Back out of the darkness.  Radio silence.  It’s been nearly ten years since I last updated this blog.  A major move of location, change of job and plenty of procrastination.  Ten years... wow.

A lot of water under the bridge in that time, a whole generation of camera tech, the DSLR fad has come and gone, 35mm adaptors are history, there have been huge changes in tv and film production, streaming services like YouTube and Netflix have come of age... things have really moved on.

Ok so my first order of business is to get back into the swing of things, a quick update... the plane crash short film is finished, I went with the title ‘Tacoma’ in the end, that was the working title (loosely based on the idea of structural failure) and I fully intended to come up with a new title but somehow the working title just felt right.

Tacoma was submitted to various festivals but not a lot of interest, it’s not really a festival film, not art house enough and so I’ve decided to move on from short films.

I’ve got ten years worth of experience, and plenty of new filmmaking gear.  Next project will be the big one.  My first feature length film.  I’ve got a script in development and plenty of ideas.

Onwards!

Filming the plane interior.

We began shooting in earnest today with the aircraft cabin sequence.  This should have been one of the easiest parts of the shoot as I had found several companies advertising cabin sets (most of them are simulators used by airlines to train cabin crews) but when I started trying to make a booking I found that all of them were either out of business or simply not interested in helping a low-budget short film.

Luckily I was able to track down a suitable location at an aircraft museum which was available at the right price.  :)

We shot very light, with minimal lighting (just a couple of LED panels) and relied on the natural lighting in the plane itself.  The shots turned out great and will really help to add some production value to the project.

Next shoot is in a couple of weeks, when we shoot interiors for the main scene that comprises the majority of the film.

Focusing on this AND that...

I've always loved shots that do something a bit out of the ordinary, and this scene from Pulp Fiction features a great example of split focusing, with Bruce Willis in the foreground in focus at the same time as Ving Rhames in the background.

So i've been continuing to add to my collection of camera gear, and my latest ebay bargain is a used but as new split diopter filter, which is perfect for exactly this kind of shot.

I use a Cokin filter 'P' filter holder for my Canon DSLR, the Cokin range of plastic filters are easily the best value filters on the market and a great way to add value to your shots without breaking the bank.

The filter holder slides onto a ring mount (available for all lens sizes) and has a single filter slot which allows the filters to be rotated or raised/lowered.

The split diopter looks a little like a half magnifying glass, and slots into the Cokin holder easily, although it does exhibit some vignetting around the corners when using the lens at it's widest angle.

Here are a couple of shots that show the diopter in action, the first shot shows the scene with the naked lens.  The camera is looking through a mirror back into the room.  The bed is in focus but the frame of the mirror is soft.

This second shot shows the scene with the diopter in place, and the difference is immediately apparent.  The foreground mirror frame is much sharper while the bed in the background remains in focus. 

The downside to using one of these diopters is the visible edge of the diopter itself. There is always a clearly visible line of soft/sharp focus where the split needs to be hidden, in this case I've aligned it with the edge of the mirror frame, you can just see the blurred line above the starfish.  In the Pulp Fiction example the line is hidden by the edge of the wall.

I'm pretty excited about how well this diopter works, and it's another useful tool for the camera bag, I still need a few more grad ND filters, and a mattebox to control flare.

 



Camera Envy

So here we are, the end of february already, just past the submission date for the local film festival.

A few weeks ago my company was all set to send me to Sweden for two months, which should have meant I would be typing this from Stockholm. But at the last minute the plans changed, which meant two things...

1. No two months of fully comped fun in the north.

2. No film festival entry from me because I thought I didn't have time to shoot anything before going.

So I missed the deadline for the festival, and I had a great project worked out for it too. So I'm going to go ahead and shoot anyway, but it'll just be a 'for fun' project instead of a contender.

In other news, the new Canon 550D (Rebel T2i) HD-DSLR has been released, and I am sorely tempted. It's looking like a great little camera, and it would offer the option to shoot for 35mm style DOF without needing to use my home-built adaptor, which means it'll be much, much easier to do run-and-gun work on the move.

The iso settings are pretty impressive too, especially the low-light shooting range.

I had told myself I didn't need any new gear, and that I should simply shoot with what I have, the HV30 and the XH-A1 should be more than good enough to shoot anything, especially with the option to use the 35mm adaptor. Obviously I was wrong.

It's strange, the more I read about the 550D, the more I find myself cruising past Dabs.com or even Jessops 'just to look'. I reckon I may have ordered one of these beauties before the weekend is over!

Of course my wife is the voice of reason, pointing out that I don't need another camera, and that we don't need the expense of a new toy. Especially when the house could do with some more renovation.

Still, I'm thinking if I forgo my morning Costa purchase, I could easily scratch up the £80 per month I'd need to pay for a basic 550D kit with stock lens.

Of course, I would then need to really get moving on the next project. Especially if I had a new camera to play with.

Decisions, decisions.