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Author Topic: Using Flash Camera in Booth David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 03-02-2003 04:29 PM                        This may be a really dumb question, but is there any reason to be cautious about taking flash pictures in an operating booth? Like, are there any photo detectors that might be sensitive to a bright flash of light in the general area? I'm looking for technical issues, not common-sense stuff like the flash possibly disturbing an audience or something like that.  |  IP: Logged Ray Bernardi Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: Antrim, NH, USA Registered: Feb 2003 posted 03-02-2003 04:43 PM                     I've taken flash shots in my booth with the projector running. No audience when I did it. No issues with the camera, it didn't care. I have no light sensitive interlocks at all. They are all mechanical. The sound head didn't seem to care either. I'm using an old analog system with a white light, I took shots directly at that area and didn't notice a pop or anything in the speakers.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-02-2003 08:29 PM                    Not a technical issue but a few years back while attending Sho-nuff (ok, Showest) a staff girl at Caesars had a cow when I tried to photograph the Omnimax booth from outside the glass. She gave me some BS about sensors. I said I wouldn't be using a flash. She still went off in totally bovine fashion. Like there's anything secret there that you could reverse engineer from a photo taken outside the glass.  |  IP: Logged Joe Morris Film Handler Posts: 35 From: Papillion, NE, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-02-2003 08:34 PM                     white exciters don't have a problem with excess light, but if you have the ultrajax red LED exciters...any excess light, no matter how quick will cause a pop in your sound  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-02-2003 09:02 PM                     Just don't do flash photos of your service tech wiring up a sound rack when he's not looking....I had to pull one of my employees down off the exhaust blower when I tried that one once. Mark  |  IP: Logged Justin West Master Film Handler Posts: 271 From: Peoria, IL, USA Registered: Jul 2001 posted 03-02-2003 09:25 PM                     Joe must be right, because when I was recently touring a booth with some other UDITOA members, the repeated flash photos were causing pops in the sound and Jim Goble gave us the "heads up" as to why.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 03-02-2003 09:31 PM                    white or red it does not matter you get extranious light on the solar cell it will make noise. I have seen and heard it happen.  |  IP: Logged Joe Morris Film Handler Posts: 35 From: Papillion, NE, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-02-2003 09:40 PM                     I must correct my previous statement...they are Ultra Stereo Jaxlights...those are the red exciters. Had 'em put in before my theatre got bought out. we used to have the white ones in my lovely Monee's....and we never had a problem with sound....but excess light will cause buzzing and pops...the buzz is my favorite  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-02-2003 10:03 PM                     Steve, a number of autofocus mechanisms emit IR, FYI. Also, some platters using photocells might be affected, albiet briefly... --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-03-2003 12:30 AM                    Autofocus? What's that?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-03-2003 01:11 AM                     If you have a tripod and some decent ambient light available, you'll get better quality booth photos by not using a flash. Flash photography has a bad tendency of flattening out shadow detail. The best thing is to get a couple portable lights and rig them up to light your hardware and get a photo with good exposure. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money on real studio lights. It is possible to rig up a good set of lights just from materials you find at the hardware store. But even with good lights, you'll probably still need the tripod if you want to set a good, sharp F-stop.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-03-2003 09:24 AM                     Open the sound head door on a projector that still has a solar cell. Stand about two or three feet back. Hold a Bic lighter at waist level and flick it two or three times in quick succession. The flashes of light will cause a "Thump! Thump!" sound in the auditorium if the projector is running and the sound system is activated. This was one of the demonstrations I used to give to kids who worked in the booth as to why they had to keep the overhead lights off when the movie was runnning. I can just imagine what a camera flash would do to the sound in the auditorium! It must sound like a gunshot! That having been said, I can imagine no reason why you can't take flash pictures in a projection booth as long as you keep the sound head doors closed and the sound system turned off. (Or at least in Non-Symc mode.)  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 03-03-2003 09:48 AM                        quote: from Justin... Joe must be right, because when I was recently touring a booth with some other UDITOA members, the repeated flash photos were causing pops in the sound and Jim Goble gave us the "heads up" as to why. That booth also uses the Jaxlights they've been talking about here. Someone correct the practical theory here, if I don't get it quite right... You're using all the stuff from your old "forward scan" system... except you're installing an LED that doesn't provide anywhere near the gain you had with the old exciter lamp. The surface-mounted solar cell is still there, with no physical shielding (as compared to a reverse scan system)... and you're kicking up the gain an obscene amount, thereby making the whole thing much more sensitive to hum inducing issues.... and camera flashes! Oh... put a fluorescent trouble light around the front of one of these soundheads & see what happens!  |  IP: Logged Jim Spohn Film Handler Posts: 95 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-03-2003 10:28 AM                     Just take the pictures!!  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-03-2003 10:31 AM                        I took that same booth tour that both Justin & Jack took several weeks ago down in Florida. Everytime the flash went off, there was a definite "pop" in the sound. I didn't realize what it was until Jim pointed it out to me. Speaking of those photos.... Jack, did any of those photos Cheryl took of that infamous "booth wiring" turn out?? That was a classic hand written sign above the sound rack!!  |  IP: Logged

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