Hey. I need the answers to these two unrelated questions...

1) I need advise on how to make my blacks as black as possible. I'll be using a PD150 or a Canon XL1. If the answer involves lighting, please state what kind of light, and where to put it.

2) This one might just be a language problem. Could somebody explain to me in-depth what blocking is? And what is a blocking chart?

Thank you in advance.

-the wannabe

My advice is to shoot your shot how you want it to look. Make sure you have some shadows where you want them. Then after you complete that go into your editing software and from there use the color corrector and also adjust your brightness and things to that nature. You should be able to create the look you are seeking rather easily. Good Luck

There are several ways to 'crush' your blacks. You can use art direction, lighting, filters, stock/camera choice, post-techniques or a combintation of all of these things.

Art direction would be a matter of contrast. For lighting, you may want to keep it pretty directional and use a lot of negative-fill. Filters meant to boost contrast are more useful if you're shooting black and white, but depending on the situation a polarizer might be handy, or a color filter that you then dial back in post (There may be a few more options as well). In your case I would recommend the PD-150 as it has narrower latitude than the XL-1 making it naturally contrasty (Not that the XL-1 isn't narrow on latitude as well). Post will depend on what you have available to you (I won't even touch on film and labs). FCP has great color correction software (At least on versions 4 and up I believe). I've gotten premiere 6.5 to do what I wanted, but it took some patience.

Blocking is the process of establishing where your talent (Actors) need to be, and how they need to be positioned, throughout a certain shot or scene.

Hope that helps!

Nota "Back to one" Mono

if you have after effects or any color corrector with the curves filter use that.