Luminair 3 and Moving Lights

The best test for any software or equipment is to just jump right in. I recently finished a show in NY where I used the brand new Luminair 3 to run 10 Vari*Lite VL4000 Spot Luminaires, 52 LED Color Force RGBA, 24 Color Blaster TRX, 196 conventional channels, and 2 Unique Hazers; over two universes.

The new Luminaire software performed well with only a few occasional crashes, which at this time I believe Synthe-FX has already sent out a patch for. Ryan Hisey at Synthe-FX has always been extremely quick about getting back to me with any issues that I may encounter.

We had two very full universes, so we had to take great care in not over lapping any channels. The big issue I did encounter was the combining of conventionals and intelligent lighting in one project. In my universe 1 project, my first group (leftmost,) had about 50 conventional tracks (Standard Faders;) the second group, had about 20 conventional tracks (Standard Faders;) the third, fourth, and fifth groups were intelligent lighting: some of the Color Force RGBs, Color Blasters, and VL4000s; all with mixtures of Standard Faders, Color (RGB) Faders, XY Faders. When I would adjust a conventional fader in the first group, it would zero out all the conventional faders in the second group, but change nothing in the intelligent lighting groups. It was odd that it would only affect the conventionals. The work around for this issue was to keep all the conventionals in one group, separate from the intelligent lighting. We did this with great success for the run of the show.

The Vari*Lite VL4000 Spot Luminaire is a fairly new to the market, so it was no surprise to me that Luminaire 3 software did not have this fixture in it's fixture library.

One of the best new features on luminaire 3 (if not the best) is the ability to create your own fixture profiles, which is invaluable to a designer using these intelligent fixtures in a non-traditional way. Using the Create New Profile, I was able to create specific profiles for each unit. For example, I had two VL4000s that I was using simply for the custom glass gobo we had installed. I was able to create fixture profiles for these fixtures using only the channels I needed and not the ones I would not be using (program, animation wheels, shutter frames, etc.) This made it much easier to navigate through the Luminair control panel to get to the lights I need to adjust quickly.

With the addition of custom scene buttons and color coded tracks, Luminair 3 is a fresh new design on an already great platform.

Do you need help with Luminair, DMX protocol, intelligent lighting? I welcome your comments & questions.

Lensing ANSWERED PRAYERS

I had the great opportunity to lens the new TLC show, 'Answered Prayers' with Director Erik Weigel. Erik, recently transplanted from NY to LA, brought a fresh new perspective to TLC. Roma Downey hosts this series featuring stories of real people who have gone through incredible and tragic experiences..

Watch the promo here on TLC.com

As you can see, it is a docu-style reality show. Erik and I were given the task to re-create these angelic moments in people's lives, car crashes, drowning, horrific accidents; within a limited budget. We had to recreate, no, re-think how to shoot these stories. And it was a journey.

I suggested we shoot with Canon C300 & old school Zeiss super speeds. I felt this would give us the depth and color space of a modern day camera with the forgiving Zeiss super speeds. Camera A was small and efficient, similar to the 435 setup. We were able to move fast and get great images with very little support. Eric Maclver at Division Camera set us up right so that we could beat the three sides of that production triangle. When warranted, we kept everything moving with a CinePed Slider (best slider out there in my opinion) and a Steadicam. No time for dolly track.

We had a good amount of water work, cars being flipped, children drowning. For this I suggested 4K, which for a show like this is a hard sell for the cinematographer. My pitch was basic, we have a limited amount of time at the pool, limited divers, limited art; we needed to acquire as much as we could as fast as we could. If we get in the water with a RED wearing a Zeiss 18mm, we could get a lot fast. And we did.

And yes, it snowed at IllusionLuka.

Thanks to our team at United Artist Media Group, Wendy Hinton and Tom Shelly, in particular, for supporting our vision. Thanks as well to Charles Schner for executing 2nd Unit with the same vision.

Source: http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/answered-praye...

Route30, Three! screens on July 11th in Chambersburg, PA!

The trilogy box set will be released at this event. New box set extras include:

Director & Cinematographer commentary
New cast & crew interviews
New Behind the Scenes programs
All bonus material from previous DVDs

Promo for upcoming boxset release

All three films were shot in South Central Pennsylvania. The movies were made by a crew of less than 10 people and is being distributed independently by the filmmaker. By buying this boxset you are directly supporting the film and the artists who made it, and their quest to make more fun movies like it. To find out more about these films please visit: www.route30trilogy.com.

A look behind the scenes of "I'm in Love With A Church Girl" at .

Exclusive Narration by Executive Producer/Writer Galley Molina.

Lensing ROUTE 30

There were no ADs, no honeywagons, no equipment trucks of any kind. The cast did their own make up and the wardrobe was their own. It was a simple plan that writer and director, John Putch conceptualized. Putch said, “I believe that a compelling story can be told without it costing an arm and leg and, in my opinion, that most films have lost touch with the grass roots of the medium.”

Putch penned a hilarious backwoods comedy, assembled an exceptional pool of talent, and proposed we set out to his home town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania to create Route 30.

All this great talent came together to create this story. I had a task before me; how do I photograph this story with the parameters set forth, in a way that would compliment the players’ assembled? In a word, preparation!

We scouted the Pennsylvania locations back in May of 2007. The locations were amazing. The Totem Pole Playhouse; The Hyatt’s Farmhouse; The Rock Quarry; Mister Ed’s General Store; The Old Putch House; each location was better than the previous. I can’t tell you how many scout photos I took. I felt no matter where we landed the camera or positioned the characters, the images would be beautiful. I was immediately consumed by the light. The sunlight had a breathtaking quality to it. My goal in shooting was to capture as much natural light as possible. Normally, in these ‘digital’ days, we tend to shy away from windows because of the stop difference. Here, I found myself looking to see out of a window whenever possible. It was a welcomed change which enabled us to create very pretty pictures.

To carry out my goal, I devised a plan to photograph the locations basically untouched. I did my best to capture and translate, into images, exactly every natural beauty as we saw it through our own eyes. (i.e., I wanted to capture Mister Ed’s Store the way is it for real, I wanted to feel dark wood inside the Carl & Will’s cabin, I wanted the audience to know what it felt like to walk through The Totem Pole Playhouse.) It became such an integral part of my cinematography to make the images palpable to the viewer.

We loaded everything into Putch’s SUV, which he drove cross country. Needless to say, space was very limited. I had only half the interior and a roof rack to carry the camera, grip, and electric equipment. Every piece of gear had to have more than one job. My lighting package was basically a 400w Joker, a Mickey, a couple of 300w Fresnels, a K5 Kit, and some China Balls. My grip package was basically a Combo Stand, a couple of C-Stands, a few 6x6 Rags, a couple of Road Rags Kits, and a SunBounce PRO.

We shot on two Panasonic HVX200 Cameras. They proved to be an excellent choice for the job. The P2 workflow was very reliable. There was only one instance where we had a damaged clip, which was easily fixed within the camera. We carried four P2 cards with us, two 16 gbs and two 8 gbs. In the 720P - 24PN mode, this gave us about 120 minutes of shooting time, which usually got us through the day. On some of the big dialogue days, we had to download cards at lunch. Most of the time, I spent about an hour each night downloading. Being able to see the day’s footage that evening was a bonus.

As a cinematographer, there are three attributes to a light source, three things we can control. Position. Quality. Color. On a larger scale, we can place the light where we need it, choose the intensity/quality of the light, and color it at will. In this film we didn’t have that option. We had to work with the existing light, the position it was originating from, the intensity/quality of the light at that moment, and the existing color of the light. This was the challenge. The director and I planned scenes in a particular room, depending on how the light played that room throughout the day. We scheduled and blocked for the atmosphere and the light.

For example, shooting the scenes in Bill’s kitchen, when Martha (Dana Delany) tells Bill (David Deluise) about her experience with Rumspringa. Putch wanted Bill to be sitting across the table from Martha. One week before we began principal photography, Putch and I went to all the locations to discuss blocking in relation to light. There was a large bay window in the room of this location which faces East. I knew I could use the bay window as a source for Dana; Therefore, we planned on shooting this scene in the afternoon. We blocked the scene so that Dana would be in the perfect position to use the bay window as her key. I just had to add a soft edge to her shot to make it perfect. When we turned around on David, it was late enough in the day that the window did not hurt by being too overexposed. I brought in a nice key courtesy of the 400w Joker. Shooting the scenes at the right time of day, enabled the scenes to photograph very well.

The SunBounce was invaluable for our exterior work. The soft side is lovely for a nice soft fill and the hard side provided a great edge or gave a nice glint in the eye for the wider shots. The SunBounce is so lightweight and easy to use that I now prefer it to a 4x4 shiny board on a combo stand. It is a much ‘nicer’ bounce, not to mention the fact that the SunBounce has a larger reflective surface than a 4x4. I was able to bounce light clear across The Rock Quarry. I now bring mine on every shoot.

China balls: I can’t say enough about the 12” paper lantern. They were the perfect light for all of our interior work; small, soft, and low power requirements. We used china balls in just about every scene. We loaded them up with 212s, 213s, or BCAs, depending on the look. They are so light in weight that we were able to tape them up practically anywhere. If we needed more light, we put two next to each other. If we needed less light, we wrapped them in duvytene. The best part about the china balls is that they are a round source. I love the look of a round source in the eye. I have always been a fan of these lights, but this film really turned me into a china ball guy.