Advice on shooting "blackouts"

[beatnik326]

Hi all -

I need some advice on how to shoot "blackouts" for use in a film I'm directing... first, a little about the production:

All geared up for a three-day shoot this Sunday-Tuesday in my hometown of Ames, Iowa. Shooting about an hour's worth of coverage for a planned 10-12 min. short (with credits). All on Tri-X. Processing to be done by Forde Labs with digibeta transfer at Flying Spot in Seattle.

Planning for the film has been a months-long process, so I'm hoping all goes well. It's my biggest project to date, and I'm proud just to have made the shoot a reality. My DP and I did test footage with the labs. We're shooting with one of Pro8mm's Classic cams (the refurbed Beaulieu 4008).

The film itself has six scenes, which will be separated by blackouts a la Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise." I chose to use the technique because I wanted to see how it could work in the short film format. Each scene fades to black and each blackout cuts back to picture.

I don't want to just cut to "video black" when editing (I'll use Final Cut Pro) because it wouldn't match the other film footage (lacking grain structure, etc.). I'm looking for suggestions how to shoot all-black footage to edit in. Place black board in front of the camera? Shoot with lens cap on? How would you do it for the best-looking results?

I thought of doing the same sort of thing for the brief opening credits and the longer end credits, which will be done as "title" cards rather than scrolling -- just taking the black footage and adding the credit text over it with FCP. Any forseeable problems with this technique? Better suggestions?

Thanks for all your help! I'll keep you posted on the short, and you can read some about my work at www.andybrodie.com

[Evan Kubota]

Just leave the lens cap on, assuming it makes a good seal. Are you also shooting the fades on film? It's a perfectly good idea, but I don't think there's any real benefit. Most transitions in features are added later...

[beatnik326]

I'll do the fades in post. I considered using the variable shutter to do in-camera fades, but it'll be easier to control when editing.

[beatnik326]

I bought the camera used, and it didn't come with a lens cap. To protect the lens, I just leave a filter on when I'm not shooting. Plus I keep the lens in soft pouch.

I can probably find a lens cap from my still photography equipment that'll fit okay, but perhaps not "sealed." But a little bit of light leakage might not result in unusable "black" footage.

Any other suggestions?

[Paul L.]

Use the fade lever on top of the Beaulieu to fade (pull it up all the way) and keep shooting to get enough black footage.

[beatnik326]

That's a solution I hadn't thought of, but I'm not certain exactly how long the blackouts will last between each scene. They'll also be variable in length. So I'll want the flexibility to play with duration in post. I may still try that route though...

[BK]

It's better to do the fades in post, it's more "precise". You could tweak the black/gamma level in FCP a little bit so the grains of the black from the black piece of film will show up more, rather than just black, black and it'll will look no different than the slug in FCP. If you understand what I am saying.

Good luck!

Bill

[joshtanner]

im new and have an interest into this topic, i have a sankyo xl 420, there is a thisn that says fade, is this what i do? i have no idea! And to shoot black do i just film with the lens cap on, wouldnt this mean the film wont get exposed? im sorry for mu 'stupidity' but ive only just gotten into film

[jpolzfuss]

I bought the camera used, and it didn't come with a lens cap.

You can get yourself a glass of jam/peanut butter/honey/whatever and use its metallic cap: It should give better results than just some card-board. (Those metallic bags that hold the Kodachrome40, ..., are light-tight, too!)

I can probably find a lens cap from my still photography equipment that'll fit okay, but perhaps not "sealed." But a little bit of light leakage might not result in unusable "black" footage.

Same as above: Use "sealing tape"/"insulating tape"/"gaffer tape" to "seal" of the camera - whatever seems to be the light-tightest tape in the nearest hardware-shop ;)

Good luck,
Jörg

[steve hyde]

....If you want really black blacks I think Plus X might be a better stock. Also you might want to generate some in-camera fade takes to compare with FCP fades. I'm not an experienced editor myself, but I have heard editors discuss the virtues of in-camera fades over FCP fades.

[beatnik326]

Well, the shoot was last Sunday-Tuesday. It went quite well, and now I'm anxiously awaiting the footage back from the labs (Forde & FSFT).

Unfortunately, DHL fucked up and my film is sitting in Wilmington, Ohio, until Monday. I sent it last Thursday with Overnight Service to Forde Labs in Seattle. Forde called me Friday afternoon after their DHL shipment came and my film wasn't among the daily packages.

DHL refunded the shipping cost, but it's not the money I care about. Obvioulsy, it's the film, and I hope the delay in getting it to the lab won't cause any problems... anyone else have any similar experience? It's tough not to worry about your "baby."

Getting film back and seeing the footage is a wonderful thing, but waiting for it isn't so great... especially when it's for a project you've poured a lot of time and money into.

As for the "blackouts," I shot a roll with a lens cap on. I'll just use that to do the fades in Final Cut Pro.

I'll post some production stills soon... great looking color images even though the film was shot on Tri-X. My DP gave me all kinds of shit (affectionately, but still dished it...) about all the color and detail that would be lost on b&w Super 8. I also have some sharp looking b&w Polaroids we shot as exposure tests. Maybe I'll scan them. Will also provide updates as this project comes together.

[Evan Kubota]

Hm... does DHL *know* where your package is? If it was supposed to be overnight and it's been over a week, something is seriously wrong. I get my film back from Wal-Mart in a little over a week (8-9 days) and there is no shipping charge...

I actually like waiting for the film. Obviously, I want it fairly soon, but waiting enhances my sense of what footage to use and how to assemble it.

Do you have a synopsis of the project?

[beatnik326]

The package got hung up at the DHL air facility in Ohio and so did not make the overnight shipment. I mailed it from Iowa City in the afternoon on Thursday, July 28. It was supposed to arrive in Seattle by 3 p.m. on Friday the 29th but only got as far as Ohio. As soon as I heard from Forde Labs that my film didn't arrive on Friday, I called DHL. DHL refunded the shipping cost and said the package would be delivered on Monday since Forde doesn't take deliveries on Saturday.

So now all I can do is wait and hope that it does get delivered on Monday... I was assured that while the film sat in Ohio over the weekend it would be in a temperature-controlled sort facility.

As for a synopsis: The film consists of six separate but connected scenes that follow a circus clown who is retiring after many years in the profession. It's a silent, b&w film. The runtime should come in a bit under 10 min. We shot 18 rolls of Tri-X during the shoot. That's about all I can say for now. The post-production schedule will be somewhat long. I expect the film back in a couple weeks, but I won't really start editing after Labor Day weekend since I'm preparing for the fall opening of the student-run cinema at the University of Iowa -- the Bijou Theater -- which I serve as programming director, as well as a trip to the Telluride Film Festival for a student symposium. I will have image cut by October and deliver it to a musician in Seattle who's composing an original score. The complete film will be done by spring, when I'll start entering it in festivals.