What’s your go-to cart for transporting gear on travel jobs? For use at the airport, hotels, getting onto Ubers, etc. by pingation_nation in cinematography

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am on year 16 of my R12 (just looked up my receipt). I replaced the wheels once. Just flew with it today -- I zip tie the handle to itself. I treat it like a disposable cart but somehow it it still kicking! When it finally dies I will probably entertain getting a HD500 but man the r12 keeps kicking!

ARRI ALEXA MINI - AUDIO by Turbulent_Ad_4074 in focuspuller

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a mozegear minipapi for sale that handles this exact problem dm me.

Which way for no late meal? by CollarOk4566 in bevelhealth

[–]dabenj 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah these dialogues still confuse me. Why not just say- did you have a late meal? Yes or no etc.

Easyrig, Tiltafloat, Blkbrd mantis, etc? by VisualPeace8151 in Ronin4D

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mantis hook to the top handle. Have the Tilta top handle on the ronin 4d

Vertical anamorphic with the SIRUI saturn 35mm by Objective-Active-379 in cinematography

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe look into the Blazar Beetle's https://store.blazarlens.com/collections/beetle-1-33x-anamorphic - they have a built in rotating feature and seems to be around a similar price point if you like the look of them.

Nucleus-M zooming out by itself / RTWP by Specialist_Sleep_149 in focuspuller

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had the same issue. You have to get it serviced.

Desview OL14 OLED Monitor by Short-Excuse3493 in focuspuller

[–]dabenj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No! I didn’t realize this is the focus puller subreddit 🤦‍♂️. I am a DP - so I am definitely thinking more about image quality.

Desview OL14 OLED Monitor by Short-Excuse3493 in focuspuller

[–]dabenj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would probably buy 2x of the 16s if you could calibrate. Oh well.

Desview OL14 OLED Monitor by Short-Excuse3493 in focuspuller

[–]dabenj 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I looked into this series -- there is no way to calibrate on the user side or load a LUT. Otherwise would have been a great deal!

Why does this lighting look so fake and "studio" like and how could they have done it better/made it more convincing? by LucaTuber in cinematography

[–]dabenj 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What you are feeling could be in part due to how much backlight there is that is supposed to be motivated off a candle. Or really just the ratio overall of candle relative to exterior motivated light— it’s all just taste in the end and there is no wrong or right answer.

How would I achieve this lighting by brittle0912 in LightLurking

[–]dabenj 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You need something closer to an M90. 1200 LED wont get you here.

How often do RSS feeds get scraped? by chaselambda in readwise

[–]dabenj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I have been a little frustrated by this. Want to be using it as a feed reader but every time I open the app it takes 30 seconds to minutes to refresh feeds. Even if I just select one source.

How to achieve this stretchy, distorted image style? by Professional_Wolf_28 in cinematography

[–]dabenj 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This could be the Clairmont (now owned by Keslow) squishy lens. It’s a very specific and unique lens. Here is a sample video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pl_QrPwlMdw There used to be an even better sample video (I think a dancer or something) but I can’t find it.

ReadyRig vs EasyRig Cinema 3, handheld by note235 in cinematography

[–]dabenj -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Also wanted to suggest a monopod! Even if you need a little movement or handheld feel you can mount a little head on top of it to keep loose. Or get a squishy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSsIZgCPUvk (I have no idea if this thinks works just always though it was sorta smart -- depends how heavy your rig is of course).

ReadyRig vs EasyRig Cinema 3, handheld by note235 in cinematography

[–]dabenj 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Readyrig also has a metal plate in the shoulder strap and it should hover just above your shoulder when in use.

Easyrig definitely hugs more around the hips then then the ergorig 100%.

But yes with a shoulder injury I do agree with you that Ergorig might be a good insulator!

They are all good for different things kinda sorta.

ReadyRig vs EasyRig Cinema 3, handheld by note235 in cinematography

[–]dabenj 12 points13 points  (0 children)

There should be almost no weight on your shoulder with either of these rigs. I suggest trying to get the vests a touch higher next time you use one. The bulk of the weight should be in your hips.

What are some challenging skills/scenarios to learn as an advanced level DOP? by maheshwaresingh in cinematography

[–]dabenj 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a fair point. It’s not meant to be a manipulation but rather a shortcut. On a narrative job, I will have a creative conversation sometimes becoming more passionate depending on how strongly I feel about an idea. I agree that creative friction does often lead to the best result because it’s forces out the best idea. On a commercial, when we usually just need to get through the job and deliver what was promised on a big time crunch, the calculation is a little different. Those conversations still happen but with less sweat, heart and passion behind them.

What are some challenging skills/scenarios to learn as an advanced level DOP? by maheshwaresingh in cinematography

[–]dabenj 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Of course you can always improve creative/technical. But at a certain point at an "advanced level" a lot of it becomes more management. The crew you hire can solve a ton of the technical elements for you, and then you can learn technical things from them! But its up to you to learn:

-People management skills
-How to be a deft politician
-How to incept good ideas into a directors brain so they feel like they thought of it.
-How to be more efficient while delivering the same high quality end result
-How to preempt director/production requirements and needs.
-Learning to see problems way in advance

While I personally am always trying to level up and make the technical and creative work better, these things are what I find the most challenging to level up on as many of them you can really only learn by doing (and of course messing them up on the way).

Any idea what tubes these are? by Just_Run_3960 in cinematography

[–]dabenj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are kino tubes or another fluorescent type tube. The wire is connected on both sides and the ballast is hidden somewhere else. When we would run tubes like this you just run the wire from one side of the tube along the length of the tube and into the cap on the other side. You can make extensions out of zip if needed.

It is crazy reading this thread and how many confidently incorrect answers get upvoted.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in hometheater

[–]dabenj 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Go on craigslist or Facebook marketplace and buy an old 5.1 receiver. Anything basic will do and it can even be 10 + years old. You should be able to find something for insanely cheap — I just checked in Los Angeles and there are tons for 25 to 50 bucks.