cinematography t2i- Focusing, action, and budget rig?

Rob B

Rob B

Heya all,
I'm transitioning from an Xacati 1010HD to the Canon T2i for shooting a low budget music video.

The first thing I am concerned with, I understand I will be manually focusing the t2i. I also plan on filming action, mud bogging, wake boarding etc... I need a budget rig that will let me mount a monitor and also let me focus quickly.


I'm nervous about learning to manually focus, as this will be important footage.. I plan on getting as much practice in as possible, but any tips or tricks would be huge help.

thanks
R
 
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Speaking of the rig in the video...

Why on earth would one want that monstrosity on a tripod ? It looks like Frankenstein, HUGE. I want my cam maybe on a cage if I am doing a shot using the cage soon . I would not want a shoulder mount on a tripod.. WHY ? Id rather reconfigure. Heck all I want is a cam and a monitor for focus. I understand if you have a follow focus attached and do not want to reconfigure from shot to shot, but Id rather have a smaller unit on my tripod.
 
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Did you guys see this field monitor. I found the vid helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAQxzmLHR2U

hmm.. I'm going to clarify how I found it helpful just in case, this is where I learned that the Hdmi out on the T2i was not 1080 when recording.. so it helped me rule out some options.
 
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IndieBudget said:
Speaking of the rig in the video...

Why on earth would one want that monstrosity on a tripod ? It looks like Frankenstein, HUGE. I want my cam maybe on a cage if I am doing a shot using the cage soon . I would not want a shoulder mount on a tripod.. WHY ? Id rather reconfigure. Heck all I want is a cam and a monitor for focus. I understand if you have a follow focus attached and do not want to reconfigure from shot to shot, but Id rather have a smaller unit on my tripod.
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I think the guy in the vid just put it on there for demo purposes..

I would just put the cage from the shoulder rig on the tripod. I want the ability to go from shoulder to tripod quickly. My subjects are 1%'ers, so I don't want to be futzing around and having people wait while I re-equip for shots.
 
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IndieBudget said:
Speaking of the rig in the video...

Why on earth would one want that monstrosity on a tripod ? It looks like Frankenstein, HUGE. I want my cam maybe on a cage if I am doing a shot using the cage soon . I would not want a shoulder mount on a tripod.. WHY ? Id rather reconfigure. Heck all I want is a cam and a monitor for focus. I understand if you have a follow focus attached and do not want to reconfigure from shot to shot, but Id rather have a smaller unit on my tripod.
Click to expand...

I think it was just for demonstration purposes, but I agree with you. He has other videos showing the rig on actual shoots and it is tricked out with (just) a large matte box, zoom hn4, monitor, and battery pack - although I must admit, the whole rig looks pretty cool on a jib.

I think some of the higher end shoots need a "wow" factor to match the bill.
 
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Rob B said:
A quick note,

I did pull the trigger on a new T3i, and Jag Field Runner, with a tripod plate. I was very torn with CPM products. I really liked the CPM cubed shoulder cage... but I found myself trying to balance a fixed budget between the t2 with CPM, or a t3 with the jag35. I just could not turn down the t3.

R
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Congrats! Now you have to go out and shoot stuff. ;)
 
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IndieBudget said:
I Have T2i and I will focus using the magnifying function then I have a 28" monitor to check footage on.. worxx 4 me.. I do need to get a 7 - 9" field monitor to use when Im on tripod though. I have a shoulder rig and rarely use it cuz I do not have a follow focus. I guess the $2.50 setup is on my purchase list. My current methods do limit some of my work, but Im not too worried, just use what I have and strive to use it well is my thinking. I will use mobile methods when I can use smaller aperture settings and have a deeper DOF to minimize focus issues. I will focus at 5' from the subject and stay that way for the shot.
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Crap missed your post IB. I'll keep your 5' tip at the top of my list. I kinda wondered how heavily I'll rely on the magnify mode. I have a feeling it will be very handy.
 
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Rob B said:
Very cool of you to sound in Steve!.. Damn, that is service.
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I felt my ears burining :)

To answer some questions, the bulldog rig is an inline rig and is more a dedicated shoulder set-up. This is due to the 24" rods that run along the top. However the rigs are light enough to easily go on a tripod fully kitted up, but they are obviously bulky for dedicated tripod use.

That said our offset style of shoulder rigs are perfect for shoulder, tripod and hand held use. Easily and quickly break down with the twist of two knobs. Just lossen up the fastners on the 'Z' bracket and the entire back end can be removed just leaving the cage portion. These rigs are the Sidewinder, Flyer Shoulder and the new Cubed Shoulder Rig.

Thanks,

Steve
 
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IndieBudget said:
Speaking of the rig in the video...

Why on earth would one want that monstrosity on a tripod ? It looks like Frankenstein, HUGE. I want my cam maybe on a cage if I am doing a shot using the cage soon . I would not want a shoulder mount on a tripod.. WHY ? Id rather reconfigure. Heck all I want is a cam and a monitor for focus. I understand if you have a follow focus attached and do not want to reconfigure from shot to shot, but Id rather have a smaller unit on my tripod.
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Well, as unwieldy as it might appear I can think of two reasons:

1. Building and docking on the tripod head. Very nice for field builds where table space is at a premium (or nonexistant), and once built it could be easily docked between shots much like a steadi-cam. Also, if you happen to have a cart with a spare head for builds, even better.

2. Saving time on a shoot where the camera needs to go from hand-held to sticks and back again frequently. It almost never works out to plan a shoot day around camera build time (steadi-cam notwithstanding), so being able to pop on and off with little to no mod to the rig is a BIG time saver in many cases.

Having said all that, I can see the thing getting a bit cumbersome for prolonged use on sticks - but that might just be me being narrow.

Oh, and welcome to the boards Steve! Nice to have someone from FT around!
 
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