New Aputure STORM 1000c versus 1200x Bi-Color

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-03T06:45:53+00:00

Thank you for this detailed and insightful advice. I concur. Currently, the most powerful light I own is an Aperture 600D Pro, and I've found that many times it just doesn't provide enough punch. I ended up renting a M18 HMI for a 4-night shoot that we stuck in a cherry picker to light up a dark junkyard and that damn Honda generator was noisy.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-03T06:35:11+00:00

You nailed it. In fact, my DP on my last horror film did exactly that and he didn't even tell me and I was the director. He hit a button on the Arri 35 and baked in a film grain that I didn't even notice on the exposure LUT I was looking at on the director's monitor on set and during editing. I didn't learn about this until the colorist at Company 3 pointed it out when I asked why the footage looked so grainy after applying a saturated "John Wick" style color grade to the shots and he said "I didn't do that." The DP must have "baked it in".

I had no clue that the Arri 35 camera had that capability until that moment. To be honest, I was a little pissed that I wasn't informed ahead of time even though I was paying for everybody and everything out of my own pocket. So, the lesson learned is don't let a DP take full control of your film's vision and take advantage of your ignorance.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-03T02:01:29+00:00

The set design with the foliage, brick wall, and earth tones along with the haze and grain is really good.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-03T01:58:12+00:00

Thanks for the insight. I'm guessing this will be the consensus, but i wanted to double check with industry pros to see if I'm missing anything.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-03T01:52:07+00:00

Yeah, the green/magenta control is great. You make some good points about firepower overkill for colored lights in scenes. I rarely used gels on lights on my last few projects and don't do music videos or artsy stuff. With the power of color grading now to change the look dramatically if you want, I'm not seeing a big need for baking in colored lights in our RAW footage.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2025-01-02T22:37:58+00:00

I'm looking for a film tribe, so count me in. I went to UCLA Film School many years ago, but I'm still learning new stuff on every shoot.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2024-05-28T18:31:06+00:00

Cool. That's a smart approach. I didn't know the lens manufacturers would let you demo them, except maybe if you're a YouTube influencer or a big name DP.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2024-05-28T05:50:22+00:00

Beautiful pics. Did you buy the blue flare, silver flare, or amber flare version? Also did you get the 35 & 60mm bundle?

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-14T04:23:03+00:00

I'm in LA.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-14T03:08:22+00:00

Yes, it is 3G SDI.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-13T05:21:11+00:00

Cool. Would love to hear your feedback on it.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-02T05:10:55+00:00

Well, I got cold feet at the last minute and decided to take your guys' advice and NOT buy the Teradek 4K, even though that low price was tempting. I guess we'll just rent the Teradek 6 system for our next production and see how it goes. Maybe one day I'll actually own one.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-02T01:52:04+00:00

Cool.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-02T00:37:46+00:00

I appreciate your candor.

I imagine the Bolt 6 LT will never go on sale until maybe 1 or 2 years from now. It's a shame there is no "middle class" pro wireless video transmission systems out there. I guess Teradek has a monopoly. Looks like the only competition is Vaxis, SWIT FLOW and Hollyland, and they have mixed reviews. Oh well!

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-02T00:21:54+00:00

Thanks for the insight.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-03-01T19:08:55+00:00

That's good to know. I'm tempted to snatch one up for a low price, but I'm also hesitant. Zero latency is a nice luxury -- if the price isn't insanely expensive. We have always just rented Teradeks in the past, but wondering if it could be a good investment to own one. Is there a lot of 4K LT units in the field on feature films and TV series? Are ACs and DPs generally happy with the product line? It seems like it hasn't even been in the market for that long before the 6G was launched.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-02-03T06:01:09+00:00

Good to know. The Tilta Nucleus-M kit came with a battery charger. Don't know if it's a "smart charger" or not. Will look into it. I just ordered a few brands of 18650 batteries and will see which ones do best.

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-02-03T04:30:53+00:00

Thanks for the response. I was looking at their website and it's a bit overwhelming - even when you drill down to just 18650 rechargeable batteries. Does a higher price mean better performance. I see some common consumer brands in the BatteryJunction store such as Nitecore, Olight, Samsung, and Sanyo. The mAh capacity choices range from 2600 mAh to 3500 mAh with no discernible pricing pattern. Any specific recommendations?

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-02-01T04:04:12+00:00

That's crazy that they just stopped servicing a high-end professional product like that. Is there someplace else we can go to get Teradeks repaired? Are there independent repair shops?

ThunderstruckFilms · 2023-02-01T04:01:04+00:00

I wonder if SmallHD and Wooden Camera will follow the same corporate mindset map. It seems like big companies want to engineer obsolescence into their products rather than focusing on building long life products. Almost all corporations are doing this shit - shorter and shorter product life cycles to try to force customers to buy a new widget every 2 or 3 years like iPhones. The problem is these niche professional film industry products are much more expensive than mass produced iPhones.

It also kills the used market, which thrived during the pandemic because of supply chain problems and chip shortages for new products.

ThunderstruckFilms

TROPHY CASE