Just got back from the Middle East

Kindredmachine

Kindredmachine

Well-known member
Hey everyone! I've been out of the loop for awhile since I was outof the US; filming in the West Bank in Israel, ancient Samaria, underground tunnels in Jerusalem, etc... Left Tel-Aviv just hours before the Gaza strip was bombed on Friday. Anyway, I used a hacked GH2 on the entire prouction instead of the AF-100 for security and size/weight reasons and it turned out pretty good. Here's a few screen grabs.

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Kindredmachine said:
Hey everyone! I've been out of the loop for awhile since I was outof the US; filming in the West Bank in Israel, ancient Samaria, underground tunnels in Jerusalem, etc... Left Tel-Aviv just hours before the Gaza strip was bombed on Friday. Anyway, I used a hacked GH2 on the entire prouction instead of the AF-100 for security and size/weight reasons and it turned out pretty good. Here's a few screen grabs.View attachment 44787View attachment 44788View attachment 44789View attachment 44790View attachment 44791View attachment 44786View attachment 44796View attachment 44797View attachment 44798
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Looks good! Would like to see the footage but you should probably post in the GH forum. I've shot in Israel twice now with the AF100 and it's been great. Never had issues going full rig walking around Jersualem. In Israel if you just act like you are supposed to be there it's generally fine. Got some bad sand in my Lumix lenses after a desert shoot though.
 
Jerusalem is always fine, the issues tend to be in some of the Palestinian areas... and if you're crossing over into Jordan to check out Petra for example, then forget it. You'll never get in with an AF-100.
 
I'm not sure where you film but I'm really glad to hear you havn't had much trouble. As for myself, I have ran into issues at...

The Western Wall
On the Temple Mount
Border corssing into Jordan (Petra)
Mount of Olives
Filming IDF on break in Jerusalem
Mesata
And areas like Bethlahem where a white caucasion american with a rigged AF-100 might stand out a little too much to feel comfortable walking down the street.

I always take the policy that it's better to be safe, not sorry. I don't want to travel half way aroud the world just to discover that some security personel has a problem with thinking I'm a journalist or you get hit up everywhere you go to pay a $100-$200 "fee" for them to look the other way which HAS happened at a couple of places; even with the small GH2 with clip-on mattebox and DP4 monitor. If you don't blend in as a tourist, you tend to run into annoyances.
 
Never been to Israel but spent a lot of time in N Africa... As a rule i stay away from filming defence stuff and infrastructure stuff to avoid problems.
 
I rigged up my AF-100 to shoot somewhat run & gun off the shoulder but lost my Israeli client shortly thereafter due to political reasons with my producer. I had shot in Israel for over 10 years with a very conspicuous, large Betacam. Rarely did I have any trouble with security or authorities. You just have to be discreet and never ever shoot IDF stuff or police activities. I got some tapes confiscated once when I shot a robot picking up a backpack left at a bus stop. I swapped and gave the police a blank tape. The AF-100 with the CPM Sidewinder rig and handles might have been even more conspicuous than the old Betacam. My last shoot in 08 over there was with an EX1 which I thought was ideal under those conditions. I love shooting in Israel! Love the food and the people and opportunities for shooting very interesting images.
 
Looks good, just curious- why post this here instead of the GH2/screen grabs forum?
 
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The AF was only one of three cameras on this shoot, the other two were HPXs, & I don't see the camera work that made the cut as anything special, so posted the video here only as reference to some of the places we shot.

Best,
B
 
Bern Caughey said:
The AF was only one of three cameras on this shoot, the other two were HPXs, & I don't see the camera work that made the cut as anything special, so posted the video here only as reference to some of the places we shot.

Best,
B
Click to expand...
that's cool as it was an AF mixed shoot- but I was referring to the original post as it is all GH2 grabs. The AF and the GH seem to make a "cute couple" though
 
I planned to spend an extra week filming, but a cinematographer broke an ankle, so decided to help him home instead.

We're hoping to get into Gaza soon, but securing access isn't simple.
 
^ Cool, thanks for sharing...

Any guess on the Matrix, especially on the 170? I'm still trying to match the two...
 
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