Your Job: Time Travel back in time to shoot Einstein interview Marilyn Monroe

[kevin holmgren]

What do you think?

IF you got to fly back in time to film Einstein interview Marilyn Monroe, what ideal GEAR would you bring?

Criteria:
You're only shooting Marilyn. Then doing Einstein reaction shots etc next.
Cost IS an issue; best VALUE (cost/benefit) try to preserve budget. Time travel can be expensive.
You have to bring all of your OWN GEAR, PORTABLE with one person worth of check-in luggage

Shooting on Dragon Sensor, 5K
Shooting on green screen, want to capture head to bellybutton, outstretched arms left to right.
How many tripods/stands could you consolidate down to?
What ideal DISTANCE would you shoot?
What LENS at that distance?
Zooms, 24-70? Just 50? Closer makes lighting harder, farther = bigger foot print

You pick what SETTINGS? so that it's as one click to remove green as possible, (i.g. higher frame rate etc and then add motion blur back in later?)

You use what LIGHTS? i.g. are 5 point lights worth the extra weight? LEDs are more portable vs. good color?
You can't use anything but their 120v power. (but with LEDs, maybe even without?) Less cable the better.
You don't know where you could be filming, could be a bomb shelter, could be a studio, could be outside

What Microphone? Lav, Boom on lighting stand near hair light?

Any other cool tricks to get the size of this all down?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

In your hypothetical scenario I would not bring any equipment. I would just bring a suitcase full of cash printed before the return date. I would rent a studio, crew, 35mm camera package, filmstock, and lights once I arrive with the cash, do the interview, and put the processed filmstock in a vault. I'd probably also have 35mm black and white separation masters made if shooting color. Or just use Kodachrome. Then return to the present day. Go to the vault, get the footage scanned, profit.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Why is this important? If you went back in time to (say) 1958 for a project like this, you could change the world. You could potentially make billions of dollars and save millions of lives and make the planet better. Why waste your time with an interview with celebrities?

Hell, as I always say, wait 15 years and talk to Steve Jobs in 1975 and buy 10% of Apple Computer for $10,000.

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

Maybe Kevin is going into a pitch meeting? If Jerry Bruckheimer picks this up, I will be expecting a story credit and a case of craft beer.

 

[paulherrin]

 

[kevin holmgren]

ok, can't say that I didn't walk right into that one... (but I do got 245 views so far)

I just got a bunch of interviews that will be shown over and over thousands of times with some "A-C" list talent, and so was trying to get some opinions on a TRAVELING set up. I'm probably the most inexperienced shooter here, but trying to learn fast if you have any actual suggestions to go with the side plate of humor, that would be cool too...

Since I got to buy some LIGHTING soon (craigslist etc) so need to buy something very portable (would have used Kinos but worry about bulk and breakage)

Thanks for making me laugh.

 

[kevin holmgren]

Maybe Kevin is going into a pitch meeting? If Jerry Bruckheimer picks this up, I will be expecting a story credit and a case of craft beer.

If you can get me a pitch with Bruckheimer, they I owe you more than a case of beer.

But this is for a non-profit with Actors doing story readings to teach kids learn how to read.

 

[kevin holmgren]

A dog?

 

[Marc Wielage]

An old pal of mine, Ken Grimwood, actually wrote a popular time-travel novel called Replay about a guy forced to live his life over and over again, but with his future memories intact. In one of them, he bumps into a fellow time-traveller who has produced Star Wars and Close Encounters several years before they came out.

My joke to him was, "if I could go back in time, I'd write all the Beatles songs before the Beatles."

 

[Daniel Reed]

YES!
:beer:

In your hypothetical scenario I would not bring any equipment. I would just bring a suitcase full of cash printed before the return date. I would rent a studio, crew, 35mm camera package, filmstock, and lights once I arrive with the cash, do the interview, and put the processed filmstock in a vault. I'd probably also have 35mm black and white separation masters made if shooting color. Or just use Kodachrome. Then return to the present day. Go to the vault, get the footage scanned, profit.

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

ok, can't say that I didn't walk right into that one... (but I do got 245 views so far)

I just got a bunch of interviews that will be shown over and over thousands of times with some "A-C" list talent, and so was trying to get some opinions on a TRAVELING set up. I'm probably the most inexperienced shooter here, but trying to learn fast if you have any actual suggestions to go with the side plate of humor, that would be cool too...

Since I got to buy some LIGHTING soon (craigslist etc) so need to buy something very portable (would have used Kinos but worry about bulk and breakage)

Thanks for making me laugh.

Oh, well that's much less exciting. When I've done this kind of thing before, I've traveled with at least one other person. I would recommend bringing a gaffer and sound person, or at least hiring those locally. When you are traveling with gear, adding even one extra person greatly simplifies things since usually you can take 1x carry on, 1x personal bag, and usually 1x free checked bag. In other words, the more people you bring the cheaper the baggage becomes. It also means you have someone to keep an eye on your gear at all times.

I'll usually take the camera body and batteries in the carry on, laptop and lenses in personal bag, and sticks, tools and large aks in the checked bag, usually a large pelican case. I have Miller Solo legs which pack down very small, so I remove the head and pack that separately. Fits into a Kino Barfly soft case which goes into a Pelican 1560 without foam and with a TSA lock. If I need to carry on, the Barfly soft case flies naked. But usually I have lens fluid, canned air, knives, and other tools that have to be checked. That's the lightweight setup. The gaffer will travel with a few stands, Joker 800, chimera, and a Litepanel or two. Sound person has their stuff. If I had to take the lights myself, I would probably limit myself to 2x Litepanel Astras or a small Dedo kit and pack the stands with the tripod in a large tube case like the HRPC ones.

 

[Satsuki Murashige]

For lenses, I would just bring a 24-70 f2.8 (or 24-105 f4 if shooting b-roll) and 70-200 f2.8. You could go with primes, but for interviews zooms are much more flexible.

If you are doing green screen, you should really hire a gaffer locally who can source all of that for you. You need to also light the green screen, which would require more lighting units, more stands, and more grip to do well.