB port. USB cannot support the datarate of DV, you will
therefore lose image quality. Spare film cans Can anyone help us find some cannisters for transporting 35mm film? Just go to the lab that you will be using and
they will gladly supply you with free cans. Prosumer DVCam suppliers Looking for a sensible outlet to purchase either a Sony DSR PD100 or PD150P, plus the gubbins. Whereever you chose to buy it, go for the 150
by all means, the extra money is well spent. Help with Crimewatch style corporate video I have been asked by a local clothing retailer/supermarket to make a 10 minute corporate style video [...] it [might be] copied and distributed to other stores around the UK and possibly the United States. [...] this is a no budget project This sounds like the store is really ripping
you off. Vaios Are fine machines They are indeed, but the support from Sony leaves
a lot to be desired. (E.g. e-mails remain unanswered, their support
web site is occasionally down, no upgrade possibilities for their
video capturing software.) Sound problems with DV GRDVL-107EK miniDV camera. Unfortunately, the built-in mic is not brilliant and picks up motor noise from the camera. There doesn't seem to be any way to connect an external mic to it. Is there an easy way to record sound [...]
If your have a friend that knows his soldering
iron, you could open up the camera, disconnect the mike and replace
it with a plug. Voila - you can plug in an external mic. DVCAM recycling Anybody out there in SP land have advice on recycling DVCAM tapes e.g. can they safely reacquire master footage
No problem, it's done all the time without any
trouble. [N.B. The original poster of the question
has informed me that he had received many replies discouraging
him from recycling tapes. I've worked for a TV station which does
recycle their tapes all the time and I have done it myself as
well. Your call. Feature production
on digital Experience is not necessary as we require people who can hold a boom, make the tea, do set design, set up lighting, basically work with a small crew who cover most positions Excuse me? What sparked me in this particular instance was
that the original post suggested that no experience was necessary
for a number of jobs. we should all be careful when handling electronic devices; remember, kids, don't stick your fingers in the plug hole, don't stand in the bath holding a plugged in electric light, and watch what you're doing with that boom - it could give someone a nasty bump on the head!Unfortunately it is a bit more serious than that. Sadly people can and do get killed. If someone on set gets hurt and s/he can prove that the producer has not fulfilled the health & safety requirements (which includes employment of experienced and trained people), the producer will become reliable. And this can easily mount up to costs that will ensure that the producer will never ever get to even think about making another film. Inexperienced people making moviesI don't mind inexperience. If you are inexperienced, you should try to learn by reading, seeing films and making films. For the latter you should try to surround yourself with people you can learn from. And people not being paid. Well, exactly how are we to gain experience, then?In this case the production had already made a *feature* length film. Either they didn't manage to sell it or they are trying to rip off their crew. Either way, what have they learned if they are still making a film with decidedly inexperienced crew? Do we all have to go to film school to get our acronyms after our names first? I don't know of any acronyms you get from film school. If you are referring to the NVQ, that is a industry standard, which incidentally includes health & safety. [More info on NVQs are on the Skillset website] After some personal attacks that went unmoderated
into the list, I finally wrote the following: If you want to get experience in the film world, find out about the rest of the crew before you commit yourself to a project. If all the rest of the crew is as inexperienced as you, who will you learn from? If there are too few experienced souls on the set, they will be far too busy to teach you the tricks of their trade. This has nothing to do with arrogance. For further info, go to www.shootingpeople.com |
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