If I could do it all again... cameras and lighting

If I were going to do another film project what would I do the same? What would I do differently? Here are a few ideas in what might turn into a long post.

>One thing I would do is try to create some kind of monitoring box. It would be like a flight case with a piece of black material so it could be used in daylight. The monitor box would simply contain a monitor or laptop that would help me or a DP to frame and focus and also to check histograms, etc. That would solve so many problems.

>I might also shoot on a DVX-100. I'm not sure that it was worth shooting in HDV. I love the creamy color look of the DVX and going standard DV has got to render faster. The thing I dislike most about it—non-16x9 viewfinder, although the 100b does have 16x9 viewfinder correction.

>It was definitely worth getting the wide angle and fisheye lenses. I used the Century Optics wide angle all the time and used the fish eye enough to justify its low cost ($35). Sure you get what you pay for, and even I could see the distortions in the fish eye. But for my taste, they were good enough, especially since the way I use fisheyes, they're _supposed_ to look distorted.

>The standard Lowell light kit with the two Omnis and one Tota was plenty. I never felt the need for any more lights. I also realized that I don't like using soft lights unless they're flourescents. I was thinking about getting a softbox at one time, but I probably don't need one. I might get a bunch of cheap flourescents though since I like that mixed light look. And for some reason, their softness looks good to me. We used the Lowell barn doors and umbrella all the time. The only gel I used was daylight blue. I could just never get them to look right. The red one was great for Halloween though.

>I used to think those fancy fold-out reflectors were a waste of money. But I now think they're worth it for a couple of reasons. First, you can fit them into some awkward spaces like car interiors. Second, they're foldable so you can always carry one with you. Third, my foamcore was always getting banged up or lost.

>I would keep the jib. The standard crane down shots never got used. But I used the jib a lot for moving the camera around when I might otherwise have gone handheld. I like the smooth look. I'd like to get it working on a dolly. That would increase its possibilities quite a bit.