Category Archives: Production

Look ma, no hands!

By admin9835936 | Published: March 12, 2016

Free up a crew-person by building a simple adaptor to hold reflector or shadow boards while lighting a scene. You will need: 4 inch carriage bolt 2 ea matching nuts 2 ea metal plates (electrical box covers work well) Black and white duct or Gaffer’s tape Drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of […]

Posted in Production | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Hollywood Lighting Technique that will Completely Transform your Cinematography and How to Master It in about 5 Minutes

By admin9835936 | Published: March 12, 2016
Mulholland Drive Betty lit from sunlight through a window

80% of a typical motion picture is made up of close-ups of people having conversations. And by far the most commonly used lighting setup for such a close-up shot is the far-sided key. Master this one simple lighting setup and suddenly 80% of your shots will look “Hollywood.”

Posted in Production | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Steal From the Best

By admin9835936 | Published: March 12, 2016

Cinematography Still Frames Film Grab Movie Stills Database 129 of the Most Beautiful Shots in Movie History  PS – the winner is the Shinning (1980). Movie Screen Shot My personal favorite for random inspiration (plus a fun play-along game): Screenplays Drew’s Script-o-Rama Internet Movie Script Database

Posted in Production | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

That is not the Light

By admin | Published: April 12, 2015
Psycho Marion and Norman lit from a lamp behind them

When is a light not THE light? When it’s a light you see on screen of course.

Posted in Production | Tagged , , | Comments closed

F-stops Make No @#$%&!ing Sense!

By admin | Published: April 9, 2015
lens apertures

The Aperture setting (the opening of the iris that lets more or less light in) of a lens is measured in a unit called f-stops. A wide-open aperture that lets the most light in is represented by a small f-stop number, typically something like f2.8 (or maybe f1.4 for a very “fast” lens that can […]

Posted in Production | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Setting Focus

By admin | Published: April 7, 2015
camera zoom lens

There are three methods of setting focus depending on which of the 3 types of lenses you are using. For a video style camera with a zoom lens you use…

Posted in Production | Tagged , | Comments closed

Is This My Drink?

By admin | Published: April 7, 2015
sharpie markers

Attach Sharpie permanent markers to a lengths of cord and tie near your drink station for labeling solo cups and water bottles with everyone’s names. Look for short Sharpies designed to be worn around the neck (they have a swivel on the cap and a lanyard clip on top perfect for cording.)

Posted in Production | Tagged , | Comments closed

Tennis Anyone?

By admin | Published: April 7, 2015
tennis balls

Cut a one inch slit in a tennis ball, squeeze the tennis ball to open it, then slip it on the end of a c-stand gobo arm (or anything else pointy you want to keep people from walking in to). Use a double crossed slit to slip tennis balls on light stand feet to protect […]

Posted in Production | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Boom Pole Basics

By admin | Published: April 5, 2015
"Blimp" microphone cover to reduce wind noise

To capture audio for a film or tv show use a boom mic. It’s a system of several parts that consists of: A light-weight telescoping Boom Pole A rubberized Shock Mount A Shotgun Microphone A Windscreen of some sort Quick Tips Extend the boom pole as little as necessary to get the distance you need. […]

Posted in Production | Tagged , | Comments closed

Cables under stands

By admin | Published: April 5, 2015
century stand

Loop the power cable from a light under the leg of the light stand instead of letting it hang free. If someone snags the cable with their foot as it runs across the floor the stand will move sideways instead of tipping over. Also a sand bag on that stand is probably a really good […]

Posted in Production | Tagged , | Comments closed