r/focuspuller

I’m sure this topic has already been discussed, but if anyone who’s used to shooting on 16mm would be willing to give me a tip or two, that would be lovely. I’m already comfortable pulling focus — I’m more wondering about preparation details and medium-term maintenance. I’ll be shooting with the ARRI 416. We will be using 500T and 200T. Thanks!!!

Hey Sub.

Looking for recommendations for an online store that sells consumables and ships worldwide.

Got a big job coming up and looking to stock up on things we don’t usually get in my country. Not looking for anything specific.

whats your favorite wrap gift from a fellow camera team member?

Hey all -- at a prep right now trying to make framelines on 2x anamorphic, Alexa 35, open gate mode. DP wants 2.39 framelines with a 16:9 frameline inset, but left aligned. And another option right-aligned.

The arri frameline tool has "offset" greyed out. I tried this advanced frameline tool https://frameline.tools , but it's not respecting the desqueeze.

I've been pulling my hair out trying to modify the XML files directly, but my brain is spinning trying to understand how the parameters relate to the actual display of the lines.

Any ideas?

Hi, curious if anyone here has any feedback on whether or not CTM-1 would be a good budget focus assist range finder for an early career 1st AC in a rural market mostly doing indie film, and TV series in the US. Or is this tool just too old / bulky now? I know RT is better, but it's way out of budget currently.

Would be pairing with a Teradek Ctrl.3 setup and expecting to use the overlay with distance read out on Smallhd monitor. This would supplement the TOF.1 I already have in my kit.

Mostly shooting on Alexa 35 and Mini LF these days.

Should I save a couple hundred bucks or add this tool into my workflow?

It would be helpful if somebody can share their vertical focus stations. I've never seen anyone share vertical setups online. Thanks in advance!!!

Spent two decades as a first AC on features, commercials and music videos, pulling focus the old fashioned way — tape measure, experience, and a little prayer. Worked my way through the industry, met everyone worth meeting, and eventually got out just in time.

The job never left me though. My debut novel is called The Focus Puller. Rio Zapata is a former camera assistant — a victim of the industry in the best sense of the word — but like all of us who did the job, he spends his life trying to keep other people's worlds sharp while his own stays stubbornly, beautifully out of focus.

Just published it independently. Felt like this was the right place to mention it.

Hey there.

I'm prepping a shoot that will take place in sandy locations (beach and desert) in North Africa during hot season.

I'm looking for any tips as to correctly protect the camera, accessories and monitoring from sand and dust, while avoiding overheating as much as possible.

We already booked tents, umbrellas, plastic covers, but my guess is it won't be enough to avoid getting sand everywhere. And also plastic scares me with the heat.

Build is Alexa 35 and SmallHD monitors.

Thanks !

Do thinner 3g bnc's cause more reliability issues when using wireless transmission with teradeks? I ask because lately I've had some teradek reliability issues on set. For reference I'm mostly using alvins 3g bnc cables and the stock coilly ones that come with the teradek tx/rx.

Would love to open up a discussion also about best practices with teradeks. Do you check your antennas often? Do you have any recommendations for better bnc cables that aren't too expensive?

Does anyone have a good ac pouch they recommend? Need something mainly for efficiency and accessibility over storage.

Thanks

I'm on a student film shoot with an arriflex 535 and we keep getting the asy error when I press run. Sometimes it works, sometimes It doesn't when I turn the knob to loading position after pressing run although when it runs it doesn't hit 24 fps. Do some of you have any solutions or encountered this problem?

Hey. Any EU 1st ACs here who can tell me what a realistic day rate is in Germany or German speaking Europe? Would be very helpful.