As a camera assistant in the UK film industry, I loved this episode. We had an old boy 1st AD recently who would ask if it was a good gate after every set up even tho we were shooting digital. We'd just respond "Yeah, good gate"
I'm a Camera Assist too, and have done digital gate checks on Jobs (Just quick playback on the last take to make sure file isn't corrupted or anything before we moved on). It didn't achieve much, but helped the pace of set not move too fast that things were missed
I think some ADs still say it as a "hey camera department, we all good on the technical side?" before they call moving on. Kind of courteous actually compared to the rush rush rush ADs.
“We have so much to learn from the past: the trick is to keep it awake, keep it alive.” Amen. This is why I primarily shoot film as a photographer. Today’s modern digital cameras are amazing and can do so much, but our older tools and processes are still worth using, still worth learning from. Thank you for sharing the story about your Dad. ❤️
could not agree more, speaking as someone who 1, didn't grow up with film being the primary medium (born in the early 2000s), and, 2 as someone who loves the ancient processes, such as wet plate and dry plate (that's not to say I don't shoot standard roll film, I have a Leica m2 loaded with tri-x with me at all times of the day). Digital is great for professional jobs, but shooting, developing, and printing in the darkroom can not be beaten! i for one will be shooting film until either I die, or the last roll of film drops from the conveyor belt!
Amen brother! As a seasoned engineer I often advise new engineers to look to the past for inspiration when resolving issues. I find that the further we progress from "original technology" the easier it is to forget or not even be aware of the fundamentals. Those fundamentals have not gone away. They have just been layered upon. There will come a time in their career when it becomes critical to understand some of those fundamentals in-order-to solve a problem because the root cause is one of those fundamental technologies has gone haywire. Cheers to you for reminding everyone that; lighting still matters, color balance still matters, ISO still matters when it comes to going for "perfect" rather than "okay".
I’m a DP and your explanation of that neutral density viewing filter was pretty good. I still use one when I shoot film. Modern film like vision 3 has incredible dynamic range, but it’s still helpful for me to visualize the hot spots and the dark spots over all.
@@adambelanger Actually A gaffers glass is similar but different. It's a stronger filter so you can look at bright lights for things like checking the angle of of a big light or check for when the sun will emerge from clouds.
13:33 As an archaeologist, I cannot stress enough how pleased I am to hear this from a fellow technology enthusiast! - I have never understood why people just forget about old technologies (and other aspects of culture) and dismiss them as irrelevant!
Back in the 90's the high school I went to had about 10 of these Spectra spot meters in photo class. That was about 20 years ago, and they looked like they were at least 25 years old. It always blew me away that they worked without having to use batteries, even then. 35mm was super fun to work with. I still get nostalgic for real film, and the film process. Thanks for sharing your cool stuff and cool stories Adam.
I went to film school and worked in the industry for a number of years. I’m young enough that I’ve never worked with a film camera, which is strange now that I think about it, since I’ve worked in film most of my career. However, many of the DPs I’ve worked with over the years use analog light meters. Even the younger ones. They’re just fantastic pieces of technology that give you so much information.
More of this, please. I'm a photographer. I shot film back in the 1980s, and worked as a teaching assistant in my darkroom in college. I spent $280 for my Sekonic flash meter and proudly spent $3,000 or so for the Speedotron strobe units so that I would always have enough light to shoot. The quest for more dynamic range by film companies is a chase that started ever since the first image, that was basically two tones. Trying to get more detail in the shadow areas was a PITA, but it makes sense when you understand that the less light an object reflects, the less the silver halides would react, and the less detail. Now we use software to boost the dark areas of images and to get rid of the noise generated by amplifying the signals. Its mind blowing to me. And yeah, every time I pick up my phone to take a photo, I'm blown away by the sensitivity to light that was unthinkable to me just ten years ago. More recently, I bought my second drone. I now look at my cell phone to see an image transmitted by my drone which can be up to 400 feet above me. The transmitted signal is *only* HD, but the color and contrast area already adjusted in the live image I see. We photographers live in a very cool time.
And then came along Jack Cardiff, who pushed the Technicolor techs (who always accompanied the cameras) out of the way, and stopped trying to light the shadows. Then we got Black Narcisuss. For years I had a complete Kodak Cine II kit complete with a "funny" smelling case. All the lenses, all the extras, in cherry condition. One owner before me..a production designer and set painter who worked for most of the major studios from the 40's to the 70's. He even added a brass plate with his name on it. I loved the thing, and was always amazed at it's tank like build. You go to pick it up, and it feels like it's bolted to the table. How companies could manufacture these gorillas for consumers like us and ship them while weighing a ton each and make a profit will always amaze me. I hope the new owner, a physicist from San Jose, has a blast with it. If his back doesn't go out.
The difficulty of some shots form the past would be lost on current filmmakers. Just in 2005, I remember being over the moon at my rushes coming back in school. I had pulled off a menacing shot of a character in a dark alley. He was deep in the shadows and, when he takes a draw on his cigarette, his face was lit just enough to identify who it was. I handheld and dimmed up/down a 300W lamp to do that.
Yes!!! I literally clapped and almost cried when I saw the light meter. I started out as a kid doing b&w film photography and videography. Teaching my kids using digital has been such a wildly different experience, I never thought tech would advance so far so quickly that I would be using the phrase “back in my day” as much as do. I’m in my 40’s now and all of that just feels like a million years ago.
Young filmmaker here (working mostly in lighting and gaffing) and I loved this! I've had my hands on a few "modern" light meters, which Adam would be very intrigued to look at I think, with just how much information they can gather. From lights temperature, to hue, exposure, I mean the high end ones will tell you so so much detail. This really is amazing to see an analog one, and makes me consider finding one haha. Worked in film since I was a teen, but never actually shot anything on film, but would absolutely love to someday.
@@idrinkmilk282 While I agree that talent is non-existent, the guy just said he does lighting and gaffing, not that he's gonna be the next big Hollywood director. Besides, being a filmmaker isn't about "making it," it's about making films/movies. No matter what part of the chain you practice. No matter your level of skill in the craft.
Being a computer engineer and working with all new cool tech, even doing research, it was hard for me to express why I loved film photography. I love the human-gear interaction, there's something rewarding in using a complex process and getting the results. Engineering solutions of the past are still clever solution to a problem. And multiple solution can coexist at the same time. Please continue to bring past know-how to us.
I was avid for photography in the mid 1970s. In high school photography class we would run around with light meters for the press cameras and twin lens reflex cameras. Of course we developed and printed the photographs. Film photography was quite visceral in a way the digital cameras aren't. I have memories of going into the darkroom and rolling exposed film onto a reel, hoping that you got everything in just right. Making sure the chemical temps were spot on. You never knew how your shoot went until you looked at the negatives. I'm fully digital today, but passed my film gear to my son who is loving the film experience. I still believe there is a special quality to medium and large format black and white photography. Something that isn't quite duplicated by today's digital filters. I don't know whether the current trend back to film is just a fad, or whether people are discovering the joy of film photography. I hope that film finds a permanent place in the future of photography.
I'm 19 and I've grown up shooting digital only. Actually made video production into my full time job. Recently I have gotten really interested in Medium format photography. I don't think it's a fad. At least for me, I truly enjoy shooting film more than digital. Something about a limited number of shots, no instant previews, and the thought of 'wonder if that's gonna turn out alright?' Then when it does, it's 100x more rewarding.
@@penningtonproductionsvideo Congratulations on your job in video production! That's exciting. It sounds like you found the magic of film, the challenge of film, and the joy of film. You are right about it being so very rewarding (and frustrating at the same time). All the best in your photography and video journey.
I still use some of my old cinematography gear. I have a monochrome ND viewing filter that is a dark yellow in color and turns the scene into shades of light. It is helpful to just see what the light is doing and not get distracted by colors in the set. DP's who light off the monitor are in for a surprise when they have to prelight a set without their camera and monitors with them.
I'm a big devotee of film photography. I shot the first Marvel coffee table book using a 4x5 camera-- WHICH I had to jackass all over the country with the (original) author. I had to bring everything I could afford (bless the memory of Spirotone!) in order to cover all bases-- making large format cover copies and product shots-- from table top down to Liberty Badges. I have lamented that I had to reason to try to a movie camera. So I am living through you, Adam.
I love old technology. Only this morning I was at the local flea market where I bought a 1958 Zeiss Icon 35mm camera. It is a thing of beauty and operates like a Swiss watch, not a microchip in sight. I am sure your dad was like a concert conductor with his equipment swinging them in tune to his work because he knew his "gear" inside out. Hang on to those memories Adam.
That last little bit of wisdom was enlightened. So are so many fascinating technologies that we deem "irrelevant" now, but should not be forgotten. I remember learning about old Naval firing calculators; mechanical computers that coalesced multiple mathematical formula into physical form, and it's was mind blowing and gave me great insight into engineering solutions that I could apply to my own projects. There's so much to learn from old solutions to old problems.
I started out learning photography with a Weston light meter. Calculating exposure and deciding on the proper aperture and shutter speed versus the required depth of field and motion of the subject was photography to me. About 10 years ago I spotted a large box of light meters for sale on eBay. I bid $20 plus shipping and was rewarded with and assortment of 16 different high quality light meters. I rarely use light meters anymore but these meters used to cost about weeks pay back in 1970 and now they are $1.60 each. Crazy.
Speaking of the gear, and flying airplanes, one of the things I enjoy about being able to fly is the appreciation of what came before. I have the old mechanical E6B flight computer, several of them, and new pilots seem to deride the “whiz wheel” pointing out that the fore flight app on their iPad can do all that and more. To which an instructor said “yes but can it do this?” Before throwing it at a wall, walking over and picking it up to continue. To me there is poetry in motion watching numbers swirl and answers reveal themselves before your eyes, almost like watching magic and calculus in real time.
I'm so happy I actually had the opportunity to work with film for a brief period in the late 90s at university. I appreciate all the modern tech today even more .
Good point you made at the end, people often think that old tech is obsolescent tech, but the reality is, the old tech is integrated, so their separate physical devices are made redundant, NOT obsolete. Old tech integrated, a lot of it did not actually disappear. Back then, you had to make sure things were right in order to save film (and a lot of time and money). And with that, a lot expertise and craftmanship was used, which is now moving on to digital filtering. The cinematographic vision is still inside the person's head, but the technology to 'extract' it has moved more towards digital. The downside of that is still, that it just doesn't have the same feel to it, but it'll get there with time.
This is why the DP and lighting have always had my respect. Having to learn lighting and cameras in a studio setting made it even more so. I understand the fundamentals but I was never good at doing that. Editing is really where I excelled.
I remember seeing a program about Raiders of the Lost ark, and the DP, Douglas Slocombe had one of those ND eye filters, that he used all the time, and he lit the entire film by eye. Pretty amazing when you look at it. The guy had spent a lot of years shooting commercials on 35mm film.
I used to work at Technicolour London. In the Negative assembly department Night shifts were when we put together all the rushes to be printed and sent back to the film makers. Seeing your vid brought this all back. The colour graders were the guys that made sure the exposure and colours were correct. That was another whole department... lots of skills no longer required. I went on to have a career in film editing and sound. Tracklaying on 35mm or 16mm brown stuff with no waveforms to view.. 16 or 20 reels of foley, atmos, music, dialogue whizzing around on big machines and huge mixing desks. Those were great times. No I can do all that on a computer. Still love the process.
I used to work as a theatre manager, the exhibition side of the film industry was a very interesting example of old/new tech. And adapting stuff from all over the spectrum. From using motors designed for old washing machines to drive the platters that held the assembled films, to using lamp housings and rectifiers that were 20 to 50 years old providing the 2000 +/- watts of light for a cutting edge digital projector. The classic Adige is very true... "Just because it's old, doesn't mean it isn't any good."
Yes!!! These are so cool. Thank you for sharing. I'm a photographer shooting mostly film. I absolutely love the formats and the old way of doing things.
I love this. I started my career in commercial film in the early days of the transition to digital. It's been incredibly fun seeing things transform as I was coming up and now it's astonishing how amazing every modern camera system is. It has nigh impossible to buy a bad camera these days.
OMG, I totally forgot about "Check the gate" We used to say "Chicken in the gate" when we found a hair! As a trained Zone System B&W photographer, this video really hit home. Thanks for the nostalgia! I just went to Ebay and repurchased "my" Gossen Luna Pro light meter. Who knows where my actual one sent 35 years ago.
Adam… as a pilot, photographer and engineer… please allow me to say this simply. It’s just a mental balance of science and art. “We have so much to learn from technology and engineering. Keep it alive” ….. ‘in an art form!’. You decide the art form. (Whoever you are and whatever that means to you.) both go hand in hand and feed/grow grow from one another.
OMG Adam I love this video. I love collecting typewriters, and cameras (both still cameras and movie cameras.). I have had a long life of photography and videography. With my partner and a friend we have been doing tin types for the last few years when we can. Still working on getting the process correct every time. These videos have warmed my heart. Have a lovely day!
Beautifly stated Adam, and timely for me. Have recently been getting back in touch with my photographic past, and love of equipment. My first 35mm camera was a Yashica Electro 35. The first commercially available rangefinder, with a built in light meter. Very innovative for the time Still pretty expensive for me at 14. Found a rare working model, and fell in love all over Bought a few more on eBay for parts, and now have 6 working.
I loved your comment about not throwing away old knowledge. I work in commercial AV; and got my professional start in live sound. I have lost count of how many theaters (pre-1920's) that were ruined by the addition of a PA system, but the acoustics in the room are such that most people can stand on stage and the room acoustics will direct the sound to the audience. Many of the cathedrals in Europe are designed such that if you stand in the right spot facing the intended direction everyone in the building can hear you; turn your head to the side and those a few feet from you have trouble hearing you. When PA systems came to theaters; the architects of those old theaters didn't pass on that information. We are now having to relearn these centuries of passed down knowledge because people didn't think it was important anymore. Similar things are\have occurred in Naval architecture and Aviation.
Back in the 1980's, my college journalism class was one of the last to use 35mm film cameras and paper layout and paste-up techniques. I was the photo lab assistant and developed film for the other students. All this technology was already obsolete at the time it was being taught as newspapers and magazines were even then switching to digital publishing.
You reminded me of when I visited the Udvar-Hazy Center years ago and walked up to the small display case containing Frank Tallman’s cameras. Just about all of the movies and TV shows involving Aviation that made such an impact on me growing up were in that display case. Most everyone walks by them but to me they are one of the most important collections they have.
When I was younger, I shot on film a handful of times (it was wonderful), just with the inherent knowledge I learned from using a handheld meter and my Nikon FM2. After THIRTY years using the camera, someone told me, “Hey, you know the FM2 has a light meter built in.” I never installed the mercury battery that came with the camera, and I still feel dumb about that.
I loved your banter about old film cameras and your dad’s gear. I recently got a vintage film camera and have some film stored in my refrigerator. This was good motivation to go shoot a roll sometime soon.
I feel like Adam Savage and Alec from Technology Connections should do a crossover/collab discussing older camera gear. Watching the two of them nerd out together would be great.
There's a special thing about these old technologies. I have always been fascinated about film and movie production, though I have never worked in the business myself. But learning how things worked, what is needed to make film and everything is very fascinating. I want to learn EVERYTHING about how a filmcamera works!
Same here! I'm just old enough to remember going to the store with my mom to drop off or pick up film from the 1-hour photo. And I remember getting our first digital camera. Recently, I've been getting into learning about the equipment and process. I have my dad and grandad's old SLR cameras and picked up a few more. More recently, I got some super 8 and 16mm cameras and have ran some film through those. And now I'm projecting 16mm films. Old technology is all very fascinating.
I completely agree that we should not overlook old technology! Much of what we still use today is sill compatible (to some degree) with devices that are over 100 years old. For example: I have a camera of my great-grandfather's that was made in the 1890's and the threaded mount on the camera fits a modern camera stand. Also, my Dad has a candle stick phone of his great-great-uncle's and it can still receive calls on today's landline network. Can't call out, but still receive.
Candlestick phone? Edit: I looked it up and I feel dumb now not knowing what you meant. That's a really cool piece of memorabilia to hold on to for sure, in my humble opinion anyway. Thanks
At the end, with Adam talking about how old tech isn't necessarily worse or dead compared to new tech just made me think of the chorus of the song All Out Life by Slipknot, "Old does not mean dead. New does not mean best." I know Slipknot wasn't necessarily referring to cameras and airplanes when they wrote that song, but that's a line that has stuck with me so much ever since I first heard it and apply it to way more than I ever thought I would.
I still like to pull out my old Pentax k-1000 and shoot black and white film. I still use my old light meter. I still love the fun and old school photography.
I love tech that works without batteries! Just very fine-tuned pieces of metal and wires, like a small hand-crank emergency radio. I feel like those kinds of things are gonna be really important someday...
Having just closed up my Zeiss Contaflex IV that I had opened up to CLA the Synchro-Compur shutter, I find this video of Adam gushing over film and the technical difficulties of using it very much to my taste
I learned to use a Spectra meter at The Magic Lantern, a small production company in Pittsburgh. Thank God I was a writer, though, because I was pretty tough on equipment. I dented the dome of one of our two Spectras at least twice, and each time Bob, the owner, had to buy a new one. Even worse, I once lost the package of those metal slides that Adam mentioned. The problem was those slides were calibrated for each, individual meter, so we couldn't use the slides from one Spectra on the other. Bob had to send the Spectra back to the factory to have a new set of slides made at ruinous cost. Amazingly, I didn't get fired.
I was fortunate, although I didn’t think so at the time, that I started SLR photography with a Honeywell Pentex WITHOUT a meter. This forced me to understand lighting, exposure, depth of field and source etc. Things I use to this day.
3:12 ; Oh, I humbly realize… I’m 56, and mostly did (do) stills. I also worked with “portable” analog SD video in the late 80’s, and that tech was, eh, cumbersome for different reasons than film. We sacrificed so much quality (from film), but could obviously review shots on set, and it was “cheap” - memories… Today I’m a lagger using a Pentax K-1 DSLR, a brand no one uses, and clearly with a mirror and mechanical shutter. It’s a fantastic tool, for a not so fantastic photographer… Greetings from 🇳🇴
Having lately shot the latest Sony series of cameras with their auto variable NDs filters it is mind boggling when I think back to even roughly 10-15ish years ago to the start widespread digital filmmaking (aka the DSLR revolution). For a bigger shoot on a set I still use a handheld lightmeter cause it is a great way to communicate in a singular set of terms (F/T stops). But being able to set my iris, my sensitivity and then just point a camera and it decides (95% of the time right) how to set an ND filter that is in the camera and not a delicate piece of glass that needs stacking in a mattebox is insane to think about. Same for autofocus having come as far as it has. We shouldn´t loose these techniques (lightmeters, manuely setting critical focus with a tape measure and pulling focus etc etc) but having these new tools is closing a gap between idea and vision and performance in acting and the camera capturing it - I am honestly all for that.
The thing at the beginning is a gaffer's glass. It's mostly used to look directly at the center of a light so the gaffer/dp can make sure it's correctly aimed. You can still buy them.
There were several filters that were mounted that way for wearing on set. Some were “contrast viewing “ filters and some were just heavy NDs for looking at lights. The most useful one to me was amber, which removed the colors so you could judge how a black and white scene would look.
I always remind myself when watching movies and TV shows shot on film that the DP managed to properly expose the film. Even a bad movie usually has proper exposure, and really good movies will even craft that exposure to enhance the story being told. For me, with my limited experience shooting on actual film, that is something that just always seems a little bit like magic.
Just this year I purchased my first interchangeable lens camera, learning how to do the things manually with my camera that the phone in my pocket does automatically has been a fun but challenging experience. A wonderful video today Tested crew!
All technological advances depend and build on earlier technologies. If we forget the predecessors of what we have now, I believe it is to our detriment. Thanks, Adam for sharing this.
I realy could not agree more! the new fancy automatic digital cameras are amazing, but we can't forget how to do it manually. it might be limiting not being able to shoot at iso 80,000,000 or something, but as the old saying goes: Freedom is the enemy of creativity, limitations are its saviour!
I loved using a light meter! back in the day, it was the only way to adjust the camera settings correctly. The neutral density eye piece on a chain was important as well. Most of my broadcast cameras had a filter wheel inside with ND1, ND2, 3200, and 5600 filters... Fun times!
My dad's foray into camera gear was a nikon camera and a film motor with a flash bar. Click the picture was taken then the high pitch whine of the flash recharging, it was enough for me at 8 or 9 to steer clear of that kind of socery. Lol.
Yes. The technology of the past has a beauty and craftsmanship to it (most of it, that is--I'm not one to romanticize) that is hard to find, or else prohibitively expensive. I love that you love the gear, and that you have the wherewithal to keep and maintain it. That Arriflex is a thing of great beauty; likewise the Spectra. Fun and fascinating video. Thanks, Adam!
With DSLR's we have histograms. Shoot in manual mode and learn how to adjust your exposure to get the optimal histogram to get the best image quality possible.
Like others I shoot film, black and white mainly. Last year I bought my first light meter, until then I was using an app on my phone. The app is okay but the meter is much better. Mine is made by Gossen and weighs 40 grams or 1.4oz which is great as it adds virtually no weight at all to my street photography setup. This series on the Arriflex and the gear around it is right up my street! I now have the urge to add another light meter to my portraiture setup.
Love your engagement talking about gear. Since this light meter was something you recognised from your childhood as a tool of your father’s. Do you feel connected to him when looking at or using it or other tools he used?
The usage of all those tools and how they were developed is the roadmap to our knowledge , if we loose that by not keeping history and historical items, then we loose century's of man hours that it took to get us here . Saying by the Great Gearhead GizmoArg
My grandfather was a movie projector operator. That was long before ww2,. The projector was run by hand. When his girlfriend was in the cinema he would run the movie faster so he could go out earlier with his gf
The changing bag. The assistant camera person or on smaller shoots a PA would put both hands in a light proof bag to load the film magazine BY FEEL. A right of passage is somebody would sneak up on the poor sob and tape their hands, making them a prisoner of the bag, and then everybody would walk away, usually to lunch.
When I was young and playing in bands, I was all about the philosophy. That was because I couldn't afford gear. Partly because I had no money and also gear was really expensive. Now I am more of a gear head because I have some money and because the relative cost has come down.
man, I need to get my hands on one of those analog light-driven light meters... I have an entry level digital Sekonic that is more than enough really for my own needs. But I have always been fascinated with getting the analog version that doesn't even need a battery. Also, I thought the eye-piece filter went away as black and white cinematography went out of style. Or maybe I am jumbling them up with filters that were used to gauge film exposure for non-panchromatic black and white film.
As an amateur filmmaker and software developer, I think it's a mistake for people to just rely on the modern technology to do all the things for them. Don't get me wrong, the engineering and software on modern cameras is astounding and that practically everyone has the equivalent of a film studio in their pocket is mind blowing. But knowing what's going on and how the different settings of aperture, iso and shutter angle affects the image opens up an entire toolbox of creativity, and that shouldn't be overlooked. There's also still a taste for the look of analogue film, and the slower workflow can actually be a breath of fresh air. With digital it's easy to do a Kubrickian number of takes since digital storage is virtually free in comparison to film. However that then means you have to spend an age editing down and it means you're not particularly deliberate with your shots. Whilst with film the cost and time before you can even see the results makes this prohibitive. Instead you have to rehearse everything more and try to get it down in only a couple of shots. It's a different method of working which can be quite interesting to do. But that's not to say the modern ways are bad. They're beyond amazing, and the amount of content on RUclips et al is testament for what it's enabled.
I still use a Sekonic 858L and a gaffers glass to this day. I dont want to rely on a camera man and a screen to know where I'm at. Also no cameraman doing walk throughs and scouts. DSLR maybe but again, you get a better Understanding with a light meter and sun seeker app.
Technology doesn't always move forward & you sometimes have to relearn from the past. We have to do a lot of 3D graphics & machine vision in software again because GPU production stopped in 2020. There aren't always going to be digital cameras. It takes a lot of people & knowledge to make a digital camera & they're not always going to be around.
Modern cameras do everything. Having access to experiment and manipulate the image afforded artistic expression but now is all done on the computer. So nothing is lost
Many years ago, my wife and I toured the parks near Moab, Utah. When we approached a parking area in the Canyonlands State Park, we were stopped by a ranger. He said a crew was shooting a film and we would have to wait till they were done. He mentioned that sometimes the Canyonlands park was used as a substitute for the Grand Canyon because of the “red tape” needed to get permission to shoot in federal parks. Sometime later, the ranger asked me to move my truck because the camera director said the reflection from my red truck was causing a problem with his shot.
There’s an hour long documentary about adapting an f0.7 lens from an x-ray machine. It can shoot video like full daylight from a single candle. Edit: f0.7 lens by _Media Division_ Link: ruclips.net/video/2p5E7iXxeQE/видео.html
when i was young, i remember tv and radio repair shops. you could buy some pretty nice refurbished things and that was my goto store for tech back then. couldnt afford a brand new VHS or 14" tube tv. that was a fortune. now, you often buy a new, even though the old one is working perfectly fine. and forget about selling the old, no one wants it. so more e-waste....
As a camera assistant in the UK film industry, I loved this episode. We had an old boy 1st AD recently who would ask if it was a good gate after every set up even tho we were shooting digital. We'd just respond "Yeah, good gate"
I still ask if we're "at speed" some things just stick around. Lol.
@@dotChuckles same
I'm a Camera Assist too, and have done digital gate checks on Jobs (Just quick playback on the last take to make sure file isn't corrupted or anything before we moved on). It didn't achieve much, but helped the pace of set not move too fast that things were missed
I think some ADs still say it as a "hey camera department, we all good on the technical side?" before they call moving on. Kind of courteous actually compared to the rush rush rush ADs.
@@adambelanger Yeah you could be right actually when you word it like that, Makes me appreciate his approach
“We have so much to learn from the past: the trick is to keep it awake, keep it alive.”
Amen. This is why I primarily shoot film as a photographer. Today’s modern digital cameras are amazing and can do so much, but our older tools and processes are still worth using, still worth learning from. Thank you for sharing the story about your Dad. ❤️
could not agree more, speaking as someone who 1, didn't grow up with film being the primary medium (born in the early 2000s), and, 2 as someone who loves the ancient processes, such as wet plate and dry plate (that's not to say I don't shoot standard roll film, I have a Leica m2 loaded with tri-x with me at all times of the day). Digital is great for professional jobs, but shooting, developing, and printing in the darkroom can not be beaten! i for one will be shooting film until either I die, or the last roll of film drops from the conveyor belt!
Amen brother! As a seasoned engineer I often advise new engineers to look to the past for inspiration when resolving issues. I find that the further we progress from "original technology" the easier it is to forget or not even be aware of the fundamentals. Those fundamentals have not gone away. They have just been layered upon. There will come a time in their career when it becomes critical to understand some of those fundamentals in-order-to solve a problem because the root cause is one of those fundamental technologies has gone haywire. Cheers to you for reminding everyone that; lighting still matters, color balance still matters, ISO still matters when it comes to going for "perfect" rather than "okay".
I’m a DP and your explanation of that neutral density viewing filter was pretty good. I still use one when I shoot film. Modern film like vision 3 has incredible dynamic range, but it’s still helpful for me to visualize the hot spots and the dark spots over all.
I guessed that it was an ND filter by the description. :)
Can you still buy these and any advice on where to look? Thanks in advanced I'm new to shooting film
@@pudzeypayaso1317 the one I use is on B an H and it’s variable. It’s called Cavision 9-Stop Density Adjustable Viewing Filter
@@pudzeypayaso1317 Filmtools sells them as well. Often called Gaffer's Glass.
@@adambelanger Actually A gaffers glass is similar but different. It's a stronger filter so you can look at bright lights for things like checking the angle of of a big light or check for when the sun will emerge from clouds.
13:33 As an archaeologist, I cannot stress enough how pleased I am to hear this from a fellow technology enthusiast! - I have never understood why people just forget about old technologies (and other aspects of culture) and dismiss them as irrelevant!
Referring to “We’ll make a mistake if we think that are past engineering solutions can no longer help us move into the future”
I wish I kept just one CRT TV and a VCR
@@BryanYurasits (raspberries to you) We've got both.
To be cynical ----'no money in it'. Hey look at this shiny thing over-here --that's where the money is!!
Back in the 90's the high school I went to had about 10 of these Spectra spot meters in photo class. That was about 20 years ago, and they looked like they were at least 25 years old. It always blew me away that they worked without having to use batteries, even then. 35mm was super fun to work with. I still get nostalgic for real film, and the film process. Thanks for sharing your cool stuff and cool stories Adam.
I went to film school and worked in the industry for a number of years. I’m young enough that I’ve never worked with a film camera, which is strange now that I think about it, since I’ve worked in film most of my career.
However, many of the DPs I’ve worked with over the years use analog light meters. Even the younger ones. They’re just fantastic pieces of technology that give you so much information.
More of this, please.
I'm a photographer.
I shot film back in the 1980s, and worked as a teaching assistant in my darkroom in college. I spent $280 for my Sekonic flash meter and proudly spent $3,000 or so for the Speedotron strobe units so that I would always have enough light to shoot.
The quest for more dynamic range by film companies is a chase that started ever since the first image, that was basically two tones. Trying to get more detail in the shadow areas was a PITA, but it makes sense when you understand that the less light an object reflects, the less the silver halides would react, and the less detail.
Now we use software to boost the dark areas of images and to get rid of the noise generated by amplifying the signals. Its mind blowing to me.
And yeah, every time I pick up my phone to take a photo, I'm blown away by the sensitivity to light that was unthinkable to me just ten years ago.
More recently, I bought my second drone. I now look at my cell phone to see an image transmitted by my drone which can be up to 400 feet above me. The transmitted signal is *only* HD, but the color and contrast area already adjusted in the live image I see.
We photographers live in a very cool time.
And then came along Jack Cardiff, who pushed the Technicolor techs (who always accompanied the cameras) out of the way, and stopped trying to light the shadows. Then we got Black Narcisuss. For years I had a complete Kodak Cine II kit complete with a "funny" smelling case. All the lenses, all the extras, in cherry condition. One owner before me..a production designer and set painter who worked for most of the major studios from the 40's to the 70's. He even added a brass plate with his name on it. I loved the thing, and was always amazed at it's tank like build. You go to pick it up, and it feels like it's bolted to the table. How companies could manufacture these gorillas for consumers like us and ship them while weighing a ton each and make a profit will always amaze me. I hope the new owner, a physicist from San Jose, has a blast with it. If his back doesn't go out.
The difficulty of some shots form the past would be lost on current filmmakers. Just in 2005, I remember being over the moon at my rushes coming back in school. I had pulled off a menacing shot of a character in a dark alley. He was deep in the shadows and, when he takes a draw on his cigarette, his face was lit just enough to identify who it was. I handheld and dimmed up/down a 300W lamp to do that.
Yes!!! I literally clapped and almost cried when I saw the light meter. I started out as a kid doing b&w film photography and videography.
Teaching my kids using digital has been such a wildly different experience, I never thought tech would advance so far so quickly that I would be using the phrase “back in my day” as much as do.
I’m in my 40’s now and all of that just feels like a million years ago.
Young filmmaker here (working mostly in lighting and gaffing) and I loved this! I've had my hands on a few "modern" light meters, which Adam would be very intrigued to look at I think, with just how much information they can gather. From lights temperature, to hue, exposure, I mean the high end ones will tell you so so much detail. This really is amazing to see an analog one, and makes me consider finding one haha. Worked in film since I was a teen, but never actually shot anything on film, but would absolutely love to someday.
@@idrinkmilk282 While I agree that talent is non-existent, the guy just said he does lighting and gaffing, not that he's gonna be the next big Hollywood director.
Besides, being a filmmaker isn't about "making it," it's about making films/movies. No matter what part of the chain you practice. No matter your level of skill in the craft.
Being a computer engineer and working with all new cool tech, even doing research, it was hard for me to express why I loved film photography. I love the human-gear interaction, there's something rewarding in using a complex process and getting the results. Engineering solutions of the past are still clever solution to a problem. And multiple solution can coexist at the same time. Please continue to bring past know-how to us.
I was avid for photography in the mid 1970s. In high school photography class we would run around with light meters for the press cameras and twin lens reflex cameras. Of course we developed and printed the photographs. Film photography was quite visceral in a way the digital cameras aren't. I have memories of going into the darkroom and rolling exposed film onto a reel, hoping that you got everything in just right. Making sure the chemical temps were spot on. You never knew how your shoot went until you looked at the negatives.
I'm fully digital today, but passed my film gear to my son who is loving the film experience. I still believe there is a special quality to medium and large format black and white photography. Something that isn't quite duplicated by today's digital filters. I don't know whether the current trend back to film is just a fad, or whether people are discovering the joy of film photography. I hope that film finds a permanent place in the future of photography.
I'm 19 and I've grown up shooting digital only. Actually made video production into my full time job. Recently I have gotten really interested in Medium format photography. I don't think it's a fad. At least for me, I truly enjoy shooting film more than digital. Something about a limited number of shots, no instant previews, and the thought of 'wonder if that's gonna turn out alright?' Then when it does, it's 100x more rewarding.
@@penningtonproductionsvideo Congratulations on your job in video production! That's exciting. It sounds like you found the magic of film, the challenge of film, and the joy of film. You are right about it being so very rewarding (and frustrating at the same time). All the best in your photography and video journey.
I still use some of my old cinematography gear. I have a monochrome ND viewing filter that is a dark yellow in color and turns the scene into shades of light. It is helpful to just see what the light is doing and not get distracted by colors in the set. DP's who light off the monitor are in for a surprise when they have to prelight a set without their camera and monitors with them.
Yes keep doing vintage camera equipment! Perhaps some more in-depth videos on the 35mm stills cameras for you NASA suits etc.
He is always tinkering. Beautiful mind.
I'm a big devotee of film photography. I shot the first Marvel coffee table book using a 4x5 camera-- WHICH I had to jackass all over the country with the (original) author. I had to bring everything I could afford (bless the memory of Spirotone!) in order to cover all bases-- making large format cover copies and product shots-- from table top down to Liberty Badges.
I have lamented that I had to reason to try to a movie camera. So I am living through you, Adam.
I love old technology. Only this morning I was at the local flea market where I bought a 1958 Zeiss Icon 35mm camera. It is a thing of beauty and operates like a Swiss watch, not a microchip in sight. I am sure your dad was like a concert conductor with his equipment swinging them in tune to his work because he knew his "gear" inside out. Hang on to those memories Adam.
That last little bit of wisdom was enlightened. So are so many fascinating technologies that we deem "irrelevant" now, but should not be forgotten. I remember learning about old Naval firing calculators; mechanical computers that coalesced multiple mathematical formula into physical form, and it's was mind blowing and gave me great insight into engineering solutions that I could apply to my own projects. There's so much to learn from old solutions to old problems.
I started out learning photography with a Weston light meter. Calculating exposure and deciding on the proper aperture and shutter speed versus the required depth of field and motion of the subject was photography to me. About 10 years ago I spotted a large box of light meters for sale on eBay. I bid $20 plus shipping and was rewarded with and assortment of 16 different high quality light meters. I rarely use light meters anymore but these meters used to cost about weeks pay back in 1970 and now they are $1.60 each. Crazy.
Speaking of the gear, and flying airplanes, one of the things I enjoy about being able to fly is the appreciation of what came before. I have the old mechanical E6B flight computer, several of them, and new pilots seem to deride the “whiz wheel” pointing out that the fore flight app on their iPad can do all that and more. To which an instructor said “yes but can it do this?” Before throwing it at a wall, walking over and picking it up to continue.
To me there is poetry in motion watching numbers swirl and answers reveal themselves before your eyes, almost like watching magic and calculus in real time.
I'm so happy I actually had the opportunity to work with film for a brief period in the late 90s at university. I appreciate all the modern tech today even more .
Good point you made at the end, people often think that old tech is obsolescent tech, but the reality is, the old tech is integrated, so their separate physical devices are made redundant, NOT obsolete.
Old tech integrated, a lot of it did not actually disappear.
Back then, you had to make sure things were right in order to save film (and a lot of time and money).
And with that, a lot expertise and craftmanship was used, which is now moving on to digital filtering.
The cinematographic vision is still inside the person's head, but the technology to 'extract' it has moved more towards digital.
The downside of that is still, that it just doesn't have the same feel to it, but it'll get there with time.
This is why the DP and lighting have always had my respect. Having to learn lighting and cameras in a studio setting made it even more so. I understand the fundamentals but I was never good at doing that. Editing is really where I excelled.
I remember seeing a program about Raiders of the Lost ark, and the DP, Douglas Slocombe had one of those ND eye filters, that he used all the time, and he lit the entire film by eye. Pretty amazing when you look at it. The guy had spent a lot of years shooting commercials on 35mm film.
I used to work at Technicolour London.
In the Negative assembly department
Night shifts were when we put together all the rushes to be printed and sent back to the film makers.
Seeing your vid brought this all back.
The colour graders were the guys that made sure the exposure and colours were correct. That was another whole department... lots of skills no longer required.
I went on to have a career in film editing and sound.
Tracklaying on 35mm or 16mm brown stuff with no waveforms to view.. 16 or 20 reels of foley, atmos, music, dialogue whizzing around on big machines and huge mixing desks.
Those were great times.
No I can do all that on a computer.
Still love the process.
I used to work as a theatre manager, the exhibition side of the film industry was a very interesting example of old/new tech. And adapting stuff from all over the spectrum. From using motors designed for old washing machines to drive the platters that held the assembled films, to using lamp housings and rectifiers that were 20 to 50 years old providing the 2000 +/- watts of light for a cutting edge digital projector. The classic Adige is very true... "Just because it's old, doesn't mean it isn't any good."
Nice. I love the mechanical beauty and perfection of old film equipment. Thanks, Adam!✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦
Yes!!! These are so cool. Thank you for sharing. I'm a photographer shooting mostly film. I absolutely love the formats and the old way of doing things.
I love this. I started my career in commercial film in the early days of the transition to digital. It's been incredibly fun seeing things transform as I was coming up and now it's astonishing how amazing every modern camera system is. It has nigh impossible to buy a bad camera these days.
I found one of those vintage light meters in the trash recently, thanks for sharing and showing me how it functions
OMG, I totally forgot about "Check the gate" We used to say "Chicken in the gate" when we found a hair! As a trained Zone System B&W photographer, this video really hit home. Thanks for the nostalgia! I just went to Ebay and repurchased "my" Gossen Luna Pro light meter. Who knows where my actual one sent 35 years ago.
Adam… as a pilot, photographer and engineer… please allow me to say this simply. It’s just a mental balance of science and art.
“We have so much to learn from technology and engineering. Keep it alive” ….. ‘in an art form!’. You decide the art form. (Whoever you are and whatever that means to you.) both go hand in hand and feed/grow grow from one another.
OMG Adam I love this video. I love collecting typewriters, and cameras (both still cameras and movie cameras.). I have had a long life of photography and videography. With my partner and a friend we have been doing tin types for the last few years when we can. Still working on getting the process correct every time. These videos have warmed my heart. Have a lovely day!
I was a photographer in the Navy during the 70s. We used 16mm Bell and Howell ,with a clock work spring you had to wind up. No batteries.
Beautifly stated Adam, and timely for me. Have recently been getting back in touch with my photographic past, and love of equipment. My first 35mm camera was a Yashica Electro 35. The first commercially available rangefinder, with a built in light meter. Very innovative for the time
Still pretty expensive for me at 14. Found a rare working model, and fell in love all over Bought a few more on eBay for parts, and now have 6 working.
I loved your comment about not throwing away old knowledge.
I work in commercial AV; and got my professional start in live sound. I have lost count of how many theaters (pre-1920's) that were ruined by the addition of a PA system, but the acoustics in the room are such that most people can stand on stage and the room acoustics will direct the sound to the audience. Many of the cathedrals in Europe are designed such that if you stand in the right spot facing the intended direction everyone in the building can hear you; turn your head to the side and those a few feet from you have trouble hearing you. When PA systems came to theaters; the architects of those old theaters didn't pass on that information. We are now having to relearn these centuries of passed down knowledge because people didn't think it was important anymore.
Similar things are\have occurred in Naval architecture and Aviation.
Back in the 1980's, my college journalism class was one of the last to use 35mm film cameras and paper layout and paste-up techniques. I was the photo lab assistant and developed film for the other students. All this technology was already obsolete at the time it was being taught as newspapers and magazines were even then switching to digital publishing.
Thank you for that reminder! Same, same...
You reminded me of when I visited the Udvar-Hazy Center years ago and walked up to the small display case containing Frank Tallman’s cameras. Just about all of the movies and TV shows involving Aviation that made such an impact on me growing up were in that display case. Most everyone walks by them but to me they are one of the most important collections they have.
When I was younger, I shot on film a handful of times (it was wonderful), just with the inherent knowledge I learned from using a handheld meter and my Nikon FM2. After THIRTY years using the camera, someone told me, “Hey, you know the FM2 has a light meter built in.” I never installed the mercury battery that came with the camera, and I still feel dumb about that.
I laugh as I can relate, shouldn't feel dumb it probably made you better photographer all around. 😉
I loved your banter about old film cameras and your dad’s gear. I recently got a vintage film camera and have some film stored in my refrigerator. This was good motivation to go shoot a roll sometime soon.
I feel like Adam Savage and Alec from Technology Connections should do a crossover/collab discussing older camera gear. Watching the two of them nerd out together would be great.
OMG! Absolutely!
I just realized how even the lighting is in Adam's huge shop!
There's a special thing about these old technologies. I have always been fascinated about film and movie production, though I have never worked in the business myself. But learning how things worked, what is needed to make film and everything is very fascinating.
I want to learn EVERYTHING about how a filmcamera works!
Same here!
I'm just old enough to remember going to the store with my mom to drop off or pick up film from the 1-hour photo. And I remember getting our first digital camera.
Recently, I've been getting into learning about the equipment and process.
I have my dad and grandad's old SLR cameras and picked up a few more. More recently, I got some super 8 and 16mm cameras and have ran some film through those. And now I'm projecting 16mm films. Old technology is all very fascinating.
I completely agree that we should not overlook old technology! Much of what we still use today is sill compatible (to some degree) with devices that are over 100 years old. For example: I have a camera of my great-grandfather's that was made in the 1890's and the threaded mount on the camera fits a modern camera stand. Also, my Dad has a candle stick phone of his great-great-uncle's and it can still receive calls on today's landline network. Can't call out, but still receive.
Candlestick phone? Edit: I looked it up and I feel dumb now not knowing what you meant. That's a really cool piece of memorabilia to hold on to for sure, in my humble opinion anyway. Thanks
At the end, with Adam talking about how old tech isn't necessarily worse or dead compared to new tech just made me think of the chorus of the song All Out Life by Slipknot, "Old does not mean dead. New does not mean best." I know Slipknot wasn't necessarily referring to cameras and airplanes when they wrote that song, but that's a line that has stuck with me so much ever since I first heard it and apply it to way more than I ever thought I would.
I still like to pull out my old Pentax k-1000 and shoot black and white film. I still use my old light meter. I still love the fun and old school photography.
I love tech that works without batteries! Just very fine-tuned pieces of metal and wires, like a small hand-crank emergency radio. I feel like those kinds of things are gonna be really important someday...
Having just closed up my Zeiss Contaflex IV that I had opened up to CLA the Synchro-Compur shutter, I find this video of Adam gushing over film and the technical difficulties of using it very much to my taste
I learned to use a Spectra meter at The Magic Lantern, a small production company in Pittsburgh. Thank God I was a writer, though, because I was pretty tough on equipment. I dented the dome of one of our two Spectras at least twice, and each time Bob, the owner, had to buy a new one. Even worse, I once lost the package of those metal slides that Adam mentioned. The problem was those slides were calibrated for each, individual meter, so we couldn't use the slides from one Spectra on the other. Bob had to send the Spectra back to the factory to have a new set of slides made at ruinous cost. Amazingly, I didn't get fired.
I was fortunate, although I didn’t think so at the time, that I started SLR photography with a Honeywell Pentex WITHOUT a meter. This forced me to understand lighting, exposure, depth of field and source etc. Things I use to this day.
Wow, i remember one of these in my Fathers Workroom (im 35).
An awesome Flashback.
Thanks you.
Adam, you are the best storyteller alive.
3:12 ; Oh, I humbly realize… I’m 56, and mostly did (do) stills. I also worked with “portable” analog SD video in the late 80’s, and that tech was, eh, cumbersome for different reasons than film. We sacrificed so much quality (from film), but could obviously review shots on set, and it was “cheap” - memories… Today I’m a lagger using a Pentax K-1 DSLR, a brand no one uses, and clearly with a mirror and mechanical shutter. It’s a fantastic tool, for a not so fantastic photographer… Greetings from 🇳🇴
Having lately shot the latest Sony series of cameras with their auto variable NDs filters it is mind boggling when I think back to even roughly 10-15ish years ago to the start widespread digital filmmaking (aka the DSLR revolution). For a bigger shoot on a set I still use a handheld lightmeter cause it is a great way to communicate in a singular set of terms (F/T stops). But being able to set my iris, my sensitivity and then just point a camera and it decides (95% of the time right) how to set an ND filter that is in the camera and not a delicate piece of glass that needs stacking in a mattebox is insane to think about. Same for autofocus having come as far as it has. We shouldn´t loose these techniques (lightmeters, manuely setting critical focus with a tape measure and pulling focus etc etc) but having these new tools is closing a gap between idea and vision and performance in acting and the camera capturing it - I am honestly all for that.
The thing at the beginning is a gaffer's glass. It's mostly used to look directly at the center of a light so the gaffer/dp can make sure it's correctly aimed. You can still buy them.
There were several filters that were mounted that way for wearing on set. Some were “contrast viewing “ filters and some were just heavy NDs for looking at lights. The most useful one to me was amber, which removed the colors so you could judge how a black and white scene would look.
I always remind myself when watching movies and TV shows shot on film that the DP managed to properly expose the film. Even a bad movie usually has proper exposure, and really good movies will even craft that exposure to enhance the story being told. For me, with my limited experience shooting on actual film, that is something that just always seems a little bit like magic.
Thank you for explaining to me why I have all these old cameras but very few pictures......
Just this year I purchased my first interchangeable lens camera, learning how to do the things manually with my camera that the phone in my pocket does automatically has been a fun but challenging experience. A wonderful video today Tested crew!
All technological advances depend and build on earlier technologies. If we forget the predecessors of what we have now, I believe it is to our detriment. Thanks, Adam for sharing this.
I realy could not agree more! the new fancy automatic digital cameras are amazing, but we can't forget how to do it manually. it might be limiting not being able to shoot at iso 80,000,000 or something, but as the old saying goes: Freedom is the enemy of creativity, limitations are its saviour!
Interesting dive into what is current and how we ought to be preserving bits of the past. I will certainly have a deep thought on that.
I loved using a light meter! back in the day, it was the only way to adjust the camera settings correctly. The neutral density eye piece on a chain was important as well.
Most of my broadcast cameras had a filter wheel inside with ND1, ND2, 3200, and 5600 filters... Fun times!
My dad's foray into camera gear was a nikon camera and a film motor with a flash bar. Click the picture was taken then the high pitch whine of the flash recharging, it was enough for me at 8 or 9 to steer clear of that kind of socery. Lol.
Yes. The technology of the past has a beauty and craftsmanship to it (most of it, that is--I'm not one to romanticize) that is hard to find, or else prohibitively expensive. I love that you love the gear, and that you have the wherewithal to keep and maintain it. That Arriflex is a thing of great beauty; likewise the Spectra. Fun and fascinating video. Thanks, Adam!
I remember as a kid with my super8 camera when Ektrachrome 160 came out it seemed like a miracle.
With DSLR's we have histograms. Shoot in manual mode and learn how to adjust your exposure to get the optimal histogram to get the best image quality possible.
We used 16mm film in school in 2003 - I had laminated depth of field charts with tie line attached to my waist I made lol
I love learning about things that I never knew even existed.
Like others I shoot film, black and white mainly. Last year I bought my first light meter, until then I was using an app on my phone. The app is okay but the meter is much better. Mine is made by Gossen and weighs 40 grams or 1.4oz which is great as it adds virtually no weight at all to my street photography setup. This series on the Arriflex and the gear around it is right up my street! I now have the urge to add another light meter to my portraiture setup.
I have an Arri 2c... just got a tripod off eBay today. I like that arm you have on your Arri
This was great I've got a Weston light meter and you answered some questions i had about it
Love your engagement talking about gear. Since this light meter was something you recognised from your childhood as a tool of your father’s. Do you feel connected to him when looking at or using it or other tools he used?
Incredible stuff and great video!! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
The usage of all those tools and how they were developed is the roadmap to our knowledge , if we loose that by not keeping history and historical items, then we loose century's of man hours that it took to get us here . Saying by the Great Gearhead GizmoArg
My grandfather was a movie projector operator. That was long before ww2,. The projector was run by hand.
When his girlfriend was in the cinema he would run the movie faster so he could go out earlier with his gf
Film is the best. I think every video creator/cinematographer needs film in their life.
The changing bag. The assistant camera person or on smaller shoots a PA would put both hands in a light proof bag to load the film magazine BY FEEL. A right of passage is somebody would sneak up on the poor sob and tape their hands, making them a prisoner of the bag, and then everybody would walk away, usually to lunch.
This just makes me want to go shoot some film.
I can only hope this gets some people into film, it’s old tech and new people give them a reason to stop discontinuing types of film
When I was young and playing in bands, I was all about the philosophy. That was because I couldn't afford gear. Partly because I had no money and also gear was really expensive. Now I am more of a gear head because I have some money and because the relative cost has come down.
A light meter with a lux display is handy for comparing different light bulbs.
man, I need to get my hands on one of those analog light-driven light meters... I have an entry level digital Sekonic that is more than enough really for my own needs. But I have always been fascinated with getting the analog version that doesn't even need a battery.
Also, I thought the eye-piece filter went away as black and white cinematography went out of style. Or maybe I am jumbling them up with filters that were used to gauge film exposure for non-panchromatic black and white film.
Pick up a Sekonic 398! They're cheap and small and work great with no battery!
Thanx man. Really I can't find those words that I want but, thank you for reminding us and making us think about the world around us!
I love your enthusiasm
As an amateur filmmaker and software developer, I think it's a mistake for people to just rely on the modern technology to do all the things for them. Don't get me wrong, the engineering and software on modern cameras is astounding and that practically everyone has the equivalent of a film studio in their pocket is mind blowing. But knowing what's going on and how the different settings of aperture, iso and shutter angle affects the image opens up an entire toolbox of creativity, and that shouldn't be overlooked. There's also still a taste for the look of analogue film, and the slower workflow can actually be a breath of fresh air. With digital it's easy to do a Kubrickian number of takes since digital storage is virtually free in comparison to film. However that then means you have to spend an age editing down and it means you're not particularly deliberate with your shots. Whilst with film the cost and time before you can even see the results makes this prohibitive. Instead you have to rehearse everything more and try to get it down in only a couple of shots. It's a different method of working which can be quite interesting to do.
But that's not to say the modern ways are bad. They're beyond amazing, and the amount of content on RUclips et al is testament for what it's enabled.
It was Guillermo del Toro, you said the wrong guy's name. Very interesting video. I love all tech from all ages.
As usual, nailed it Adam! 😊👍
I still use a Sekonic 858L and a gaffers glass to this day. I dont want to rely on a camera man and a screen to know where I'm at. Also no cameraman doing walk throughs and scouts. DSLR maybe but again, you get a better Understanding with a light meter and sun seeker app.
Technology doesn't always move forward & you sometimes have to relearn from the past. We have to do a lot of 3D graphics & machine vision in software again because GPU production stopped in 2020. There aren't always going to be digital cameras. It takes a lot of people & knowledge to make a digital camera & they're not always going to be around.
The big box of band aids in the background is appropriate, but I couldn't see the slate anywhere :-).
Modern cameras do everything. Having access to experiment and manipulate the image afforded artistic expression but now is all done on the computer. So nothing is lost
i use my lightmeters to check the venues. a picture starts in the camera and not at computer
Are we going to get a Tested One Day Build filmed with your Arriflex 35mm camera when all is done? I hope so!
@14.57..."but what did it mean?" Silly! It means it was a magic wand and your dad was ALSO a wizard. A wand just as magic as his brush or pencil.
I thought the exact same thing!
Many years ago, my wife and I toured the parks near Moab, Utah. When we approached a parking area in the Canyonlands State Park, we were stopped by a ranger. He said a crew was shooting a film and we would have to wait till they were done. He mentioned that sometimes the Canyonlands park was used as a substitute for the Grand Canyon because of the “red tape” needed to get permission to shoot in federal parks. Sometime later, the ranger asked me to move my truck because the camera director said the reflection from my red truck was causing a problem with his shot.
There’s an hour long documentary about adapting an f0.7 lens from an x-ray machine. It can shoot video like full daylight from a single candle.
Edit: f0.7 lens by _Media Division_
Link: ruclips.net/video/2p5E7iXxeQE/видео.html
Great video. Yeah I’m old too.
when i was young, i remember tv and radio repair shops. you could buy some pretty nice refurbished things and that was my goto store for tech back then. couldnt afford a brand new VHS or 14" tube tv. that was a fortune. now, you often buy a new, even though the old one is working perfectly fine. and forget about selling the old, no one wants it. so more e-waste....