Few beginner questions

[Jon Jaschob]

Hi All,
I am looking for a little guidance for an upcoming project.
1st , I'm a real beginner teaching myself Filmmaking, but I have a lot of manual still camera experience.
I will be working on my 3rd film this summer. I have decided to bite the bullet and purchase a GYHD100. My 3 other films were shot on s**t cameras so I want this one to look great, in 24fps hd. I will only have enough money for the camera it's self and maybe a couple accessories.

All the footage will be shot outside in low angle light. (afternoon/evening).
I will be adding light as needed for close ups. I have 2 - 500 watt and 1 - 1000 watt tota lights.
First question, What kind of gel should I use to match the daylight. I ask because of the redder color of the sunlight I will be shooting in.

Second question, I will be using the TC setup from this site, and I will be using the stock lens on the hd100. Here is the big opening shot scene.
http://www.fotgfilms.com/onceUpon/ scroll down to the painted hills location.
You can see the kind of light I will be shooting in, although in this picture it's a little late. You can see the haze in the picture. Should I get a good Matt box? What kind of filter or additional camera adjustments should I use to cut through the hazy summer sky.
Also I want to shoot this scene and the forest scene at about 50% telephoto with the stock lens, will I get all kinds of artifacts?

I should have plenty of time for testing the camera and stuff, just looking for a good starting point.
Thank you for your time,
Jon Jaschob

http://fotgfilms.com

[Tom Chaney]

Hi Jon,

If you are shooting in daylight, and white balanced to do so, you need to put a "full blue" gel on the tungsten lights that you are using.

If you want the light you are adding to be warmer than the daylight, then you can use varying degrees of "blue," half, quarter, etc.

If you have money, rent an HMI, it replicates daylight without gels.

Hope this helps,

Tom Chaney

[Jon Jaschob]

Thanks for the info Tom!
Jon

[Cole McDonald]

Polarizer lets you control your light, ND filters let you control your iris to get better DoF control.

[Jon Jaschob]

Thanks Cole,
Do you think a matt box will help with glare, or am I worrying too much.
The sun will be near (out of frame) the upper right hand corner of the shot and I don't want flare.
Thank you for your time,
Jon

[Andrew Todd]

i had the smae problem with haze on my last shoot. and i dont have a mattebox yet.. so for the aprticualr shot that was giving me problems i had someone stand blocking the sun from the lens with a reflector board... quick easy.. and cheap solution

[Jon Jaschob]

Hi Andrew,
Good idea, guess I could clamp it to a stand too.(even cheeper)...lol
I do have a little money for a couple goodies for the hd100. Better batteries are one of them. I was thinking about a matt box too, the sunshade on the lens looks pretty whimpy.
Jon

PS Also Cole, are the built in ND filters enough, or do I need more flexability? I am not using shallow dof for these shots, I want to use as much of the lens as possible to stack the shot, I was guessing about 50% zoom on the lens.

Thanks for the help guys!!

[Cole McDonald]

some cardboard and masking tape will allow you a quick, cheap french flag...but the standard way is to have either a stand or a person holding a board to block the sun from hitting the lens.

[Stephan Ahonen]

Ditto, a little bit of cardboard and gaff tape makes a great matte box.

I don't see the "haze" you're talking about in that hills picture? Could it just be normal atmospheric haze?

[Daniel Patton]

Jon,

A matte box is a good idea, but as with all good ideas it comes at a price. I have been renting the Chrosziel 4x4 matte box for our HD100 along with a .6 ND grad and a circ. polarizing filter. I ended up buying the one I rent yesterday just in time for a shoot this weekend. I hated shooting outdoors without this setup, but that's just me.
http://www.danielpatton.com/jvc/hd1004x4-2.jpg


Without a doubt put some money into a better battery solution, it's a weak link in the chain. Note the little monster on the back.
http://www.danielpatton.com/jvc/hd1004x4-1.jpg

The one shown is a rental Sony BP-L90A I asked about just recently in another thread. I also just received our V-mount 90 from Batteries4Broadcast (not shown) and if I remember correctly they had some good deals on a system. I have no idea if they are a supported vendor or not, sorry.

One more "behind the scenes" shot added to show my desaster space right before leaving to go on a shoot. =O
http://www.danielpatton.com/jvc/hd1004x4-3.jpg


Good luck Jon!

[James Daniels]

I want to use a .7x Century Optics wide adapter that clamps to a threaded filter on the front of the lens - would a matte box work on top of that, or do I need rail support?

[Daniel Patton]

I honestly have no idea but space is tight on ours, depends on how it clamps on I guess.

And was it not the Century Optics adapter that someone this site reported that it was junk? I would hate to see you waste your money on it if it was. I may have even been the one who asked about it, I have slept since then.

[Jon Jaschob]

Haze in picture,
It is just natural haze, this day it was pretty light, but other times it gets pretty thick on this location. It may not be a problem shooting with the JVC, this pic is from a 4mp Canon camera.

I was wondering if a filter of some kind would cut through to bring up the contrast a little. I have used a polarizing filter on still cameras, but it really gives it a polarized look. I guess just add a little huh?

Thanks for all the info guys, it really helps!
Jon

[Dave Beaty]

Originally Posted by Jon Jaschob

Haze in picture,
It is just natural haze, this day it was pretty light, but other times it gets pretty thick on this location. It may not be a problem shooting with the JVC, this pic is from a 4mp Canon camera.

I was wondering if a filter of some kind would cut through to bring up the contrast a little. I have used a polarizing filter on still cameras, but it really gives it a polarized look. I guess just add a little huh?

Thanks for all the info guys, it really helps!
Jon

We use the Formatt Matt box, it's very affordable under $600. It has two 4X4 slots, one rotates for a polarizer. I've been very happy with it. Get the 82mm screw in adaptor as the clamp will not work with the stock lens. It has a huge french flag, which we immediately removed :)

Black foam core can also be made into a million shades with gaff tape and an exacto.

As for lighting, use reflectors vs tungsten lights if you can. A mathews expendible 4X4 will last a long time if you take care of it. We make ours last for years and the yoke is about 15 years old! A 6 by butterfly kit can also be used as silk and a reflector with the right stand/sandbag/grip.

Totas with 1k FYM's are great for brute fill in a dark scene with a filter frame. At sunset you really don't even need much gel as the temp gets closer and closer to 3200. A little warm light may even make the shot. Otherwise get 1/4 CTB and double up if you need it. You can check temp with the balance function of the camera.

I think a .6 ND will be a great investment as the lens should be in the 5.6 range to make the best shots. In bright scenes, it's hard to stop down with a 1/48 shutter.

HTH

Dave Beaty

[Jon Jaschob]

Thanks Dave!