Finding center of frame 

 By Eoin mcguigan 

 on 5/12/20, 7:00 PM • 154 views
Hey all! Forgive me if this sounds convoluted!
i do a lot of jobs for some large retailers that often have big set builds with lots of geometric elements built in. Almost all of the time these elements are needed to be shot in a way that makes everything symmetrical. These sets aren’t built in conjunction with camera or grip depts but often times I’m finding myself last minute trying to find perfect level and center of frame. Generally I do a rough measurement with my laser from each end of the set to center of lens I need to be symmetrical with and if I’m inline with an inch or two I deem that to be OK. From there I’ll toss a heavy grid up on monitor to make sure lines are level. This can be a tedious prospect because if someone pans or if we start out maybe not perfectly centered on head or our tilt changes slightly all of the measurements seem to go away. I know there are those construction laser levels that could help a bit, but does anyone else deal with these kind of situations? If so what’re your solutions 
 

 Charles Antoine Auger 

 On 5/13/20, 3:59 PM
Not sure if it will answer your question but:
If you need to place your camera dead center to the set: place a mirror in the measured center of the frame. The mirror must be flat and levelled. Then aim at the mirror with your camera. If you see the center of your lens on your crosshair inside de mirror you are now dead center and levelled with the set. If you see something else then the center of the lens you must pan/tilt/move the camera until you find the center of the lens in the mirror.


That imply that you need a flat surface (like a wall) in the middle of your set.
