old school special effects experiment

[AlexGfromUK]

Thanks!! thats two things you've told me now that I otherwise would probably not have found out about! I was thinking originally about having the camera completely stationary throughout the scene and the ship simply crossing the frame, but when I envisage it mentally, it does'nt seem like the most exciting way of shooting the sequence and seems very undynamic, so I may well end up making a nodal point cradle (which I did'nt know existed until you posted)

Thanks again,

AlexG.

[MovieStuff]

Hi, UKAlex!

Email me and I will send you a drawing on how to make one. Pretty easy.

[email protected]

Roger

[AlexGfromUK]

OK I'll get on that^^

My ship is almost ready for painting now! its getting really exciting, I've got a couple of micro bulbs set up inside it too.

[MovieStuff]

Depending on how big your ship is and how much depth of field you'll need, you may have a problem with small working lights showing up on your final shot. Remember, you will need to shoot at about f11 or more. K40 at f11 would require a REALLY intense bulb to show up at all. The best way to judge this is to take your bulb outside and look at it in the bright daylight on a cloudless day. If it shows up there, then it will probably show when shooting at a 60th of a second (24fps). At ILM and other places that used to shoot models such as the one you're building, they would shoot at reduced speeds, like around 2-6 fps or even time exposures per frame to burn in the small lights like the one you speak of. So, before you go to all the trouble of wiring up your model, make sure you can still see the chosen lights at f11. If not, better rethink your plan!

You could use some front projection material cut in small pieces and adhered where you want the lights. Then all you would need is a point light source near the camera lens and the front projection material will reflect back into the camera MUCHO bright. No wiring either!

Roger

[StopMoWorks]

"Originally posted by MovieStuff:
In super 8, you do have a depth of field advantage shooting with something like a 9mm lens or less. However, zoom lenses are typically not great close focusing items and you will really need to stop down. You might consider shooting outside on a cloudless, sunny day. Kind of odd, but you can't beat the sun for realistic lighting. The Lydecker brothers shot all their sunlit stuff outside during the 40's and 50's. Terrific miniatures. Always perfect looking and believable. Hope this helps!
Roger"
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Who is this Roger/Moviestuff fellow.... name sounds familiar.....lots of excitement around here, from this character!?
I have a couple of Super 8 cameras that are great for for special effects work. I orignally bought them in the mid '80's. I am considering using these cameras for my animation & fx experiments/demo, but will possibly combine some traditional in-camera effects with post production digital editing in the computer...transferring Super8 film to miniDV tape. BTW, the camera models are, Sankyo EM-60XL....low light, 220 deg shutter, zoom lens 7.5mm- 45mm, and in wide angle, tremendous depth of field, from zero to infinity! i'm not a regular ebay shopper but maybe some chance one day it'll show up there or maybe some super8 used equipment dealers may have them. There is another Sankyo EM-40XL but lens specs not as good.
Lionel

[AlexGfromUK]

Thats a really good Idea, but what exactly is front projection material and where can I get some?

P.S. thanks a lot for the excellent diagram!

[MovieStuff]

Hi, UK-Alex!

It's called "Scotchlite" and comes in two grades. One grade is for optical use in front projection set ups. The other is cheaper and is used in road signs so they "light up" when your car headlights hit them.

Check out:
http://www.3m.com/Scotchlite/

This stuff has a convenient adhesive backing for just the type of work you're doing.

In the past, they've had a policy of sending out a free 8.5x11 inch piece of either material. Haven't had to order any in years, so I don't know their current policy. I think they have a company in the UK as well.

Roger

[AlexGfromUK]

my model is close to being finished now and I'll be shooting pretty soon, its getting exciting!

[MovieStuff]

So what happened with the model shoot? How'd it turn out?

Roger

[AlexGfromUK]

I'm fiddling with the model prior to painting at the moment, it looks Okay, but not as good as I felt it would when it first started to take shape. I'm thinking of really undercranking it to about 4or5 fps because the crawler I built to take it across the front of the camera moves excrutiatingly slowly anyway, and would be perfect for doing that.

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