Shooting with the HD10 at DVinfo.net

Ed Hill · April 8th, 2004, 10:09 PM

Hi,

Things are going pretty well today with our dramatic re enactment footage for the documentary. Shooting in Zone 6 of Atlanta. Supposedly an area with the highest murder rate and robbery rate in past years. The neighbors here in Kirkwood and Edgewood have come out to watch and have volunteered to helped move light stands, hold reflectors, etc. Drug dealers have given us technical advice on how drug deals happen in their neighborhood. Last night reenacting drug dealer dialog on Mayson street after dark: ATL police came by and asked us what we were shooting, then asked if we really wanted to be there after dark. Most of the neighbors seem like thy're just normal people trying to raise a family, while a smaller group starts drinking 40 oz Malt liquors at 10 am. Sounds like a stereotype but residents of a house we were shooting at had beer for breakfast while we were there.

Have been shooting a lot of interiors and few exteriors, but today was the first good day for EXT scenes. Previous days were brutally sunny (bad contrast ratio for the HD10). Plus way too windy for the 10' X 10' scrim (butterfly).

Finally today no wind, so the butterfly was usable. Plus it was overcast most of the day and the colors were saturated. Almost reminds me of 16mm film. Depth of field was manageable with .9 worth (3 F stops) of ND filters. Plus we used the reflector boards and used the sun as the kicker (hair light). Plus shooting in shadow of buildings in late afternoon & evening also helps manage contrast ratio.

Biggest irritation: a 10 yr old kid who managed to sneak into the background of 3 crap game shots and ruin every one of them yesterday. We reshot today. So no problem. Funniest moment yesterday: an ATL police car drives by our phony crap game at the same time that one of the real drug dealers is smoking a massive (grass filled) blunt on the porch. Meanwhile a Pizza Hut delivery driver appears unbidden and sells one of our guys a pizza he couldn't deliver. Very surreal. It's a different world there, but the people are treating us well.

Shooting Friday and Sat too. I'm tired and sunburned. Good night.

Ed

Kevin A. Sturges · April 10th, 2004, 04:57 PM

Very interesting post. What's the name of your movie? What will it be shown on? What kind of monitor do you watch your dailies on?

Ed Hill · April 11th, 2004, 02:40 PM

Hi,

The working title is "On Our Way Up", but this could change.
The client wants to distribute this on DVD letterboxed.

We view dailies on the 19" computer monitor set at 1280 x 1024.
We're editing using ConnectHD ftrom Cineform and Vegas.

Ed

Heath McKnight · April 12th, 2004, 08:39 AM

Wow, sounds pretty cool. nothing like experts to tell you how it goes down (the drug dealers)! ;-)

heath

April 8th, 2004, 10:09 PM	#1
Ed Hill Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA Posts: 104	Shooting with the HD10 Hi, Things are going pretty well today with our dramatic re enactment footage for the documentary. Shooting in Zone 6 of Atlanta. Supposedly an area with the highest murder rate and robbery rate in past years. The neighbors here in Kirkwood and Edgewood have come out to watch and have volunteered to helped move light stands, hold reflectors, etc. Drug dealers have given us technical advice on how drug deals happen in their neighborhood. Last night reenacting drug dealer dialog on Mayson street after dark: ATL police came by and asked us what we were shooting, then asked if we really wanted to be there after dark. Most of the neighbors seem like thy're just normal people trying to raise a family, while a smaller group starts drinking 40 oz Malt liquors at 10 am. Sounds like a stereotype but residents of a house we were shooting at had beer for breakfast while we were there. Have been shooting a lot of interiors and few exteriors, but today was the first good day for EXT scenes. Previous days were brutally sunny (bad contrast ratio for the HD10). Plus way too windy for the 10' X 10' scrim (butterfly). Finally today no wind, so the butterfly was usable. Plus it was overcast most of the day and the colors were saturated. Almost reminds me of 16mm film. Depth of field was manageable with .9 worth (3 F stops) of ND filters. Plus we used the reflector boards and used the sun as the kicker (hair light). Plus shooting in shadow of buildings in late afternoon & evening also helps manage contrast ratio. Biggest irritation: a 10 yr old kid who managed to sneak into the background of 3 crap game shots and ruin every one of them yesterday. We reshot today. So no problem. Funniest moment yesterday: an ATL police car drives by our phony crap game at the same time that one of the real drug dealers is smoking a massive (grass filled) blunt on the porch. Meanwhile a Pizza Hut delivery driver appears unbidden and sells one of our guys a pizza he couldn't deliver. Very surreal. It's a different world there, but the people are treating us well. Shooting Friday and Sat too. I'm tired and sunburned. Good night. Ed __________________ Ed Hill HighlyDef Productions, Atlanta, GA prblog.edhillpr.com Video and Online Advertising ed@highlydef.com

April 11th, 2004, 02:40 PM	#3
Ed Hill Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA Posts: 104	Hi, The working title is "On Our Way Up", but this could change. The client wants to distribute this on DVD letterboxed. We view dailies on the 19" computer monitor set at 1280 x 1024. We're editing using ConnectHD ftrom Cineform and Vegas. Ed __________________ Ed Hill HighlyDef Productions, Atlanta, GA prblog.edhillpr.com Video and Online Advertising ed@highlydef.com

April 12th, 2004, 08:39 AM	#4
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Wow, sounds pretty cool. nothing like experts to tell you how it goes down (the drug dealers)! ;-) heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

April 10th, 2004, 04:57 PM	#2
Kevin A. Sturges Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 167	Very interesting post. What's the name of your movie? What will it be shown on? What kind of monitor do you watch your dailies on?