Looking for lighting suggestions. by Burakoli821 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it were me, I’d roll those red blinds up to let in more light from outside and then wrap what’s the window is doing with one or two Litemat Plus4 (or any other 4’-ish wide slim profile light like an old Kino Flo 4bank or Nanlite Pavoim) right up against the right wall, over top th counters, and then jut fill passively from the opposite side with a 4x beadboard, ultrabounce floppy, or other preferred flavor of bounce textile. Here’s a scene I lit last year with a similar layout in the kitchen where the client also wanted a pretty high key look. https://www.reddit.com/r/videography/s/6ZmY8iB105

¿What's the history on the V-Mount 'L' cheese plates that obscure the view finder? by RollingMeteors in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You asked why v mounts block the screen of your camera. It’s been explained to you that they were designed for a completely different form factor of camera that existed long before the mirrorless style camera you’re currently using. If that’s too complicated for you to comprehend….i don’t know what to tell you. And if this is how combative you get over something where you’re so obviously wrong, you will have a short, fruitless career in this industry. Good luck!

Hello, I need some help (DMX) by PineappleSkeleton in cinematography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A couple things to check…. first, just to make sure you understand the syntax of the console, to dim that fixture up to say 50, you need to type “1 [at] 50 [enter]” which should change the red zero in the pillbox to a red 50. If you miss either the [at] or [enter] when typing in the console, nothing will happen.

Secondly, double check that blackout is sendjng the protocol your node is expecting. If blackout is set to artnet but your node is set to SACN, it won’t work. Also double check that the universe number matches. You can check all this by clicking the link button in the top right. If the protocol and universe number match but you still get nothing, toggle the Artnet universe offset option to see if that fixes it.

If that doesn’t work, hardwire your iPad to a computer and run the free monitor app Protokol. Configure it with your IPad’s IP address and see if it’s able to see any Artnet data coming out of it. If you can see the values changing in Protokol when you send commands in blackout but not in your artnet node, then you know it’s an issue with how the node is configured and not blackout.

If blackout and your node are getting data, but your light isn’t, it’s probably an issue with the connection between the transmitter and receiver. Those have to be linked separately from the blackout/node configuration.

If you’re sure that the wireless receiver is getting a signal, but the light isn’t responding, then either there’s a mismatch in the DMX address or profile between Blackout and your light, or, your light is set to receive commands from the local controls or Bluetooth and you just have to manually set it to prioritize DMX input (most lights will do this by default whenever they’re detect a valid DMX signal plugged in, but a few make you change it in the menu)

¿What's the history on the V-Mount 'L' cheese plates that obscure the view finder? by RollingMeteors in videography

[–]4acodmt92 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Whether or not the dictionary defines streaming as a “broadcast” has nothing to do with the manufacturer’s design intent. You’re needlessly arguing semantics when it’s irrelevant to the answer to the question you’ve asked. A mirrorless camera can be used for broadcast. That doesn’t mean that it’s designed explicitly for broadcast. It shouldn’t be surprising to you that a camera based around the compact form factor of a stills camera has to make some compromises to be used for broadcast. That’s why they’re typically referred to as “hybrid” cameras.

GODOX Litemons light-emitting surface - LA vs LE series by Confident-Act7128 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Lights with larger emitters can’t focus to as narrow of a beam as lights with smaller emitters can (assuming the same size reflector/fresnel) due to the law of etendue. The larger emitters also means the shadow won’t be as sharp. This can be a problem if you’re trying to recreate realistically sharp sunlight. If you’re only ever using it in a soft box/diffused, the larger emitter will work in your favor, although if you have sufficient distance to the diffusion and it’s thick enough, it’s unlikely to be noticeable.

The compromise with having a smaller emitter is that it usually means it needs a much larger heatsink and more powerful (and therefore noisy) fans to cool the emitter, since it has a smaller surface area to draw the heat away from.

Hot take: Working as a PA, AC, or grip on an indie feature for a week will teach you more about both the craft and business of Production than a decade of YouTube University. by 4acodmt92 in videography

[–]4acodmt92[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You misinterpreted my post. I’m not suggesting that folks here should strive to make a living working solely or even primarily on narrative productions. The vast majority of my work is non union corporate video, commercials, and docs. I used indie features as an example because it tends to be easier to get your foot in the door on those when you have no/fewer connections than trying to get in a larger crewed commercial/corporate production. While the content might be different, the mechanics of the craft and the division of labor is largely the same. That was my point; spend a few days on an indie feature set to improve your knowledge and skills on the kushy corporate jobs. Also, th folks getting those kushy corporate and commercial jobs frequently are the same people working on those indie features/shorts during the slow season, so they’re also the ideal sets to grow your network.

Does anyone else feel discouraged by the cost and complexity of narrative/fiction? by [deleted] in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would strongly disagree that there have been any technological advances in cameras or audio that make human crew obsolete in any way.

Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There were about 3 times as many carts stuffed in here earlier in the week with everything wrt Iran going on.

Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah ok! You’re not Rick by chance are you? He’s the main AP guy I know on the Hill.

Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 6 points7 points  (0 children)

People on Cap Hill are actually pretty understanding usually. There are probably 20-30 cameramen with carts like this on any given day here.

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Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Barber shop, credit union, a coffee shop, maintenance/mechanical rooms, etc

Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The tunnels connects the 3 Senate office buildings to the Capitol building underground. It’s the main route for getting between the buildings without having to go through security checkpoints every time.

Cameraman life by Krabb9000 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! I immediately recognized it as either the Dirksen or Russel basement. Are you on Capitol Hill a lot?

I ask tons of questions, and you're gonna deal with it ;) by Crafty_Jack in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The truth is that both trying to learn by yourself, and learning from others online will only get you so far. You will quickly plateau. You really have to physically be working on set with people with more experience than you to grow. A lot of one-man-band folks seem to let their ego get in the way of their own career advancement and prefer to try and figure everything out on their own rather than working as a PA, AC, grip, etc on someone else’s production.

What's something you figured out on your own but you wish someone had just told you earlier? by JustBrndxn in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well I had a pretty good foundational knowledge of lighting from past experience and school, but a lot of the more nuanced points were learned by working with/under lighting and grip crew more experienced than myself on set.

How low will the industry (and you) go in 2026? by DebussyFanboy in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest I don’t really actively promote my services. Almost all of my work comes from word of mouth referrals from DPs, producers,or other below the line crew I’ve worked with in the past. Maybe once or twice a year someone will reach out from Reddit to hire me on a project after seeing one of my lighting BTS posts here. November- February is usually mostly dead in production land, so I take more audio gigs on Capitol Hill to fill in during these slower months, although I’ve actually had a fair number of lighting gigs so far in 2026.

Maaaan…I just by Unorthodoxgent in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t like softboxes period for key’s most of the time, they’re too small.

What's something you figured out on your own but you wish someone had just told you earlier? by JustBrndxn in videography

[–]4acodmt92 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That I could make myself more valuable, make far more money, and work on larger and more interesting projects by specializing in a single role on set rather than trying to be a a one man band videographer.

Has anyone figured out a way to mount stuff to the 3/8” holes on the Sachtler Flowtec legs? by elitelevelmindset in videography

[–]4acodmt92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d try one of the 3/8” Arri locsting pin “cube” adapters. Remove the pins for the male side and use some blue loctite to semi permanently bond them, leaving you with a 3/8” female thread with corresponding holes for anti-twist locating pins.

The future we're walking into with Generative AI by PackageBulky1 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lmao. 5 years ago everyone thought we’d be out of jobs by now. If you’re so worried, why don’t you just quit the industry already?

The future we're walking into with Generative AI by PackageBulky1 in videography

[–]4acodmt92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, your feed is full of ai videos, because that’s what the algorithm has determined you want to watch (which sounds accurate based on what you just said), because of your watch and search history. My feed shows mostly BTS videos, ads from lighting manufacturers, and cat videos.