In turn, it's not very fun to say to the director that the last brilliant take was out of focus. It's just a different working method.

It's when actors move out of their marks that a puller comes into play. Good ones will compensate and they can do this because they can read the dial much better than the camera op.

You also have to consider the different roles that people play with a camera crew. There is just a lot to do.

- move equipment onto the set
- find power
- set power
- set lights
- lay track
- set camera
- check gate/lens
- white balance/check color
- block actors
- adjust lights /flag/dot/scrim/correct
- measure focus
- check DoF against stop
- load camera
- log film, tape
- match takes / lights
- don't blow any fuses
- check for flares
- rehearse / adjust
- etc.

And then you have to do 80% of that again to cover the same scene from a different angle.

I don't know about you, but I'm already having fun just being one cog in a four person team... ;)

And in my case I would be operator as well as DP.

As usual, Justin and I are posting at exactly the same time. I wrote a lengthy description of the camera operator's job--I don't think it's too redundant after Justin's post, so I'll go ahead and include it here.

Josh:

I can understand how it looks like these rigid union rules "forcing" one to use a gaggle of assistants to do the work for you seem like b.s. Actually, as an operator, you are free to do any of these tasks yourself, i.e. if you insist on pulling your own focus, you can do so. The reality is that in almost all circumstances, a good focus puller will outperform you and nailing shots is what it's all about--there's only so many retakes for focus allowed before you all get sent home.

For me at least, what is fun about being a camera operator is being able to participate in the design of the shots. On the series "Scrubs" that I work on (we are currently in hiatus between seasons), I have established a relationship with the DP that once the director has roughed out what he wants to happen in a given shot, I am then responsible for the execution of all matters camera-related while the DP lights the set. There are a series of steps involved, here is a sort of flow chart:

1) Determine if the camera should go on Steadicam, dolly or handheld

2) Discuss the choice of focal length, which means selecting a prime if needed or using a zoom ("Scrubs" being shot on Super 16mm, we generally use zooms)
a) If Steadicam, have the assistants mount the camera on the rig and order any special configurations
b) If dolly, discuss with the dolly grip whether to use dance floor or track, and determine the limits of the dolly travel in the shot to determine the positioning of same--also choose either the geared head or the fluid head, and anticipate dolly accessories such as risers or offsets that need to be added to allow the camera to get where it needs to go

3) Once the camera is configured, lay out the parameters of the shot using stand-ins. Often this means altering the marks laid for the original actors to allow for more interesting backgrounds or compositions. One must make judgements whether this will alter the blocking enough that a conference with the director and/or DP is appropriate.

4) When the shot design is complete, work with the gaffer and key grip to give them the framelines of the shot so they can work their gear up to the edges without getting into the picture
a) as the lighting process continues, alert the grip/electric team when flags etc. do infringe into the shot--on a multiple position move, this requires keeping a sharp eye out!
b) watch for flares, kicks and reflections of lights and stands, and help with ways to fix them (sometimes a subtle reposition of the camera will save precious minutes of flagging).

5) work with the art department to position set dressing (props, etc) to make the scene looked "lived in" or more interesting, or to block ugly things in the frame. On an exterior, this includes dressing "greens" (portable trees and shrubs).

6) Rehearse he shot with the focus puller and the dolly grip, adding refinements (is it more interesting to boom up at a certain point, would it be more dynamic if we made a little push in at another point)

7) Make sure that the setup will cut properly with the other shots in the scene, which sometimes involves discussions with the script person regarding direction of eyelines, blocking of the action, "crossing the line" issues (I could write an entire book on that subject)

8) Attempt to achieve as much of the preceding in the time available, which usually ends when set lighting is ready. Try not to have anyone wait on you being ready!

9) When the actors are called in and the rehearsal begins, watch closely to determine if they are doing anything different than the original rehearsals before the shot was laid out, and anticipate changes.

10) Do whatever fine-tuning is possible, again trying not to hold up the process. Much judgement is required here. Work with the actors on their body language and timing of their movements if needed to improve the flow fo the shot, and give them marks for off-camera eyelines.

11) "Picture's up"--time to roll the camera. Hopefully you've had enough opportunity to rehearse the move itself so that it's pretty useable from the first take. If not, continue to fine-tune the framing as the takes progress.

12) If the shot is not working physically and you have a solution, making a suggestion in the appropriate fashion to the director and/or DP. Sometimes requires subtly re-blocking, sometimes a radical change.

13) Continue to patrol the frame for "bogies" i.e. reflections, grip gear, boom shadows etc. The changes made in the previous step may open a can of worms, i.e. moving the camera two feet to the left would reveal all kinds of bogies that would take time to fix. Best not to suggest such a thing in that case! Anticipation is key.

14) Closely watch all elements of the action, including the background extras. In the film world, you have a much clearer view of the action through the eyepiece than the folks watching the monitors (this is reversed in the digital world), so you can see things they can't, and are thus responsible for everything in the frame being in the right place.

15) As discussed before, keep an eye on the focus and give the focus puller feedback if he misses anything, or if his choices of when to rack between two characters seem mis-timed. (Are you starting to see why pulling your own focus is just another duty to pile on top of an already large stack?!)

16) When the director has a take he is satisfied with, inform him if it is good technically. Sometimes they will call "Print! Great! Moving on!" and there is much celebrating, while there could have been a small problem with focus or the operating that they missed. Determining if it is enough of a concern to bring up is another acquired skill!


There is even more than that involved, but you get the point. And this is just working as a camera operator--if you are DP'ing as well, add on all the concerns of lighting, mentally planning the next few setups etc. Nevertheless, many feel that the operator position is the most fun job on the set!

However, on some shows the DP will do much of this work for you, handing the camera over just before we are about to roll, and you simply execute the move he has rehearsed (and very often, find things that he missed but there is no time to fix!) This is a much less desirable setup than the one described.

Martin--the union requirements state that there needs to be certain crew members present. There is nothing stopping the DP from operating the camera himself if he wants (and some do, usually the European DP's); the camera operator will go and sit on the truck all day. I've been there too, it sucks. The reason for the requirements is to protect our jobs from being eliminated, that is the job of the union. If the producers have an option not to hire an operator, they will eliminate the position entirely and force the DP to operate. As an operator who understands the benefit of the position, I am obviously not in favor of this!

I should point out that as I mentioned in item 14), in the digital world the operator has a lesser image to view than those watching the monitor, including the DP. This is an excellent reason to use an operator when working with a digital camera; the DP can keep an eye on the image much more effectively. Even though crews are smaller when shooting digitally, I personally feel it's more important than ever to use an operator for this reason.

I'm in awe.

I don't know if I should be envious, or in fear. Great write up Charles, you just made mine look like amateur hour.

Oh, and do you know where I misplaced my keys?

Holy cow Charles. We'll have to archive that one on the site. By the way it was great to see you today at ShowBiz Expo.

Justin--

armature hour? I didn't realize you did stop motion animation--!!

check between the sofa cushions for those keys...

Chris--

Nice to see you and Brooksie today also.

p.s. off subject, but topical--since I mentioned "Scrubs" here--a couple of people have phoned in to tell me that my mug is appearing on "Scrubs" promos airing on NBC this week, which means Tuesday's show is a rerun of an episode in which I made a tiny cameo appearance. If anyone catches it, I'm the befuddled labtech who pops up from behind a window and makes a goofy hands-up shrugging gesture. It was a spontaneous gag on-set that made the final cut, to my surprise--and somehow ended up in the promos, and even on a recent NBC blooper show. Not ready to switch careers yet, nonetheless.

Ow ow ow

Hah!

I said armature when I meant amateur. I fixed in the original post.

*Chris, when is that spellchecker going to be finished?*

See what happens when you're in a rush!

It was a long day for me, and will be a long night - almost done. I'm gathering all my stuff for a shoot. Just me and every stick of equipment I have - another reason to have those extra hands on set.

Tomorrow it'll be me (grip, focus puller, AC, best boy); the DP; a director, the screenwriter and a couple of actors.

Thank goodness this is only a test shoot.

You know, I thought I knew quite a bit, then I come on here and find out I'm like a retarded mutant camera-gimp. . .

. . . is that like a teenage mutant ninja-turtle?!

It's all good, Josh, there are parts of this forum that deal with topics that make realize I'm a rank armature--er, sorry, amateur. Like the computer/web/technical side of things. But I guess that's why we are all here, to try to fill in the gaps!

p.s. Justin, thanks for pointing out that we can edit our posts after the fact, that never occurred to me. I wrote that big old spiel in a hurry and didn't proofread it, so it was cool to go back and make some some little fixes. Good luck on your test shoot!

But I'm really rank. . .like you can smell the stench from like two houses down.

Don't feel bad, Josh. Charles and Justin have just given us a peek at the world of professional cinematography. Like most complex professional endeavors, the interior reality of film/video production is choked with far more specialties, collaborations and rituals (as process safeguards) than are visible to us outsiders. We see the final product and imagine that we might be able to reproduce that result with a decent prosumer camera, a concept and some time. Then we wonder why our results don't "look like film". Well, gee, we *only* skipped (Charles') steps 3-15!

Yes, but it still doesn't fit in with my plan of taking over the world with a DV camera and one-man crew.

stop...my brain is full
 

Wow, that was an education.

A few questions come to mind now that I know what a follow focus is.
I am assuming that you will need a good TFT for the focus puller? Any suggestions for a good, sharp TFT. My Varizoom is good but it's not the sharpest display out there I imagine, also the colors seem to be off some. Any Suggestions?

Also, any "affordable" follow focus set-ups available for the XL1. I've seen some out there on 16mm sites that go for well over 2 grand a pop! That's pricey territory.

Last question. Since I probably cannot afford a follow focus just yet, is upgrading to the black and white viewfinder for the XL1 worthwhile. Do you get a sharper/truer image than on the color viewfinder?

Gracias-

Ford Minton
DV gearwhore

Ford,
Regarding the b&w viewfinder...

Yes, it is far sharper and easier to use for critical focus than the XL1s' standard color lcd. Whether or not it's worth the investment is something only you can decide. I use the color viewfinder for casual outdoor shooting and the b&w for staged shooting.

Josh, yeah, I gave up on single handedly taking over the world with a DV cam a while ago. It's nice to work with talented and dedicated crew.

When pulling focus, you generally look at your focus dial and the subject(s) you're trying to focus on. On the white dial you mark your focus points relating to the actors marks with a grease pencil.

Watching a TFT monitor would be only good to check focus, but not to find focus. It's much easier to focus with specific marks. You don't need a TFT. Plus, when you do a dolly shot you can move the dial (being able to see the distance between 1st dolly (start) and 2nd dolly (stop) in relation to the position of the dolly. When the dolly is halfway to its second mark than you should be around half way between your marks on the dial.

When actors move around and the camera is on a jib and or on a dolly things can get complicated. A puller will be going back and forth on the dial. As Charles pointed out it's very "Zen" because good pullers will compensate for actor changes by knowing where to put the dial because they have already reference marks on the dial.

Here's a pic from a shoot I had yesterday.

http://www.monsterrocket.com/mini35/onset.jpg

The white disc by the lens is the focus system and is geared to the gears on the lens.

The "cord" extending from the dial is the "whip" that Charles mentioned. That allows the puller to rotate the dial without interfering with the camera as it moves.

Ken, and I'm nowhere near the pro that Charles is. Charles, I saw your appearance on the Scrubs teaser! Very goofy! I've got to see this weeks show to see where THAT fits in... well, almost anything goes on Scrubs.

How does a focus puller "mark" his settings, tape, china marker, are there tabs on the lense for this? I know you measure with a measuring tape, and tape marks on the ground for the talent etc, but what about onboard. Am just wondering how it all comes together?

thx-

Ford Minton
Dv Gearwhore

Usually the 1st AC marks his dial with an erasable marker or a sharpie depending on preference--the former can be easily wiped off, but that can be the problem (the sharpie comes off with Pantone or similar alcohol-based product). Sometimes they pull off the lens, and will use tiny triangles made out of tape to mark the lens directly.

What's interesting to watch is the type of shot where the actor is far away walking towards camera, shot on a long focal length. Here it is very difficult for the assistant to judge distance, so he/she will have their second assistant put tape marks along the way and mark the lens at those points--the 2nd assistant then walks parallel with with the actor (out of frame, of course) and calls out over a walkie as each mark is passed. It's up to the 1st AC to successfully dial in the correct speed between marks so that the inbetween focus is consistent.

Pulling focus is a skill learned after much, much practice. I have had the pleasure and honor of working with 20-year veterans of the craft, and have witnessed some truly astonishing focus pulls.

Actually, there are some unsung heroes in the camera world who are able to do just this AND operate the camera themselves--these are the cameramen for NFL films, who work from the sidelines with impossibly long lenses on 16mm handheld rigs, and manage to perfectly frame slow motion footage of a football coming straight at the camera, with the stitches as crisp and sharp as can be the whole way. I'm not even a football fan but I have watched when I come across their work on TV because I'm in awe of what they can pull off (so to speak).

Justin, baby! Checked out your still, looks cool--but no B&W viewfinder?! Must be brutal trying to judge focus with the 35mm system!

Charles, it comes down to B&W viewfinder and a dedicated "grip" van. Right now the budget doesn't work for both. As much as l'd like to have my cake and eat it to...

I due time I guess.

I have had good success with focus from the VF though.

Any experiences with Cavision's follow focus?
 

Does anyone have a Cavision follow focus?
(http://www.cavision.com/follow_focusing.htm)

I'm thinking about buying one. Thanks!

Follow Focus
 

OK Folks here's the deal. I am currently shooting with a Canon XL1s. I would love to find an inexpensive Matte Box, rods and a follow focus assembly that doesn't cost the same as the camera itself. I see there are a number of them available but at a premium. Any suggestions?

CAVision comes to mind. None are cheap.

I am also looking into getting a follow focus, along with a 4x4 matte box. I own the 14x lense. Im definately curious to hear from someone who owns one.

stephen

I did a search but there doesn't seem to be any threads on
the follow focus system but only on the mattebox. I hope
someone tunes in, otherwise you might be the first to really
test it out...

Stephen, I am selling a Cavision 4x4 mattebox in the classified section if you are interested. I am very satisfied with it, built very well, I just dont need it...

Chris

Chris, did you end up selling your cavision matte box? thx

yes, sorry, it has sold.

Follow Focus
 

Before even begining to think about following focus, you're going to need a manual lens with a witness marked, calibrated focus barrel that stops at both ends of the focus range. I have found it almost impossible to FF with any of the auto lenses as they are electronic as opposed to manual.

Chrosziel makes some very impressive camera accessories, not only for the prosumer market but for the professional market as well.

Stay Sharp..RB