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Done a shot with no monitor?


Janice Arthur

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Hi all;

 

I've done a few shots where batteries just died and replacements were a long way away at the end of a long day.

 

The shots were pretty wide and one was on a forklift in a warehouse.

 

Maybe I was concentrating harder but they worked out just fine.

 

Janice

 

Have a good summer.

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Haven't used one in years. Makes my shots very organic. Shows with bad writing love my operating because it makes the show so much more exciting and masks the hackery oozing from the script written by the coke head flunky just shat out of the ass of filmschool

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Haven't used one in years. Makes my shots very organic. Shows with bad writing love my operating because it makes the show so much more exciting and masks the hackery oozing from the script written by the coke head flunky just shat out of the ass of filmschool

love it

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Haven't used one in years. Makes my shots very organic. Shows with bad writing love my operating because it makes the show so much more exciting and masks the hackery oozing from the script written by the coke head flunky just shat out of the ass of filmschool

 

This explains SO much !!

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I remember a walk and talk shoot when my monitor battery end in the middle of scene

I always look near the lens I was afraid more for the focus than for the frame

Hopefully it was just a walk and talk so easy for me to keep the same distance from the actors

So when I ask a playback after the shoot they ask me why ?it was perfect!!!! Nobody believed that the monitor was ofF

Edited by G. Grammatikos
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When instructing new operators at workshops, I've found that having then focus on the camera instead of the monitor produces more accurate operating, especially if they have some operating background. We often get too focused on the boundaries of the monitor resulting in a reactive operating situation rather than anticipatory.

Wide shots are certainly easier without a monitor. I've had to complete a few shots midway due to a signal loss. I just focus on the camera instead of the monitor and it often works out.

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Did a shot on Fast and Furious 7 last year with a Libra Head mounted on a motorcycle driving towards 2 cars drag racing and splitting them. Video went out as soon as the bike started. Took my hands off the wheels and hoped for the best. Perfect!

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Years ago I did a music video where the plan was to play the whole video in reverse. One section on the video had the artist rapping into the camera while PA's threw latex paint at the artist from directly off camera. I spoke with the PA's prior to filming and instructed them to throw the cans with a forward throw as oppose to an arc. This, of course, jinxed the situation and on the last can the PA arced the throw and blue latex paint nailed me and covered entirely my monitor. I knew there was no chance for a second take and we were on a wide lens so I continued the shot through the end. When we cut, the director, DP, and producer were already standing behind me with a panicked look on their faces.

 

Hindsight being what it is, I should have just had their insurance fix everything or buy me a new one but I offered to try and clean it. After an all-nighter, I was able to dismantle, clean, and rebuild the monitor. Being a novice, I hadn't charged them for that time but I was happy I was able to fix everything.

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While I have made some attempts at spreading a rumor that I no longer utilize my monitors image feature, I must admit that this is not entirely true. I use it for rehearsals. I apologize to anyone who has been approached by VTR only to be forgiven for still needing that two dimensional confirmation and all the cute little colors blooming and swirling within a frame that speaks a language of mistrust. I apologize, but I implore you to trust your hand and let your monitor run cool and dark.

 

Ok, unfortunately that rumor only made it as far as the next operator VTR worked with the very next day, but I enjoyed basking in my temporary illusion of Jedi grandeur. I had just completed a commercial consisting of four spots, 90 percent of which was shot with no viewable image…a 5D mark II firing away stills at about 1 frame a second. Don't ask me why. Believe me, it made no sense to me either, especially when each shot would be performed again with an Alexa into which the stop motion would seamlessly finish with in the edit. I know your thinking, "why not pull frames?". Don't ask why… at least thats what I was told as I embarked with the task of shooting long moves for three days with no image… but like I said, I use it for rehearsals.

 

Funny thing is I felt totally prepared for this. When I used to practice steadicam on my own I found it invaluable to practice with my monitor off, focusing on the actual subject and my rigs relationship to it. My monitor was still very important to look at, but as a three dimensional object who's flat top surface is still my main sense of level, especially when panning while tilting…it never begs you to overreact. It also teaches you to trust your hand with bigger moves and whip pans because your comfortable looking away from the monitor and trusting your hands ability line up objects, not just images. To this day on every walk and talk and also every shot that threatens to reveal a step I make it a point to watch the frame of my monitor move through space… I watch it move smoothly with an even speed and in that moment I trust what the rig is doing. I can see its glide match the speed of the actors feet, I can see it graze along a wall at a constant height, and all this I suppose is to get me to operate less…to doubt less…to overreact less, and if possible, to operate without operating.

 

Obviously I wish to have spent more time basking in my illusion of Jedi grandeur so I spread a rumor, I wax poetic of a monitor that runs cool and dark.*

 

*In reality I'm probably so afraid of messing up that I can't bare to look.

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I've had my monitor battery die during a show being broadcast live, used the force, it was wide and just trust your instincts and I think all the times I had to do a slate as a loader always getting the slate in without having the operator change there frame def gave me insight on where the camera is pointing/ framing.

 

Another time was doing a feature and was so dusty my monitor was so covered in dust I couldn't see any image. Nice 2 min walk and talk. Perfect every time :)

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