Sandpoint Filmmakers Network

Creating a community of filmmakers in Sandpoint

  • What
  • Who
  • How
  • Where
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Our Facebook Article Postings
  • Blog
  • SFN Workshops
  • Contact

Blade Runner – Lighting Exercise – Panasonic GH5

February 10, 2018 by Aric Spence


Awhile back (7/23/13), No Film School featured an article where a couple filmmakers attempted to recreate a shot from the original Blade Runner. Well, we took that attempt a bit further with the advice gleaned from the Cooke Optics “Deconstructing Cinematography – Blade Runner” featuring the DPs Geoff Boyle & Nic Knowland along with an ASC article and an interview that Ridley Scott did with Wired.

Since we had not seen anyone successfully reproduce the masterful eye-light that Jordan Cronenweth devised for Blade Runner, we decided to attempt it ourselves. After a lot of research, and much trial and error, we figured out how to accomplish the eye-light. Once we had the technique figured out, we demonstrated it by filming a corresponding scene from the movie.

Gallery of frame grabs showing our attempt vs. the original:




This shoot took quite a bit of preparation to pull off. First of all, we had a lot of trouble finding an actress that wanted to play the part of Rachael. Once we found the actress (Elaina DeJong) through MAM, it was a mad scramble to get all the costume and set pieces together in order to hopefully do a respectable job replicating the scene before our next monthly meeting.

Everything from crafting a Voight Kampff machine look alike, creating semi-matching chair backs, tweaking Rachael’s outfit to better match the original and an exhaustive effort to try and match the tie/shirt/blazer combo for Deckard, all went into the final week before the shoot. While we were not able to come up with exact matches for everything, we did come pretty close in style and texture.




A purse from a second-hand store was cut apart to get the collar and accent items for Rachael’s costume. We then tucked the actresses coat collar inward and let the modified donated shirt collar overlay the coat. After vising all of the second-hand stores in Sandpoint, Idaho trying to find a matching tie/shirt/coat combo for Deckard, we had to settle on a close match as we could not find anything quite like the originals within the time frame that we had. The style of Deckard is kind of a mis-matched collage, but somehow what he wears seems to fit the narrative. I did not want too dark of a coat because in the original scene it adds a bit of reflective light. Ultimately, we went with what looked and felt right on the actor to us at the time.

The Voight Kampff machine was created using many left over parts including a 1980’s era JVC Walkman-like cassette player, an old digital TV tuner unit, a small task lamp, a SmallHD DP4 monitor, a lot of black foam core and Gaff tape, a bellows from an old camera and many other misc. parts. The bellows movement for the close up shots was done using a stick attached to top of the bellows to create the breathing motion.

Since our group meets in a small theater space that shows movies in the evening, we were not able to do very much pre-shot preparation. The evening before, after the movie let out, consisted of folding up chairs to clear our would be set area and getting equipment staged for the next day. The day of the shoot was when everything else took place. Everything you see was shot in under 5 hours with roughly two hours of setup and take down.


Here are a few BTS photos that one of our members, Alan Barber, was kind enough to take during the shoot. **Photo credit for this group: Alan Barber**





 


Here is a rough lighting diagram that should help people understand how we set this up.


Camera and lighting equipment used for our shoot:
Panasonic GH5 – 4K DCI, 10 bit 4.2.2, exported at FHD with 2.39 to 1 overlay.
Panasonic DMW-XLR1 XLR Microphone Adapter
135mm f/2.5 Takumar lens (vintage)
50mm f/1.4 Takumar lens (vintage)
Metabones Speedbooster XL 0.64x EF to Micro 4/3
2 – Sennheiser G3 Wireless lav microphones
1 – 650 Watt Fresnel light – Lowel Fren-L (main light)
2 – 150 watt Dedolights with imagers (eye and rim light)
1 – 2×3 Styrofoam bounce
1 – 2×3 Black flag


Here is the original scene from Blade Runner which ours corresponds to:


Final thoughts:
Here are a few things I wish I had done differently.

  1. Use a brighter back light. Possibly 2 – 650 watt lights focused onto one area on the side of Rachael’s face would have done a better job matching the originals blown out face exposure.
  2. Use a cookie to break up the light beam on the medium shot of Rachael so we would have seen streaks to more match the original.
  3. Positioned the Styrofoam bounce vertical instead of horizontal which might have helped the light falloff a little quicker on the shots of Rachael.
  4. Positioned the black flag a little closer to Deckard to create a harder shadow line.
  5. There are a lot of other things I could nit pick, but overall, I am happy with the final result.

Special thanks to the actors Rob Lindner and Elaina DeJong.
We really had a lot of fun working on this project, and we hope you all enjoyed it!

**The Blade Runner images used in this article are for education purposes only and Copyright is held by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The original screenplay was written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. The original film was directed by Ridley Scott with the Cinematography done by Jordan Cronenweth.**

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Sandpoint Tagged With: Blade Runner, Eye-light, Filmmakers, Idaho, Lighting Exercise, Sandpoint, Sandpoint Filmmakers Network

Co-Op Grain Elevator – Sandpoint, Idaho

February 22, 2015 by Aric Spence

I recently had the honor of being able to film inside the Co-Op Grain Elevator. The project started as a simple short and has expanded a bit from what I had initially had in mind. You see there are much more to grain elevators than one might think at first glance. Read on to find out more…

Co-Op Grain Elevator - Sandpoint, IdahoFrom the outside, they look like there must be several levels or floors to the structure, but that is actually not the case. The grain bins are several stories tall and there are no levels to speak of except for two near the very top where a rotatable chute would allow the operator to choose which bin the grain being elevated was to go. You can only access the top by climbing roughly 80 feet up a wooden ladder.

Co-Op Grain Elevator - Sandpoint, IdahoThe first level you reach is the right below the top level and since the windows were boarded up, there is no light to speak of, save for the battery powered lights I brought with me. This level is where the tops of the multistory bins are located. An operator would have accessed this level to service the chutes and take inventory of how much grain was in each bin. This is also the level that contains the metal chute that was used for directing grain to the awaiting train cars on the east side of the elevator.

Co-Op Grain Elevator - Sandpoint, Idaho

Next, it is up another wooden ladder to the top. The reward for overcoming my initial fear, which hit me at ground level by the way, was literally a birds eye view of Sandpoint from the tallest building in town. It is hard to describe my elation of finally being above the Panhandle State Bank Building, or whatever it is now called. SIMPLY AMAZING!

Co-Op Grain Elevator - Sandpoint, Idaho

I still have a lot exterior filming left to do, but just thought I would share some initial visuals of the grain elevator short film project. The Co-Op Grain Elevator in Sandpoint is without a doubt one of the few historic gems our town still has left. Remembering and honoring where we came from is so important to navigating our future. Thanks for reading.

Want to be part of projects like this in the future? Sign up to become a member of Sandpoint Filmmakers Network and join nearly 30 other creatives who have an interest in helping each other make films.

Feel free to leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Filmmaking Tagged With: Co-Op Grain Elevator, Filmmaking, Grain Elevator, History, Idaho, Sandpoint

Dancing Duck Man & Andorra – Festival at Sandpoint 2014

August 17, 2014 by Aric Spence 2 Comments

Dancing Duck Man and AndorraIn my ongoing efforts to film more, I have been looking for every opportunity to get out and capture local footage. Last Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure of filming the Dancing Duck Man and Andorra his blue 9+ foot alien companion at the Festival at Sandpoint “Family Concert”.

I have known Jerry Luther for more than thirty years, I first met him when I was around ten years old when he was selling “Hooey Sticks”, back when the Cedar Street Bridge was filled to the brim with artists and crafts people and the draft horse powered carriage would give people a tour of town every hour. Downtown Sandpoint was really a very special place back then. Perhaps in a future outing, I can film Jerry to do the “Hooey Man” pitch complete with bumpy propeller stick and all.

It was so much fun to finally be able to get some video of the Dancing Duck Man. It is quite magical to witness first-hand how the kids react to his ACT. To start it off, I got some decent interview footage, except for background noise from the “Instrument Petting Zoo” that disrupted some of the audio, oh well. Not to worry, the real magic is in the performance.

Dancing Duck Man and Andorra - Kids WatchingThe Dancing Duck Man and Andorra started off by wowing the kids in line who were waiting for the gates to open. There is something truly special about seeing children interacting with a live performer. I think the experience is even more important these days with all the electronic static that seems to fill every moment of most children and adults time.

After greeting the entire line we took a short break then headed out again to dance our way through the festival’s pre-concert activities. What fun! I even found myself laughing out loud while editing the video clips that were captured. Speaking of, here is the resulting completed video from that day. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it. More thoughts below the video…

Filming with a DSLR Camera
One thing I love about the small form factor of DSLR cameras is that most people think you are just taking photos. The smaller size seems to help people be more at ease and natural than if I had a huge and intimidating video camera. I shot nearly all of the footage from the height perspective of a child trying to always be in a position to capture special moments as they unfolded. As with all outings, I learned a ton and will put the lessons learned into bettering my next filming opportunites.

Here are four things that may help others using a DSLR camera for live performances.

  1. Use a tripod with a fluid video head. Some of my footage has movement, but nothing close to the shaky-cam type of footage I would have gotten without a tripod.
  2. This goes without saying, but use manual focus. There is nothing worse than a computer hunting for focus and trying to decide what you want to focus on. I also find that having a focus handle attached to my lens to be a wonderful tool for this type of shooting.
  3. Pick the f-stop you think works best for what you are trying to capture and use a variable ND filter to dial in exposure when the lighting conditions change.
  4. If you shoot with a Canon camera, check out Magic Lantern’s free firmware tool. I could not do this type of video footage without it. Magic Lantern does focus peaking, spot metering and Magic Zoom among a multitude of other video centered features that Canon really should have included in their cameras from the start.

For the camera gear geeks…
Camera Used: Canon 60D with Magic Lantern firmware tools
Lens Used: Vintage, all manual Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens with M42 to EOS adapter
In-camera Custom Picture Style: CineLook by VisionColor
Tripod and Head: Aluminum tripod with a Manfrotto 701HDV fluid head

What is next in cue?
Two items I still have to edit are the Chautauqua that came through Sandpoint and the Sandpoint Fly-in which I shot last weekend. Not sure when I will have time to do them, but they will be posted in the blog when they are complete.

Want to be part of future projects like this or perhaps you just want to get more familiar with the video capabilities of your DSLR or mirrorless camera? Join the no-cost Sandpoint Filmmakers Network and become part of a pool of local resources for making films in Sandpoint.

Feel free to comment below, just be sure to solve the SPAM prevention math problem before submitting your reply.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, News, Sandpoint Tagged With: Dancing Duck Man, Feastival at Sandpoint, Filmmaking, Idaho, Sandpoint

Sandpoint, Idaho – Classic Boat Festival 2014

July 14, 2014 by Aric Spence 2 Comments

Wooden Boat Flag & Duck FamilyLet me start off by saying that I am not a morning person, but the opportunity to film lots of classic wooden boats in the glow of morning sunlight was irresistible for me.

As part of the Sandpoint Filmmakers Network, I have set out to do more filming and thus more learning. All of the footage used in this video was captured between 5-8am on July 12, 2014. I started at the Windbag Marina to catch the sunrise and then worked my way back to the public boardwalk where the boat show location was.

If you did not have a chance to check out the classic boat festival this year, or if were there in the heat of the day when the crowds of people are there as well, perhaps you will appreciate the footage that was captured early that morning while some of you were still sleeping. Enjoy!

Want to be part of future projects like this or perhaps you just want to get more familiar with the video capabilities of your DSLR or mirrorless camera? Join the no-cost Sandpoint Filmmakers Network and become part of a pool of local resources for making films in Sandpoint.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, Sandpoint Tagged With: Classic Boat Festival, Idaho, Sandpoint, Wooden Boat Show

Sandpoint Filmmakers Network Launched

July 7, 2014 by Aric Spence

Sandpoint Filmmakers Network
Join the Network
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2014

Sandpoint Filmmakers Network Launched
A unique network that creates a pool of resources for local filmmakers

Sandpoint, Idaho: Today Sandpoint Filmmakers Network was launched expanding the ways that filmmakers in Sandpoint can connect with one another. For purposes of the network, the definition of filmmaker is “anyone who captures moving pictures on any kind of video or film camera, for any purpose, whether personal or commercial, formal or informal.”Regular monthly meetings will take place in Sandpoint and thereis no membership fee. All levels of interest and experience are encouraged to join at: www.sandpointfilmmakers.net

On why this network was started, organizer and life-long resident Aric Spence said, “The network concept provides an easy way for local filmmaking enthusiasts to get acquainted and possibly form teams for local projects. This resource will provide a robust community for partnering, sharing, learning, practicing and executing moviemaking skills.”

The network is not a project, a film festival or school, but a resource pool connecting the entire filmmaking community.If you would like to be involved in any aspect of making films – operating a camera, writing, acting, post-production or support – or even if you just want to practice using the video features of your DSLR camera – you are welcome. More details can be found at: www.sandpointfilmmakers.net

About Sandpoint Filmmakers Network: Sandpoint Filmmakers Network (SFN) is based in Sandpoint, Idaho. Founded in 2014, SFN is making it easier for filmmakers to share knowledge and skills while practicing various aspects of filmmaking.

Filed Under: Filmmaking, News Tagged With: Filmmaking, Idaho, Sandpoint

Join the Network.

Become part of the pool of local resources that will help filmmakers share knowledge and skills while practicing various aspects of filmmaking. All levels of interest and expertise are encouraged to join.
After all... this is a community!

Join Here

Need more information? Check out the What, Who, How and Where pages.

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© Copyright 2023 Sandpoint Filmmakers Network · Questions?: Contact Us · Website by: Spence Design