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How much time do you spend looking at responsive curves and the like? I always imagined the best method was metering the brightest and darkest objects you wanted correctly exposed and making sure their lighting falls within an acceptable range as per the film stock's responsiveness. I suppose...

Well, Uelsman did his work in the darkroom, still very skilled. I don't have samples of their work with me, but I'll ask if they have quicktime transfers of their work.

In terms of composition, it is best to have the slit line up with something like where two walls meet in the corner of the room or such, so the imperfections in the lineup appear to be a part of the scene. Though I have known people who live and breathe the Bolex who can piece together a matte...

How does tube image quality go? I know a 2/3" CCD would be considered top of the line, is the same true of tube? All I know about tube is you have to constantly be adjusting the back-focus.

I'm not sure about the FX1E, but I've had good experience with the HVR-Z1U (it's bigger brother) and it was a breeze to use. You have to spend time going through the menus to setup the sound, but it was laid out fair plainly (I'm willing to bet the FX1E has a near identical menu). Just be sure...

What do you consider to be 'the music video look'? Most of the style and look of a music video has more to do with lighting and directing than anything relating to the choice of camera. I know lots of people who have had great success shooting music videos on those plastic Krasnogorsk-3 cameras...

The local photography shop sells polymer lens wipes that don't leave any residue or lint behind and work great for me. Find a local shop (hopefully more than just a ritz) and ask the owners, any decent shop should have them.

Why would it be because of the framerate? Why then do pans in movies look fine on a television set? Do you think watching the playback in a dimly lit room would allow the motion to appear more fluid?

We always hear about the prodigies in the industry who were making skillful movies while still learning to read and it can frustrate you, make you think everyone else has a leg-up on you somehow. But really, you can start anytime. One of my favorite cinematographers is Christopher Doyle. Before...

Well, there are some things you should know about CCDs when shopping. The first most important number relates to size. The smaller the CCD, the less light that hits it, the lower the quality of the image. For instance, a 1/2" CCD camera will get far superior image quality to a 1/4" CCD camera...

That seems to work as long as your subject doesn't need to be captured for longer than the length of the tape. Are there any practical HDV time-lapse cameras? My only experience with time-lapse on video is with the GL2 and similar cameras, which all have very crappy controls that record...

Hello, I'm studying film in Baltimore and interning at a local advertising agency. I've introduced myself around and have gotten to know many people and made many positive impressions, but my hopes to be a camera assistant don't seem viable. There are two major players in the area who do 2nd...

A little tip for the up-and-coming film student. Unless you live in NYC, LA, Vancouver, or Toronto, chances are your local Comcast station wants your film (not for pay, unfortunately). I know here in Baltimore they're trying to 'reach out' to the community and want to post community content on...

If you're shooting on DV, you'll need to find a way to reduce the framerate a bit. 24p would really come in handy here if you have it, as the reduced time resolution is what gives those scenes their look. I'm not sure if DV cameras have variable shutters that can reduce motion blur, as that...

I consider myself pretty competent with film and am learning everything I can about film cinematography (emulsion chemistry, camera mechanics, etc). But when I talk to professional film camera assistants they all tell me to stop wasting my time with film and concentrate on HD and Digital Cinema...

As per your question of the GL2, while it is a good consumer grade camera, it has smaller CCDs than the XL series (lower grade image, longer depth of field) and fewer pro options (XLR is by expansion, not built in). You can still do some wonderful stuff with GL2, but the XL series makes things...

If you keep a hawk-eye on eBay for a while, you might find an S16 NPR for under a thousand. For budget S16 sync sound, I really don't think you can beat the NPR. It's a solid and quiet machine that's easy to use. An ideal S16 setup would be using one of the Arri SR series, but that would put...

I'm thinking more along the lines of combining frames to simulate a sort of motion blur. Like, If I compress time by a 5:1 ratio. Then I want to have five frames layered into one, each with equal oppacity for each new incriment of time. Ideal would be to use a camera that can "keep the shutter...

Hideaki Anno's Love & Pop was a widely distributed film shot entire on one chip consumer cameras.

I also love shooting time lapse and a panning shot is very difficult. I haven't tried this, but one thing you can do is mod a turntable's voltage down so it slows down (add some weight to the table to slow it down even more) and just put your camera on it. Though that might burn out the motor...