The Technical Specs

[WARNING: Unless you are a film nerd, skip over this post. It will have absolutely no relevance whatsoever]

As I mentioned in my first ever post, I am shooting this on a DVX100a. For those who don't know, the DVX-100a is a digital video camera that records in a format called 24P. All that really matters is that this format looks like film, as opposed to the "smoother" look of normal video. In addition to this I am using a Micro35 adapter (M2) This adapter lets me use normal 35MM SLR lenses to get the same Depth of Field (DOP) as larger 35mm motion picture cameras do.

Lighting-wise, I am pretty well stocked. I have 2 Lowel DP lights with both 1K and 500 watt bulbs. These will be my set light as well as my key on the actors. I have 2 Lowel Pro Lights with 250 and 125 watt bulbs. When put on a dimmer the Pro lights are great for adding a subtle rim light to the actors, which helps separate them from the background. I also have a Tota light for general light wherever it is needed. These are handy raising the base light level of a room, just point it at the ceiling! Those are my basic lights, but I also have a few smaller stick-up's for whatever I need.

We will be using a Rowe Cine Dolly as well as a 5.5 foot crane from Kessler Crane . These will allow us to move the camera freely, but at the same time keep the degree of repeatability that narrative work requires. For handheld shots, I will be mounting the camera to a Fig Rig, which is essentially a steering wheel that you can mount you camera to. It sounds funny in principle, but it works great!

In the audio department, I will be mostly using a Sennheizer shotgun mic on a boompole. For traveling shots where both myself and the AC (Geoff) must be operating the camera, I will hook a wireless lav mic to whichever actor has more dialog. For most all of the shoot, I will be within 15 feet of the actors so the wireless shouldn't be a problem. There are 2 scenes that take place outside, but I'm not too concerned about it... yet.

Lets see, Video? Check! Lighting? Check! Grip gear? Check! Audio? Double check! Ok, that's it for the technical specs. If anyone has any questions about anything relating to this stuff, please leave a comment. I'd love to talk about this stuff with someone who cares!