Solids

What does a topper and a bottomer do?  What are cutters used for?  Whats a lenser?  What is a courtesy?

    A topper is used to cover the top of the light, keeping the subject lit but eliminating spill on the background. A bottomer is the same; however, it instead is used to block the bottom, and it can be used to block the subject from the background. Cutters are 2'x6' and, like floppies, can open up, allowing it to become a 4'x6'. These are good for when you have a larger shot and need a longer cut of light. A lenser is simply shading the light that's hitting the lens in order to eliminate lens flare, which can be done in a variety of ways. A courtesy is when you flag a person or monitor in order to eliminate harsh reflections, often when outdoors. This is most typically done with a top hinge floppy, and if the wind is an issue, you can clip the floppy to the stand, or weigh down the bottom using a rod or by clipping some form of weight to it.

Rylee, Guest Speaker Reflection

Refer to our guest speaker post about Rylee yesterday.  Reflect on what you learned in her workshop.  What did you enjoy about it?  What did you find interesting?  What do you want to learn more about?  How can you implement this knowledge into your productions going forward?

    Some things that I learned from her workshop were networking and tips for starting out in the industry. She talked about how the sound mixer community is much smaller compared to other departments. Thus, it is especially important to know other people as they can get you jobs and you can borrow gear from one another. She started out in the industry by going to De Anza and networking with people. A big tip she gave was to cold call/message people and get to know people in the industry so that they may offer jobs to you in the future. Something that I enjoyed about her workshop was getting to see a professional's sound kit. She had an analogue mixer and mic packs, which is different from the all-digital sound equipment that we primarily use. Something that I found interesting was that there aren't really any rental houses for sound gear, so she has to supply all of her own gear and/or borrow gear from other sound mixers. Something that I would like to learn more about is the difference between working professionally vs. working for class projects as I've only ever done crew roles for class productions or for people who are recent alumni of SVCTE so I have little experience of what differences there may be compared to professional sets. I could implement a lot of her tips and knowledge into future productions by being much more proactive in networking and building industry connections so that I could set myself up for the most opportunities.

How to ND a Window

What is ND gel used for?  Why would you want to use it on a window?  What are two key factors in setting it up?

    An ND, or neutral density, gel is used to lower the exposure of either an area on camera or a light source itself. You would want to use it on a window as windows often appear blown out when cameras are properly exposed for a subject that is indoors. Thus, you can use an ND gel to lower the exposure of the window and bring back details that were initially lost. Two key factors in setting up an ND gel are taping and squeegee. You should first go outside and check if it is possible to simply gaff tape the gel onto the frame or window. When you gaff the gel, make sure that the tape goes beyond the window and to stretch the gel as much as possible to prevent warping due to wind. With the squeegee method, you should first clean the window with windex, then spray more before applying the gel. After that, you spray more windex before squeegeeing as much off from both behind and in front of the gel. There may be specs of dirt that you can scrape off later.

Cucoloris, Nets, and Solids

What are the differences between a Cucoloris, a net, and a solid?  What are 2 different uses for them on set?  If you had to ask someone to go grab a net or a flag out of the cart, how would you describe the difference to them?

    The differences between a Cucoloris, net, and solid are . A cucoloris, or cookie, is used to break up the light in order to create interesting shadows on the subject, such as window blinds, leaves, etc. Nets decrease the exposure of the light, with green being a single (1/2 stop), red being a double (1 stop), and blue being a triple (1 1/2 stops). Solids, or flags, cut out light entirely and are primarily used to eliminate spill. Two different uses for these pieces of equipment on set are to create interesting shadows and control the output of lights. If I had to ask someone to grab a net out of the cart, I would describe it as a rectangle with either a green, red, or blue frame on three sides and a net. If I were to ask someone to get a flag, I would describe it as a stiff black cloth rectangle.

Clamps

What are the differences between a cardellini and mafer clamp?  What are 2 different uses for them on set?  If you had to ask someone to go grab a cardellini clamp out of a box, how would you describe it to them?

    The differences between a cardellini and a mafer clamp are that mafer clamps don't close fully and are stronger. Two different uses for them on set are using a cardellini to clamp onto a flat surface and a mafer to clamp onto round or rough surfaces. If I needed to describe a cardellini clamp to someone, I would describe it as a clamp with a shaft that has a 4-way knob that can spin on it.

Lens Filters

What is a soft filter?  What does it do to your image? What do polarizers do?  What does it do to your image? What are neutral density filters?  How are graduated filters different?

    A soft filter is one that affects the sharpness of the image. What it does is soften hard lines, so that the image is still in focus but also has a softer quality to it. Polarizers are meant to reduce glare or reflections. It also is able to create somewhat truer colors because of the removed reflections. Neutral density, or ND, filters are intended to cut down the amount of light that goes into your camera. An ND filter is important in order to properly expose outdoor shots without having to sacrifice your depth of field by changing the aperture. Graduated filters are different from ND filters because they only affect a part of the image, typically the top. This allows you to properly expose your subject but also bring down the exposure of the sky in order to get some detail back into the image.

Grip vs. Electrical Department

What are 3 key differences between the grip and electrical department on set?  What is one thing from this video that adds to your understanding of what the grip department does?

    Three key differences between the grip and electrical department on set are their responsibilities, which is dependent on whether electricity, movement, and rigging is involved. Where the electric department is in charge of all things electricity, such as cables, generators, etc., the grip is in charge of more of the mechanical aspect, such as shaping the light. One responsibility of the grip department that the electric doesn't do is aiding the camera department with movement. Grips are often the people in charge of executing a camera movement such as a dolly, trucking, etc. Another difference between the departments is whether rigging is involved. Grips are who is responsibly for setting a lot of things up; if there is structures or equipment that is needed to be set up, it's often a grip's job to do so. One thing from the video which adds to my understanding of what the grip department does is that they mirror the electric department hierarchically.