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We follow up with a few indoor scenes and some at the bathtub in the back yard, all with existing light.
Bathtub, day: Adam on camera, Alan on sound,
Rob monitoring. |
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I’m getting lots of detailed direction from Rob, who likes tight, tight closeups, often partially obscured. I wind up shooting a
lot of over-the-shoulder and past-the-head shots, all handheld. Since it’s Direct Action, there’s no preplanned dialog, nor marks:
actors are moving as they see fit, so I’m constantly roving to maintain framing. We shoot our cover shots tight, and roam
continuously between the actors: "don’t count on having a second take."
Rob dislikes bright light on the actors, and I’m shooting faces at levels between 10% and 25%. Indoors, these look fine in the
EVF and LCD, but outdoors, these levels simply read as black. Without the EX1’s exposure readout and histogram, I’d have very
little faith that I was getting what I needed. With them, I’m still nervous, but as an instrument-rated pilot I know when to
ignore my senses and trust the gauges. The EX1’s expanded focus function and its depth-of-field display ("lens info") help me
keep it in focus: unlike many HDV cameras, the EX1 lets me use expanded focus even while rolling, and I use it frequently.
Word comes back from Data Wrangling that the images are unfreakingbelievably gorgeous, which I attribute to the natural beauty
of existing light and the EX1’s CINE4 gamma setting with detail turned off.... and the fact that I was able to hold focus more
often than not!
I notice my right thumb is sore, and wonder why. I don’t recall mashing it when folding up the tripod, or when rigging a light...
odd...
Day 2 - Tim, Rob, and I meet at 6:45AM to cover the starting line of the Dipsea Race. It turns out that half the people in Mill Valley
know Rob, and half of them have been in one of his previous films. In between the impromptu reunions, we get the footage we need,
and repair to the main location after a hearty breakfast.
SCENE 5- Alex and Ethan- Alex comes to Ethan’s room- writing- asks him about it- asks questions about Christian- and the scene
evolves
Tim sets up a VistaBeam behind the door. The VistaBeam draws 600 watts, yet puts out about as much light as a 4K tungsten instrument
in a softbox. Bounced off ceiling and wall, it brings the base levels up to the point where I can shoot the scene without blowing out
the windows. I even have to throw in the ND1 filter to keep my aperture around f4, yet have the shadows down where Rob likes them.
Not for the last time, the VistaBeam proves itself a wise choice.
We need to get low, as in ground-level, so I yank the DvRig and plan to operate completely handheld. Rob is in the hall, monitoring
on my Panasonic BT-LH1700W (there’s no way I’m working around that composite cable in full-handheld mode); Tim is mixing, Alan is
squeezed between a dresser and the wall, booming (Rob likes to have lavs on all his actors, but we also use a boom mike for coverage,
backup, and ambience. This is a short establishing shot, then we’ll come back for closeups, so we’re cool with the required contortions.
25 minutes and 5 seconds later, Rob says, "cut". It’s jazz, man; improv: sometimes the scenes run a bit long. At the 20 minute mark,
I have to choose between dripping sweat on the camera or on one of the actors (it was in the high 80s that day), so I compromise by
dripping sweat on both. I fondly remember 4GB P2 cards and 8-minute maximum take lengths, when both slots of the HVX200 were filled...
ah, the good old days! [1]
The VistaBeam moves out onto the rear deck, to kick up the fill level in the dappled light beneath a gnarled tree.
It’s 6pm, and the sun is beaming down out of a cloudless sky, yet we have rich detail in the shadows and no blowouts on sunlit skin
nor in the sky (I hope to post frame grabs soon).
Day 3 - We sit down at call time and go over the shot list. We’ve shot for two days, and we’ve been busy, but it still looks like
we’re about two days behind schedule. How can this be?
I’ve figured out that my sore thumb is the result of the EX1’s composite cable pressing into my flesh; it’s to the point where,
after a take, I pretty much can’t use the thumb at all. I tell Rob he’s on the Panasonic whenever possible, and he agrees, so I
gratefully switch the EX1 to HD-SDI monitoring as much as possible.
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The Panasonic 17" monitor was a lifesaver.
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