Notes for all (please read)

Note to All:
(1) Art Team set up the art (Gaffer take note: this includes changing light bulbs, adjusting curtains, anything that affects the light, please supervise.)
(2) I’d like to do blocking with Jack after that (could be a rehearsal with stand-ins). Camera Assist, Gaffer, Sound person to observe. Others free, be the stand-ins.
(3) Blocking good, camera team brings in the camera and tests with the blocking.
(4) Camera good, lighting team sets up the lights
(5) Sound team checks where to put the boom mic without negatively affecting the light, soundproofs the area, etc.
(6) AD or producer checks that everyone is happy and lets director know that we’re ready to shoot.


Click here for the equipment list
Click here for the rough crew list

Note (1) to Sadik: Equipment justification
-External recorder (Shogun), no longer a monitor- it’s a 2-in-1 monitor and recorder. That gives us higher quality footage. Especially since Ansen’s film has VFX, we need ProRes 422 codec to support that.
-Autopoles, using them to raise up black cloth and/or hang lightweight lights.
-Micro dolly to do indoor dolly shots, but our priority is to get the standard dolly.
-Ladder, we’re changing light bulbs on the ceiling.
-Easy Up, for sheltering the camera & equipment, if we have outdoor scenes.

Note (2) to Sadik: Equipment to ask Shukor about,
-Jib.

Note to Prof. Sebastian & producers: Jia Hui’s shoot requires another set of equipment. To be confirmed.

Note to Cliff (Camera team 2IC):
(1)  I’ll probably be borrowing Yimin’s EasyRig if we have to do handheld shots?
(2)  I’ll bring my own camera screwdriver (the red one that’s found attached to the ADM Magliner)- CA1 pls take care of it. Deciding not to get a magliner as we’re shooting indoors in 1-2 location(s) only.

Note to Kayue (Lighting & grip team IC):
(1)  I will provide 27x tennis balls, already cut open, to be placed on the C-stand legs when we are using them indoors.
(2)  Be warned that the Dedolight stands (thin black light stands) are not 100% reliable, some knobs may not tighten properly.
(3)  Bring your own gloves and wooden clothespegs.
(4)  A challenge in the day is to maintain continuous lighting, especially for tighter shots.  I prefer using large sources, could be a light bounced on a wall, or into a silk if there’s no wall to bounce on. Generally, large sources will both look natural and allow the actors to do their movements quite freely.

Note to Jia Hui (Art team IC) & gaffer:
As mentioned, Jack wants to invest more in production design than in other areas like equipment rental.
Currently we are planning to use tungsten lighting at night (colour temp around 3200K); that’s what Jack wants. This means using the hot Arri tungsten lights & maybe Kino flos with tungsten tubes, and also replacing all the bulbs in the house (story locations) with tungsten/ halogen bulbs, bought off the shelf (by Sadik? Or will this task be delegated to JH or an art assist?)
As seen in the reference photos, the existing ‘house lights’ are mostly white paper lanterns, seemingly of Ikea origin.
These sort of lighting fixtures are soft but according to cinematographer Roger Deakins, not what he’d use nowadays. Likewise, I’ll rely more on the school lights than on the paper ball lanterns. The lanterns are still useful for motivating whatever tungsten-balanced lights that we’ll use at night. >> For specific examples, I’ll post here.<<

We are also planning to use natural lighting in the day.
But this light has to be both continuous and consistent throughout the sequence of takes.
For JH, that means the curtains will be open (like in the photos).
For Kayue,
(A)  that means we may have to add ‘negative fill’ (I guess, 4×4 or 8×8 black cloth) on one side of the actors – but only when it looks convincing. Maintaining that aspect of convincing-ness, I leave it to you.
So if I ask for negative fill on that day, both JH and you will know that a 4×4 or 8×8 cloth will be coming in.
(B)  also in daytime, can we stick to the 575W and Kinos with daylight tubes? Don’t really want to CTB & diffuse tungsten lights, to reduce the hassle for everyone 🙂

Anything to add, comment below/ Whatsapp me. Thanks.

Author: Ken Ng

:)

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