Operating with a 35mm adapter WITHOUT follow focus?

[Peter Hoare]

Unfortunately, what with insurance and shipping from LA, the production have decided not to take Russ up on his offer. Looks like we are going to have to go with the 'mostly out of focus' option. :angry:

[Imran Naqvi]

Hi Peter,

 

To me this is a no-win. This production is not going to give you any useable material for a reel, and really that's the only reason you'd want to do an unpaid job surely?

 

In addition I think you're allowing a production to get away with not paying for what should be essential kit. If they want to work with 35mm DoF then they need to learn what exactly that means. It means a focus puller and with steadicam it means wide lenses or wireless follow focus.

 

I don't have the years of experience of the guys giving you advice, but I've done and still do my fair share of low budget jobs and I would walk away because you won't get anything worthwhile from this job.

 

Just my opinion

[Erik Brul]

I don't have the years of experience of the guys giving you advice, but I've done and still do my fair share of low budget jobs and I would walk away because you won't get anything worthwhile from this job.

 

Just my opinion

 

Indeed, and then afterwards you maybe must beg for some copies of the footage for your reel.. <_<

 

Good luck,

 

Erik

[Peter Hoare]

Hi Imran, I met you at broadcast live a few times (I was the one that kept trying the flyer out)

 

Thing is, I cant refuse the opportunity to work with a big cast and crew and director etc etc, I think its too valuable as experience to turn down. They know that I am new and fairly inexperienced, they arn't paying me and I did my best to get them a remote focus which they turned down. The ball is in their court, if it looks crap because its out of focus, they can hardly blame me...?

[Brad Grimmett]

The ball is in their court, if it looks crap because its out of focus, they can hardly blame me...?

Nope, they can't blame you to your face....just behind your back. The 1st assistant and DP could be telling people the next day, "We hired a steadicam operator and the guy showed up without a wireless follow focus!" Does it matter that you did your best for them and gave them options? No. But it appears that you've decided to do the job no matter what, so good luck to you, and hopefully it will be a positive situation and experience.

[Imran Naqvi]

If you're going to do it regardless that's fine, but let me give you a different way of looking at it.

 

The DoP and Producer are clearly not overly concerned with getting a quality product if they're willing to take a chance on focus. If they approach the rest of the film similarly and you get no useable material for a reel what's the point of the experience?

 

You're not going to point future DoP, Directors or Producers at the film because if you show them out of focus shots it's going to sound like an excuse, the only way you'll come out of this well is if you nail every shot and nothing is out of focus that shouldn't be.

 

Again just my opinion.

 

Good Luck

[Peter Hoare]

Hi,

 

Here is a quick update for all of those that offered me help regarding the 35mm system without the follow focus.

 

Well, as predicted focus was an issue. WalkieTalkie shots were fine, as keeping a consistent distance was easy, the problem was with studio shots moving around the actors, its just impossible to keep it in focus. I did some thinking and I came up with a rather run and gun, but elegant solution.

 

I took a standard RC servo and attached a 0.8mod spur gear to it. I then quickly knocked up an electronic servo controller and bodged it to the battery pack and put a long bit of wire in. The end result is a motor that mounts to the rods and meshes with the gear ring on the lens and it can be controlled by turning a knob on a box. There is a 3m bit of very thin, very flexible wire joining the two, which I can cope with.

 

What I am going to do is get the puller to do his marks on the manual follow focus, then they can pull the lens to those marks using the remote system. The whole thing took about an hour to make and cost me nothing. I know its not exactly professional, but it works and its better than the puller constantly trying to pull focus whilst im operating. The noise of the servo isn't actually a problem, cant hear it on the audio track...

video

Edited March 22, 2008 by Peter Hoare

[Lukas Franz]

Peter,

 

it's amazing what stuff your creating. As well that remote p/t head (on youtube), not bad. Of course it isn't something you can use for professionnel exertion, but for low/no budget projects it's great, I guess. You're pretty talented. Are you shure you wanna be a steadicam operator and not an engineer at some cam tech company. I'm little jealous ;-)

 

Good luck.

 

Lukas

[Peter Hoare]

Dont forget these that I made too:

transmitter

dolly

 

The PT head was used on a fairly high low budget film, if that makes sense. The FF really will work fine for any kind of film, just as long as its not too noisy...

 

Garrett Brown did stuff like this until he invented steadicam, and he became a steadicam operator, so it seems like a logical path :lol:

[Jason Torbitt]

Hi Imran,

I was asked by a production to do a MovieTube job with the HVX...low budget...you can imagine the sort of thing I'm talking about. Never ended up doing the job, but it was really hard work to actually get across to these people that a focus puller was a non-negotiable issue. Never ceases to amaze me, how little some of these production companies actually know about the kit when they're trying to book you. Complete and utter lack of understanding.

 

J.