Can we have focus assist on LCD and NOT on EVF?

[Jim Arthurs]

Okay, has anyone brought this point up? Wouldn't it be cool to be able to toggle on whatever form of focus assist is used during PLAYBACK as well?

Not just while recording, but the option to turn it on when reviewing takes in the field?

 

[Larry McKee]

Jim, that is Brilliant! Couldn't tell you how many times I would have loved to be able to that.

 

[Alexander Nikishin]

That would be very nice!

 

[Rob Lohman]

Finner is absolutely correct on how focus pulling is done on the big jobs!

 

[Finner]

Thanks Rob,

It's nice to see that there is at least one person here that does not think my head is up my ass. I have a wife to point that out.

 

[Gordon Prince]

Not only one...

no no.. you didn't understand!

1st, you should warn the penguins.. after you use the tape measure.. you won't need the lcd for nothing.. actually you won't need to buy a lcd nor an evf either.. only a tape measure.. and you should be fine. :sorcerer:

Brilliant is the word for this sense of humor. You made me laugh to tears. And Finner did his work as well. Talking about his craft. Thanks for both contributions.

Editing: This is a great forum! Truly eclectic.

 

[Gbabymogul]

Make that two , Finner.

I posted on this but went looking for a summary that said it better than I had (my post was long winded).
Since I can't find it, i'll post my 3 pence.

Anywhoo, focus pulling is about anticipation, not reaction. I still think that depending on RED's focus assist, focal length, aperture and shot you might be able to single op. But for most narrative features budgeting for a focus puller is cost-benefit ratio
gold.

As to marks? having a fp anticipate gives you more room for the actors than monitor lag. They'll thank you. Maybe that's more a directors forum question, though.

:Guinness:

 

[Barend Onneweer]

It's nice to see that there is at least one person here that does not think my head is up my ass.

Okay, I'll bite. I never suggested your head was in any such place, nor did I ever doubt your knowledge or experience. You were the one bringing up the topic of professionalism, and it seems you interpreted my post as if I was about to ban tape-measures from the set. Which I never mentioned.

On top of that, I work in a completely different production environment than Hollywood, and maybe I don't always have the highest level crew at my disposal. Budgets in Holland are somewhat different from The Matrix.

I still think you turned this thread into something it wasn't meant to be. On many fora that's considered rude.

 

[Gbabymogul]

:Guinness:

 

[Finner]

I still think you turned this thread into something it wasn't meant to be. On many fora that's considered rude.

I'm sorry you feel this way as it was not my intention to change this topic.

From what I read you were asking if the focus puller could pull focus off of the monitor and the operator could not have to pay attention to focus anymore. I was just answering why I felt this would be a bad idea and did not change the topic of what you were asking. So I do not see this as rude at all or off the topic as it was on topic. I was only mentioning that the traditional model is a better way to do it and why.

I am not saying this to be rude so please don't take it that way. I am just explaining why I responded the way I did.

 

[tj williams]

Finner when many of the members of this board move up from 1/3" sensors to 35mm sensor and a very hi rez output there will be a major shock!.... but it will be a soft one...

 

[Roberto B]

Not only one...



Brilliant is the word for this sense of humor. You made me laugh to tears. And Finner did his work as well. Talking about his craft. Thanks for both contributions.

Editing: This is a great forum! Truly eclectic.

oster_spam:

 

[Mike the beginner]

Finner when many of the members of this board move up from 1/3" sensors to 35mm sensor and a very hi rez output there will be a major shock!.... but it will be a soft one...

Witty TJ though for me it will be more like hazy


Thanks fnner for such precise and accurate information on focusing.It should be a stickie, it holds a magnitude of advice in one single post! This i will be doing by myself so it's massively important to practice in the right manner. In anything you do or take up, there are key pointers (i think anyway) that you must adhere to or you will fall short of your goal.

You have just given me one, thank you.


Mike the beginner

 

[Emmanuel Decarpentrie]

I'm fairly confident that I can nail focus on static shots of more or less stationary birds, especially stopping down a bit, but it's never easy to track a moving bird, especially when it's flying towards the camera.

Stopping down surely helps a lot. Knowing your hyperfocal distance too. Last but not least, for animal documentary, keep in mind the further away your subject is, the more DOF you'll have. But going from 1/3" CCDs to super35mm or even 16mm (in windowed mode) is still gonna be challenging for many people who are used to do everything by themselves...

But I think challenges can be fun too: good learning opportunities. Bottom line is: don't worry too much! Life is great! Red is Great!

 

[Alexander Nikishin]

I'll retort with a prior post...

I've never said that an AC should not mark up or measure in one form or another. An AC would definitely be out of his mind if he planned to pull blindly from an lcd at all times, it just wouldn't work without knowing the lens to an eerie level.

As far as the 35mm field goes, yes, I would argue that by using the focus assist feature a good AC can mark up using the digital focus assist, then hit those same focus marks just as well as if he/she were using the tape method.

Personally, I expect my AC to measure up but wouldn't be totally against the idea of an AC using the focus assist feature to create "digital marks" vs. tape measuring.

I can think of two definite advantages to using an lcd in combination with marking up in the traditional and or digital method. First off, you can check your marks visually and leave the dp's viewfinder free while you use the lcd. Also, the ac can check his marks on the fly during a shot by glancing over every now and then.

Sadly, on many indie films, even with a big or small budget, actors do tend to over or under step their marks. If an AC knows his lens well enough he can compensate in most cases, but not confirm that the pull is sharp instantaneously, where as with the lcd, they can do so.

New technologies bring new advantages in my opinion.

 

[Moir]

One factor to bear in mind is that once you own a Red, practising with it at home and in your own time is effectively free, and - with the right set-up - feeback more or less instantaneous.

The same cannot be said for film cameras.