First FILM shoot

[William Demeritt]

Greetings all. I've been operating almost 2 years now, really appreciated all the information and support here on the forums. It appears now that 2010 has brought me not only a first for the New Year, but also a first in my career: shooting film.

 

I was referred for a student film shooting, and they won the Panavision film grant, so looks like I'd be shooting on the Panavision Elaine. I've worked with the Elaine as an AC in the past a couple times, this will be the first time I have it on Steadicam. So far, I've been entirely digital, mostly shooting with the RED.

 

Any tips, advice or words of wisdom, not just for shooting with the Elaine but also for shooting film for the first time?

 

As of now, I'm already trying to figure out how to make it to the camera prep to test build my rig (Archer2). My usual "pre-flight" checklist will be triple and quadruple checked, but anything you wish someone had told you before that first FILM shoot would be great.

 

Many thanks in advance!

[Scott Dropkin]

William,

 

I just did a job with the Elaine and asked a couple of questions before hand. Check out this thread to see if it helps.

 

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10915

 

Since this is your first film shoot, I'm assuming it is your first panavision shoot. Make sure you get the Panavision/steadicam dovetail plate. The Elaine is already a heavier 16mm camera and you don't want to add any more weight.

 

Hope it goes well,

 

Scott

[Jess Haas SOC]

Never flown the Elaine but in general film cameras are much easier to work with than HD. A lot less ghetto rigging required.

 

Is this by any chance the thing I sent your way? I sent two different people your way in the past week or so. Not sure if they ended up contacting you.

 

~Jess

[Afton Grant]

Never flown the Elaine but in general film cameras are much easier to work with than HD. A lot less ghetto rigging required.

 

Not true with the Elaine by any means. It's a finicky little camera that's no longer made that Panavision gives out for free - which should say something about the quality of it. I'd take and HD camera any day to the Elaine.

 

There are certainly worse setups you could be faced with, William. It's a workable camera. It can just be buggy sometimes. The best advice would be to, at all costs, plan a day of prep. Even if it's a student film and you're not getting paid, it can still be worth it to work out any bugs without the pressure of the actual shooting day. Get the camera, lenses and all, up and mounted on your rig and make sure everything works. Run it a bit too, as the Elaine is notorious for power issues. A day of prep is really routine advice for any job you go on, but prep days will slide here and there as you gain experience and familiarity with your rig and the cameras you'll commonly use.

 

Good luck!

[William Demeritt]

Is this by any chance the thing I sent your way? I sent two different people your way in the past week or so. Not sure if they ended up contacting you.

 

~Jess

 

Yea, they called me last night. Not sure if it's for sure yet, they sent me a copy of the script, but nothing's official. Just figured I'd do some advance homework while I got the time to wrap my head around it.