Ground Rules

[Brent J. Craig]

One thing that Dylan didn't mention was that we travelled 84,000km with this gear and filmed in the worst possible conditions. 14,000 feet up a jungle mountain, sea-level jungle with 100% humidity and constant rain, 8500 feet underground in a mine, the worlds driest desert, etc. There was so much air travel that screws were vibrated completely out of things.

During the entire shoot, the camera went down once for 5 minutes when I overheated it by mistakenly covering the ventilation holes while protecting it in the desert. Other than that the camera worked flawlessly. We didn't lose a single frame of footage.

 

[Anthony Gratl]

Okay look, I wasn't actually going to respond on the thread in keeping with Dylan's request, but you guys are both calling me out as being unaware and somewhat ignorant. So here's my deal okay:

I:
a. walk almost everywhere, and scarely drive a truck that i converted to run on waste vegetable oil, that i get and process myself. i used this truck to drive across the country, also on wvo
b. eat vegetarian organic local food only. One reason why I moved to Vancouver Island
c. purchase recycled goods only (it is true, believe it or not)
d. understand the relationship between my use of technology and the mining requirements: that doesn't mean that i won't say anything about very unsavory practices
e. have footage of african troops threatening local independant miners if they don't sign up for 'new mining licenses', which they never get. There is evidence to show that 54 miners were buried alive in mines in Tanzania
f. am raising a child, (soon to be two) on a vegan diet (her choosing)
g. don't think that I'm any better than anyone else.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to say something. Nor does it mean that I have to accept a little change as an indication that things are going to get better when science and my heart tells me that shit is going to get alot worse. Sorry, don't mean to be a pessimist, but no optimist ever changed anything.

I've made my lifestyle choices after spending two decades studying and learning about environmental destruction, ecosystem loss, and human behaviour. I come from a heavy meat eating background, and have foresaken that for environmental and health reasons. Everything is connected in this world, and the relationship between mining and everything else is real and deep.
And if you guys think that large scale industrial mining is sustainable, you just aren't adding up the science. It's that simple. Mining, as practiced before industrialization, was barely sustainable. This current system of ours is an onslaught. Dylan, the images you captured so beautifully show that in vivid detail. Burtinsky's purpose in taking the pictures he takes is this:


Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside of our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.

These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.



He's not cheerleading anything. And neither am I. Yeah Dylan, unfortunately it is political. This is the problem with making films about something no? On the other hand, I view this thread and this discussion as healthy and necessary dialogue. Our great great grandchildren are demanding that we have it. We can have it in PM if you'd like, but I'd rather we open it up for all to participate....

Here's what I'm working on: www.monkeywrenchmovie.com

All guerilla shot out of my own pocket for about 4 years. Feel free to cut into it.

 

[Shawn Booth]

Evolve - Why not make a film showing the human population living "in a correct" manner? Show us what we should be doing instead of focusing on the bad that just gets recycled and recycled and recycled and now you're all preachy and no one wants to listen.....

BTW - mankind can not ruin this planet. We can only ruin it for ourselves. It should be, "Save mankind!" not "Save the planet." But
I believe President Obama is now speaking of education reform...

 

[Anthony Gratl]

Evolve - Why not make a film showing the human population living "in a correct" manner? Show us what we should be doing instead of focusing on the bad that just gets recycled and recycled and recycled and now you're all preachy and no one wants to listen.....

BTW - mankind can not ruin this planet. We can only ruin it for ourselves. It should be, "Save mankind!" not "Save the planet." But
I believe President Obama is now speaking of education reform...

Yup you're absolutely right Shawn. Mostof the film is about what the future is going to potentially look like, what communities can do, and how to take back the media....but look, i'm not preaching, i'm just repeating what scientific people alot smarter than i are saying....this is the problem with speaking up, you get attacked for it....

And you're also right about "save mankind". it's not about saving the environment, its about saving ourselves. No question. That's why the first line of the trailer is "Look, the earth can exist without us, but we cannot live without her".
I don't think Obama is on the right track btw. But that's another discussion:innocent:

EDIT: on the ed burtynsky note: http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/
click on 'links'

 

[Brent J. Craig]

...this is the problem with speaking up, you get attacked for it....

Only when you are a guest in someone's house and all the other guests are having a conversation about something else. Butting in wasn't polite in grade one and it's not polite now.

Why not start a thread in Off-Topic called "Why everything sucks and why everyone is wrong except me"?

We we talking about cameras and a specific monumental shoot. Anyone have questions or comments about that?

 

[Chris Parker]

enough about the politics already. the shit looks great dylan. nice shooting, and nice article. thanks for the shout out by the way.

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

He's not cheerleading anything. And neither am I. Yeah Dylan, unfortunately it is political. This is the problem with making films about something no? On the other hand, I view this thread and this discussion as healthy and necessary dialogue. Our great great grandchildren are demanding that we have it. We can have it in PM if you'd like, but I'd rather we open it up for all to participate....

Here's what I'm working on: www.monkeywrenchmovie.com

All guerilla shot out of my own pocket for about 4 years. Feel free to cut into it.

Okay, if not in PM than on another thread.

Much respect for the way you live your life Evolve. No judgement here. I appreciate the perspective...but not on this thread.

 

[Joe G.]

"I'm pleased to say that after 6 weeks touring mines around the world we actually felt good about what they were doing. "

Well, Brent, doesn't that seem to be the intended purpose of sending you to those particular operations?

Who chose the locations? Based on what criteria?

I think that's what Evolve is trying to get at. If you were sent on a mission to make nice PR for the mining industry -- wouldn't you want to know that? Evidently, you came away with a one-sided take on the issue.

"Coal washing often results in thousands of gallons of contaminated water that looks like black sludge and contains toxic chemicals and heavy metals. The sludge, or slurry, is often contained behind earthen dams in huge sludge ponds. One of these ponds broke on February 26th, 1972 above the community of Buffalo Creek in southern West Virginia. Pittston Coal Company had been warned that the dam was dangerous, but they did nothing. Heavy rain caused the pond to fill up and it breached the dam, sending a wall of black water into the valley below. Over 132 million gallons of black wastewater raged through the valley. 125 people were killed, 1100 injured and 4000 were left homeless. Over 1000 cars and trucks were destroyed and the disaster did 50 million dollars in damage. The coal company called it an “act of God”.
http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/facts/steps.php

"This destructive practice, known as mountaintop removal mining, has damaged or destroyed approximately 1,200 miles of streams, destroyed forests on some 300 square miles of land, disrupted drinking water supplies, flooded communities, and destroyed wildlife habitat."
http://www.sierraclub.org/MTR/

Underground mining is one of the most dangerous professions there is. Not so many happy smiling people grateful to the massa mining company when they shirk safety and these caverns collapse and kill dozens. Dangerous worker conditions in mines is very common.

If you're going to do a "documentary" on how glorious mines are, you need to do some independent research and go locate the non-smiling happy go lucky subjects.

Or else it's propaganda.

 

[Michael Hastings]

Hey Shooter

As I haven't done any comparative testing myself I will have to reinforce what I said in the article "I had heard".

My understanding is that the resolving power of the Master Primes exceed most other lenses out there. That we now have formats that are capable of recording and displaying extremely high resolution - this makes lens choice all the more important a factor. If you are concerned with "ultra sharp" images.

I think master primes truly are works of art. But are we speaking only of traditional cine lenses? 4K is approximately 8.3 megapixels yet we have had 16 and 22 megapixel professional slr still cameras - and lenses designed for them - for several years, and these lenses can be easily used on RED and similar "movie" cameras. Isn't it likely that many of the latest generation of these lenses can resolve 4k and possibly much more?

 

[Brent J. Craig]

One of these ponds broke on February 26th, 1972

Oh. That's where the problem lies. You see, our Red cameras only shoot in the present, which I believe is 2009. Unfortunately we missed the firmware upgrade that allows us to project 37 years into the past to see what people might have been doing.

Please, would the people living in 1972 start their own thread?!? (Maybe they already did, 37 years ago and I missed it since I was 2 years old and there were no interwebs.) 37 years ago is neither recent, nor relevant. Much has changed in 37 years and it is mostly for the better, no matter what the whiners say.

I would like to ask again, politely, that the thread hijackers please start their own doom and gloom thread in the off topic section and allow us to discuss our successful, socially conscious and rewarding Red project here.

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Getting back on topic...

Getting back on topic...

How did you feel about the post process- specifically the grading part? I know you mentioned that you were able to output some looks for the CC- how was that? Did they "bake in" well? Were they just reference for the CC?

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

How did you feel about the post process- specifically the grading part? I know you mentioned that you were able to output some looks for the CC- how was that? Did they "bake in" well? Were they just reference for the CC?

These were the early days so we were really figuring it out as we went.

I was basically shooting stuff "flat" in camera. I created look files in REDALERT and e-mailed them to Chris Parker who was transcoding. He would add the look files. The editor then had my look on the pro-res files.

When I went in to Technicolor for the final color correct, the colorist, director and I watched the cut and talked about how we wanted to approach things.

We started from flat DPX files.

 

[Shawn Booth]

....this is the problem with speaking up, you get attacked for it....

Brother, was not attacking you by ANY means I swear. Have nothing against you or your film or anyone here for that matter. Was just giving my .02 on the subject. Sorry for the confusion.... going to bed now after 14 hour day Lost on the beach....

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Some Additional Questions-

Some Additional Questions-

Dylan,

I just got a chance to watch the film- well done! You did a beautiful job. After seeing the final product, it is much more clear haw degraded the web images are- too bad as they do not do you justice.

So now I have some additional questions, if you do not mind humoring me.

1. How did you go about getting the helicopter shots, what kind of mount / stabilizer did you use? (I double checked this thread, and the article, but I do not see it mentioned.)

2. The shot of the truck driving through the outback, how was the camera rigged? Was there any post work done to smooth it out? The footage is amazingly steady for looking back at the drive while your are on a dirt road!

3. You mentioned that you brought along a small lighting package- how did you power it? Or was that an issue?

4. What was it like traveling with all of that gear through Africa? I've heard that it is not the safest place to travel ...

5. The dolly that you brought along- when you assembled it at the locations, did you build it big enough for you to ride on, or just big enough for the camera?

6. What jib did you pack with you?

7. What filters did you bring with you, and what did you end up using the most? Did you find IR to be a issue?

I think that about does it for now.

Again, great work- you really made what could have been a basic video into a cinematic work of art.

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

Dylan,

I just got a chance to watch the film- well done!

Where did you see it?

[/QUOTE]You did a beautiful job. After seeing the final product, it is much more clear haw degraded the web images are- too bad as they do not do you justice.[/QUOTE]

Thanks!

[/QUOTE]
So now I have some additional questions, if you do not mind humoring me.

1. How did you go about getting the helicopter shots, what kind of mount / stabilizer did you use? (I double checked this thread, and the article, but I do not see it mentioned.)[/QUOTE]

It was a fairly simple rig from Aerial Exposures.

http://www.aerialexposures.com/

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15994&highlight=aerial+exposures&page=3

[/QUOTE]
2. The shot of the truck driving through the outback, how was the camera rigged? Was there any post work done to smooth it out? The footage is amazingly steady for looking back at the drive while your are on a dirt road![/QUOTE]

Rigged on a speed rail rig on a chees plate with a locking ball head. Really wide lens! The problem we had was holding the exposure between inside the cab and the white hood of the truck. I used grads to try to control it but the mattebox vibrated and shook the edge of the grad in the shot!

[/QUOTE]
3. You mentioned that you brought along a small lighting package- how did you power it? Or was that an issue?[/QUOTE]

One joker 800 and chimera pancake! Dual voltage. Worked in every country we went to.

[/QUOTE]4. What was it like traveling with all of that gear through Africa? I've heard that it is not the safest place to travel ...[/QUOTE]

We had liasons in each location, so we were met at the airport and escorted to our transportation. Ghana was a crazy experience though!

[/QUOTE]5. The dolly that you brought along- when you assembled it at the locations, did you build it big enough for you to ride on, or just big enough for the camera?[/QUOTE]

The dolly was very funny. Basically speed wheels. Our key grip would source some kind of shooting platform - in Chile it was a wooden skid! Then he'd look for PVC pipe. He McGivered track connectors out of pieces of the pipe. Derek Teakle is an incredible grip!

[/QUOTE]6. What jib did you pack with you?[/QUOTE]

Ohhhh. Can't remember the brand name. Maybe crewpix will chime in?

[/QUOTE]7. What filters did you bring with you, and what did you end up using the most? Did you find IR to be a issue?[/QUOTE]

Panchro ND's - they were a nightmare for ghosting! ND Grads, including ellipticals. Tropical blue grad and a straw grad. Polariser as well. Our filters disappeared in Africa (recovered by the time we left). So we shot with no filters! Fast shutter to control depth of field.

[/QUOTE]
I think that about does it for now.

Again, great work- you really made what could have been a basic video into a cinematic work of art.[/QUOTE]

Appreciate the feedback! Thank you!

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

And maybe someone can explain to me the proper method of replying - seems my method didn't work :-(

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

And maybe someone can explain to me the proper method of replying - seems my method didn't work :-(

Thanks for the quick reply.

As for the reply all you are missing is the beginning quote tag. So each section that yo quoted me on should start with " [ QUOTE= Person You are quoting; Number ] (With the spaces removed.)

I ordered the film from the company and they shipped it out to me pretty quickly. So while it is on SD DVD- it was still a good viewing experience- although I'm sure it would be even more impressive in a theater.


That helicopter mount looks interesting. Was it difficult mounting it to the helicopter? And what was it like operating with that rig? Was there enough room to maneuver?

I'm VERY impressed that the cab shot was not on any stabilizer. Well done- even with keeping the exposure- I think it works well for that shot.

I sounds like Derek was quite invaluable to the production- very creative solutions to the problems at hand.

I do have two more questions-

1. What was it like working in and around those mines? I assume that the crew there have schedules to keep, and while you are there to promote them, you might also be seen as a hinderance. Were they accommodating? From the various shots you have of people entering and leaving various buildings I would guess that you staged some of the action- did you do this much, or were you more in a "documentary" kind of mode?


2. The colors are beautiful and rich. I especially like the shot of the HUGE truck pulling into the bay with the bright orange wall behind it. Did you find yourself adding to the scenes with what little lights you had, or did you just take advantage of what was there naturally?

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

Hey Ryan

Not gonna even try this time!

The Gyro mount was difficult to operate. The weight of the RED was a little more than the rig is rated for, so it was a little top heavy. Not good. It basically removed the vibration, but I needed to float the horizon level. It was amazingly easy to set up and fairly portable (all fit in to one case).

Each mine had a different logistics to deal with. Chile was like a high security prison. We spent a whole day telling the supervisor exactly where we wanted to be and at what time. Then on the shoot day, that supervisor wasn't there and the other supervisor was not really informed of what we wanted to do. A real nightmare.

Australia - we had to blow breathalizers every morning. The rule at the mine "pub" was "ten before ten".

Underground in Sudbury was yet another challenge. Packing our gear on to shippping "cubes" the day before and hoping it got dropped to the correct "tunnel".

A real experience!

We got very lucky with that orange wall. We had talked about shooting one of the other repair bays, but happened to see that back lit translucent wall at the perfect time of day and said "we have to shoot here at this time". Big issue was controlling the balance of exposure between inside and outside. Grads were essential. I used a lot of them. It became a sylistic thing as well, where we wanted to create a bit of "vignetting". The Master Zoom actually portholed a little at the wide end. Which in this case - I liked! Saved me putting an elliptical grad in!

On top of grads I asked them to open the big doors out of frame behind us to let as much ambient light in to the space as possible.

It was a refreshing change to work this way! I am used to a larger crews and lots of gear. It's good to get out of the comfort zone sometimes.

 

[Ryan E. Walters]

Brilliant- nice solutions, and great use of the locations. It sounds like it was quite the adventure.

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[Brent J. Craig]

Ryan,

I believe the crane we used was the Intel-A-Jib, which you can see here.

It weighs 65 pounds (without the counter-balance weights), so it was good to travel with. We brought a bunch of empty sandbags and filled them with whatever we could find at each location.

We were concerned that some of the countries we were traveling to were very picky about foreign contaminants, including soil, so we actually washed the emptied sandbags before leaving each country. In Indonesia we knew they would never dry in the 100% humidity so we sent them through the hotel laundry. It was the first time I had ever seen sandbags ironed and wrapped in tissue!