Working with the PEC

The PEC oversees the equipment for hundreds of productions every year. And unlike professional rental facilities, the people who use (rent) the equipment from the PEC are students, learning both how to use the equipment as well as how to interface with the staff who is there to provide support.

As issues arise, please remember that you are not the only person/project with whom they are dealing. There are many projects, and many personalities. While you may think yourself reasonable, you may project a tone or attitude which does not engender an eagerness to assist. Whereas, if you are pleasant, reasonable and patient in your dealings - if you listen in addition to simply speaking, you will be more likely to find a sympathetic ear.

I encourage you to treat others as you yourself would like to be treated. I encourage you to give others the same benefit of the doubt that you yourself would like to receive. I encourage you to step back, gain some perspective and then move forward appropriately and with courtesy.

Remember eye contact, a simple smile and a lightness of tone combine to become a powerful communications tool that will serve you well in all your dealings for years to come.

Wide Angle Lens

Here's a quick reminder that when you use the wide angle lens adapter with your EX3 be sure to enter the camera menu and turn the "wide conversion" to the ON position. When you remove the wide lens adapter, be sure to reset this menu to OFF.

Shooting Tests

Plan your tests carefully. You will want to test both how to achieve the desired results, as well as at which point it ceases to work. You need to know the parameters within which you can work. Make a draft proposal of your plan and organize it in a methodical way that will both help you to accomplish all you need to accomplish in the time allotted, and help you stay focused on your objectives as you proceed.

Remember as you test your variables, to maintain a control that you will revisit to help you keep track in your mind what normal is - so that you can determine how far afield your tests have brought you.

Tests are extremely valuable, and yet, on lower budget projects are difficult to schedule. The time spent testing will save time and aggravation in production and post. So keep precious the opportunity to shoot tests. Learn all you can from them.

To do this, your tests should as closely as possible replicate the shooting conditions which you will face during your production. The more you vary from what is expected, the less reliable your results.

Keep clear notes. Slate every shot clearly.

Have fun.

Location Scouting

As you look for the perfect locations for your film, remember a few things:

- Consider how to make each location work for you - even if you don't like it, you may find yourself shooting there, so work to find solutions to the challenges each location poses.

- Look for those elements that you can best exploit to make your shoot even more successful.

- Look for ways to hide the most offending problems so that they do not appear in your finished film.

- Do not give up until you have found a location that will work for your production - that is all departments. It has to work for picture, sound, scheduling, budget, etc.

- In this endeavor you will have to be flexible and understanding, realizing that the concerns for your department are not the only considerations.

Your ultimate goal is to make the best film possible.

Applying Gels to Windows

The best way to adhere gels to a window is to:

1) clean the window thoroughly

2) mix some water with just a touch of dishsoap into a spray bottle

3) spray a light application of the soapy mixure onto the window.

4) align the gel onto the window

5) use a squeegee to smooth out the gel and to remove the excess soapy water.

6) with a sharp razor (matte knife) carefully trim the edges of the gel

Shooting a Car interior - 546 style

From a student:

I was thinking a bit tonight about lighting our car interior during the daytime. Our thinking behind these first car scenes is that the world is still a magical place for Efrain at the beginning of the film and we want to present the desert as a wonderous place with rich reds and browns and blue skies. That being said, we are trying to find a way to narrow the dynamic range between the car interior and the exterior

Given that the outside world is going to be 2-4 stops over depending on which direction we are facing at various times of day, we are considering using mirrors and shiny boards to bounce light inside the cabin (through one or more layers of diffusion) as well as bounce cards inside the car itself for CU's.

I was wondering though, whether it might be useful to supplement these with a small HMI like a 400w or 575w Par with, maybe, a superwide lens in front? While we could run such a lamp off a car inverter (at least for a while) I wonder if there isn't anything we can't do with the sun that an HMI would be better suited for? I suppose any lamp that we cannot keep powered for the duration of our shoot isn't a realistic lighting solution, but still I wanted to ask.

We had also considered using Kino car kits or Litepanels for CU's inside the car, but we are skeptical as to their effectiveness under such already bright conditions. We'd like to test them next weekend, but thought we'd solicit your opinion first.