When I began working on Act of Valor, I was using an Asus 17” monitor to light. When I got into the color correction bay, I noticed that I had over-lit scenes because the monitor was not seeing what the camera was ultimately seeing. Mike McCarthy at Bandito Brothers Post brought the HP LP2480 zx Dreamcolor monitor from their color correction bay to have on set with us and to replace the Asus.
HP LP2480zx Dreamcolor On Set
It was a computer monitor with a little stand for your desk. I asked, “Mike, what is this?” He said, “Trust me, this monitor rocks.” He was not lying. We immediately removed the little stand and crafted mounts for dollies, c-stands, and cases. That way, it could hold up on location.
HP LP2480 zx Dream Color monitor on the set of “The Last 3 Minutes,” Carnival sequence
This is when it all clicked for me. When I looked at the back LCD of the Canon 5D and then at the Dream Color, they matched more closely than anything that I had seen. I have always felt that the back LCD is the true gauge of color, contrast, saturation, etc., but it is way too small and by using the Z-finder to enlarge it to your eye, there is an unnatural contrast that is added.
Dream Color mounted to the dolly for the Diner sequence on the Marines Commercial “For Us All”
Dreamcolor Prepares You For Color Correction
It is the Dreamcolor for all lighting on the set for me. I take it everywhere. It has become my viewfinder into this 8 Bit compressed color space and I trust it. I have never gone to the color correction bay and seen something that I hadn’t seen when I was on the set. It has given me confidence as a Cinematographer with the limited latitude of HDSLRs.
Dream Color at the Spa in Cancun
Dueling Dream Colors, I have mine mounted to the dolly while the Agency views the other in video village
Exposing to HP Dreamcolor Monitor
When I look and see a cloud clipping on my Dreamcolor, I know that I have to take the exposure down a bit to hold it. When I see a shadow turning too black, I know that I have to open up my exposure a bit to gain the detail necessary.
I am not a big Histogram guy. I go with my eye and not some graph that means absolutely nothing when you are shooting HD. Everyone has tried to take this still photography latitude device and pull it over to the HD video mode. If you expose your Histogram in 4 of the 5 fields, which is what they recommend, you will quickly overexpose your image and make it look like video.
It is all about riding the fine line of starving the CMOS chip of light and giving it just enough so that it doesn’t look underexposed. It is a balance that turns this platform from an HD video capture device to a Digital Film capture device.
When I pull up an image that I have exposed using the Dreamcolor, I punch over to the Histogram and my levels have not gotten out of the second field.
Calibration
The HP Dreamcolor monitor holds its calibration for 4000 hours. We have 20 in Revolution Cinema Rentals inventory and the one that started it all only has 287 hours on it with 9 months of use.
Getting your HP Dreamcolor ready for the field
When you look at the HP Dreamcolor LP2480 zx Monitor, it looks like a computer monitor that should not be anywhere other than a desk. We have disproved that with months of testing and want to give you the necessary tips to make it battle-ready.
Make Your Monitor On Set Ready
Elite Team McGuyver, Darin Necessary, designed a plate that attaches the monitor to a 1650 Pelican traveling case, which turns it into a traveling stand.
The Izzy HP Dream Color Monitor Bracket
Drill holes into the 1650 Pelican Case handle, Thumb Screws make it easy for on & off
Bracket now screwed to the 1650 Pelican Case handle
Dream Color is ready to roll out
Elite Team Members Joseph Jang and Jerry Rojas roll out the AM Resorts travel and tourism spots in Cancun
Buy a piece of plexiglass and have it cut to the size of the monitor, you then use velcro to fix it to the screen. This will protect your screen while traveling and setting up in the field. Once you are settled and ready to light, you can remove the plexi for the best viewing.
Affix velcro to the edges of your plexiglass and also to edges of HP Dream Color, leaving the side with the function buttons open
Push Plexiglass onto monitor for travel
Gaffers tape and Duvateen are your new best friends. Use the gaffer’s tape to affix a piece of Duvateen or Black Cloth onto the monitor so that you can have a dark viewing area for exterior work.
Place your HDMI splitters and repeaters in your pelican case for easy organization. Cables and other nick nacks can be placed in there also.
Gaffer’s tape black cloth around exterior perimeter of monitor for Exterior viewing
Cut your foam out for all of your splitters, repeaters, HDMI barrels and power supplies
Dave Kundson, my rigging guru, designed a baby pin that attaches to the thumb screws on the monitor bracket so you can mount it on a dolly, c-stand, etc.
Grip Side Inc.’s Baby Plate adapter for the HP Dream Color
Menus on your Dream Color
- Go into your OSD control on the monitor: Disable warning messages and calibration limit.
- Set your Monitor brightness to: 250 cd/m2
- Go to Image Control on main menu, Custom Scaling set to: Fill to Aspect Ratio
- Set your Color Space to: Full
- Set your Video input control to: HDMI
- Set your White Point/Color Temp to: 6500K
Coming from the film world where I relied on a light meter as my gauge for exposures, the most difficult adjustment in the HDSLR world has been finding an accurate lighting monitor that is fast yet intimate with the talent and the agency, so I am not in some black tent away from the action with waveform monitors and gack. The HP Dream Color was exactly what I needed as a cinematographer to finally feel at ease. What you see is what you get!
I would love to hear from you about monitors and what you choose to light with.
Schedule 1-on-1 Video Call with Shane Hurlbut, ASC
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About Filmmakers Academy Cinematographer Mentor Shane Hurlbut, ASC
Director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC works at the forefront of cinema. He’s a storyteller, innovator, and discerning collaborator, who brings more than three decades of experience to his art. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Cinematographers Guild/Local 600, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Hurlbut frequently joins forces with great directors: McG’s Netflix Rim of the World and The Babysitter, plus Warner Bros. We Are Marshall and Terminator: Salvation; Scott Waugh’s Need for Speed and Act of Valor; and Gabriele Muccino’s There Is No Place Like Home and Fathers and Daughters. His additional film credits include Semi-Pro; The Greatest Game Ever Played; Into the Blue; Mr 3000; Drumline; 11:14, which earned Hurlbut a DVDX nomination; and The Skulls. Notably, his television credits include the first season of AMC’s Into the Badlands.
Filmmakers Academy Premium Camera Courses
By Shane Hurlbut, ASC
Director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC works at the forefront of cinema as a storyteller, innovator and discerning collaborator, who brings more than three decades of experience to his art. He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Cinematographers Guild/Local 600, and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
