Day1/Week1

So here it is I’m actually in my second week but I’m writing about my first week. I must tell you considering our schedule these blogs can be an interesting challenge at 1 or 2am and then I consider an edit but not to much avail. I am trying a new approach and hopefully it helps in the editing and grammar experience of this blog site.
Day 1, very interesting considering here in Korea there is not a big situation to permitting an area, except the neighbors consent for the most part. So we arrived in this great historical neighborhood to shoot a quick cutaway scene of our gangster leaving his supposed home. We arrive early and excited trucks pulling up and getting gear together, we set up the crane and start the blocking process and then.........she comes. A disgruntled old ...*&^#&*@ who was upset that she couldn’t get down her street, she claims she felt disrespected do to how someone talked about her car!
She proceeded to make our day a living hell by trying in all her power to prevent us from shooting in her neighborhood. Mind you the people of the street were split about us being there. Some really didn’t care while others sided with her and just wanted to be upset. Needless to say day1 was a rehearsal for what should have been an easy scene to execute.
The next three days we were else where, and it was a major set up for the actual climax of the movie. It was something that at first glance was not ideal but turned out to be a good situation just because of pure adrenaline and excitement for the movie; due to the fact it was our climax dance scene. At first my hesitation and uncertainty only gave way due to the earlier lesson of this whole journey, so I surrendered to the opportunity to jump into a big 3D scene/apex of the visual language of the film. My crew arrived at the location at 3:30 am to put in a six hour rig before I arrived at 10am with the directors. I ordered a few things for this concert scene of the movie, so I had a 40’ jib arm that I would be riding with the camera, mind you the rig is too big and weighs too much for remote capabilities. While my B cam would be on the ground with my former AFI (American Film Institute) classmate Yung Rho Kim operating it. Yung already had experience with shooting 3D , plus I knew his work so I thought it would be a good fit. Now not having exactly operated a 3D camera rig except for at the 3D seminar at Sony, it was quite an experience when I got 40’ plus in the air but with the additional 6’ platform it was closer to 50’ up in this auditorium. Mind I am not the biggest fan of heights but when I have to work, I kind of brush it to the waist side and suck it up. One thing that I didn’t realize is the physics of being that high with a 3D rig, with 3D there are two cameras that are moving simultaneously to adjust the depth of 3D on screen. Now with that variable of the cameras moving one way, my inertia being swung another way, and the sheer weight of the two cameras together being close to 100 lb. exactly it became a serious work out at 40 plus feet. Mind on this day we were shooting live action dance so I was in the chair elevated for 5 hours with a couple of breaks. The word exhausting scratches the surface of what I felt on that first night back at the condo and to think I had two more days there but not at 40’.
These three days encompassed some of the most impressive breakdancing I had ever seen in my life. The director Jason Yung Lee, kept raving about these guys and I was just kind of passive in responding to his hype. Then it happened these guys called Chaos crew are considered some of the best in the world, and I think even 2 time world champs and have placed in the finals for about 5 years in the World Championships in Europe. I gotta tell they backed up every word Jason spoke of them. My favorites shot is when I was elevated above the stage at 20’ and they catapulted another dancer 12’ towards the lens in the air. We saw the dailies and it was amazing to see him launch out of the screen only to return within the screen once he landed. AWESOME and it went like this for three days and the projected dailies reflected it and the visuals were well received by our producers,investors, and directors. I was very happy with the work and how we started this film.
Thanks Lis for your help it was much easier!

Prep/first week/tech talk

So we were into our last week of prep and test and it was a bit of a thrash. Getting gear here is one thing, getting the right amount of gear here is another. Since it is 3D you have to basically double for what would be a normal shoot, but the other variable is what type of 3D system are you using because that dictates what size of gear you can use. In our case that was compounded by the fact that our rig is manufactured and operated by its German owners Florian Maier at www.stereotec.com, based in Munich Germany, and he has to have a certain type of gear to make his rig work. So that was an additional special order that had to be flown in from Germany to Seoul.... If Florian wasn't the type of technician that I knew he was, I would have made a fuss. I must say he is a 3D master. Its funny though because the Koreans only know a certain amount of English, and from Florian he speaks English with a German accent so the crew can get confused, not to mention his junior Stereographer Sara the crew can have a time understanding things. Yet both of them are literally scientist that make movies and that truly understand story. Something that is a key ingredient in 3D filmmaking.
So I have to tell this story, I was a bit run down one day in the midst of testing these lenses. On day 3 of testing, I was so dog tired and falling asleep outside while we were doing this test. Sure enough I had to take myself to bed and come back to the test four hours later, mind you it was our 3rd day of testing with this manufacturers lenses. Upon arriving back after my nap, I looked at the monitor and blurted out it makes sense why these lenses only match in the middle of the frame, they are designed to just barely go soft on the edges, thats just how they are made.The lenses in 3D have to exactly match all the way to the outside perimeter of the frame, because remember two cameras are rolling at the same time, with the same exact image. This company makes awesome lenses, but part of their mistique is that they go just little soft , just slitely on the edges to put your focus on the middle of the glass/nodal point so you look right there. Needless to say with a bit more rest I could've saved a lot of time and energy by just getting the Arri Master Primes from the begining. A big ticket item but none the less a set of lenses that match all the way to the edges tick for tat.
Lesson of the story is that fatigue can certainly cost you important time, I had the answer days before because I know something about lenses. Yet I was blocked. When we put our new big tix item Arri Master Primes up there it fell right into place. Except for our 18mm with a slite vertical misalignment but was then replaced and it worked out. Another factor upon that is the manufacturer of the camera body and their mounts. The mounts are just as important and can make a .025 micron misalignment happen in which case the 3D will not work perfectly, or give you audience the dredded 3D headache from disalignment. We are shooting on the Red cameras and we may or may not be facing that problem I pray for not, considering how many days we are shooting. Pro Cam here in Seoul has been a great situation in supplying us with the neccesary camera gear and testing space for the first 3D feature film shot here in Seoul Korea. One thing I did test with our Red cameras is noise and saturation at 640/320/200 Iso and found that at 640 some color correction systems will hold up that info with out huge noise. I truly don't want to rate my cameras at 640ISO but I may have to because there is a 1.3 stop loss with our mirror prism to make the 3D happen. All these things are great to know but there is something to be said for the constant application of them all when in the field with an over sized camera. A big thanks to ProCam here in Seoul that has been nothing but awesome in puttin our camera package together.
The last thing during our prep week was a ceremony to bless our shoot. Something that is very sacred within the Korean tradition. I didn't realize the extent of it until I arrived and participated in it. It was an amazing experience in my career to focus on positive intentions as a collective whole to have a great shoot. How do I explain this .... the high priestest put out the intentions in a formal prayer that was written in chinese from their ancestors, and had us bring a small offering for the spirit of the universe/God to help guide us on this film. Peep the pictures hopefully they can explain more than what I just did.


Me, Cess 1st AD, Christian Dir