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Filming Swing Dancers with the Rigs

Okay, we have a question from sfo who asked with all the different rigs to mount a dslr. It seems like a separate monitors absolutely required. What's a good recommendation, but I mean, my face. My favorite monitor is the marshal on dh. I'm steve what's, the new marshal. Lennie being stephen on this one, marshall have just come out with the value. You you monitor. It is very similar to these guys. Can you get a shot of this one over here? This is the slightly older model on dh. When we first started shooting on house, this is all that was available, I think. But is a newer model that seven? I think it is cheaper and better. It is super it's think it's about five hundred dollars cheaper. And it's got a dual htm I so you can go in and out directors feed just like it was kind of took the place of the fbi. And the coolest thing about it is it does full frame it actually up raises your pictures. You get the full frame like crops on these ones. I don't know if you guys can, like, see that, b...

ut you don't actually get your full image, it spans your image across the whole screen. Which makes it a lot easier to focus but it's still only captures the signal that top put it from the camera so it's it's only as good as what it is great thank you this is ah interesting question from nanna ritz what air gail's thoughts on using an ipad with wireless tethering for monitors I've never done it but it could be interesting and probably drop it break it but I've heard of people that do it but I didn't know we you know I believe in keeping that you simple you know this drug lives because I work on the house and it's often forty nowadays there's so much stuff that I can't keep up with in terms of new developments in the zone and sent abroad so I relying very heavily on you know steve for example to keep me involved in that one I've never seen so I really can't comment on them sorry but it's it sounds interesting given a short if it works for you them great if all you're doing is just monitoring your picture and trying to see it it probably worked well but other than that that's an led backlit so that your colors were completely off and it's a glass screen so your blacks are nowhere near being as realize they would great cool another question from ethiopia who's a regular here creative lives he'd like to know regarding longer lenses on glide cam and steady cams if the long lens is one that has a tripod caller rather than mounting to abate, the base of the camera is the no longer than sixty five guideline a little more flexible. Sorry, mr first body that was understand again, yet regarding longer lenses on a glide camera city camp, if the long lens is one that has a tripod collar around the mountain to the base of the camera, yeah, it actually doesn't matter. It's it's just literally the physicality of trying to control a longer lens on it on a device that is basically designed to float it's really difficult, you know, I mean, some operators couldn't go eighty five, but it's really difficult, and it depends what kind of move it is if your if your room chasing somebody down the corridor with an eighty five or some it's almost impossible to you know, this light is gust of wind and the shot goes, you know, this light breeze, just passing an open doorway on duh it's all over, so he no steady cams or not really designed for that that's when you start using dollars when ugo on dollies and drank, actually, because even in dali on a regular floor on a sixty five is pushing your luck, you know, so it doesn't really matter color or no a lot is just kind of sixty five to eighty five years about as much as you could ever ask a steadicam operator to do you no thank you I wasn't sure if we were ready to move forward or if we were taking more questions don't you waken get going or we'll set up on black and white that were good okay all right basically the idea of this is to have our two wonderful can you introduce yourselves to everybody michael I'm really welcome on dh hopefully we won't kill you while you're here we'll try and make this short and sweet as possible on basically the idea is just to let's trying capture some interesting footage I'd love somebody to jump on the plane on the glide cam here because this is an ideal subject because there's a lot of movement for the glide can so if we could have a volunteer every mom uh that would be great now put the voters on about four feet something like that on dh in this case I would suggest going to twelve fifty to give us I was the beasts and demanding stop so you've got a bit more of the fighting towns are actually give six forty maybe way on the other one seven so that should be about nine okay maybe probably going to about twenty four twenty four yeah once we just twenty four we have to kind of balance again you think anything I am I mean when where were you shot people thirty five never operate before that's right balances right okay we just get what I was told in the meantime I like to do with controlling from my right hand because it's just kind of like rolls through winning when it comes back call kind of show you and like it's when you try to come they have as much contact with your body I kind of like leave my shoulders it's like contact points and then just kind of like when you like move into it move your body a supposed to turning this study so I kind of just like track like this you don't really go like this it just creates more movement thiss one's going to be almost impossible we need and we'll come back to this arboleda marshall monitor over eighty five with their focus is on this it will be in that one too that's good in ok which one will be set up for where we set up for this one yeah I think that this is a nice angle so we've got a marshal monitor here let's have a volunteer riffle pull focus on this one in juvenile hall there so some out and I know this is horrible it's from a horrible a zit dancer being limited to a certain area but if you could work in this kind of zone lee that would be great so let's have a volunteer for over here and then what could be rather nice it's kind of playing towards camera cause she'll be rather nicely side like can we get a bit more smoke happening way our incidently shooting this in black and white just to give it a period kind of look just for fun yeah yeah let's let's do that then who can somebody volunteered to drive focus on this one do to try and pull focus you got your youth foot scale on the top in green in your you know they'll only be a bitch that were but you know obviously when they come right in devore round you want to be somewhere around here that's three v and just do your best you can't go with them you know similar game alright cooling market well we don't know where they're getting together so it's just winging it but just do the best you can and you kind of yeah ok cool all right yeah if you if you wouldn't mind following them that that would be cool and just him let's have lots of energy and you know you can find them you can come down and you know it get some nice stuff going and now this is not gonna work way need to focus device on this in a martial monitor because there's no way in a million years so let's just start with this one camera let's um let's start start with that one camera then we'll take a break from that can you just give us a rough idea of um how it's gonna work out how you your dance moves work way energy from that way yeah okay so who's got the glad cabinets let's go let's wheezing for the glide chemin than them just do the best you can you remember what you are focal distance here three years and just just kind of try and play a three foot sort of distance ok? Just just given him way you guys aren't even running okay? All right let's seven they think of the area that way you know you're running way movement up to their faces that's that's cool let's let's just come there for a second gauges cover second again cameras were rolling on that station. No. Okay, I am sorry. Ok? Do we have any little apple boxes or anything we can to take take a break off your feet for a second? We got any quarter apples or any wedges or boy? Yeah, there was really great guys. Thank you. And then we'll do a little bit more remember wrote age and project some of this stuff back as you know what we could already take him weaken to bother to download the card or just played the live card from the from the glad game way hard here and then we can and then you could play about ten seconds to get the car way need to there's no you have with okay I've got to get some stuff to be able to raise this how about never having yet again that's him can I grab those two bits of wood just giving us some four grand he told just those two minutes you wouldn't be perfect here that's it perfect now is that enough jason so this is what he does probably not no just give me the full apple box helping them right now keep it really close the benzo it's really obscure e we should be in like a mind on this camp me too I mean we decided to go on a gram just gonna given a period look and why not you know it's different yeah can I ask a quick question oh sure I'm katie too since you have set the camera to shoot black and white or whether any tweaking or adjustments made in the camera setting we actually didn't we just kept everything else the same we just went to monogram but contrast and then lick on dh sharpness is all the same thing basically would you normally be saturated post sorry would you normally be saturate the video post or would you normally shoot starting back awake thinking like it's josie I'm not sure I tend to like to commit because I hate sort of people into where she washing and sort of say, oh, well, you know, maybe it's too much I like to really be committed to it because you like you like very never limb like it might because you need more separation you know, you didn't you didn't have color separation to help you s o you need terminal separation to help you, you know, separate one object from another and so it's kind of been born to commit really okay, I'm stephen do and what is the real disadvantage or advantage in just going to my monogram sort of imposed? Is there anything you said way would usually shoot it like on the senate style and then kind of doing post but because we were doing it right now like way yeah with the whole scene and ryan rather than have someone wade really usually shoot it in senate style but because like we're trying to create a look in camera right now have a bit like available you know immediately there were just easier to do it in camera lett's get to twelve fifty on the s on this because otherwise we will hey it's gonna be a just watching guess not we get just two minutes in will be absolutely so question from elvis castillo costello how much have been effected someone's follow focusing have in relation to the movement of the camera well, a huge amount of mean, you know, focus on the five day especially when you go on a long lens on your very wide open is is hugely difficult so you know what? Wigand? You see him what we can do project shortly we'll see just how difficult focuses but it it's the worst thing in the world for a focus puller when both the subject and the camera moving together if one's moving on the other static than is one thing but when they're both moving it makes it really difficult, you know? So I mean the actual focus techniques that we used on has to pull off this season finale we're going to demonstrate tomorrow, tim, today we just having fun with the cameras basically can ask another question gail show question from one blurry lens how much time goes into planning your shops in preproduction? Um usually it depends on how elaborately seen is some scenes we weigh no so very well in a resemble if it's a regular scene in a patient room it would you know we wouldn't bother really preplanning and just do it on the day on dh it's always done initially with the actors rehearsing, listen and feeling where they would stand and what their actions would b and obviously on a show like house there's a lot of technical business to achieve knows to do certain things doctors do certain things so that predicts where they're going to stand around the bed, for example, if it's just a scene in a patient room or there are, you know, so it's a more dramatic scene, oracene, that involve special effects, often story boarded, you know, down to every single frame, just depending on the complexity of the scene you know of of a little follow up question to that also from one bullet, blurry lenses do allow any time for setting up shots on the fly, and directors often throw shots at me on the fly, but so I'm not allowed tio I don't, I don't know what when they're coming so way generally knows I mean, we tend to just be going through through the scene and capturing the the coverage, but very often as you as you've seen developers, you often see something really nice that that you hadn't planned on shooting will often take a moment to just grab that, you know, something that's very special on dh that could be suggested by one of the camera operators myself. Thie director might see something or hugh laurie much something new. So you can you can come at you in a variety of ways, you know, uh, go, how we doing here stand by, actually, I have a question for gail. Could you maybe set the stage here a little bit and let us know what you're looking for what you're what you're seeing here what you're wanting to get from the students on basically what we're room what we're trying to do is to just basically put the cameras in the hands of the students because I think that's when you start to really learn about you know sort of how the cameras work not knowing all the students intimately we don't know how many of them have had great experience that actually using the cameras with these sorts of lenses this um nine nightmare is shots going on here in terms of putting focus on this guy but it's basically just for us to have fun and then have a look at it and then see what we learn from it and just basically starting to shoot because I think a soon as you start handling the cameras will have better ideas and it's just like it's up to these guys to tell us you know what they'd like to know you know what? What could help them if they have an idea for a better shot this just what I put together sort of you know in two minutes so if they'd rather try something else of that rather be on the ground shooting something about george the ceiling that's great it's all about creativity and getting involved in the process and you know, so if we're shooting a dance number, whether that's, the reason that most that shots attending to be low that's, kind of a fairly boring angle here, but keeping the shots low is going to be more exciting. Yeah, that kind of that kind of thing. To have anyone wants to grab a camera and shoot something, then that's. Great, but that's, you know, has excellent. And maybe let's take one student of the time teach cameron. They can kind of look at it and take a take a look through the lens and see what they like, what they don't like before we move on to the second one and then the second person can do it. Then we can roll the song again. Yeah, well, that works. I want to go next. Ok, cool. So wait. So basically, it's, just your straightforward five d so way are really that important, okay? Wear a monitor and stuff like that. Do you guys want to know about peaking? Are false telling life? Yeah. What's false color haven't most color is this? So we go into our menu going to filter so we got so basically that's hot that is over exposed, you know, that's basically give focus right there. So what we're seeing red it's yeah, very cool basically what it does is it grabs onto your lines so creates more contract right? So and then a little flipper think it's right here right here just little switch and this basically a justice the dampening tolerant summit so you could make it really smooth or you could make it really fast and liturgy so probably be about right there so wait we'll be there in a minute in this one over here this is the false color this is telling your exposure but we don't have an explosion charred on it so usually we have one it's written right here and I'll give you like all your ira numbers and basically that just a line up of an exposure so booth okay wager on your left hand and then this is just literally riggio traveling getting interest sina styles this is this is actually a black and white profile that we just kind of built way built in camera just so we could have a look immediately where is like, you know, we would have to send it out someone would have to do it in post and they read it that was you know, it would take too long for what we're doing you know, come on we're kind of just playing around so and so right fifty on three okay that's he was any attention why we should go so just thiss one is going to be very drinking focus while so just do the best you can to get it so I feel like if you wanted to kind of like that way just like you know yeah in your hand stops okay so you kind of you kind of adjust to risk toe where when this stops that's and then you'll be right there so that's one of the tricks with what these ones that's ready to go we're going keep the camera moving is home keep keep movement going so don't lose them behind maybe you want to open the bottles up a little bit I just said it's not what you wear on yeah okay I just put it back home this's just a little bit bigger than the just opened the gaps of it ok so are we all good way so is there anybody that's very unhappy this one with styris one down a bit so I'm just gonna stop you down a bit because you're on twelve fifty to give you a bit of a chance I just can I just tip up to his face just about to say yeah that's good and your cousins but a nice cool okay all right yeah, they were ready so yeah a little bit more for could be great what right is everybody ready? You know that you should be able to change the color of your thinking wait I'd be a thirty year you good that's great just you focus on you said on about three feature young worming making a fast I don't know what that one set up for you again I think we already alright wait let's roll cameras yeah what happened way let's just go with these cameras for us way let's have a little bit more smooth just keep this mo getting constant level is when she gets way do some high end and you still come up with their feet up to their faces what did you try and other ranks is coming from the wall towards the cameras as well wait let's send everybody take a break could somebody grabbed the glide cameron do some closure stuff make your body and somebody try the glide gammon newsom much closer stuff if we if you guys take a break for a few minutes of your city and that was really sweet by the way on we'll play you in an access up and then this way and will will will you know do this with the steady cam you know trump will try and keep a four foot distance and get some energy going we'll use the feet will use the body will use the faces you have ever some fun with that and that would be a really nice indica peace for all the other pieces that were being judy and then we can have a look at it run and decided that we should all be dentists oh no I think everyone should change change it up a bit way show this problem this is annoying man this you say you kind of just right handed so probably hold it with my left hand yeah are you right into the ok so I like to track it because I'm right handed so I'd like to get all my comfort you know transferred to their like to hold manami marconi had contact points everybody seeing kind of just like and don't don't turn like that it's very much always a focus that seven point one you know when they wear out its which rolled us so it's it's really cool it and like just public fingers yeah because you just you really want to take all the pressure off you know so and just don't let it like kind of move so but don't don't let it like so free flow to where it starts to like a pendulum there's a little happy medium balance you know you know it's already three focused area about three feet or three feet thing kind of hold hold this you have to hold this because uh yeah I just kind of make sure all like that and then just kind of, you know kind of like your stride just kind of like there's a certain posture for that's it's fine, yeah way people I kind of I kind of just hold my fingers on it just kind of tap it into place on then just kind of and then all like use my pinky to tip it on my thumb to tip it back just because like it's a weird ballot have another short you know it's really fun I only hold where the tape is that when you do like this it changes your whole body position so it just it doesn't become efficient anymore because it's it's not made todo all the way over under that will allow the glide came to have a bit of a free run if we if we use an excess kind of them backwards and forwards this way we'll get some nice clean footage and then them so I'm just hoping off on all these cameras will just do specific glide kim stuff let's just make a little bit of space here just for the moment just this is so we got a little bit of room so we can play you know the whole of this so if we play backwards and forwards this way and just really played the camera would try and is it sent four feet steve okay we'll try and keep it on let's have a bit more smoke it's all going away again so drying keep best you can afford foot thing and I don't worry about coming back here or stop you dripping okay so you can do energy hands, feet I mean all of all of that stuff in and andi what you would stop you on that? We should have a point. One seven great. Ok, that should be good in your three twenty eight. Okay. All right, good again, I think we're ready so we're just getting concentrate just on the glide, cameron and we'll do that then maybe somebody else could jump on it, do one and then we'll swing these three other cameras into action. Okay, so we already okay? Because it lets them start the music and way trying try some coming up and then this anxious, you know, shooting didn't school let's cut, then let's put one of the person on the steady cam just to change it up a bit and then we'll will change over to these other cameras. So one volunteer for the steady cam I mean, really glad cam gail a quick question from the from the chat room did we did you mention what lenses are being used for the different angle? I'm actually I didn't is this the one we're doing in the moments since teddy cam, which is sixteen to thirty five, which is probably the most common and if you want to use unless you use a prime, eh? So that's what we're on a sixteen to thirty five gil it's the most common lens just generally air just for for what we're doing like action for the glory again the sixteen to thirty five is probably the most common lends it gives you it gives you a range it's once you balanced it is balanced more or less and it gives you a little bit of flexibility and widened you know because of thirty five's about his titles you want to go you know one more quick question what were you doing that is folks in the chat room are asking about the smoke is there a reason why we're using it or is it just for the effect oh just I don't know it damn it just gives a little bit of nostalgia it'll make it look a little bit more over old fashioned but I actually love smoke and just because it creates a false sense of perspective things get fainter and less important more smoke there is way in creates a feeling a slightly face artificial feeling of death is the reason I use it you know it's rather like those japanese watercolors that a mountain ranges that get fainter and fainter inventor it creates artificial depths you know ok so let's um just just give ourselves a little bit of room if you I mean you can give yourself quite a little bit of room here you can come out you can come and do some meeting shots with them so if you started say bank here and came to meet them and again play this anxious I think it's really cool gets him quite dramatic stuff and used the legs the feet the hands that body movements and okay so this will be the last little piece we do of the steadicam them or swingley if you guys have got anything without him getting the glide cam in shot and then great but chances are probably not ok so we already let's start the music weii dances just play up way back and brother in this in this way let's carry them cool okay do you need you probably need a couple of minutes and then we'll swing the other cameras into action and that should kind of be in and then we can have a look at what we shot on dh so let's have a couple of minutes break do you have any more questions while our dances avoid them having a cardiac arrest? Okay he is the u s were in the camera the director is the big boss because fewer todo nine tells the camera operator on your lineup the shiny frame more or less but I am I tend to work the english way which is slightly different than the american way I mean this way is that the camera operation is very much part of the decision making process and it is a blatter's opinion is very value junoon yeah it keeps the dp honest a little bit gusty peaceful tender ship to jews shots that are easier to line just some consciously charge of mining yeah eso courage of a dog is really you're kind of in charge of the camera department the grip department the electrical in its directors they actually specify which shot and what type of length sometimes yeah yeah sometimes directors have very very specific requests yeah absolutely you might often argue or you might often suggest something that you feel would work better but it's just depends totally on the direct to some directors have very very specific visions no no other other directors arm or what you go activist are right on a much more interesting what you do with the cameron and I worked with some directors who thought that the camera department was a positive hindrance you know I think if anything could just work with the actor right because they love you nuance of performance what with the preparation of this photographer before day wait that's something we're going to go into it in a big way in the next few days how you deconstruct the script and all of that kind of stuff you know said well well we're probably best because that's a long that's a so you know I have another question I can ask you know show that in the chat room had asked about who has the right of way as a cameraman being in front of other cameraman in their shot if the moment inquires or everybody is kind of a sign of the positions they're working that I didn't understand that question that syrians hell can you read that again absolutely question is from nada and they just kind of like to know who has the right away when there's several cameras working in the shot yeah who has the right away I see I mean it's very presuming there's a camera b camera see camera camera has absolutely priority to size up the main shot on b b camera's fishing you know so it's always a camera comes first because the a camera and the dp work very closely on how is he is going to be structured and b camera very often is left in a situation where they just get what they can you know and it may or may not be used I'm usually it is because you very often I mean if I was doing a two shot of you guys that might be is that why they shot like this and then a be gamma ray being here doing a tighter shot of you you know? So you get both things at the same time you know but a camera would definitely said its position and its habits right away first is a rite of passage thank you way have more questions if we want to keep going a showman a great uh, question from vmc does cale exposed for the actors or the windows or does he do in the middle ground and justin post in this situation? Well, I'm I'm shooting this I mean, I'm always very careful not to kind of go to bomb I love tio done and fit things on the scale you know, if you can captures much data as possible that's the intent but in fact here I'm actually under exposing very slightly to make it look a bit a little bit moody's that when we see it it would be to bribe, you know, that's all but generally I play it fairly conservatively because I have the opportunity to do what I want with it imposed and you make it very dark and very moody very contrast scene in a shift to color all of that stuff, but you know, a lot of this material we're shooting here should be relatively moody them have a question from ken brooks who would like to know if uh when would you recommend using a remote focus puller for glide camp? Um that is actually a very good question when you're working a very low line levels when you can afford it andi, if you're attempting to do anything which comes right into a big close up, then there's no way of doing that on a glide camp if, for example, you starts integrate you know, it's a distance and then you want to end up in a in a frame like that there's no way of doing that a glide cam without every remote focus, so there were certain shots. I mean, you might want to go right into a tight detail of something big line came in that case probably wouldn't be the best device for it, but if you could do it that way with the remote focus, in which case you'd have to use the it like came four thousand and then it's all heavier and so on and so forth way on house, we don't actually use the glide can very much we didn't used to steady cam with our election more because we have it and it's a much more precise tool. But this is, you know, we're teaching a workshop here from, you know, impoverished filmmakers, so to speak so slightly different set of rules, you know? Okay, how we all you guys fixed in terms of having one more round of does anybody want to change anything up, find another angle, do something lying on the floor on your bank? I mean, something to be on a wire there's m lying around. I mean, if somebody wants to grab a wide angle, but right now and I could all could be found down on a very steady jason can you can you give us something I can't way bring a fourteen forty what's the widest lens way um let's uh what is it twenty four one five or just one of a crime let's let's use the prime let's just get that on the body and that will hold its own focus we'll put it on six forty a term nine or something and then we don't even need to focus it just just said it on about four feet here's what we're going to need to do is they're going to have to be able to like you don't this right now you know we just give them the cards way we can live fetal this is ridiculous so this this one is just gonna be a card zoom sure after all done with this we'll sit down and kind of re watch all the footage we have been able to see people can talk about it yeah cool yeah yeah I remember some fun with this you keep right on the ground while we're waiting who could we have a volunteer to get stomped on monica monica monica right. Okay, wait probably good if you're on a stick or you want to go and help oh just just put it right on the grand okay minute maybe and you know what could be nice with that is to shoot a real nice silhouette he shot tonight be a pain in the ass and pull you back. I want to say that in the times maybe come down here. Yeah, on dh you something right now, let's. Just give you a little more stops that's before messing. Yeah, that looks pretty nice. Okay, actually, maybe move a little bit that way. So that's tried. Try not to come too far around, because otherwise you'll be all over this shot. And have you got a clean shot that by going around that way? Okay? And then I'd said that on the way about them. That should be good. Yeah, great. Okay, so is everyone ready? This should be the last. The last blast we do on this. I think he shot him quite nice stuff, but was heard saying otherwise, I'll be on the plane home tonight. Game yep ways, everybody rolling way. Why didn't you just come out from the corner for a scientist? Allow everyone to get something clean for sank him with the glide canyon way. Way again! Get it cold! We've been a round of applause for a wonderful dances.