Hello all. I asked Dr. Raimist if I could post a potential resource for anyone who may be interested, and I received the go ahead. I'm providing a link to a forum ran by Roger Deakins. For those who may or may not recognize the name; he is one of the premiere cinematographers in the industry. You have more than likely seen his work: Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Skyfall, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Big Lebowski, and Fargo, just to name a few of his more familiar works. Deakins has been working in the industry for 30 years now. In his time, he has worked with documentaries, music videos, and largely feature films. He has developed an amazing craft and lighting style that is used beautifully in all of his films.
       Now, Rodger has developed his own approach to his work, and with that, comes a few things of note: he has an involved approach with his work; he operates camera on all his films, and he keeps his crew to a minimum. This means that more often than not, he doesn't hold positions for additional crew like extra camera assistants, camera PAs, or camera trainees. He has the chemistry and work experience with his selected crew. That's not a slight on more inexperienced personnel; it's just a preference he has chosen for his particular type of work environment. However, given his experience and knowledge, Roger knows that he can still serve aspiring film makers in some capacity. That is where he came up with the forum. He has made himself available to questions of potential film makers. If you have a question about a particular setup he choose for this shot, or what he may recommend for something you are working on, a particular piece of equipment; this gives you the opportunity to ask him about it. Now, there is no absolute guarantee that he will get to every question; but, another great advantage to the forum is that it is full of members capable and willing to provide answers to them. The forum has been around for awhile so there are already plenty of materials and comments from Roger that you can read through. The sign up process is simple, free, and only takes a few minutes.
      Bear with me, as I would like to share one more potential resource that may interest you. There are countless film books out there that cover virtually every angle imaginable. However, there is one that I have found to be among the best out there, especially in regard to cinematography: Painting with Light by John Alton. This is a fantastic piece of literature by another renowned master DP. Some of the excerpts may be a tad dated, but many of the fundamentals and practices are still relevant and used in the industry today. It's a great read for anyone interested.
       I hope these resources can be helpful or at least interesting for anyone who looks into them.

Roger's site: http://www.rogerdeakins.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Painting-With-Light-John-Alton/dp/0520275845
I'm sure cheaper copies can be found out there.

1. READ: 

Guide to Camera Filters and How to Use Them

How, When and Why to Use a Polarizing Filter and this is also good explanation of polarizer filters

Tiffen Filter Guide 
(Please read about the many kinds of filters but look specifically for the filters that we have for the SONY HDV cameras - see list below)

2. WATCH:

 




Note: the effect of the filter and how the effect is adjusted by rotating the filter

3. Send an email to request a camera as follows:

4. TUESDAY, SEPT 11, IN CLASS, MEET AT THE EQ ROOM!






We will film in pairs or groups (based on how many cameras are avail).

Each group will get

SONY HDV
batter
tripod
white card
HDV filter pack 
(Please make sure there is a polarizer and at least two other kinds of filters in your pack!)


Here's the assignment:

TCF 312 – Group Exercise #2: SONY HDV with FILTERS
* Please film BEFORE class on Tuesday, 9/11 *
FILMED IN CLASS ON TUESDAY 9/11

NOTE FOR HDV CAMERA SHUTTER SPEED:
If you set your camera (MENU > CAMERA > PROG SCAN) to Progressive, you then have access to 1/48 shutter speed! (Sorry about that).

To recap: 
if HDV is in 60i mode, shutter speed option is 1/60
if HDV is set to PROGRESSIVE SCAN, it then will give you the option for 1/48

TCF has the following filters for SONY HDV cameras:

1. color graduated filter
2. polarizer
3. soft
4. black pro mist 
5. warm black diffusion
6. enhancing
7. gold diffusion
8. ultra contrast

Working in a group of 2-3 students, you are to film well-composed shots, using strong framing and compositional elements to produce visually compelling images, which speak --- think content and form discussion from class.

5 Shot Exercise Using SONY HDV and filters:

1. Enhance the sky of a landscape
2. Reduce glare on glass
3. Reduce glare on water
4. Soften a shot using a filtered effect
5. Enhance a shot w/color or detail using a filter

Rules:

• Record color bars at the head of your tape
• Film a visual slate w/name of camera operator (rotate who operates), and manual settings (iris & shutter speed)
• Film 15-20 seconds of shot w/no filter
• Film 15-20 seconds of shot w/filter
• Make sure you white balance your camera on location (under lighting conditions where you are filming)
• NO GAIN should be used in any shot!

BRING YOUR TAPE TO CLASS ON TUESDAY, SEPT 11! 

We will go over tape capturing in FCP and talk about tape vs. tapeless workflow in class.

* * * * * 

DSLR FILTER BONUS:

Later in the course we'll move to DSLR cinematography. One of the limitations of these cameras is the moire effect. Here's a filter that eliminates it! We don't have one (yet) in TCF, but watch how it works:

Canon 7D Anti-Aliasing Filter Review - Clean! from cinema5D on Vimeo.

Here are some links about it that you should read

1. NoFilmSchool's post with Philip Bloom video about 5D filter fix

2.  Positives and negatives about 7D filter by Cinema5D

Also please note that we NEVER take a screwdriver to the inside of a TCF camera --- John Chisholm will do that for us! ; )

Projects 1 & 2

VIDEO

1:
Gerry, Megan, & Ron

2:
Gerry, Megan, Ron, Lucas

Exercise #2- 2 Scenes

Exercise #2- 2 Scenes by Maci Arms, Connor Mills, Austin Rhyne, and Chris Swart


Exercise #2: 2 Scenes from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.

Exercise #1- 30 Shots

Exercise #1- 30 Shots by Maci Arms, Austin Rhyne, and Chris Swart


Exercise #1- 30 Shots from UA, Telecommunication and Film on Vimeo.