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