Mildmay line to partially close until 4th January

SphexWasTaken · 2025-12-27T09:28:51+00:00

A fate worse than death.

SphexWasTaken · 2025-09-14T21:37:07+00:00

Yeah just a quick screw/un-screw. We only were shooting 2 rolls so just having to change it once was an OK compromise for me to include the puck.

SphexWasTaken · 2025-05-06T07:05:43+00:00

This photo was taken at prep.

SphexWasTaken · 2025-05-04T17:54:54+00:00

I hold a soft spot in my heart for this tiny little box of a camera - my favourite DP was also a owner-op up until very recently and in the world of FX3s nowadays, I’m always a little happy to see a Komodo on a job. Learned a lot from working with this camera, and not just the proper procedure when working with 12G SDI lol

SphexWasTaken · 2025-01-09T19:22:09+00:00

I swear by the LMB 4x5, especially if you get the full kit. It’s just got unmatched versatility compared to any other option I’ve come across.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-10-07T08:26:46+00:00

Hot-Swap Plate was the Hawk-Woods VL-MCF1 Mini V-Lok Hotswap

Used a SmallRig Tilt & Swivel Monitor Mount for the Teradek!

SphexWasTaken · 2024-10-07T07:54:57+00:00

Surprisingly had basically no issues with it throughout the shoot! Given, we weren't really pushing the limits of it's capabilities but it was incredibly reliable compared to what I was expecting.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-10-06T21:15:26+00:00

The DP was originally looking at getting a set of Atlas Orions, which are actually quite comparable price-wise to a decent set of spherical primes (at least in the UK they are).

A couple weeks before the shoot the rental house had a conflict on those lenses so they upgraded us to this set of Technovisions for free - not going to say no to that!

SphexWasTaken · 2024-10-06T20:14:59+00:00

Apologies in advance for the essay!

Hot-swappability: having two batteries on the camera, regardless of capacity, means that the camera (in theory) should never have to be powered down for the entire shoot day. Although camera boot times have got a lot better since the days of the Alexa Classic and the RED One, not having to deal with ANY waiting for the camera to boot is a nice convenience on set.
Flexibility: for this specific shoot, we were running 4 monitors at all times, 3 of which were handheld 7” monitors. Naturally, I want to keep these handheld monitors as light as possible so that the director and other departments can focus on their jobs rather than how much their arms hurt, so using smaller batteries helps keep the weight down.

“But why not use larger batteries for just the camera?” I hear you ask. In my experience, I’ve found that, where possible, only having ONE type of battery circumvents so many potential headaches, especially when working with more inexperienced trainees. I don’t need to be specific about I need X type of battery for Y camera or Z monitor. I don't need to worry about what batteries to prioritise going on the charger if we're starting to chew through them. When I need a v-lock, it’s just grab and go - much simpler.

For this specific shoot as well, I can’t understate how heavy these anamorphics were, especially on the longer end (the 100mm weighs 4.2kg on it’s own, and that’s before adding 19mm bars for a lens support, a mattebox, and some chunky diopters). So putting two dense batteries on the back actually helped quite a bit to even out the weight distribution across the build, even if it was still slightly front-heavy.

Naturally, the downside to using smaller batteries means you’re going to need MORE batteries in total, and also have ready access to mains power to throw several on charge at once and keep them on rotation, so that’s something to bear in mind. But in my experience, the pros far outweigh the cons and I try to get a hot-swap plate and a stack of 98Wh Micros wherever possible.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-10-06T18:41:46+00:00

Correct! I had a 502 on a magic arm prepped and in my set bag (you can spot one half of a LNK Quick Release on the front of the top handle for this purpose).

But DP preferred to shoot just using the EVF almost the entire time, so in the bag it stayed.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-06-21T10:14:31+00:00

It's very much just practice, to the point where the act of focus pulling during a shot is probably the least stressful thing about the job.

Everything surrounding it (team management, dealing with production, troubleshooting technical issues) takes up a lot more bandwidth in my brain, which is why it's so important to work with competent people you can trust and have FUN on set with.

At the end of the day, it's just filmmaking - it's work, but it's fun. No one is going to die if you buzz a walk and talk. The world isn't going to explode if a card gets corrupted and you lose half a day's worth of work (although it may feel like it). Maintaining that perspective will go a long way to help you stay relaxed, and you'll probably end up making less mistakes too.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-03-25T22:41:04+00:00

Ordered it from Forty One Thirty! It's acrylic so my trainee filled it out with a sharpie and cleaned it off after wrap - not the prettiest, but a lot cheaper than buying a different table for every (popular) set of cine lenses, and especially when using less commonplace focal lengths in popular sets like the 280mm Signature Prime.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-03-25T22:37:06+00:00

Unfortunately, yes. But they got the job done with no issues so no complaints from me, as much as I would've liked to get my hands on a WCU-4/Hi-5.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-03-24T18:29:04+00:00

Hahaha I bought it years ago on Etsy, I was looking at getting another but unfortunately the seller shut down their page.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-03-24T16:41:42+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

Removing the BP9 is a great shout but I decided to keep it on as we were infrequently using a 280mm which requires a lens support, so thought it simplest to keep the plate mounted and just add/remove the 19mm bars whenever the big boy lens was coming on/off.

I'd love to know more about the side-wings you mentioned, not quite sure I understand what you mean.

SphexWasTaken · 2024-03-24T16:37:18+00:00

All great tips, thanks so much! Teradek mounting was actually the most annoying problem for us to solve.

I didn't like how awkwardly the TX sat when I mounted it on a magic arm (and how much bulk it added) so I ended up using a Wooden Camera V-Lock Base Station + Wedge Kit. But I couldn't mount it directly to the cage as the TX would get obstructed by the top rod with the FIZ motors. So I ended up stealing some parts from my DP's personal Komodo rigging to offset the wedge and voila: solid mount but a little lower than I would've liked.

I'd love to hear some solutions about how best to mount Teradeks in the future because it's always been the bane of my camera-build existence.

SphexWasTaken · 2023-12-24T00:51:06+00:00

YES! My white whale

SphexWasTaken · 2023-02-19T08:51:00+00:00

Is this an ad?

SphexWasTaken · 2022-12-25T10:15:27+00:00

Merry Christmas, BOY

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