Pedro Guimaraes, SOC ~ Life Behind the Lens

New ARRI Alexa underwater housing ! Zuccarini Design fabricated by Watershot LLC,

I had a chance to look this housing over and …….well it’s a work of art!

Complete access to all of the cameras functions, superlightweight construction (carbon Fiber&Alumn.)

Depth Rated at 135+ !!

Accepts Panavion Primos as well as, Cooke s4, Master Primes, Leica, Hawk V-lites and unheard of in a underwater housing Arri LWZ 15-45 and the Angenieux 16-42 optimos.

Complete access to camera side control panel.

and all other buttons as well.

Beautiful attention to detail

Naturally also has FOCUS and IRIS control of the lens.

Default Flat front port, many other port options available as well….Dome, extenders etc..

Large side handles and long top handle are extremely useful and necessary for the operator

left side view

TOP View

THE END…..hopefully I will get to use this beautiful work of art soon and get wet with it!!

Please contact Peter Zuccarini himself at 305-661-2900 / pete@waterfilm.com

or

Myself of course 310.592.8450 / pedro@steadi3d.com or Bobby Settlemire bobset@me.com for any questions or rental inquiries.

The Emulsion Emotion.

Recently I have had the opportunity to shoot 2 projects on film after over more than a year of only digital projects. Much of that is due to the fact that I work a lot with stereoscopic 3D projects. Native 3D is almost exclusively the realm of digital capture.

It was a refreshing experience, the veteran DP brought me in to do 2 days of steadicam on his feature. The differences began from the start. He knew exactly what shots he needed me for and did not just use me in all the shots of the day because I was there. There was only one small SD monitor on set for the director only. He lit with a light meter while the camera was off the set, he was fast at what he did and nobody questioned his choices. While watching the actors rehearse me and the DP talked over the shot, we followed up with 2 takes of a camera rehearsal….then we finally rolled camera. Everyone on set naturally went quiet when the AD started calling the roll. The 1stAC rolled the camera and with the barely audible whine of the film starting to spin thru the camera, my steadicam monitor flickered a bit and it seamed everyone on set knew there was money flying thru camera and to be quiet.

In this particular scene we followed actors thru an apartment and ended up inside a bathroom with the 1st AC having to stand on top of the toilet! It was dark inside the bathroom with the actress as she closed the door. Soon after the take the DP comes over as we walk out of the bathroom and he asks me “How was that?” I reply…”It was good, but I think I can do a bit better as we enter the bathroom” he also asks the 1stAC how was that for focus “nailed it” is the reply. Just then the Director walks up and remarks to the DP…..looks dark in that bathroom….with a puzzled look on his face. The DP jumps in a says……”…don’t worry it will be great, just like we talked about this morning.” Just like that everyone walked back to our positions, completed another take and after all of us remarked it was a solid take. The director smiles and nods to the 1st AD that yells….”New deal!”…. Notice the director never asked another take for safety! he trusted his crew to deliver.

Now this might seam like such a regular exchange and account of how a set is run but the reality is that this whole description goes very differently when we are capturing digitally……and these days that description is changing quite a bit.

On a typical digital set…..the differences are abundant. First there are big, bright, HD monitors everywhere. All of a sudden everyone is a focus and lighting expert and is full of opinions. many times the camera is required to be in position and on frame for lighting to be done and tweaked, on occasion hear many comments by video village about the DP’s lighting choices and a few directors or other crew members start involving themselves in areas that there opinions are not so welcome. There is rarely any “camera rehearsal” and we are always “rollin’ on rehearsal!”. Naturally this first “take” is frequently a mess for obvious reasons…..camera is not the only one that needs a rehearsal! Nobody respects silence when the AD begins to call roll….now the AD’s & director start to not respect the fact that the camera is rolling….which result in mins. of wasted footage as last looks get applied and the AD adjusts the actors or the director gives last min notes to the actors, meanwhile I’m patiently holding my frame on my steadicam waiting for everyone to be ready while the camera is recording.

There is generally no respect for a rolling camera when you shoot digital. Maybe it is because people fail to recognize the fact that digital footage is not “free” as some people think. 4k + cameras consume an alarming amount of data. I have seen the storage budgets for many digital feature films and it is no small sum 15-20TB of storage is not that cheap. Especially because 15tb becomes 30TB when backed up to another source or 45tb if 3 copies are made! These numbers will only grow from now on…..especially in 3D with double the cameras rolling. There should be more set discipline regarding a rolling camera…..like there is on a film set. Generally speaking there isn’t. It can be very lax to say the least. I wish more people would realize the cost of the digital data being produced in that camera.

The final massive difference I notice is trust and respect. There is a massive amount of trust that develops between a DP and his crew and a DP and his director and producers when shooting film that just isn’t there with digital. Maybe it is because some people tend to look at the nice HD monitor and have an opinion on what they are seeing because it looks so much like a final product.

In my example the Director commented that the room seamed very dark…The DP assured him it would be fine. The director clearly trusted the DP’s work and just took him for his word. Trust. The DP asked the 1stAC how was his focus….the 1st confidently assured him it was a good take. DP trusting his crew is a great feeling for both parties and spurs professionalism. It requires people to always perform at the best.

Now I’m certainly not saying I haven’t been on digital sets when a lot of this has not been the case but this lack of respect and trust is more and more commonplace on digital sets these days.

I’m the first one to say film is dead 5 years ago! I think it’s days are now numbered as the new digital cameras are reaching above 14 stops of latitude and 1200iso native and 6k and beyond. I am not lamenting on the good ‘ol days of film………my recent film work just reminded me how important experienced crew is and how good it is for the DP and the director to value,respect and TRUST the crew they have in many cases assembled.

I for one hope that I start getting that “emulsion emotion” on more and more digital sets.

There is a lot we can learn from film. I hope it stays around long enough to teach its lessons enough so that some of it’s effect is still felt in the digital age.

Cmotion Cvolution wireless lens controller in-depth walk through – Pt.2 3D

The new Cmotion Cvolution wireless lens controller has so many awesome new features that set it apart from others like Preston, I figured it was time to do a in-depth walk through video explaining all the features and benefits of this incredible system when used in 3D applications.

Before you watch this make sure to watch part1 and learn all the basic and advanced functionality in 2D mode.
CLICK HERE to read that article or click HERE to watch the part1 VIDEO

In PART 2 I go into all the 3D functions you need to master and use on a 3D production. The Cvolution will work with almost ALL the 3D rigs and in the market. It can record METADATA and lots of advanced functions.

The 8-Motor “Camin” pictured here is very small and compact and much smaller than Preston3D or Element Technica3D lens controller transmitters.

There are additional “advanced” functions that I don’t cover in this video that ONLY apply when you use the system with a ScreenPlane rig. I will cover those in another final video Part 3.

I Do cover everything you need to know to setup and shoot in 3D with the Cmotion Cvolution system.

Watch the video on Vimeo in HD….in depth tutorial…

https://vimeo.com/44330590

https://vimeo.com/44330590

OR WATCH on YouTube.com

I hope you find it useful and educational!!

For Cvolution rentals for your production contact me –

www.pgfilms.tv

or

www.digitalincident.com

For more manufacturer information
www.cmotion.eu

Thanks to our gracious hosts that allowed me to use thier location to shoot this video….use the amazing Screenplane rig and PANTHER TriStar Dolly
www.camadeus.com

The “LEDZ” lights & Slash’s “Gotten” music video

Recently I had the opportunity to DP a music video for the legendary guitar hero Slash. The music video was for a song that was a collaboration with Adam Levine (Maroon 5) called “Gotten”.

http://slashonline.com/gotten/

The project is intended to benefit Slash’s longtime charity “LA Youth Network” therefore the budget was very small. The cast and crew donated thier time and we were lucky enough that the vendors came onboard and donated some key equipment. The camera (ARRI AlexaPlus) and slider (Panther Ubangi) came from Camadeus Film Technologies, the lenses (Zeiss Master Primes) came from Radiant Images, I donated my steadicam and Cmotion Cvolution lens Controler. Finally CineMills saved the day and donated the use of thier brand new LED lights the “LEDZ”.(Superspot, Brute 9). So first and foremost I want to personally thank the sponsors. Right after reading the treatment for the first time I realized there would be no money to close streets, condors or 18k’s. While there is a portion of the video that occurs indoors the majority of the video was to be shot at night in downtown LA with limited permits and locations.

Due to the aforementioned lack of budget, I immediately realized I needed small, powerful, battery operated LED lights. A few with broad coverage and one with more punch. We also had a few car interiors to light so a small led would also be great. Immediately I thought of Litepanels as I had used them before. Unfortunately the one place I could rent them from didn’t have them in on the dates I needed it. Then I thought of CineMills line of led lights “LEDZ”. I had seen them on my facebook since I was friends with them. I checked out their website and took a look at their line of led lights and got excited! I contacted Carlos de Matos(owner) and arranged a visit to their Burbank factory and headquarters. Carlos and Mike welcomed me and walked me through their product line and were incredibly friendly and helpful. Thankfully were gracious enough to let me try out a couple their lights for the weekend on my shoot. They provided me with 2 lights.

First was their brand punchy new “Superspot”. It is the first in Led lighting as it provides a sharp, powerful circular beam, a throw that easily exceeds 40 feet, the SUPERSPOT is comparable to current 575w HMI fixtures, including the 5500k color temperature whilst only drawing a single amp. It is extremely robust with an all aluminum housing and yoke system with junior mounting pin. It has a slim profile so can be used in a multiple of lighting setups utilizing minimal space. The fixture produces no sound and very minimal heat, making it friendly in tight spaces. There are two built in dimmers on the fixture which allow for 100% – 0 output control with minimal color shift. It comes complete with a switchable power supply unit. There are additional accessories available including the LEDZ Speedframe, Chimera, filter frame, DMX capabilities and 12v battery options for mobile applications.

It has a double Anton Bauer gold battery mount which provided power for many hours on set. In addition we had the optional “Chimera” softbox option. Which I used alot in some of the interior scenes.

The second light was the small but surprisingly powerful “Brute 9”.

The Brute 9 provides an extremely bright, spread beam and comes with a Gel frame. The BRUTE 9 is a modular system and can be set up as a duo fixture with a conversion kit. It incorporates an on board dimmer for full intensity control. It equivalent to 200w HMI. It has a single Anton Bauer gold battery mount which provided power for us all night on a single dionic90!! For the night exterior scenes we mounted it on a gobo arm, slid a gel in it and mounted the battery. I would have an assistant simply hold this light in place during the scenes. In addition I would frequently diffuse it further as well.

Here it a close up of our workhorse for this project. You can also see the dimmer knob in this picture.

I would of loved to have one more but I was more than happy to get what I did. The rest of my lighting package consisted of a Kino “DIVA” …..and that’s it ! Even then to my surprise I only used the Kino in one scene. It honestly did surprise me how much I was able to accomplish with just these 2 lights and……..lets give credit where credit is due, also thanks in large part to the amazing ARRI Alexa and the beautiful Master Prime lenses. I think the best way for me to share how crucial the LEDZ lights were to our project is to just show a few of the frame grabs off the Alexa footage and a few behind the scenes of the same images. I managed to snap a few production and my friend and photographer Myron Parran also was on hand to take some key stills of the project. Lets highlight some of the lighting setups and their results.

Scene Breakdown

Opening Scene – Slash Poster Closeup

I used the BRUTE 9 behind Slash with no diffusion to edge him and separate him from the background. It also illuminated the poster so it could be reflected in his Aviator RayBans.

Here is the result

Scene 1 – Living room

Slow push in on our lead actress and her birthday cake. The SUPERSPOT with a chimera was overhead above and to the left in the kitchen and way our key light for the parents in the background. I had the BRUTE 9 next to the camera dimmed down to provide our main key light on our actress. To augment the candle flicker we added 5 votive type candles at the base of the cake out of frame. These additional candles remain unseen by the camera and gave us great warmth and candle flicker. You can see here the BRUTE 9 to the left of camera (before we added a gel) 1stAC Daniel Schade and 2ndAC/loader Jazz look on. You can also see the Panther Ubangi slider we used for the “push in”

Here is a frame grab from the ALEXA footage showing the results of this setup.

Same shot on a 75mm (was used in the video)

Later for the parents coverage of thier argument in the background I bounced the BRUTE 9 off the ceiling at full power which worked great.

Scene 2 Bathroom

There are 3 main scenes that occur in the same bathroom. While I changed a few things to differentiate the scenes the basic setup remained the same. You can see the SUPERSPOT w/ chimera softbox giving us our key, we wrapped overhead light with blackwrap and created a “skirt” to give me some warmth and also a uglier downlight during one of the scenes where the keylight is off.

I used the BRUTE9 this time gel with some 1/2 CTO and controlled it with some black wrap to serve as my edgelight on the actresses blond hair.

…..and here is results…..Some Alexa frame grabs of this scene.

Scene 3 Bedroom

I this scene I used the SUPERSPOT to give me my colder light coming from a hallway entering the room thru a open door. This is the light you see on her face. We positioned the actress with the light alomst splitting her face in half. This way the light from the hallway creating a shadow from the door frame. This was for 2 reasons. First was a indicative of the character duality and struggle and more importantly when the abusive boyfriend walks into frame his shadow then covers her face in darkness and his whiskey bottle enters frame. Warmth was added back into the scene by placing the BRUTE9 w/ CTO behind and to the left of the actress. This gave us our backlight and glow on her hair and was also bouncing off of the yellow wall behind camera providing us with her FILL light. Furthermore we placed a practical lamp in shot to motivate the backlight from the brute9.

For the reverse on this scene on the boyfriend, we hardly had to change anything. We had the SUPERSPOT in the hallway giving us our backlight and we just bouced some of that light onto his face. The intention was for him to be a bit colder in color temp than her so this worked perfectly.

Scene 3 Steadicam sidewalk

Finally, moving onto one of the many exterior night time scenes. We find ourselves with a moving steadicam shot tracking our actress in a profile shot as Judd Nelson tries to get her attention in the background. Unfortunately the location I scouted for the shot had to be changed due to safety. None the less we found a great spot nearby to our basecamp. We took our workhorse the BRUTE9 gelled and diffused and mounted it on a gobo arm. An assistant walked in front of me doing his best not to change the direction of light (too much). This setup worked incredibly well and after a few takes we moved on!

…and here is the Alexa frame grab and I was happy with the results.

Scene 4 Slash Playing on the 6th St. Bridge

The first night I scouted this location I imagined slash playing with the defocus lights of his city in the background. We were lucky enough that we were able to pull it off. As I’m not so sure our permit would of held up on this one.

I had the assistant position the BRUTE9 about 10ft. off to camera right. this gave us the exposure we needed on Slash to give him a bit of an edge and pull him out from the background a bit. Luckily his signature leather top hat and leather jacket helped by reflecting some of that light.

Scene 5 Runaway sleeping next to dumpster

Another great simple example of us moving around the Brute9 on our gobo arm keeping us very flexible. You can see in the picture below the diffusion we wrapped around the light to soften it a bit.

The result was a very natural looking composition. The light you see on on face is the brute9 and the more orange light seen on her jacket and background is the overhead sodium vapor street lights.

Scene 6 – Car Interiors

There were a few car interior shots. I just used one of the car’s dome lights and the Brute9 in the back seat. You can see in the shot of Judd Nelson below the light coming from the back of the car.

Scene 7 – Motel room.

I used the SUPERSPOT outside the window thru the blinds at full power to give us the raked shadows we see. Then used the BRUTE9 off to the right.

I used the Panther Ubangi to push in towards the actresses face over the bed.

here is the final frame in camera…

Scene 8 – Under the Bridge

The last scene I leave you with is probably one of my favorites of the shoot. We shot this underneath the 6th st. bridge in downtown LA. The Alexa and the master primes were able to pick up and incredible amount of available light (1000iso & F2.0) . So all I had to do was fill in the actors face with the Brute9 once again diffused.

Here it is….Our director making a cameo here as well….Clifton Collins Jr.

In Conclusion,

All in all, by the end of the shoot I came away very impressed with both lights. I ended up using the Brute9 a lot more than I though I would. For that reason I was surprised that the Anton Bauer Dionic90 that I was using lasted all night in downtown LA. The SuperSpot is not as focused as a Fresnel but a lot more focused than any LED that I have used and played a crucial roll on the shoot. Lights like these open up a whole range of possibilities to every level of production.

It’s time take this opportunity to thank Carlos and everyone over there at CineMills for providing me with what I needed to use this perfect opportunity to try out their lights in a real world situation. I’m now left trying to figure out how I can afford to buy a few! Last but not least I’d like to thank the amazing cast and crew of the video who all donated thier time in hope of creating something can might change a few peoples lives for the better.

“GOTTEN”
Director – Clifton Collins Jr.
Cinematographer – Pedro Guimaraes
Producer – Slash
Executive Producers – Clifton Collins Jr. – Talbert Morton

CAST
Slash as Himself
Runaway/Daughter Amanda Milchalka “AJ”
Street Thug 1 Sevier Crespo
Street Pimp-Jacob Vargas
Runaway Street Worker – Megan Ozurovich
Mother- Kristin Bauer
Boyfriend- Jack Rubio
Teacher/John- Judd Nelson
Gun Dealer- Clifton Collins Jr.

Camera Crew
Operator/steadicam Pedro Guimaraes
1st AC Daniel Schade
2nd AC Nick Lantz
Digital Loader Jaswinder “Jazz” Bedi
Stills Myron Parran

Editor Alex Kirkwood
Colorist James LaViola

Original Recording of Gotten produced and mixed by
ERIC Valentine

Camera provided by
Camadeus Film Technologies
ARRI & PANTHER Rentals

Lenses provided by
Radiant Images

Lights provided by
CineMills – LEDZ

Cvolution remote lens control provided by
Digital Incident

Post Services Provided by
Stereoscope, LLC.

Please support LAYN at
http://layn.org/donate.htm

and watch the finished video here.

LINK TO VIDEO

Link to Behind the scenes video

Donate today on Slash’s website and download the song!!!
http://slashonline.com/gotten/

enjoy some behind the scenes photos!

Photo Credits Myron Parran, Pedro G.

C-Motion Cvolution wireless lens controller in-depth walk through – Pt.1 2D

Part 2 will with how to use the Cvolution on a 3D rig in 3D mode.

The new Cmotion Cvolution wireless lens controller has so many awesome new features that set it apart from others like Preston, I figured it was time to do a in-depth walk through video explaining all the features and benefits of this incredible system. I also go into the C-finder and the C-display. I also explain the differences between the new cvolution and the old hand unit.

There are some few new features since I shot this video due to firmware updates. But most of the information in the video is accurate and up to date…

Here is a shot of the Reciver “Camin 8m” note how much smaller it is than a Preston MDR even though it supports up to 8 motors!

any issues let me know.

here is the video (its 56mins long….covers everything you need to know!)

http://youtu.be/7_QOYG0QlQU
Cmotion Cvolution Video

For Cvolution rentals for your productin contact me – www.pgfilms.tv or www.digitalincident.com

For more manufacturer information
www.cmotion.eu

Thanks to our gracious hosts that allowed me to use thier location to shoot this video.
www.radiantimages.com

*************PART 2 – 3D *****************

http://steadi3d.com/2012/06/cmotion-cvolution-lens-controller-in-depth-walk-through-pt-2-3d/

Hi guys,

Finnally got around to finding some of my gopro footage from some of my segway work on a recent feature I worked on this year. I will walk you thru a “stepoff” shot. I will also talk about using the segway and other interesting things….

I let the video do the talking…

or vimeo here

http://vimeo.com/33469869

Currently I’m working as B-camera operator/Steadicam on a feature film shooting in Sonoma, CA. We are using 2 ARRI Alexa Plus cameras for our main shooting unit. In addition we have used Si-2k on a RC helicopter and Indicam cube cameras in other rigs.

On the last day of prep we upgraded the camera’s firmware to the new 4.0 release.

link to release notes: click here

With many new upgrades and features one of the ones that excited me besides the LDS display was also the Adjustable Digital level!

Most steadicam ops are very familiar with digital levels as we use them on a regular basis. GPI PRO makes one, XCS makes one and both Tiffen and transvideo include them on thier monitors as features.

Steadicam digital levels XCS and GPI are highly adjustable in a variety of settings. This coupled with optimal placement on the rig enables purpose built digital levels more accurate and therefor more usable than built in monitor and camera level.

more info on the XCS PDL plus click here.

To quote XCS website on level placement;

“It is critical to all digital levels that they be mounted as close to the center post as possible. The worst place you could mount a level is out on the monitor or in front of your sled. When you mounting any level that far out in front or back it will be reading the panning and tilting inertial forces induced into the level by movement and even though you may be perfectly level, your sensor will be telling you that you are off level.

You can easily demonstrate this to yourself by taking the level and temporarily Velcro it out further and further away until you reach the furthest point on your monitor. You will immediately see why level placement is critical for accurate readings.”

I’m not sure were in the PLUS camera they have placed the electronics for the level but as stated this can have an adverse affect on readings. My PDL is mounted exactly where they recommend with manufacturer mounting bracket.

Either way, I use a XCS PDL plus regularly on my sled. I absolutely love it. I hesitated for a long time on spending the money on a digital level but i’m so glad I did. For me it helps especially on very slow moves. The level is made even more effective by allowing me to chose it’s placement on screen the graphic style of the level and other great features.

I usually have my XCS PDL displayed on the top portion or my monitor luckily the ARRI digital level appears on the bottom center. So I could see how they both performed at the same time!

The ARRI level is displayed using small bars and a circle….as you can see below.

Initially as you can see the reading were way off!

Then I dug into the Alexa menu’s and adjusted the sensitivity to match my level a bit closer….

After a few takes and more fine tuning you can see I got them to respond pretty close..

I found it most useful when I’m operating handheld. Since my PDL is mounted on my sled….I can replicated an off angle start for each take or if I’m trying to be as smooth and level as possible while handheld it can help me a great deal.

My biggest complaints/suggestions to ARRI would be: (most of which are already provided by XCS PDL so now I’m used to them)
-Ability to ZERO the level at any angle
-Ability to move the “level” anywhere on screen.(even vertical on either side)
-Ability to choose from different level graphics or display methods
-Ability to have more control over the level settings like I do with my PDL….

-Ability to enable it for viewing on 1 MON-OUT only instead of both. A little bit of information is a dangerous thing in video village! you don’t want to be getting feedback on how level you are from village!! Especially since the level is not the end all of your horizon choice. Keystoning due to camera placement to certain architecture…in the end your BRAIN is the best level, these are assists ONLY! So broadcasting it to village can be problematic because they can fail to understand all the factors involved in your choices etc….

Conclusion
That said …..ultimately it’s no replacement for a high end level on my steadicam rig. Maybe because of the algorithm they use, the placement…..but most definitely the lack of adjustability and control. In the case of you steadicam rig not having any digital level it is a very useful tool you can use.

Let me say that I applaud ARRI for putting such a innovative device inside their camera. If anything it give AC’s tilt and roll information for VFX shots without having to pull out any tools or your iphone!

One of those idea’s that you wonder aren’t on all digital cameras!

My point is that it can be made even more useful if they take some input and give the feature more attention and make it even more useful.

So cheers ARRI!!!

“Prep”

“Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance”…….my favorite tongue twister…..

All too often we (camera dept.) are not given enough time to prepare for the tough journey ahead of us…..budgets…or lack thereof are sometimes the culprit sometime other reasons beyond our control.

Regardless of how much time we have to prepare, every min spent in prep can save hours if not days on set. This week I was doing prep at Radiant Images for a feature film and the construction guy working on the building asked me ” what is “prep and why you doing all this stuff”?

I explained to him imagine you had to build a house on a deserted island…..as you can imagine there is nothing on this island except sand….

….so imagine getting and empty warehouse and assembling everything you will need to build this house…..every tool, every nail,nut,boards and bolt! Now turn on the power tools….make sure they work….test everything…since everything must work and you can forget anything!!!

If you do this right you will get to the island and proceed to build the house you set out to build all your power tools will work etc…

This is why….. we “prep”

We often travel to far distant locations and countries to shoot our projects. Once on location there is usually little to no support for the camera team. So you better be confident you didn’t forget anything and that everything you have with you works! Even more so when the budget is tight, we are loosing light, running behind or otherwise behind the gun. Everything has to work. NOW. The only way to ensure this is to prepare for it!

As a scout…..I always remember the scout’s motto ” Be Prepared ”

We in prep we test everything! It’s not enough to remember to bring an item…..the item is of no worth to you if it doesn’t work! This is why we test everything ! Every cable, device, lens and camera…..everything must be checked…..backfocus….downloads…firmware….

or face the consequences!

Anyways….here’s some scenes from my “prep” this week for a 2 camera (ARRI Alexa Plus) feature film.