Comments on: Cinematographer: The Importance of Camera Tests

By: Shane

Shane — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:26:21 +0000

In reply to Nicolas Aguilar. Nicolas Aguilar, that is great to hear and thank you for the kind words

By: Nicolas Aguilar

Nicolas Aguilar — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 22:14:21 +0000

Hey Shane!

Thank you so much for you posts! I’m currently doing some tests on the F-65 with the Zeiss CP2s for a graduate film at Chapman University. What you’ve written has inspired and helped me greatly.

By: Shane

Shane — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:29:28 +0000

In reply to Brian Bradley. Brian Bradley. Glad to hear it and thanks so much for the kind words and support.

By: Brian Bradley

Brian Bradley — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:08:01 +0000

Shane,

I really enjoy and appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom. Reading your blog has really help me become a better filmmaker.

By: Shane

Shane — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:14:56 +0000

In reply to Oli Kember. Oli Kember, with the immediacy of our media now, we can shoot the test while your prepping the camera and play back in camera. In the coming weeks I will take you thru what I test for. Stay tuned.

By: Oli Kember

Oli Kember — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 19:04:33 +0000

Interesting thoughts Shane. You’re right in that what works for one man won’t work for all. I’ve never really had the luxury to test a new camera system extensively before I’ve used it, but if you had a set of absolute priorities that you would look for in a test, what would they be? Would you go beyond the usual suspects of latitude and highlight roll-off etc? Thanks.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:08:52 +0000

In reply to N.K.Osborne. N.K.Osborne, you go it. Thank you

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:07:40 +0000

In reply to Pablo Gustafson. Pablo Gustafson, Yes you can. The biggest look test we did was our Dark Energy/Cinnafilm process which stripped all the compression, after that we added grain texture. This really improved the 5D footage and gave it a really filmic look. Shooting on mainly Panavision Primo Primes helped as well.

By: Shane

Shane — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:02:00 +0000

In reply to Pablo Gustafson. Pablo Gustafson, I would over expose their key lights about 1 stop

By: Pablo Gustafson

Pablo Gustafson — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:33:36 +0000

Also, this is more a lighting question but in the stills above from Terminator, do you know where your key light is in relation to your shooting stop offhand?

By: Pablo Gustafson

Pablo Gustafson — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:23:19 +0000

It’s so easy to get caught up in the pros/cons of all the new tech and what other people think (I get far too much tech info from reduser when I should test myself). Shane I imagine it was a big deal in the community when you chose to shoot Act of Valor primarily on dslr. Other than the standard tests to see if it would hold on the big screen, did you do any specific “look” tests for the film?

By: N.K.Osborne

N.K.Osborne — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:52:12 +0000

Looking forward to the next post in the series. Thanks Shane.

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 03:01:19 +0000

In reply to KahL. KahL, The timing was right. Love it!!! Thank you so much for all of your kind words and continued support.

By: KahL

KahL — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:20:22 +0000

“Treat your new digital camera like a new film emulsion that needs testing. Why? Because every sensor is different. They have unique qualities, different latitudes, color spaces, log files, BIT depth. How it rolls off with over and underexposure.”

Wow, I was JUST having this conversation several hours ago too. I guess I’m on the right track after all. This article is awesome, Shane. Constantly learning; thank your outlook this way.

By: Kent Harkey

Kent Harkey — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:50:48 +0000

Super Inspiring, I’ve been doing so many tests just trying to push my camera setups to the limit seeing what i can make them do lately it feels weird not telling a story. But I kept telling myself this knowledge i’m doing right now that is what is going to pay off when i use it to tell the story i want to better. You reaffirmed my feelings triply so with this post. If your ever in Las Cruces New Mexico (south of Albuquerque, north of El Paso) I owe you a drink.

By: Jeremiah Gonda

Jeremiah Gonda — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:05:47 +0000

Awesome and informative as usual, Shane! This article is a great motivator to get out there and be creative. Thanks!

By: Bill Hamell

Bill Hamell — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:31:53 +0000

Shane ,

Once again a great blog! It is posts like this that keep me coming back, informative and inspirational! Going out to go test something!

Thank you,
Bill

By: visualMED

visualMED — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:37:23 +0000

thanks so much Shane for this information … and yes I love doing tests and lighting situation .. trying some new Ideas and figured out how the light gonna work with your story … and the most thing is how to work with available sources small light set up ..(hard work = groin up your talent) like Bruce Logan said talent is a 90% hard work and 10% luck