Spring 2015 Wednesday Laws of Light Class

Interview Video Stills

Four Camera Interview with 2 Recorders and Lit with Lowell Omni Lights

The Style of the Interview will be like the New York Presbyterian Hospital Commericals The films are directed by Peter Rabot at Lost Highway Films.

There will be three mark III's on tripods and one hand held Mark III filming wider shots including the setup and the crew. A shotgun mic on a boom 2 feet from the interviewee and recording to a Zoom H4n plus a lavaliere on a Sennheiser wireless transmitter recording to a second Zoom H4n.

The cameras will all have the exact same setting and the two H4n's will set the same also. See below for exact settings.

I will assign a job to each person in order to prevent a situation like this Problems on the set with Steve Buscemi

· Director

The director is responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film, including controlling the content and flow of the film's plot, directing the performances of actors, organizing and selecting the locations in which the film will be shot, and managing technical details such as the positioning of cameras, the use of lighting, and the timing and content of the film's soundtrack. Though directors wield a great deal of power, they are ultimately subordinate to the film's producer or producers. Some directors, especially more established ones, take on many of the roles of a producer, and the distinction between the two roles is sometimes blurred.

· First assistant director

The first assistant director (1st AD) assists the production manager and director. The ultimate aim of any 1st AD is to ensure the film comes in on schedule while maintaining a working environment in which the director, principal artists ( actors) and crew can be focused on their work. They oversee day-to-day management of the cast and crew scheduling, equipment, script, and set. A 1st AD may also be responsible for directing background action for major shots or the entirety of relatively minor shots, at the director's discretion.

· Director of photography

The director of photography, DoP or DP, is the chief of the camera and lighting crew of the film. The DoP makes decisions on lighting and framing of shots in conjunction with the film's director. Typically, the director tells the DoP how he or she wants a shot to look, and the DoP chooses the correct lens, filter, lighting and composition to achieve the desired aesthetic effect. The DoP is the senior creative crew member after the director.

The term Cinematographer is usually synonymous with director of photography, though some professionals insist this only applies when the director of photography and camera operator are the same person.

· Camera operator

The camera operator uses the camera at the direction of the cinematographer, director of photography, or the film director to capture the scenes on film or video. Generally, a cinematographer or director of photography does not operate the camera, but sometimes these jobs may be combined.

· First assistant camera

The first assistant camera, 1st AC or focus puller, is responsible for keeping the camera in focus as it is shooting, as well as building the camera at the beginning of the day and taking it apart at the end. They also thread the film when a new magazine is loaded.

· Gaffer

The gaffer is the head of the lighting department, responsible for the design of the lighting plan for a production. Sometimes the gaffer is credited as chief lighting technician.

· Key grip

The key grip is the chief grip on a set, and is the head of the set operations department. The key grip works with the director of photography to help set up the set and to achieve correct lighting and blocking.

· Production sound mixer

The production sound mixer is head of the sound department on set, responsible for recording all sound during filming. This involves the choice and deployment of microphones, operation of a sound recording device, and the mixing of audio signals in real time.

· Boom operator

The boom operator is an assistant to the production sound mixer, responsible for microphone placement and movement during filming. The boom operator uses a boom pole, a long pole made of light aluminum or carbon fiber that allows precise positioning of the microphone above or below the actors, just out of the camera's frame. The boom operator may also place radio microphones and hidden set microphones. In France, the boom operator is called the Perchman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_crew

We will use standard filming commands as follows

The director confers with the interviewee about what is about to take place.
The assistant director call for "Quiet on the set!".
"Lights" Gaffer responds Ready
The assistant director calls "Roll sound". (Historically sound and image were recorded on separate devices and sound tape is cheaper than film so you start the sound recording first.)
The Production sound mixer ad boom operator respond with "Sound 1 rolling" and "Sound 2 rolling"
The assistant director calls "Roll camera".
The 4 camera operators responds "Camera 1 rolling", "Camera 2 rolling", "Camera 3 rolling" and "Camera 4rolling".
The assistant director calls "slate" or "marker" the assistant camera operator makes sure all camera can see the slate to insure easy editing synchronization.
The director shouts "Action!" or simply asking the interviewer to ask the first question.
When the director feels the take is finished or even that the take is going badly and wants to stop it he shouts "Cut!".
The gaffer, the sound recorders and the camera operators stop their devices and the actors stop acting.
Everyone checks their equipment in preparation for another take while the director confers with the actors.

from http://production.4filmmaking.com/directing-films.html

The Lighting and Camera Position Diagram

The Still Photographs

We will shoot our still images while in live view mode and while the cameras continue to capture video. We use the exact same setting as set for video. The director will call for a still session and direct the interviewee where to look and what to do while all 4 camera operators photograph at will.

Metering

http://nofilmschool.com/2012/01/light-meter-excellent-tutorial-ryan-e

On a DSLR 180 degree shutter- 1/48 or 1/50@ 24P or 1/60 @30P. 180 degree rule: fps x 2

Canon 5D MIII Settings

Toggle the Video mode switch on the back of the camera

Set on Manual Mode

Menu the red camera 4th dot set Movie rec. size to 1920 24 fps IPB

Set shutter to 1/50

Set ISO to 640

Set f/stop to meter reading

Set lens to manual focus

Set White Balance to Tungsten

Set Style to standard
Set Still file type to RAW

*Canon 5D or 7D CF Card Record Time Chart (in minutes)*	64GB	32GB	16GB	8GB	Data Rate
1920 x 1080 - 24, 25, or 30 fps	193	96	48	24	5.5 mb/sec
1280 x 720 - 50 or 60 fps	193	96	48	24	5.5 mb/sec
640 x 480 - 50 or 60 fps	387	194	97	49	2.75 mb/sec

*Canon 5D Mk III or 1D X Record Time Chart (in minutes)*	64GB	32GB	16GB	8GB	Data Rate
1920 x 1080 - 24, 25, or 30 fps - ALL-I	88	44	22	11
1280 x 720 - 50 or 60 fps - ALL-I	96	48	24	12
1920 x 1080 - 24, 25, of 30 fps - IPB	256	128	64	32
1280 x 720 - 50 or 60 fps - IPB	296	148	74	37
640 x 480 - 50 or 60 fps - IPB	624	312	156	78

Zoom H4n Recorder

Operating guide

Set both recorders the same

Format the SD Card

Turn Mic Lo Cut Off

Turn Comp/Limiter Off

Turn Rec Level Auto Off

Set Rec Format to WAV44.1 kHz/16bit

Recorder 1 with shotgun mic on a boom 2 feet from the interviewee to left channel and a 2nd shotgun mic for interviewer on right channel

Adjust sound levels so it is peaking between -12 and -6

10 Step Multi-Camera DSLR Video Production Checklist .

1. Match frame rate and shooting modes. We will use compression IPB

2. Use optimal and sync shutter speed. 24 fps x 2 = 1/48 or 1/50

3. Match overall exposure

4. Check exposures using histogram and light meter comparisons

5. Match picture syle and color sttings

6. Match white balance and still capture to RAW

7. Use manual audio and adjust levels for consistant audio on the zoom H4n peaking between -12 and -6

8. Check media and batteries

9. Check scene, model and wardrobe details

10. Record master audio and clip length

Editing

Each person will be filmed continuously after the marker has been executed. At the end of the interview there will be a still session instigated while the cameras are still rolling. The camera will stop only after the director says "Cut".

After the all the interviews are completed, a new folder will be made for each interviewee and files from the 4 cameras and the 2 recorder will be copied to this folder.

In Premiere Pro CC there is a special way to edit a multi camera session. Here are two links to help you understand the procedure:

A Quick Walkthrough of Editing a Multi-Camera Sequence with Clips Synchronized by Audio

or on Lynda.com