Super slow dolly push-ins

rob norton said:
Hah more like might shine, might not.
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Not really. AF messes up when things cross the frame, the subject is off centre, you are not after a human, the shot is deep DOF with many things to choose, you are swapping between subjects mid shot etc. A mickey on a single face is exactly where it works.

Honestly few a/c s could pull these off.

tests of product in my studio with FS7 and kit lens

and Nikon z6 - this would be an expeptioanly difficult shot. There is a pan which highlights the move needed but is not well executed (moco)


Both shots are sped up in post, moving in slower is absolutely no problem 10mins if you want :)

My machine http://framedogs.com/motion-control-camera-bristol/ video includes BTS of the nikon shot.
 
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Sorry, I didn’t think you were speaking about a clear frame with a face but realise (think) you were referencing the godfather shot? Completely agree, AF would’ve worked well there. Your product push ins look great.
 
I think the OP was reffering to faces -

Thanks.. My products look good but I still have the dirty secret of being in trouble should a director want pans between products or the shot to start or cross a dirty foreground. Af is still a throw of the dice until someone in camera design gives thought to how cinematography is actually done.
 
morgan_moore said:
Charles - you must have done this.

What is the usual rig?

Any tips on focus?

I find this possibly the hardest shot.. but very requested by directors!

To be done well one needs to tilt (or in chapman world boom)

I would have to live with my 'Dana'
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Sam, wasn't sure what the quote was that you were referring to? Stuff?

I have been trying to think of times that we've done Mickey Rooneys on Techno and for some reason I keep coming up blank. Certainly if it required flying the camera over set pieces it would be a necessity. I just can't recall doing an extremely slow push-in on one, or even playing around to see what the slowest speed we can achieve would be.

It probably has something to do with me being in comedy for the past decade, where this sort of thing is less common, unless we are parodying a dramatic beat!

One came to mind, way back on the West Wing (viewable on Netflix: S1 Ep. 10, at 17:00). It was an intense scene to shoot and I seem to remember there was some behind the scenes fuss on how to go about it. I think the original plan was to arc around to the side but it wasn't coming together and we "settled" on the straight push in which was I think probably more effective.
 
CharlesPapert said:
One came to mind, way back on the West Wing (viewable on Netflix: S1 Ep. 10, at 17:00). It was an intense scene to shoot and I seem to remember there was some behind the scenes fuss on how to go about it. I think the original plan was to arc around to the side but it wasn't coming together and we "settled" on the straight push in which was I think probably more effective.
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Dammit Charles! Here we are talkin’ camera angles and you casually drop one of the signature scenes from one of the highest regarded shows in television history? You just drop “I miss my boys”? Damn, dude! I mean, I mentioned Godfather but it’s not like I operated the shot.
 
Mitch Gross said:
Dammit Charles! Here we are talkin’ camera angles and you casually drop one of the signature scenes from one of the highest regarded shows in television history? You just drop “I miss my boys”? Damn, dude! I mean, I mentioned Godfather but it’s not like I operated the shot.
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Ha! True enough. It's such solid writing and strong performance. I tend to think of my time on that show more in terms of the big Steadicam shots, I forget about things like this.
 
morgan_moore said:
tell us your tales of super slow push ins and holding focus :)
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I had thought about responding to this but in all honesty, the last time I pulled focus was in the 80's!

I took this one right to the top for you folks, my old college pal Gregor Tavenner who is unquestionably one of the best in the business. He's moved up to operating in recent years but still occasionally gets back on the knob, as he did for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (he pulled for Richardson for many years). I'm still in awe of what he did on "Birdman"--incredible tack focus on those super closeup intimate handheld and Steadicam shots. So I threw him this question and this was the response he sent:

"the slow dollies can be more difficult: but i had a way of using a laser on the dolly and marking a 1x3 baton of wood that was 8' long and had a footage scale on it- i would line it up with dolly track and i would be mapped out every six inches and as the dolly roles in i was accurate to the inch:
most slow dollies were long lens on actors usually in a state of emotion and somewhat static: lots of seated positions in deep thought or emotion.
i was good up to 180mm t 2.8.
best example was the anamorphic work on "Snow falling on cedars"
this coupled with a panatape or cinetape was good to the inch.
then with 65mm i had to ask for more accuracy and i started using the sniper: infra-red laser distance measure. then i felt i was good to the 1/2 inch."
 
I think I've said this before: Focus pullers/1st AC's are the unsung hero's of the camera department. The demands that are placed on them, at times, are titanic.

In my world, you are usually pulling your own focus, but I operated on a Netflix comedy special a few months ago and we had AC's pulling on the two primary cameras shooting long lens. And I'm here to tell you that it will spoil you in about 10 seconds.
 
Run&Gun said:
I think I've said this before: Focus pullers/1st AC's are the unsung hero's of the camera department. The demands that are placed on them, at times, are titanic.

In my world, you are usually pulling your own focus, but I operated on a Netflix comedy special a few months ago and we had AC's pulling on the two primary cameras shooting long lens. And I'm here to tell you that it will spoil you in about 10 seconds.
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The challenge for them is that their jobs are essentially binary: is it in focus, or isn't it? Obviously there are degrees of both but that's mostly what it comes down to. I do think it is an easier task than it once was in the film days especially distance readout tools, but at the same time there is generally less time and often less takes to nail a shot. We roll on the first rehearsal and the AC has to try to guess what an actor is going to do seeing it for the first time.

The one mitigating factor is that theirs is generally an internal process to the department; unlike an operator or DP, they usually don't have to interface with the sometimes complicated demands and egos of those in charge. But they also get hardly any of the glory. It is rare to see a director compliment on a focus pull (it has happened)! Again, a largely binary operation and thus as long as your work stays in the "on" position, you can stay below radar.

On the note above: I found it really fascinating when the large sensors came into the broadcast world and operators who had always pullled their own focus were expected to continue to do so in that environment. I've done some broadcast shoots where there is that expectation, but we are also moving so fast with so few takes that I have had to bring up the logic that a dedicated AC will be able to turn a greater percentage of sharp beats, which will surely help the edit.
 
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