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By B. Sean Fairburn SOC
Camera Power Distribution
AC-550 via 4 pin to HDCA-901 or Camera
Onboard AC power supply via Aspen, Anton Bauer, Sony.
Onboard SONY Lithium Ion Battery (dovetail mount)
Onboard Anton Bauer Battery (3 prong mount)
Accessory Power Distribution:
Onboard monitors, Downconverters, Lens lights, DA’s, Wireless receivers & Transmitters.
Hirose 4 Pin 12v DC out of Camera.
Anton Bauer 2 prong from Camera Battery Plate.
Off board Block Battery 4 pin direct or to Mini distro box.
Back Focus
Stop Wide Open, if to bright shutter or ND Down.
Turn Peaking and Contrast up, Brightness Down.
Zoom in; Focus on Back Focus chart, Zoom Out wide.
Adjust BF till crispy and sharp.
Reset Stop, shutter or ND, and Viewfinder.
Timecode
Record Run, TC Generator runs only while recording.
Free Run, TC Generator runs continuously.
Shift & Advance are used to set Code (Hour=Tape#)
Jam syncing with Genlock, TC Out & In for Free Run.
Locket Box external TC source also works well for Free Run.
Cabling
Part of the Camera dept and a necessary part of shooting in HD.
Situation will determine how many and what
type. Cables go from camera to the Engineering Workstation or Tent Generally: Go Fiber Optic if Possible or SDI, YPbPr (RGB), Sound,
Remote control cables. Video dept (Video Village) has their own cables that are downconverted NTSC and should come from the Engineering Workstation. Now Fiber optic reduces all to One.
Field of View
Wider than 2-1 for HD Lens FoV to 35 mm Film lens FoV equivalent or 2.35:1 on the wide focal lengths. (1.85 in 90%) Not as much on longer focal lengths, closer to 2:1
Depth of Field
Don't be deceived about having too much and taking it easy.
Build your own charts to understand each lens f-stop/Focal length characteristics. Wide angle lenses have more but the DoF drops sharply as you increase focal length.
Sound (it is now!!)
You may be responsible for plugging in Sound cables Ch 1, Ch 2
And double checking good Tone levels on LCD panel @ -20db
When you record Bars at the head of every tape also lay Tone from sound. Using the denecke timecode generator Attached to Cam SB-2
Sound's Timecode may also be fed into your Ch 3 @ -30db
Onboard Monitoring in HD (ERG & Astro are good)
HD SDI off the HDCA-901 or Evertz onboard downconvter.
HD Analog YPbPr off camera (will also carry Menu and VF info).
NTSC Via Downconvert.
Aspect Ratio adjustment
Decide what aspect ratio you will shoot beforehand
Build yourself some safe area and shoot Frame charts to insure Post knows what you are doing.
Operator File Page <03>
Marker : ON
Center (crosshair) : ON 3
Safety Zone : ON 90%*, 80%, 92.5%, 95%
Effect : ON
Aspect Mode : Var V*, 16:9, 15:9, 14:9, 13:9,
4:3, Var H, Vista1 (1.88), Vist2
Mask : ON 50 (level of dark area shade)
Var Width : 940* (for 1.85 inside of 90%)
Shutter Speed/ECS Adjustment
Toggle switch is below Lens. OFF, ON, Sel(ect) Under plastic door.
(24 & 23.98psf) OFF, 1/32nd, 1/48th*, 1/96th, 1/125th, 1/250th, 1/500th, 1/1000th, ECS (24.0 to 2200 Hz)
Syncing to Computer Monitors (ECS)
ECS Extended Clear Scan, an option in Shutter Speed.
Use rotary encoder to dial flicker out of monitor or flickering lights.
Frame rate & Format adjustment
Maintenance page
Set cursor to NEXT and use rotary encoder to select frame rate, then ****Power down the camera to affect change.****
“HD is Really Good Video and Really Cheap Film”
Options are:
60i NTSC Video equivalent (drop/nondrop still available)
59.94i NTSC Video equivalent*(drop/nondrop still available)
50i PAL Video equivalent.
30psf 30 Frame Progressive Film equivalent
29.97psf* 29.97 Frame Progressive Film equivalent
25psf 25 Frame Progressive Film equivalent
24psf 24 Frame Progressive Film equivalent
23.98psf* Downconvertable 24 Frame Progressive Film EQ*
Cueing (Reracking) the tape. “CHECKING THE GATE”
Whenever Power is broken (Battery change) or tape is taken out and put back in, it is necessary to perform a match
frame edit to prevent a break in control track and Time Code.
Push RET button behind Zoom rocker on the ENG lens or
Assignable Toggle on side (Adjustable via Menu) LENS RET
Set Timecode switch under Advance button to REGEN* TC will pick up where it left off automatically after it
replays the last 5 seconds. Can also be done from RMB-150
Onboard ND and Color Correction
ND filter wheel
1-clear glass no ND no light loss
2-1/4th or ND .6 = 2 stop light loss
(1/8th or ND .9 = 3 stop light loss) /3 version
3-1/16th or ND 1.2 = 4 stop light loss
4-1/64th or ND 1.8 = 6 stop light loss
Color Correction
A-4 point star filter. (Or 5600K new /3 version)
B-3200K filter (clear glass cam is Tungsten Base).
C-4300K filter 85C used for mixed color temp light.
D-6300K filter 85B+81B used for Daylight & HMI’s.
Proper Eyepiece Adjustment
Set Camera to Color Bars and turn Contrast down 1/4 turn, Set Brightness till rightmost Pluge black bar is
barely visible (SMPTE 16x9), or till rightmost Black bar (FULL 16x9) matches darkness of outside edge of viewfinder.
Save vs. Standby
Save-takes 7 seconds to record, Tape is off the head.
Standby-takes 1.5 seconds to record, Tape on head.*
Either way you should record for 6 to 10 seconds before calling Speed, Marker, Set, ACTION. This will always insure enough Preroll to use the footage shot (like necessary leader for the editor)
Gain
(electric enhancement which increases sensitivity of camera. Every 6db=1 stop)
L-Low Adjustable via Menu usually 0db*
M-Med Adjustable via Menu usually +3db, or +6db*
H-High Adjustable via Menu usually +9db, or +12db*
Beware of adding too much unnecessary Noise with increase in Gain.
DCC Dynamic Contrast Control
(maximizes separation of highlight distinction) (A good thing when used correctly)
Sets the output of camera to Color Bars or Camera.
Also turns DCC circuit ON* or OFF. AKA “Auto Knee”
White Balance
(Trigger for WB and Black Balance next to shutter speed below Lens)
Performs function of shooting Gray Card at head of Scene.
Preset-corresponds to CC filter preset set WB.
A-Manually adjusted WB stored in memory. (shoot white card to set)
B-Additional Manually adjusted WB stored in memory. (Same)
Confer with DIT as to which WB he is using in case you need to unplug for a shot.
VTR Start & Stop (all 5 ways)
On the Lens (ENG)
On the front of Camera (Under the Lens)
On the RMB-150 (Upper right Button)
On the Microforce
On the Assignable switch (smart side bottom of camera)
Loading HD Tape Cassette
Push eject button on top of the camera under the handle.
Orange Door to the front and sprocket holes to the smart side.
Slowly press door closed.
***Always put at least 30 seconds of Color Bars and Sound tone at the head of every tape.***
Recording: Step by Step
• Attach Battery or AC Power supply.
•Power Up the Camera (ON OFF switch)
•Push the eject button to open cassette carriage door.
• Place tape in Camera. Insure record inhibit tab (lil red square) on tape cassette is flush with edge for record.
•Set Timecode to Hour 01:00:00:00
•Set Proper color correction and ND for light being used.
•Set or insure Frame rate at 23.98psf
•Set Shutter Speed to ON and Insure it is at 1/48th =180° Shutter Angle.
•Insure all necessary cables are plugged (the Engineer, Video controller, or utility person may perform the task)
•Set camera on Color Bars, (or Ask Engineer to do it from the RMB-150) ask for Tone from Sound.
•Push VTR (record) button to start recording and roll for :30 seconds.
•Push VTR button again to stop recording. Tell sound you are "Clear"
•Set camera on DCC ON, Cam ON.
Now you have a picture and are ready to hand the camera over to the Operator or DP to frame up the first shot.
I recommend visiting an HD Camera rental house and going over these things to become more familiar with
how this works before you take that first HD job. Then have fun doing what you love to do. Please feel free to
share this with 1st and 2nd AC's that might be interested.
God Bless,
B. Sean Fairburn SOC
HD Cinematographer
Rolemodel@earthlink.net |
