Manual Safe Area Guides on Camera viewfinder

Hey ALL,
I’m currently filming with URSA Broadcast with eyepiece and it doesn’t let me do manual safe area guides or frame guides either, only by given aspect ratios, which I can’t change. Whether when I’m using big viewfinder, I can easily set frame guides to any aspect ratio by editing “coursors”.
Reason, we are filming for screens (IMAG) and we have unusual aspect ratio for that, which camera operator need to be aware of!
Can’t believe I need to go back to 90’s and tape my monitor for manual frame guides! PLEASE HELP!

*We have two cameras, handheld and front of house. Fron of House is Fine, because using viewfinder. But handheld definitely needs frame guides in eyepiece!


Thank you !! Much appreciated

Ioanns

With what resolution are you shooting? The full 4.6K sensor, 4608x2592? And what aspect ratio do you want? What’s the resolution of your deliverables?


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Rick, he is using the Ursa Broadcast, not the UM/Pro 4.6. The Ursa Broadcast is the 1-inch (13.056x7.344mm) UHD sensor, so only shoots full gate in UHD (3840x2160) or downsampled to HD 1080.

Broadcast cameras normally can be set to TV “Safe Area” with framing framing guides (originally known as overscan, never have seen a Broadcast type camera EVF with adjustable guides, only the pre set one (but it has been a while since I last used one). A Studio Viewfinder (Monitor) is more adjustable and has custom guides, and room for the required X and Y axis control knobs. EVFs were normally used on ENG cameras with fixed aspect ratios, which the EVF mirrors.

Broadcast type cameras are built for the major majority of user applications, and not able to meet every one’s odd applications. The EVF was originally made for the Ursa Cinema camera and later used in the smaller Ursa Mini Cine cameras.

I used to use black thin card stock to make EVF guides where I wanted the aspect ratio different than the preset. Gaffers tape also works. Cinematographers started out with film and optical viewfinders, where masking the viewfinder with mats or tape was the normal workflow, digital EVFs just replaced the optical bit with a mini CRT and later LCD displays with the normal setup controls and adding image peaking to help with focus. Aspect ratios then were fixed by the camera and its matching EVF.
Cheers

Good grief, am I supposed to be able to read as well as write? Completely glossed over the Broadcast mentioned by the OP while I’m multitasking here.

In the Broadcast Camer, if the BMD Studio Viewfinder works with the camera, that might be best solution.


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Yes it does, and the OP is using one on one of his two cameras. The second one is using a EVF for some reason.
Cheers