vegasdigitalfilms
Active member
We just wrapped week one of "The Casino Job" (3 more to go) and here is a brief summary.
The DVX performed flawlessly. First three days were lighting intensive. Shooting outdoors and at night. Used several 250w Lowell kits, plus some soft boxes. Myself and the gaffer worked to get the best lighting and after the first day, found our groove. Used a Sekonic L-508 Cine meter and set the asa to 640 which we found matched the DVX internal light meter. Most stuff ended up being 2.8 or 2.0.
Used the Kessler Crane for some money shots over a pool (sweating all the while). These turned out fantastic. Left most settings at zero, but played with master ped a bit. We used two DVX's and one of them (the main camera) doesn't take too well to blue. Very, very noisy. So much so that the director got frustrated. Spent some time tweaking the settings to no avail. We will avoid blue whenever possible. (the second camera is not available all of the time).
Last night had to work alone on lights and camera and ended up using hardware store bought work lights (simple metal reflector with light socket and clamp). Had a variety of bulbs available from 60 watt to 250 watts. These were my best friends. Hooked them all up to simple dimmer switches. With the use of some Roscoe gels, we got all of the shots with intended mood. The Director (Chris Hood) is used to working in film and he was very pleased with what we got using these lights. Very, very filmlike. Chris is very picky and to please him was a relief and a welcome challenge. He was reluctant to use the DVX, but cost forced him to and he is now accepting the camera and the look of 24p.
i recommend every DP get a set (four or more) of these simple yet effective worklights. They are small, inexpensive, easy to use, quick to set and awesome lighting sources for the DVX. i recommend 75 to 250 watt bulbs on dimmers.
We are off for the weekend and resume production Monday morning. Can't wait
Jeff Mahon
DP "The Casino Job"
The DVX performed flawlessly. First three days were lighting intensive. Shooting outdoors and at night. Used several 250w Lowell kits, plus some soft boxes. Myself and the gaffer worked to get the best lighting and after the first day, found our groove. Used a Sekonic L-508 Cine meter and set the asa to 640 which we found matched the DVX internal light meter. Most stuff ended up being 2.8 or 2.0.
Used the Kessler Crane for some money shots over a pool (sweating all the while). These turned out fantastic. Left most settings at zero, but played with master ped a bit. We used two DVX's and one of them (the main camera) doesn't take too well to blue. Very, very noisy. So much so that the director got frustrated. Spent some time tweaking the settings to no avail. We will avoid blue whenever possible. (the second camera is not available all of the time).
Last night had to work alone on lights and camera and ended up using hardware store bought work lights (simple metal reflector with light socket and clamp). Had a variety of bulbs available from 60 watt to 250 watts. These were my best friends. Hooked them all up to simple dimmer switches. With the use of some Roscoe gels, we got all of the shots with intended mood. The Director (Chris Hood) is used to working in film and he was very pleased with what we got using these lights. Very, very filmlike. Chris is very picky and to please him was a relief and a welcome challenge. He was reluctant to use the DVX, but cost forced him to and he is now accepting the camera and the look of 24p.
i recommend every DP get a set (four or more) of these simple yet effective worklights. They are small, inexpensive, easy to use, quick to set and awesome lighting sources for the DVX. i recommend 75 to 250 watt bulbs on dimmers.
We are off for the weekend and resume production Monday morning. Can't wait
Jeff Mahon
DP "The Casino Job"