Leaderboard

There are imo two completely different concepts of lighting, and to understand why can get you faster to where you like to be with light. 1. Lighting every take to the greatest effect, bending logic as far as needed, excluding natural light from the set or at least rigorously changing it. You study the characteristics of certain types of lights and choose the ones that fit. 2. Looking at natural light on a set. Since someone scouted the set as suitable for the scene, it very probably has something special. It will already capture and reflect the natural or existing light in a nice way. You think hard about what it is that makes the light work and then you merely amplify this mood, usually seldom by much more than reflectors or diffused floodlamps. Once these two methods were called expressionistic and impressionistic, but if you take them as a yin & yang thing and not as contradictions, you have found the key to see the world through epiphanies of light. Consider every lightsource as usable - for certain purposes. If there ever was a craft to which 'WYSIWYG' could be attached, it is lighting. But you need to learn how to see.

Well, I happen to disagree. Craig, you are just starting out, you don't need to buy a $500 tripod. The one you picked out on ebay looks fine for what you are trying to do. I've always preferred the aluminum tube, crutch legs over the telescoping legs design. Most of the tripods I've used in studios have been this type. But whatever, thats a matter of taste I think. There are a bunch of similar ones on Amazon for about $120-150. Just look up Fluid head video tripod. http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-AVTP-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B00139W0XM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349936949&sr=8-2&keywords=fluid+head+tripod+for+video http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Heavy-Video-Camcorder-Tripod/dp/B003UOMWOK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349936983&sr=8-3&keywords=fluid+head+tripod+for+video My personal pick: http://www.amazon.com/Fancierstudio-Professional-Camera-Tripod-FC-270/dp/B004XMW4SW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1349937009&sr=8-7&keywords=fluid+head+tripod+for+video By the way, if you are concerned about your tripod blowing over, try using a sandbag. Sheesh guys.

[quote name='craigbuckley' timestamp='1349981418' post='19629'] Ok Ok great. I just found 2 construction lights (those orange ones) in my basement. They seem to work alright, do you think this could be usable or are these lights crap for film? Maybe I should get some reflectors or something... [/quote] DIY a couple of wooden frames. Buy some heavy duty clamps to attach them to back of chairs and the like (the more easy solution were [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manfrotto-super-clamp-without-stud-/320992342888?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abca27368"]Manfrotto super clamps[/url] with studs on the cheapest [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/656-200cm-Light-Stand-Tripod-for-Photo-Video-Lighting-SCP-0059-/221114768369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337b779bf1"]light stands[/url]). Over the frames, you can tape [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lee-Filters-LF-LF250-1-2-White-Diffusion-Lee-Filter-Color-Gels-21-x-24-/330755568405?pt=US_Stage_Lighting_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d02917315"]diffusor gel[/url]s (heat no problem), black tissue, rescue blankets, whatever. Styrofoams to bounce, they are neutral white (a white wall also works). There is an old concept of how to light a set. It's called [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_lighting"]3-point-lighting[/url] (you don't need to read that). Forget about the three points. But keep in mind, that there are indeed three things to stay aware of: a) The key light. Think of it as the spot that lights your main motif. B) The fill light. Reducing the shadows caused by the key light and/or lighting the surrounding set. c) The back light. Highlights the outlines, avoids the surface to look flat. Not always plausible, but always interesting. The backlight can of cause also be the fill light. Or the key light. Neither of the light categories needs to be a [i]lamp[/i]. A person standing at a window will have a bright side and a dark side. You could position him/her, so that the profile is highlighted and the face would be a silhouette. You could bend a [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-43-Light-Mulit-Collapsible-disc-5-in-1-Reflector-110cm-/280994241982?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416c8fddbe"]reflector[/url] to focus the light from the window back to the face. The face will still be darker, but look natural, and the brighter outline will make the head stand out. With one natural light source, you have key light, fill light and backlight. You got the picture. It's like painting. You have to manipulate the scene through the viewfinder until you get what you want. With your construction lamps, you need to avoid daylight, because the color temperature doesn't match. Your options are: ● Exclude daylight. Use the tungsten WB (or better yet: Make a manual WB). A lamp behind a diffusor is like a moveable window. ● buy filter gels for the windows (conversation filter daylight to tungsten), they stay in place if you make them wet and press them on the pane with a squeegee, reusable. You can also stop down the light from outside by attaching ND gels. Again: Use every light that suits you. Experiment. Perhaps some day you buy more lights. Spots for example. Or borrow them. Some are just too expensive to buy.

I wrote a whole article on lighting for beginners here: [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar11/articles/light-fantastic.htm"]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar11/articles/light-fantastic.htm[/url] You may find it helps! My most used tools and reflectors (I have three large ones at least with me all the time) and two of those cheap chinese 600LED panels. They're amazing for the money! Fluoros look lovely but they're easy to break and a bit cumbersome for quick jobs.

Hey all, I've been messing around with the demo for this program, and I must say, it's pretty impressive....As an absolute novice at grading, it can certainly get me the look I'm after without much fuss. Too bad they only have a plugin version for the PC. [url="http://www.filmconvert.com/"]http://www.filmconvert.com/[/url] The company said they've got hold of a GH2 and will be looking at doing a LUT for it... (can't recall where I read it) I'd love to see Andrew do a full-fledged review and put it though it's paces.... Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Axel, I agree about the sound and lens stuff... but don't forget that the GH2 is made in China :-) The rest of the world's businesses are happily exploiting the chinese ability to produce large amounts of very cheap products, and then we complain about how badly made they are... The chinese can make very cheap knockoffs themselves, but if you pay well, you can get really sofisticated products there too... It is very arrogant to assume that the chinese are incapable of producing original, highly sophisticated products... and there are produced a hell of a lot of shitty products in the US and Europe as well!

][quote name='kirk' timestamp='1349939840' post='19592'] I agree on the usability of no-brand stuff ! There's a LOT of snobbery about what is needed to do a bit of filming. [/quote] I say! This is true for a lot of things. There are a few things, that, while still being affordable, are of another class. Any microphone will do, but a real leap in quality you will have only if you go over a certain price limit. If you had this thing once, you think of all cheaper options simply as junk, not worth their small price, not worth to carry around. Headphones that don't playback every frequency you recorded - what are they good for? Why should you bother to take them on? Lenses that have a nice first look, but always degrade your image unnecessarily, one- or two hundred bucks cheaper than a good lens? Finally: A tripod that weighs as much as the rest of your equipment plus something and that you need ten tries with to get that Andrew Reid pan - instead of one because the head of the more expensive is way better? [quote name='galenb' timestamp='1349975876' post='19624'] Exactly! Good point! A lot of the so called superior name brand equipment is made in China and then re-branded in other countries. They Sometime even license Chinese goods for sale in their own country and no one is even the wiser. What's even sillier is that some of the brands that we think are of superior quality are actually outsourcing to china. Eventually we are going to have to come to terms with the fact that not everything that comes from China is poorly made. Yes, there are a lot of cheap knock-off goods that are just made to look like they are passable but the same can be true for equipment made anywhere. I live in the US and I would not say that everything made here is of higher quality. [/quote] There you mix something up. Things are more complicated. A lot of products are made in China but invented elsewhere. Take an Apple computer. It's american. Chinese people just can't. Take precision clockworks, cars, tripods. Manfrotto has a reputation, their tripods are high tech products. Sachtler would be out of business quickly if they delivered something that's not up to the highest expectations. Every part, it may be plastic, carbon fibre or magnesium, is thoroughly tested. You can dissasemble it, make a equal-looking copy, but it will never work the same. You [i]can[/i] buy a chinese LED light without much risk, because the design is quite simple and it costs 50 bucks. Maybe the 200 $ Litepanel version has a slightly smoother dimmer wheel. There were comparisons, and afterwards it seemed possible that the [i]brands[/i] (also 'Made in China') were the copies, but you can't generalize this. On the other hand: A [i]very[/i] cheap tripod can do. You have to train yourself to overcome the limitations. You can put some pressure on the head while panning and, with great concentration and enough time for redos, you will get what you want. You don't need redheads (or fresnels, Kinoflos, HMIs) to light, you can also take the cheap halogen floodlights from the department store. And so forth. Pans, when do you need them? Imho pans are like zooms, the rarer you use them, the better the film. The narrational functions are limited. They are and should be ends in themselves. They tell (in the language of film): Look, brace yourself for a grand panorama I am about to show you. And a fast follow of the main character, a passing train, all this can be done almost as well with a cheap head. It's not the question if a tripod for 150 $ is better than one for 70 $, it's just that you won't get a decent tripod for under, say, 500 $. [color=#222222][font=Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif][size=4][background=rgb(255, 255, 255)][quote name='craigbuckley' timestamp='1349965956' post='19614']GalenB's suggestions were awesome, its just weird that some of the reviews on amazon say those tripods are terrible, and some say they are awesome. [/quote] Same story. If you can afford only a 300 $ camcorder, you are surprised at how good the video is. Not if you tried a GH2 before, let alone a Sony FS-700 or higher.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

The Fancierstudio is cheaper than the Silk and more stable at full hight. Also, I know it sounds weird but, the longer handle is actually quite important for doing smooth pans and tilts. It give you more leverage. The shorter handle on the Silk is more prone to jerky movement. Another nice thing about the Fancier is that the quick release plate is a larger sliding type as opposed to a clip in one. This is just easer for use with larger video cameras. The legs also have pins as well as soft rubber feel so you can stick it into the ground when you need to. But really, the Fancier is a video tripod and the Silk is for photography. The advantage that the Silk has is that it's smaller and lighter weight but still pretty stable.

Yep... a fluid head is needed if you pan or tilt... the Slik has a three way head for photography.

I think Galenb has got it with his personal pick there, looks great for the money. +1 for flimsy tripods (almost) smashing expensive gear. If I have a lens that's cost me 800 pounds to replace, I'm not mounting that on a flimsy tripod! If you wanna turn that one into a branded tripod, put a Manfrotto sticker on it ;) I bet the same factory make tripods for plenty of other companies.

Here's my favorite lights. They're cheap, so sue me ;) [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/600LEDS-CN600-SA-Studio-Photography-Lighting-BATTERY-MOUNT-DIMMER-LED-Light-/260945997751?pt=UK_Photography_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item3cc197efb7"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/600LEDS-CN600-SA-Studio-Photography-Lighting-BATTERY-MOUNT-DIMMER-LED-Light-/260945997751?pt=UK_Photography_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item3cc197efb7[/url]

der black majick man from atlantis or delmonte or aussistrayla said i shud give him cash monies for a camra he called it a cash advance. 6 monts lata he was sad and sed he had a problam wid der glass windows. den he said how about puttin sum monies down for a new new camra for next year even better dan der old one from dis year dats broken and nobody has got i go for a bath wid me ducky he exists when i squeeze him he go squeek [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6_d22aMqZs&feature=related[/media]

I would have recommended a Slik 700dx, but, its almost always outta stock. Its a heavy, and tall tripod, and pretty well recommended. I ordered one, online, from some terrible retailer, who didn't inform me, about delivery, even 2-3 days after the promised date. Then they, cheekily mailed me at 4 a.m., to tell me, that, its outta stock (after I placed an order, and waited for 10 days). :angry: I abused them on Facebook, but, I still wasn't satisfied with either the service or explanation (or the fact, that they didn't source a replacement, from some other dealer). I feel, that, it isn't too wise to pick up a Tripod, for $500, if your camera, costs, well within $1000 ($699, actually). But, I am not way suggesting, that you buy some flimsy tripod, which is unstable, and weighs too little, and also cannot hold much weight. Ideally, you need something that will support the GH2 with the 14-140 lens (equivalent, in weight, since its among the heavier lenses), and a few hundred grams more. Picking up a tripod which can take the load of a fully loaded Alexa or RED won't be useful. And, I am guessing, you need a little panning, for video, as well. Try this: [url="http://www.amazon.com/slik-pro-700dx-professional-tripod-with-panh/dp/B0002EXF38?SubscriptionId=1E628819KWK3ACMYXF82&tag=cameras0c91-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0002EXF38"]http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B0002EXF38[/url] or [url="http://www.amazon.com/Vanguard-Alta-263AP-3-Section-Magnesium/dp/B001HBIYWM/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_1"]http://www.amazon.co...sxp_grid_pt_0_1[/url] (I don't own Either, so, just do a little research, regarding panning for video, and quality). I noticed ur link/ url. DON'T buy an unbranded Tripod. The chances of it being good, are far lesser. Why take the risk. Especially, if branded and unbranded (in the link you mentioned), would come within a $20-30 difference, or less. There are many options in Benro, Manfrotto, Slik, etc. You'll just have to do some intensive online research. ;)