The Survival of the Camera Assistant through Digital Evolution

Camera Assisting 12 Comments

Baby Monkey in a BasketCreative Commons License photo credit: Mohd Khomaini Mohd Sidik

If I asked you to define the responsibilities of a camera assistant (AC), would you list “pulling focus” in your top three?

I bet you would. You’d be crazy not to!

No other task you do is so blatantly noticeable to everyone else on set. The camera operator sees it through the eyepiece as well as those at video village every take. In post-production, the editor watches subjects go sharp or soft.

But as digital cinema cameras continue to evolve, will pulling focus become an obsolete skill? At what point do the cameras start doing it for you? And if that’s the case, what are you — as a camera assistant — left to do?

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Be a Faster AC #7: Make One Trip for Battery Swaps

Camera Assisting 5 Comments

Make One Trip on a Battery Swap

From our ongoing exploration of ways to become a faster and more efficient camera assistant, today’s tip is:

7. Make One Trip When Swapping Batteries

Swapping batteries on a camera (or other gear) is a common occurrence between shots and doing it well is essential to an efficient shooting pace. Yet despite that fact, many camera assistants still waste time with this exchange.

On more than few occasions, I’ve called for a fresh battery from a 2nd assistant camera (AC) only to have them run to the charger, grab a charged battery, place it in my hands, then I give them the dead battery, they bring it back to the charger, and finally come back to set.

Seems a little redudant, no?

The better (and faster) way to do this is to take the dead battery from the camera, go to the charger, start charging the dead one, grab a fresh brick, then bring it back to the camera.

In this case, you are only making one trip instead of two.

If you want to be even faster – and I know you do — check for fresh batteries during downtime on set and keep them in a ditty bag near the camera.

The workflow would then go like this: 1st AC calls for new battery, you hand them a fresh one from the ditty bag, take the dead one to the charger, grab any batteries that are fully charged while there, and then head back to set.

That’s still only one trip — more than enough to get done what you need to.

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The Hidden Cost of RED Epic and Digital Cinema

Cameras 34 Comments

The Hidden Cost of RED Epic and Digital CinemaCreative Commons License photo credit: epSos.de

Since its release, the RED Epic has been pumping out tons of test footage, chart samples and eye candy on Vimeo. It has also been busy shooting well-known features like the Spiderman reboot and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.

But while the camera stands to improve on its predecessor, the RED one, in both technology and price, there is a cost hidden within the complex circuitry and 5K sensor of the camera.

This isn’t the cost of time or quality — it equates to real money — so if you’re stretching your budget thin already, you might want to pay attention.

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Get Your Free RED Epic Pocket Guide Download!

Cameras 4 Comments

Get Your Free RED Epic Pocket Guide Download

It’s here. It’s red. It’s epic.

When the RED Epic starts going into mass production next month, will you be ready?

Get a head start and grab a copy of the RED Epic Pocket Guide.

You’ll get the most essential information about the RED Epic on one sheet of paper that can fold up and fit in your jean pockets.

The guide features everything you’ve come to expect from the The Black and Blue pocket guides: a beautiful design, important information on one page, and a mobile-formatted version for your smartphone.

Your download is absolutely free, so if you like it, do me a favor and hit the “Like” or “Tweet” button over there on the left and tell your friends.

Check out the RED Epic Pocket Guide here.

7 Last-Minute Checks Before You Roll Camera

Camera Assisting 8 Comments

Focus Puller 1st Camera Assistant Last Minute ChecksCreative Commons License photo credit: John Brawley

Camera assistants don’t know any speed slower than “fast.” We rush to move the camera, change the lens, add the filters, get monitor up, ninja our way on set for focus marks, and by the time all that’s done, everyone else has caught up ready to roll camera.

In that haste, it’s easy to let something slip or for changes to be made without you noticing. While not always malicious, these small changes can have a big effect on a quality take and force everyone else to reset and go again.

Not necessarily the ideal outcome for the invisible camera assistant.

Instead, keep the pace up and right before you get ready to punch that little button on the side of the camera, do these 7 last-minute checks.

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Get the Updated (V1.1) RED One Pocket Guide

Cameras, Website 0 Comments

Do you want to use the RED One with ease without feeling overwhelmed?

Right now is the perfect time to download a copy of the RED One Pocket Guide to help you use the camera — as of today it’s been updated!

The main content of the pocket guide experienced minimal change, but there is now a mobile formatted version of the RED One Pocket Guide optimized for smart phones. And that alone should be worth the download.

Get your 100% free copy of the RED One Pocket Guide here.

It’s Alive! Keeping Your Batteries from Dying

Camera Assisting 8 Comments

Electrical Power Plug for Cinema Battery and BatteriesCreative Commons License photo credit: _maddin_

Imagine you’re on a shoot with only enough battery power to last you the standard 12 hour day. You’re diligent about charging the batteries, you don’t use any excessive power, and you haven’t had any issues the past couple of days when you’ve wrapped early.

But one scene is taking forever to shoot and soon you’re an hour behind schedule. Another scene goes by and another hour. Before you know it, you’re looking at a 15 – 16 hour day of shooting.

You’re also looking at the battery power you have left and the situation is grim — at this point, you’re close to running on empty. What do you do?

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