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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Shane's Inner Circle

Rodrigo Prata said:
I used to follow shane's blog since the very beginning, I was still shooting DSLRs and and read every single post on his blog for a long time (besides every other blog dedicated to DSLRs and digital cinematography in general)

I stopped because he began to contradict himself too much. One day he would say he loved the C300, the other day he would say he taught it was videoish. Then he would say the Alexa, was the best camera he had ever used, then he would advocate the C500... Among other things that started to piss me off. The entire time I read his blog, he never even acknowledged the existence of the EPIC (or any other RED camera in fact), the only time I know he did, was in a podcast where he briefly said that the Epic was a good camera for science fiction, but I once read Philip Bloom responding to someone one facebook that Shane hated RED.

This two blog posts about Dragon are confusing, first of all, he's saying that Dragon has IR contamination problems. This is the exactly opposite of what everyone on this forum is saying (and some like you Phil, are showing), his prints don't show any sing of IR contamination either, but yet he says they are there.... He's also saying the higher ISO you go, the less highlight protection you have...

I think you should start a blog of your own Phil, the content you post in here is far more scientific and relevant than anything I've seen on shane's blog. It would be nice to have all the invaluable information you posted here, gathered in one place. You are the most didactic person I know.
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Probably depends on where you are at on the learning curve. I have no issues admitting I'm a beginner compared to most of you, and I find it very useful. Heck, even the C-stand tutorials had information that I found useful and didn't know (how to stack 'em for e.g.).

That said, it'd be great if Shane could bring Phil on for one of his DRAGON/Stealth reviews and with Phil's questioning help us dissect his thinking and elaborate on these seeming inconsistencies. I for one, am only still developing the eye to even 'see' IR contamination - let alone be able to distinguish the degree of it. I have no shame in saying I rely on the recommendations of those who know better than I when it comes to some of these things. ;)
 
Nikhil Kamkolkar said:
Probably depends on where you are at on the learning curve. I have no issues admitting I'm a beginner compared to most of you, and I find it very useful. Heck, even the C-stand tutorials had information that I found useful and didn't know (how to stack 'em for e.g.).

That said, it'd be great if Shane could bring Phil on for one of his DRAGON/Stealth reviews and with Phil's questioning help us dissect his thinking and elaborate on these seeming inconsistencies. I for one, am only still developing the eye to even 'see' IR contamination - let alone be able to distinguish the degree of it. I have no shame in saying I rely on the recommendations of those who know better than I when it comes to some of these things. ;)
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I'm open to whatever. I've done a bit of private instruction/introduction to Dragon with some pretty heavy hitters in the last two years too.

When it comes to ND itself, know that I tested "most" major brands of ND, IRND, and IRND/Hot Mirrors and all that under various lighting conditions. Posted my results as well. I see "green" under some of his 1.2ND samples that state IRND and that's not what I'd recommend personally. At least not with Dragon.

I will say this though. Outside of some very new NDs on the market (Formatt-Hitech Firecrests) there's a TON of variation across filters. Especially strengths above 0.9 (3 stops). That's why Dion Beebe has his own set of color matched NDs in a hard case at Panavision. Nobody else gets to use his babies. My Schneider ND set I hand picked with a light box as well. Still have those and won't get rid of them. However, the Firecrests are more or less "calibrated" from the get go from what I can tell and do a very good job. I use them all of the time now and even put together a screw-in set this year for tiny lenses.
 
I appreciate Shane Hurlbut's sharing of his work and experience, but he is an emotional person who seems swayed by his passion to the point of incoherence sometimes. And let's face it, part of why he became famous is Christian Bale's infamous tirade on set against him for walking around during a take. What better advertisement that you are working at the top?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1qD66Myno

Personally though, I think paying to be a part of anyone's inner circle is pile of caca, painfully in keeping with his paid association/endorsement for Letus's embaassingly named "ManCam's" - Oh dear God what was he thinking? Sounds like an advertisement for a West Village porn site.

I would rather the humility and good humour of a knowledgeable guy like Phil any day of the week.

Phil Holland for President.
 
Clayton Burkhart said:
And let's face it, part of why he became famous is Christian Bale's infamous tirade on set against him for walking around during a take. What better advertisement that you are working at the top?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1qD66Myno.
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Actually, that event made him infamous. It's taken him a long time to rebuild his credibility, and get back into features/series. He had no choice but to reinvent himself (which he's done admirably).

A good friend of mine used to work at HBO, where they hired Shane to DP a promo spot...shortly after the Christian Bale incident. Apparently Shane was quite open about how the scandal affected his career, and how he was struggling to find work befitting an ASC member.

Thankfully, Shane has shown true resilience and moxy, and is probably the better for it...but I certainly wouldn't paint that event as a good thing for Shane. In many ways, it was extremely destructive and unfortunate.

But again - Shane has risen, like a Phoenix from the ashes, and appears transformed....he deserves much kudos.

I personally admire his perseverance tremendously.
 
I don't think I have heard someone remain so eloquent as their voice changed so menacingly.

I suspect this clip would have polarised people's views about both of them - and not in a good way.

Having well known DPs share their knowledge in a paid form or otherwise gives everyone option - for which I am grateful.

AJ
 
I have also un-subscribed from Shane Circle for the sole reason of these expensive "previous content". Stupid.
 
Nick Morrison said:
Actually, that event made him infamous. It's taken him a long time to rebuild his credibility, and get back into features/series. He had no choice but to reinvent himself (which he's done admirably).

A good friend of mine used to work at HBO, where they hired Shane to DP a promo spot...shortly after the Christian Bale incident. Apparently Shane was quite open about how the scandal affected his career, and how he was struggling to find work befitting an ASC member.

Thankfully, Shane has shown true resilience and moxy, and is probably the better for it...but I certainly wouldn't paint that event as a good thing for Shane. In many ways, it was extremely destructive and unfortunate.

But again - Shane has risen, like a Phoenix from the ashes, and appears transformed....he deserves much kudos.

I personally admire his perseverance tremendously.
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Well said Nick...

What it matters MOST is not how hard you fall or FAIL...

But how FAST and STRONGER you get up!!
 
Oh WOW............that was Shane?? Had no idea till now that was him Bale was yelling at....
 
Bill Totolo said:
Let's face it, there's friction on many sets. Sadly, this became public, and the trust that is part of being a crew was violated.
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Totally agree Bill. Cringe-worthy blow ups like this should be kept private.
 
New Inner Circle paid content: "How to Stand Still during a Take"
 
Unfortunately, on the pecking order, the star of the show will always get coddled and the DP will have to take a flying leap. Had Bale demanded it, Shane would've definitely been canned.
 
Christopher Mills said:
It wasn't just the walking around, you really shouldn't take a light reading by putting the incident meter on the actor's forehead during their rehersal or take of their character's death scene. Shane was a super unpleasant music video gaffer in the 1990's as well. I do think that he has modified his behavior, and is much more of a team player on shows now.
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I worked for Shane on dailies for a Swing Vote about 6-7 years ago, and he was terrific and very complimentary about 90% of the time. He had some bad days, but I think he's entitled to those, just like anybody in a super high-pressure job. The Christian Bale incident on Terminator was problematic, and what was not publicized was that both of them shook hands and got on with the job for the rest of the shoot.
 
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