Laser guided field of view

W

Windjammer

Active member
This attachment would sit on the front part of the lens and would emit a laser beam pattern in the shape of a rectangle out in front of the camera. This rectangle would represent the extreme edge of the film frame. As the camera would zoom in, the rectangle would get smaller. This would act as a handy guide for both crew and talent to know exactly where the film frame begins and ends. The light beam would, of course, be RED.
 
Thats a cool idea. It would also be nice to get a frame pulse from the camera to know when the camera is taking an image... that way you can flicker the laser between exposures so the crew can see the lines but the camera won't.
 
Yes, the idea is that the laser drawn rectangle would project it out on the set, just outside the exposed film area. As a result it would never be seen by the camera and thus never register on camera. But a flicker is a good idea that way any unwanted reflections would never be seen by the camera. I would imagine that this laser guide would need to have adjustments for intensity, line thickness, and size in case you want to have some sort of a buffer zone for the talent.

Also, now that I think of it, Laser guided floor markers for talent and the like would be a great addition.

Darn, now my million dollar idea is out there and I'll never make a cent.
 
Windjammer said:
Yes, the idea is that the laser drawn rectangle would project it out on the set, just outside the exposed film area.
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Oh yeah... derrr. My mistake. The fliker thingy would be cool though :)
 
Hmm.. just gota keep the beam out of everyone's eyes. Cool idea though, I've pondered this one myself before too, but yet to come up with something safe.

- Mikko
 
wouldent you need some sort of particle for the laser to reflect on? or have sit right up against the floor so it shows on the floor?
 
This is a bad idea for one very important reason, what actor would want to be blinded by a rectangular laser?
 
This is a bad idea for one very important reason, what actor would want to be blinded by a rectangular laser?
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It's a laser - focused light. It would only blind the actor if you point it directly at their eyes and they were looking straight at it; what would be the point of that, as you want the actor to be in the frame, not the frame cutting at his eye?
 
Great idea! To minimize eye problems, and to always have a medium that the laser projects on, how about a laser that shows the angle of view only on the location floor?
 
If i were an actor i would be a little afraid of my eyes being burnt out. BUT oakely can invent lazer blocking contacts!!!
 
Maybe you can use a softer light that spreads its focus over a larger area;
a)It would be more obvious
b)It wouldn't "burn" your eyes out
The problem with this is it'll be harder to see in daylight, so it still has to be fairly focused.
 
Or you could just alert your talent when you're going to be turning on the laser guide-- I think it would be a great feature to be able to toggle on to assist with precise blocking and such, but it certainly wouldn't do to have it on all the time: actors have enough to deal with acting through all our lighting setups and bizarre c-stand forests. So with an on/off toggle and maybe a knob to adjust the focal length for the FoV on the fly (say, if you were changing focal length during the shot) and the only thing you'd have to worry about is breathing on a crappy zoom lens...
 
Maybe the laser could be a button on the camera that can be pushed for the crew to check the frame. The laser isn't contatnly on, but could be used as a quick reference. The laser should never be pressed when an actor is in front of the camera.
 
dr.evil.laser.jpg

I want a freakin "Laser" beam damnit!


- Mikko
 
That would only work on scenes with a backdrop, greenscreen, etc. If you are shooting with a shallow DOF with the background way in the distance you would not get a real accurate idea of where the safe area was...


ash =o)
 
The laser boundaries they're talking about would show you the height and width of the frame, not the parts that are in focus. The DOF is irrellevant.

I don't think I'd want to want to be an operator on set however where every single person on the cast and crew can sit there and analyze where the frame is in front of them. The director has a monitor available if he needs to check framing. Trust your departments!
 
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