New York City DVXUSER Crew Presents: Katrina - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

TimurCivan · 12-02-2006, 12:43 PM

In additon to the mirrors, we are also offering a couple of different 720 versions of KATRINA:

Each of these 3 is about 200 megs, has some artifacting from compression, but is a decent compromise between quality and size.
http://www.eefilm.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD.mov
http://www.desperatecomfort.com/katr...na_h264_HD.mov
http://www.timur civan.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD.mov ( I am Fresh out of bandwidth)

This one is a SUPER high quality 720, that looks pristine and is about 1.12 gigs.
http://www.eefilm.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD_best.mov

Thanks to Norm for helping us host these larger versions!

The New York City DVXuser Crew as a whole is a nearly perfect production team. Its members include Myslelf, Mark Harris, Steve Boling, Aram Bauman, Leslie Goff, Alex DePew and last but not least Alexander Lewis. We have all become friends, and without the help of these friends, and their unwavering dedication to our "Katrina" project, Mark and I have descided to make Katrina a group entry into the DVXuser.com DramaFest, to reflect everyones hard work. Hence forth in this contest, the film will cease to be a Mark Harris / Timur Civan Film, but instead a NYC DVXUSER Group Film. Team work is whats its all about.

CAST:
Godfrey L. Simmons Jr.
Lindsey Liberatore
Brandon Ladd
Mark Harris

Written, Directed, Produced, & Edited
by
Mark Harris

Director of Photography
Timur Civan

Gaffer
Aram Bauman

Assistant Director
Leslie Jaye Goff

Assistant Camera
Alex Lewis

Grip
Alex Depew

Grip
Gary Waldinger

Production and Set Design
Steven Boling

Costume Deisgn
Martina Melendez

On-Set Costumer
Jill D'Oronzo

Music Composed & Performed
by
Herman Witkam

Sound Design, Foley, & Sound Mix
Joe Johnson

Titles & Animation
Peter Gagnon

Production Services
Black Watch Productions

Casting, Props, Locations
Mark Harris

Shot on location in Brooklyn, USA

Some Grabs!

BTS:

(JimTheJib)

(Steve2bees)

Alex Depew, Godfrey Simmons, Brandon, MsMAnhattan, MArk harris, and me hiding behind the china ball.

Brandon Rice · 12-02-2006, 12:43 PM

Heck ya! Glad to see you guys in!

TimurCivan · 12-02-2006, 12:44 PM

More Grabs!

WORKFLOW:

Here is some information on the workflow we are using to shoot Katrina. First off we are using the HVX / SGproREV2/ Serious magic HD rack software combination. we are shooting 720/24P over 60P with a 2:3 pull down. The reason for this is that the HDrack software cannot capture 24pN.

Footage logging: While theoretically we can shoot without Cards, i opted to keep the camera with a P2 card inside. the reasoning is this. If the Fire wire cable should be disconnected for any reason, and the HD rack capture be interrupted, the P2 card will be capturing the shot and the take is not wasted. since its flash, who cares if it gets full. When it fills, i reformat after the end of the take, and continue recording. HD rack is a GREAt piece of software, and its full res 720P Monitor while sharp, has a 1/2 second lag, and doesnt display the full framerate, leading to the image being jerky. This was a major problem for me while operating the camera as i couldnt frame up while the actors moved, because of the lag. However, i had a lowresolution, 16:9 DVD player with me for framing purposes, and this quickly solved the problem. The HD rack monitor is SUPERB for Focusing however, its Razor sharp.

Camera/SGpro: The HVX is truly an EXCELLENT camera. we utilized The Variable framerates, the natural, rich lush look it provides and in combination with its high dynamic range, and great highlight handling it provided a very film like latitude with great definiton. Aram, Alex Depew, Steve Bowling and I lit the set very carefully. I made a plan to light the set until we could reach a proper exposure at F2.8 on my 35mm Canon FD lenses. The reason i settled on F2.8 is this. i have 5 primes. the slowest of the bunch are two lenses, both F2.8, probably closer to T3.0 - T3.5. My theory is as follows, if you can light until your darkest (slowest) lens gets proper exposure to the camera, then you can interchange freely among the different lenses, without a disparity of wide ranging exposures in the footage. On Bloody Mary, some of the footage was VERY dark in comparison to the different setups in the same scene, because i used a slower F4 Wideangle lens as a wide shot to closeups shot with a 55mm F1.2. the CU's were about 3 stops brighter, and matching up the footage in post was difficult. ( thank you Zoe White (future ASC member for sure) for helping me realise this) Now if we had lit the scene to a point where the F4 lens had proper exposure, we could always close down the F1.2 lens, to compensate for added brightness ( or stop down the dvx iris to maintins the F1.2 super SHDOF instead). Also the added benefit is that the lenses get alot sharper when you stop down a bit, this is espacially evident in HD.

The SGpro Rev2 adapter is a hidden secret among 35 adapters. ITs the best 35 adapter that noone knows about. WAyne kinney, whom i have had an ongoing email conversation with for over a year, has kept me updated to all the advancements, and refinements hes been making in his design. Esssentially it breaks down like this. its a Spinning GG adapter, like the M2. Unlike the M2, it exhibits almost no vingetting, and because of a professionally designed, custom Achromatic Diopeter, it exhibits ZERO chroma Aberation, and No resolution loss on the edges of the frame. Also Waynes Secret weapon, the "magic GG" as he calls it. he wont tell me what he does to it. And quite frankly i dont care so long as it keeps putting out the image quality that it does. Pay attention to the quality of the Bokeh. it most closely resemebles 35mm Film, out of all the 35 adapters, including the Mini35. Its rich and solid, and doesnt allow the residual image to Ghost though creating a low quality look. This great piece of equiptment in combination with Great Canon FD lenses, provided us with a superb and fully controlabe camera setup. Because all my lenses are FD SSC lenses, and are spherical in build, they exhibit that distict charachteristic, found in most cinema lenses, the round disc of out of focus light. The fact that we matched the lenses in apeture helped meld the different charachteristics of the lenses together, and created in essence a "matched" set of Primes.

I am using:
Zesnar 16mm F2.8 Semi Fisheye
Canon FD 24mm F2.8
CAnon FD 35mm F2.0 SSC
Canon FD 50mm F1.4 SSC
Canon FD 55mm F1.2 SSC
Canon FD 125mm F2.5 SSC
Zesnar 200mm F 3.5 (su

Now you may be askin why do i have a 50mm and a 55mm??? The reason is the two lenses have different looks, the 55mm has a bit of barrel distortion at full wide when focusd up close, this creates a very unique effect that i put to good use. also, since closing down to F1.4 is a possibility, the lens instantly gets much sharper, and still retains almost no light loss. Also, the Zesnar lenses are Russian made lenses, based on german designs. They are relativly inexpensive, but perform very well.

AS far as the look goes, i was interested in crating a Dark smoky look. Incase you hadn't notices based on the poster.

.

I conferred with aram, that i wanted mostly hard back lighting, with Semi Hard Keylights, and Soft fills. I was influenced by the looks of films like "Cape Fear" "Out Of Sight" "The Underneath" and "The Black Dalia". My art references were, Edward hoppers drab, lonely worlds, Cindy Sherman's nostalgic sarcasm, and some of my own tricks ;) . While i didnt exactly copy any of these looks, i was very interested in incorporating my own art photographs into this. The hard, bright lights, and gels, to reference a kind of superreal that only works in Photgraphs, Theatre and Film. Its increadible how much disparity from reality the eye will tolerate so long as its beautiful. I hope the photographs i have taken you will all find beautiful. But you have to look fast, cause they flash by 24 times a second.......

BTS Update:

http://www.chocolatemilkfilms.com/Ka...rina_Pics.html

LAst day of principal photography. On location with Godfrey and MArk.

Brandon Rice · 12-02-2006, 12:46 PM

Hey, you know me... I challenge anyone to be quicker on the post button ;) haha!

TimurCivan · 12-02-2006, 02:57 PM

truedat

Beat Takeshi · 12-02-2006, 02:59 PM

Wait till you see my comedy stand up about DVXusers for my 2000 post video. Brandon is one of the people I bust on about this. Hope you have a thick skin.

Brandon Rice · 12-02-2006, 03:07 PM

Sa'll good man, I know you don't hate me

haha

TimurCivan · 12-02-2006, 03:08 PM

oh boy.... it starts..... i'll bring the popcorn and beer to the thread.

Beat Takeshi · 12-02-2006, 03:15 PM

Hehe, its not that bad. Funny as hell though.

Brandon Rice · 12-02-2006, 03:34 PM

When can we see it Aram?

12-02-2006, 12:43 PM	#1
TimurCivan Director Of Photography Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 9,965	New York City DVXUSER Crew Presents: Katrina In additon to the mirrors, we are also offering a couple of different 720 versions of KATRINA: Each of these 3 is about 200 megs, has some artifacting from compression, but is a decent compromise between quality and size. http://www.eefilm.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD.mov http://www.desperatecomfort.com/katr...na_h264_HD.mov http://www.timur civan.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD.mov ( I am Fresh out of bandwidth) This one is a SUPER high quality 720, that looks pristine and is about 1.12 gigs. http://www.eefilm.com/katrina/katrina_h264_HD_best.mov Thanks to Norm for helping us host these larger versions! The New York City DVXuser Crew as a whole is a nearly perfect production team. Its members include Myslelf, Mark Harris, Steve Boling, Aram Bauman, Leslie Goff, Alex DePew and last but not least Alexander Lewis. We have all become friends, and without the help of these friends, and their unwavering dedication to our "Katrina" project, Mark and I have descided to make Katrina a group entry into the DVXuser.com DramaFest, to reflect everyones hard work. Hence forth in this contest, the film will cease to be a Mark Harris / Timur Civan Film, but instead a NYC DVXUSER Group Film. Team work is whats its all about. CAST: Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. Lindsey Liberatore Brandon Ladd Mark Harris Written, Directed, Produced, & Edited by Mark Harris Director of Photography Timur Civan Gaffer Aram Bauman Assistant Director Leslie Jaye Goff Assistant Camera Alex Lewis Grip Alex Depew Grip Gary Waldinger Production and Set Design Steven Boling Costume Deisgn Martina Melendez On-Set Costumer Jill D'Oronzo Music Composed & Performed by Herman Witkam Sound Design, Foley, & Sound Mix Joe Johnson Titles & Animation Peter Gagnon Production Services Black Watch Productions Casting, Props, Locations Mark Harris Shot on location in Brooklyn, USA Some Grabs! BTS: (JimTheJib) (Steve2bees) Alex Depew, Godfrey Simmons, Brandon, MsMAnhattan, MArk harris, and me hiding behind the china ball. __________________ Director of Photography RED-MX Package available for rent, 5DmkII package Available for rent. www.timurcivan.com Last edited by TimurCivan; 02-13-2007 at 02:18 PM.

12-02-2006, 12:44 PM	#3
TimurCivan Director Of Photography Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 9,965	More Grabs! WORKFLOW: Here is some information on the workflow we are using to shoot Katrina. First off we are using the HVX / SGproREV2/ Serious magic HD rack software combination. we are shooting 720/24P over 60P with a 2:3 pull down. The reason for this is that the HDrack software cannot capture 24pN. Footage logging: While theoretically we can shoot without Cards, i opted to keep the camera with a P2 card inside. the reasoning is this. If the Fire wire cable should be disconnected for any reason, and the HD rack capture be interrupted, the P2 card will be capturing the shot and the take is not wasted. since its flash, who cares if it gets full. When it fills, i reformat after the end of the take, and continue recording. HD rack is a GREAt piece of software, and its full res 720P Monitor while sharp, has a 1/2 second lag, and doesnt display the full framerate, leading to the image being jerky. This was a major problem for me while operating the camera as i couldnt frame up while the actors moved, because of the lag. However, i had a lowresolution, 16:9 DVD player with me for framing purposes, and this quickly solved the problem. The HD rack monitor is SUPERB for Focusing however, its Razor sharp. Camera/SGpro: The HVX is truly an EXCELLENT camera. we utilized The Variable framerates, the natural, rich lush look it provides and in combination with its high dynamic range, and great highlight handling it provided a very film like latitude with great definiton. Aram, Alex Depew, Steve Bowling and I lit the set very carefully. I made a plan to light the set until we could reach a proper exposure at F2.8 on my 35mm Canon FD lenses. The reason i settled on F2.8 is this. i have 5 primes. the slowest of the bunch are two lenses, both F2.8, probably closer to T3.0 - T3.5. My theory is as follows, if you can light until your darkest (slowest) lens gets proper exposure to the camera, then you can interchange freely among the different lenses, without a disparity of wide ranging exposures in the footage. On Bloody Mary, some of the footage was VERY dark in comparison to the different setups in the same scene, because i used a slower F4 Wideangle lens as a wide shot to closeups shot with a 55mm F1.2. the CU's were about 3 stops brighter, and matching up the footage in post was difficult. ( thank you Zoe White (future ASC member for sure) for helping me realise this) Now if we had lit the scene to a point where the F4 lens had proper exposure, we could always close down the F1.2 lens, to compensate for added brightness ( or stop down the dvx iris to maintins the F1.2 super SHDOF instead). Also the added benefit is that the lenses get alot sharper when you stop down a bit, this is espacially evident in HD. The SGpro Rev2 adapter is a hidden secret among 35 adapters. ITs the best 35 adapter that noone knows about. WAyne kinney, whom i have had an ongoing email conversation with for over a year, has kept me updated to all the advancements, and refinements hes been making in his design. Esssentially it breaks down like this. its a Spinning GG adapter, like the M2. Unlike the M2, it exhibits almost no vingetting, and because of a professionally designed, custom Achromatic Diopeter, it exhibits ZERO chroma Aberation, and No resolution loss on the edges of the frame. Also Waynes Secret weapon, the "magic GG" as he calls it. he wont tell me what he does to it. And quite frankly i dont care so long as it keeps putting out the image quality that it does. Pay attention to the quality of the Bokeh. it most closely resemebles 35mm Film, out of all the 35 adapters, including the Mini35. Its rich and solid, and doesnt allow the residual image to Ghost though creating a low quality look. This great piece of equiptment in combination with Great Canon FD lenses, provided us with a superb and fully controlabe camera setup. Because all my lenses are FD SSC lenses, and are spherical in build, they exhibit that distict charachteristic, found in most cinema lenses, the round disc of out of focus light. The fact that we matched the lenses in apeture helped meld the different charachteristics of the lenses together, and created in essence a "matched" set of Primes. I am using: Zesnar 16mm F2.8 Semi Fisheye Canon FD 24mm F2.8 CAnon FD 35mm F2.0 SSC Canon FD 50mm F1.4 SSC Canon FD 55mm F1.2 SSC Canon FD 125mm F2.5 SSC Zesnar 200mm F 3.5 (su Now you may be askin why do i have a 50mm and a 55mm??? The reason is the two lenses have different looks, the 55mm has a bit of barrel distortion at full wide when focusd up close, this creates a very unique effect that i put to good use. also, since closing down to F1.4 is a possibility, the lens instantly gets much sharper, and still retains almost no light loss. Also, the Zesnar lenses are Russian made lenses, based on german designs. They are relativly inexpensive, but perform very well. AS far as the look goes, i was interested in crating a Dark smoky look. Incase you hadn't notices based on the poster. . I conferred with aram, that i wanted mostly hard back lighting, with Semi Hard Keylights, and Soft fills. I was influenced by the looks of films like "Cape Fear" "Out Of Sight" "The Underneath" and "The Black Dalia". My art references were, Edward hoppers drab, lonely worlds, Cindy Sherman's nostalgic sarcasm, and some of my own tricks ;) . While i didnt exactly copy any of these looks, i was very interested in incorporating my own art photographs into this. The hard, bright lights, and gels, to reference a kind of superreal that only works in Photgraphs, Theatre and Film. Its increadible how much disparity from reality the eye will tolerate so long as its beautiful. I hope the photographs i have taken you will all find beautiful. But you have to look fast, cause they flash by 24 times a second....... BTS Update: http://www.chocolatemilkfilms.com/Ka...rina_Pics.html LAst day of principal photography. On location with Godfrey and MArk. __________________ Director of Photography RED-MX Package available for rent, 5DmkII package Available for rent. www.timurcivan.com Last edited by TimurCivan; 01-22-2007 at 08:01 PM.

12-02-2006, 02:57 PM	#5
TimurCivan Director Of Photography Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 9,965	truedat __________________ Director of Photography RED-MX Package available for rent, 5DmkII package Available for rent. www.timurcivan.com

12-02-2006, 02:59 PM	#6
Beat Takeshi Two-Hip Shakur Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: On the edge Posts: 6,005	Wait till you see my comedy stand up about DVXusers for my 2000 post video. Brandon is one of the people I bust on about this. Hope you have a thick skin. __________________ RED#1277 available for rent "DONNYBROOK" shot in the Bronx ~GET HOOKED ON CRACK~

12-02-2006, 03:08 PM	#8
TimurCivan Director Of Photography Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 9,965	oh boy.... it starts..... i'll bring the popcorn and beer to the thread. __________________ Director of Photography RED-MX Package available for rent, 5DmkII package Available for rent. www.timurcivan.com

12-02-2006, 12:43 PM	#2
Brandon Rice Frakin Mod Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Southern California! Posts: 17,271	Heck ya! Glad to see you guys in!

12-02-2006, 12:46 PM	#4
Brandon Rice Frakin Mod Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Southern California! Posts: 17,271	Hey, you know me... I challenge anyone to be quicker on the post button ;) haha!

12-02-2006, 03:07 PM	#7
Brandon Rice Frakin Mod Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Southern California! Posts: 17,271	Sa'll good man, I know you don't hate me haha

12-02-2006, 03:15 PM	#9
Beat Takeshi Two-Hip Shakur Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: On the edge Posts: 6,005	Hehe, its not that bad. Funny as hell though. __________________ RED#1277 available for rent "DONNYBROOK" shot in the Bronx ~GET HOOKED ON CRACK~

12-02-2006, 03:34 PM	#10
Brandon Rice Frakin Mod Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Southern California! Posts: 17,271	When can we see it Aram?

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