chupap

As much as it seems like a slap, I can see both sides of this--having 25 guys standing around with their arms crossed, shaking their heads and berating the poor soul who is handling the demo for not having included this or that is probably not as productive for them as working with the individuals as each show comes up. I had a good three or four days over there recently and we covered a lot of ground. I'm opting to fly dual-system with the recorder remoted; after one day of actual shooting I'm pretty convinced that this is the way to go unless the geography precludes having a guy trail you with a deck (20 feet of cable is allowable after the 6' of lightweight dual BNC at the camera end). The camera flies really nicely in this configuration, and although the power is half that of the one piece system, it's still formidable. It's weird to have to think about powering a video camera up and down like you are rolling a film camera, but it seems to be the way to go. There is a fair amount of anecdotal information about possible interference from the camera to the deck; it is extremely sensitive to HMI and Kino ballasts (and even Kino heads, so no onboard eyelights!) 12 feet is the recommended distance from same--and remember, that's the camera, cable and deck ALL needing to keep 12 feet away. Could be tricky in many sets. Panavision is working on a Copperhead fiber system that will likely solve a lot of these issues, and allow the deck to be remoted to the DIT station where it belongs, but we won't be seeing that solution on this particular show, sadly. Erwin took some pix at the prep, for anyone who might be interested: http://web.mac.com/chupap/iWeb/Site/Genesis.html

Guido, you know well I'm not afraid to run people down on the Handsfree.

Funny you should say that, Ron. David Grove kept yelling "Mike" during the screening, and I thought he was calling one of his buddies over. Then there was that one shot that I wasn't too happy with, so I feigned a coughing fit. Managed to distract everyone just long enough. BTW, if anyone has Ron over their house, make sure to take all the framed pictures down before he arrives--he's a little clumsy. OK, I'll explain that one. Ron operated for me on a 48-hour short film I made a month or two back (hey look, here it is). During the first (beautifully operated) walk-and-talk that appears in the film, there was this pesky ol' framed poster on the wall, see--well, let's just say that the Klaussen low profile arm could have been just a LEETLE lower profile that day. Ron, I managed to get the picture reframed before the owners of the house came home from their vacation.

Just as a thought, David...I personally despite the Citywalk; crowded, noisy, and obnoxious is how I frankly feel about it, and $8 for parking is the final dealbreaker. It seems to me that there are many places in this big city that you can drive right up to and not have to hassle through the crowds. If bowling is the theme, the fairly new Lucky Strikes bar/restaurant at Hollywood & Highland may be worth looking at. It's a really nice room, not a sports bar, they have a number of lanes at the back and they have the neon from the sadly departed Hollywood Star Lanes (as well as the bartop being made from one of the old lanes), which is a nice nostalgic touch. Now, it's not that I'm a fan of Hollywood & Highland either, but the entrance to this is right off the street, so you can avoid the tourists there also. Bowling is a good idea, look forward to seeing it come together. Best, Chas

Well, it's been a long road for me with the backmounted harness. Seems my creaky old bones weren't a happy fit with either the classic or Light versions, after much swapping out of pads, gnashing of teeth etc. After trying on the new Genesis at Cinegear, I saw light at the end of the tunnel and harness #3 turned out to be the charm. Received it last week and the initial use was promising, although I only got a few shots in so it wasn't as demanding a trial as it could be. That all changed last night, on a multicamera concert gig. I spent a straight 75 minutes in the rig, shlepping a Varicam up and down the Universal Ampitheatre steps (my estimate was 500-600 stairs each direction, still not quite as impressive at GB's preceding Shelley Duvall up the stairs of the Overlook !) I honestly feel that with a front-mounted vest, my mileage would have suffered. And the Genesis settled nicely, avoiding the pressure on my hips that I had experienced with the other harnesses. So once again, this is a warm endorsement of the backmount harness as well as my thanks and kudos to Walter and Co. for valuing my satisfaction and comfort over the profit margin. Also a tip of the hat to Howard for his part in the conception of the Genesis. The tricky part for anyone considering a backmounted harness is knowing in advance what their particular constitution will respond to; it's great that there are now three designs to choose from. From my discussion with Howard at Cinegear and comparison of our experiences, I think it may be safe to say that if you find your hips to be a bit of an Achilles heel (as it were) you should take a good look at the Genesis.

Yeah, Ozzie's looking all boy-band-esque!

I find that most of the reasons that I prefer a high-quality image for playback have little to do with focus, but more often trying to determine the nature of potential camera or boom shadows, or if one has photographed a no-no such as a light or a flag. Given that the taps do not deliver the highest quality image imaginable, I prefer to at least capture that resolution than continue to degrade it to help with the squint-and-interpret process ("is it a Pepper or a practical or a kick?"). I was ecstatic to move from 8mm to DV because of the improved picture quality, as well as the clean still-frame and easier cueing. I would be delighted to go to a hard drive system, but not at the expense of dropping back the picture quality. The technology is all there, it's just a matter of the right package (c'mon, video iPod! Well, maybe not soon enough. And while we're on the topic of Apple rumors, check this display out: sweet!)

GB appears to be away until the middle of the month. Hopefully he's off enjoying that new boat he commissioned.