Zak Forsman

i think this looks great and am always encouraging of new anamorphic solutions. my only concern right off the bat is monitoring this. Many manufacturers (SmallHD, Convergent Design, etc) have settings for monitoring 1.33x, 1.5x and 2.0x, but no way to dial in a non-standard squeeze factor like this.

Canon 5D mkII (magic lantern RAW), Canon 24-70mm

glad you're happy with your purchase zach. filters just aren't for me. many affect the bokeh in a way i don't like, and many introduce green reflections that I *really* don't like. so I decided to pursue lenses that basically have the look I want built in.

Yeah, as you've noticed, UltraCons aren't the same as the rest being discussed here. UltraCons will lower the contrast of the entire image. Tiffen also makes Low Contrast filters that limit the effect to areas of the frame that have a bright light source -- lamps, traffic lights, etc. So if you want globally lowered contrast across the entire frame, I would go with an UltraCon set. You'll need different strengths depending on the available light in the scene. I used the 5 at night to lift the black level. But a 5 during the day would wash everything out too much.

yeah, they all do. tiffen black satin has an unusual shape. distractingly so. shaped like little cowboy hats if i recall correctly. so i returned it. in wanting to introduce halation and lowered contrast, I've switched to vintage glass instead of filtration. this is why i'm so happy with the Dog Shidt Optiks set I purchased. Here is a video from Bob Gundu that shows the halation you get using these. I think it's perfect.

yeah, BTS shooters are usually a little behind because the vendors own the gear and aren't going to upgrade until they really need to. The line item for recent budgets I've seen still says "Canon C300 or equivalent".

I happen to do a lot of behind the scenes work for the studios, as an editor of pieces just like these. 9 times out of 10 the shooters have a C300 package. But i can't confirm if that's the case here.

Yes. as a matter of fact, his name is John T. Woods and my wife likes to note that the T. stands for "Take it in the face". And regarding wardrobe, you can control so little on a no budget production that (even though we're using the actors' own clothing) I try to be as specific as possible with the things we can control, such as restricting the colors they wear to a cohesive palette, and choosing locations that have the right built-in production design.

Jonesy, this particular location is an alley right behind the building we have a production office in. The amber light in the BG comes from the top of my building and the neighboring one. The green light in the foreground comes from a parking lot just out of frame (screen left). Didn't use any light of my own here. But chose the location because of the nice color contrast between amber and green, and staged the actors to work within those restrictions. wanted to add that this hits on what i love about anamorphic bokeh (real or faux). it has a subtle but important affect on how your foreground subject is separated from the defocused background. it pops a little more, creating a distinct character to the image that you don't get with straight spherical lenses.

yeah, the 88mm attachment is wonderful. I love longer focal lengths and am thinking of getting a MFT/EF adapter without any speed boosting glass to increase the reach of this DSO set when needed. as for "is that me?"... haha, no.... we look related, but no that's not me. he's a terrific actor named John T. Woods. in this pic, he's the one seated and i'm standing on the right. Yeah, the grain looks spectacular in the full res master export. I think this gif is 12fps.

Yeah, the aperture discs change the character of the defocus. The ovals mimic anamorphic bokeh.

DSO Trump88 with 2x oval.

shot a little more tonight. street brawl.

yeah, when we crew up, we are very careful with who we hire. you'd be surprised how many people are forthcoming when you ask them, "tell us how you handled a stressful situation on a previous production". so many people are happy to admit they flipped out, or made a bigger mess of the situation. we've been very fortunate to have avoided any major drama on our sets over 7 features. most of that is due to my producing partner. he's great at finding good people.

yeah, i'm using both on my pocket right now and WC speedbooster foot keeps things rock solid.

I have the Wooden Camera cage for my forthcoming BMMCC and wanted an elegant monitor solution. Here's what i did... You can buy SmallHD's Pan/Tilt mount for $60 which I love because, unlike a Noga arm, it doesn't require two hands to adjust the position. pick up a cold shoe adapter from SmallRig for $10 so you can mount it to the cage and voila! Pan/Tilt Mount - http://store.smallhd.com/store/500-accessories/500-700-pan-tilt-mount Cold Shoe Adapter - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJFBUCQ I usually keep it on a rail block (seen behind the camera in the pic above) but it's easily moved anywhere I have one of those cold shoe adapters mounted. So I can easily strip things down to just the camera, cage, top handle and monitor.

no, not ikan. i don't remember. switronix maybe.

When I placed my order I was prepared to wait three months but it came much sooner than that. To make the wait worthwhile, I committed myself to writing material during that time to start shooting once it arrived. I know there was a delay in waiting for new glass for the 38mm attachment at the time. Not sure what the current timetable is but it's likely shortened since late last year.

I'm using an adapter that takes Canon LP-E6 batteries. These are the same that my SmallHD 502 takes. And the same that the Micro Cinema Camera will take.

I gravitate toward longer focal lengths anyway. If i remember correctly, i rarely went wider than a 24mm on the feature i did a couple years ago (with an aps-c crop). So while I don't feel particularly restricted at the moment, I *am* looking forward to the 24mm attachment for this set. and yeah, the speed booster means i can shoot under well lit street lights if I absolutely have to, even with the 3x oval aperture disc installed.

Well, I pre-ordered the Micro for its size and the additions of global shutter and 60p. Then in november a shop in Paris ran a sale on the Pocket for a little over $500 so i bought one knowing it would more or less match the Micro. But yeah, size and weight have been the main reason i chose it over the BMCC. I direct and serve as my own cinematographer and wanted something just heavy enough when rigged out that micro-jitters would be eliminated whenever operating it hand-held. Here's the rabbit hole for the Dog Schidt Optiks lenses. I have a Trump58, 38 & 88 attachments, and some other custom add-ons. i also had him completely remove the mechanical aperture to increase the effectiveness of the tinted aperture inserts. http://www.richardgaleoptics.uk

we have a Sound Devices 702 for audio. the mic in my pic above is a Rode VideoMicro but it's just for reference.

Also did a quick test with the SLR Magic 1,33x Anamorphot on the Trump38, with a 3x aperture disc installed. The desqueeze effectively renders the ovals to 2.66x. When those electric blue horizontal flares are called for, this is a pretty solid solution.

Got a great deal on a new BMPCC during a Black Friday sale for nearly 50% off. It's my first Blackmagic camera (I have the Micro pre-ordered) and have been eager to pair it with the Trump lens set I ordered from Richard Gale. I took possession of the set a couple weeks ago and have started shooting a short film with it. I love the versatility in terms of contrast control (from standard to ultra-low) and the variety of aperture discs. The 2x and 3x ovals are my favorite. Made a quick comparison of the two here. But this week I finally started shooting a short I've wanted to do for some time. I work professionally as a freelance editor so this project is being done as schedules allow. Shooting RAW has been an eye-opener for me. For the last year I've been trying to wrestle a GH4 into being something it just wasn't capable of. And have come to the conclusion that I should have traded 4K for color science and dynamic range a long time ago.

They'd be $265 USD new from B&H. So I'd take $200 for them. They're in excellent shape.