This week’s comments
Here are this week’s winners in no particular order:
1. Michael Taylor on When Gravity Meets a $5,000 Lens
A couple of years after shifting from twenty years of single-camera work to the strange little world of multi-camera sit-coms, I watched a burly assistant remove a very expensive Panaflex — complete with a big zoom lens and freshly-loaded 2000 ft 35mm mag — from the dolly to mount on a high hat. The dolly grip offered to help, but the assistant shook him off. Big mistake, that — the guy lost his balance and he dropped the the camera to the stage floor, lens, mag, and all. The mag broke off, and god knows how much invisible damage the camera/lens incurred. The rest of the crew got real quiet as the now-thoroughly mortified assistant picked up the pieces… but he didn’t get fired. He had enough experience and a good enough reputation to survive — and a very understanding boss. I think (read: hope…) he learned a lesson, though.
Shit happens, on set and off. We all screw up from time to time — it’s human nature to make mistakes.
It was ugly, though. I can still see that camera going down in my mind’s eye…
2. Simon Olney on Are You Making Friends On Set?
For me the journey is as important as the finished product, the sense of community you share with a group of people on a feature set is what you remember, and sometimes is the only thing that keeps you going.
3. FB on How to Clean Lenses Without Damaging the Glass
- NEVER use the cleaning cloth that comes with eye/sunglasses: it contains silicon and can damage the lens by removing the coatings from the glass.
- Check the lens cap before putting it back on. Sometimes it contains even more dust than the amount you cleaned off the lens, though it’s nothing a quick dust-off burst can’t blow away.
4. Scott Mohrman on How to Clean Lenses Without Damaging the Glass
If you have to use a liquid cleaner, be careful not to leave spots and streaks on the lens. Cheap lens cleaner will leave streaks. Be careful not to rub to hard on the front of the lens. Most lenses have an anti-flare coating that could come off if you rub too hard.
5. Teddysmith on 5 Rules to Help You Dress for Success On Film Sets
I just finished a very big budget commercial as an operator. My 1st AC ended up being a girl literally just out of film school. I made a point to repeatedly let everyone know that Day 2 would be in a swamp in Deep South Louisiana and it would be a very good idea to have some rubber boats you can at least stash in the camera truck.
Well not only was I the only guy with rubber boots but the film school 1st AC showed up in matching pink hat, wool sweater, and SLIPPERS! Later in the day my DP asked “Why the **** is your AC dressed like that?!” All I could do is shrug my shoulders and head back out into the two feet deep swamp water I was asked to work out of.
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