Shooting Outdoors

Streckfus

Streckfus

Member
Couldn't find a good place to stick this so I figured I'd let you director folks have a go at it.

Just purchsed a Dell Notebook PC (Inspiron 1705) and will be using DV Rack to shoot a feature this spring/summer. There are several outdoor scenes, and I'm concerned about being able to view the PC's screen in sunlight. (Never owned a notebook PC until now so perhaps this issue is moot.)

Since the Notebook PC is going to be used as a production monitor, it's obviously pretty important that I'm able to view the screen clearly. I'm on the lookout for any sort of shades or cases that will allow me to view the LCD screen outdoors in sunlight. I don't want to stick it in the back of a van or anything because then I'd need to get a bunch of Firewire repeaters and long cables to hook up to the DVX, and besides, I'd rather be directly in front of the action and not away from it, stuck in a van somewhere.

Any leads on some good gear for this sort of thing?
 
I used a coat today. I might use a blanket tommarow.

Just find something that breathes (plastic tarps are bad), and throw it over your head/monitor.

Or you could actually invest in a real monitor hood, but that costs... money.
 
I mount a flag (black foamcore) horizontally on a c-stand, or sometimes I put a large umbrella on a c-stand. I use this not only to provide shade for the monitor, but to keep the camera cool under the hot summer sun.

Before I started "flagging" my camera/monitor the DVX would actually get too hot to touch.
 
I used a pink umbrella on my last shoot. Made me feel quite manly.

But, actually, it wasn't dark enough, so I'd go with a towel or coat or blanket.
 
I made a hood for my production monitor, but we found, when we were outside that nothing was better than a blanket. It looks ghetto, but it works great.

Chris
 
Thanks for all the feedback; seems the simplest approach is probably the best. Maybe I'll pick up one of those PC shades, but I'll keep a blanket or coat at the ready as it sounds like that's the way to go! I reckon that's how MacGyver would've done it....
 
MacGuyvering your way through a move shoot is the best way to go! So take that blanket off grandma and get your shots set up and done, (have a set time limit due to sun position anyways pending what you're going for).
 
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