cusious of how snowboard filmers work

Color

Color

Active member
okay, im very excited, ive rounded up some amazing snowboarders, finally have a job, and will be getting an arri 16s with Angenieux 5.9mm and a zoom telephoto lens to document the snow season in tahoe backcountry and make my first snowboard film. trying to get a sponsor or two, if anyone knows how i'd go about doing that i'd love you indefinitely. it would help with the funds as 16mm aint cheap. anywhoo...i think im getting the sekonic l-358 for photography work already, so i was wondering how to meter correctly. must i spot meter? can i just use the white ball thing on it? where do i point that? do i do it every so often in case of exposure changes? also, does anyone know (at the various speeds the arri does) what the shutter speed is? i need to know for the meter to make calculations. and how do i compensate for the viewfinder? thanks a bunch in advance, guys!

benni

PS ive seen most the snow videos that look clear and amazing, and then some peoples where the 16 looks like ****. what is that? the stock they use? im wondering how to not make it look super amateur as well. you know, the ugly 16 look.
 
Color said:
i think im getting the sekonic l-358 for photography work already, so i was wondering how to meter correctly. must i spot meter? can i just use the white ball thing on it? where do i point that? do i do it every so often in case of exposure changes? also, does anyone know (at the various speeds the arri does) what the shutter speed is? i need to know for the meter to make calculations. and how do i compensate for the viewfinder? thanks a bunch in advance, guys!

benni
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Benni,

I'd recommend finding a basic photography book at the library or a bookstore and studying how to use a light meter. The basics apply whether you are shooting still photography or motion picture photography. For the most part, film is film.

The shutter speed on the Arriflex 16S is determined by the speed you are running it at. It has an 180º shutter, so take your film speed and double it, then take the reciprocal. In other words, if you are running the camera at 24 fps, double that speed, 48 and take the reciprocal, 1/48th of a second. That is the shutter speed. I would also recommend going to the web site and downloading the Arriflex 16S/B manual and studying it. It will tell you alot you will need to know about the camera.

Shooting on snow can be a real challenge and it would be best for you to do some tests. The white surface really bounces the light around, so you need to test your exposures to see what looks best, before you get out there with all the snowboarders and have only one chance to get the footage. I would start out your exposure by taking an incident reading pointing the white ball of the lightmeter directly toward the sun or brightest cloud in the sky. That will give you a starting point, then bracket your exposure around there and process the film, transfer it, and see how it looks. Take good notes and slate each shot so you know what you have when you're done.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out,
-Tim
 
You got some nice shots in there Benni. Since you say you have never used a light meter, am I to assume you were using an automatic camera, a camera with automatic exposure control?

With a motion picture camera, especially an older one, automatic exposure is not really an option, and if you want to continue to grow as a photographer and cinematographer, learning to control light is really important. And a light meter is the best way (besides your eye) to measure what the light is doing.

Nice composition in your work by the way.

-Tim
 
ive got a d2h, which has a built in meter, but i just take test shots for radio trigered external flashes. i was afraid of having to do a test roll or two...its so ****ing expensive!!

i always use manual mode though, that shouldnt really be a problem.
 
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