Wheeler Sunpredictor Testimonials
Would you like to know what people are saying about the Wheeler Sunpredictor?
“I was recently in Queenstown, New Zealand shooting a commercial and found the Wheeler Sunpredictor
absolutely indispensable for giving me the times and bearings of where the sun was going to pop over the
surrounding mountains. I needed to know exactly so that we could arrange the shooting day in advance.
It made me realize just how useful it would have been in Mexico and the Galapagos for the very demanding
exteriors on ‘Master and Commander’.”
“The Wheeler Sunpredictor is a great device, and I’m sure it will become as necessary as my
exposure and color temperature meters.”
Russell Boyd ACS ASC
Director of Photography – ‘Master and Commander’
"...along the way I relied heavily on the predictions of the program.....I'm very happy with the
Sunpredictor™ and the results that I'm getting in remote areas of China on the "Kite Runner". Keep up
the good work!"
Roberto Schaefer ASC
“Deadlines are tighter, budgets are reducing, yet expectations despite these constraints, are on the
increase. It’s now the world of photography that we find ourselves in and time management is essential.
I find myself travelling the world from assignment to assignment, back to back, Southern Hemisphere to
Northern, time zone to time zone, it’s disorientating!"
“The most essential piece of equipment on these assignments is now my O2 Smart phone/PDA, loaded with
the Wheeler Sunpredictor. It’s 10pm and we have arrived in Fiji, we have two days to shoot specific resort
images, which means every bit of daylight is crucial. My O2 is the first thing to reach for. The Sunpredictor
gives me the benefits of knowing how much light I’ll have and exactly where and when the sun will rise and
set even before I have had a chance to determine the shots, it’s amazing! Three days later I am in London
shooting exteriors, and surprisingly the sun is out, however the Sunpredictor tells me that it’s only useable
for ? hours, and even then the trajectory is so low in the sky that it’s not an option. Ring for HMI’s."
"Seven days later and I’m back in Melbourne, a quick check of the
first light and I’m in the surf before anyone else.”
Earl Carter
Photographer
Melbourne, Australia
"...for scouting, and those unpredictable requests that come down the phone at odd times of the day or
night, Sunpredictor™ is a fast and simple way to let an anxious Producer or Director know what they can
expect in terms of a shooting day in any season and in any place in the world. Great."
Oliver Stapleton BSC
"Sunpredictor combines portability, minute by minute precision and ease of data manipulation in a well
thought out package that is intuitive to use. I can use it with GoogleEarth even before I'm at the
location or just use the GPS during the scout. I've tried several different programs and there's no
question that this is the best sun prediction package that's ever been devised".
Charlie Lieberman
Director of Photography
California, USA
"....finally a hand held sun prediction tool that is precise and easy to use....the graphic display is
intuitive, the calculations are spot on and being able to save the locations to a data base is fantastic.
On a recent location scout with overcast conditions the Wheeler Sunpredictor was accurate down to the minute
in it’s predictions for the shoot days....fantastic...an invaluable tool...I won’t leave home without it."
Trevor Ripper
Gaffer
Melbourne, Australia
"Dear John,
Known fact, we are not in control of the movement of the sun, but at least we try to work around it.
That is what I had in my mind when I bought the Wheeler Sunpredictor.
Since I have your software, my days of nail biting are over, now I am able to stand in the location
with the whole day laid out in front of me, make instant calculations and ‘see’ where the sun will
track and at what time.
Shooting in big cities, surrounded by tall buildings it was always a guess work to set up long scenes,
making sure the light conditions remain similar during the necessary time to get the coverage. Now with
the help of the Sunpredictor I can confidently advise the best set up to keep the scene in sunlight or
shade, according to our choice. No more shocking surprises after coming back from lunch-break, realizing
how much the light has changed with the movement of the sun.
There is one feature of the Sunpredictor I specially like; it is the indication of remaining light
in the sky after sunset or before sunrise. The dimming blue background gives a fair idea how long we can
have separation between the sky and the foreground in dusk and down.
Great program John! Thank you."
László Baranyai ACS HSC
Director of Photography
“In October of 2005, I shot a feature film titled ‘Kokoda’ in Southern Queensland, Australia.
The locations included steep hillsides and dense jungle, so the handheld ease of the Sunpredictor was
great - no laptops, no printers, just instant information. It meant that I was able to accurately
schedule particular scenes in which direct sun was essential to the success of the sequence.”
“On one occasion I was able to predict 5 weeks out a shot that required a lone soldier to be
silhouetted on a hillside by the setting sun from a critical camera position. As the actor was only
available for one day it greatly assisted the producers in managing his availability. In short,
the Sunpredictor saved our butts on several occasions.”
Jules O’Loughlin
Director of Photography – ‘Kokoda’
“I've had my sun predictor in my HP pocket PC and have used it at least 10 times in a 2 month period.”
“On a recent car commercial the Sunpredictor was critical to our calculation of sunrise and sunset
shots in locations 450kms apart for the same shoot.”
“The DP & Director wanted to shoot a sunset shot with the hero car driving directly into the path
of the setting sun. With little prep time or location scouting, I was able to find a road leading in the
right direction of the setting sun one hour before sunset and rehearse the shot with the helicopter
(which the camera was mounted to). I was also able to predict exactly where the sun would set and have
the 2nd camera positioned for the perfect shot ..3 takes later the shot was completed and the DIR & DP
were extremely happy.”
“The WSP made me, as First AC, look very good. My experience with other programs is that there is little
or no back up, you have to work it out yourself by trial and error. The Wheeler Sunpredictor has a complete
manual in the PDA and a full online back up service. The Sunpredictor is so easy to use - dummy proof.”
“I have no complaints with the program and would recommend it to anyone, no matter what part of
the production they are working for. The fact you have the whole day displayed, can make instant calculations and
can carry it in your pocket is what attracted me to it - and you can use the PDA for everything else in your day
to day life.”
Anthony Pawley
First AC
Sydney, Australia
"I've been using the Wheeler Sunpredictor for around two months now and it's a great (and now
totally necessary) tool. From simply predicting exactly where the sun will set on a beach shot to a
completely accurate readout on when and where shadows would fall on a golf green it's been a complete
success."
I particularly like its compact and totally portable nature (no more paper print outs to contend
with on windy days) and the fact that it takes into account the magnetic declination so that for any
location I simply get a direct compass reading. It's now a permanent part of my kit."
Ellery Ryan ACS
Director of Photography
“I have been using WSP for some months and I am very impressed. It has enabled me to accurately determine
the suns position when scouting locations, and has made life easier for production when determining the days
shooting schedules. Its portability is a huge bonus as well."
"The WSP has become an important tool for both DP's and Gaffers alike. I think location scouts should
seriously consider using this tool. When time is of the essence, and let’s face it, time is always of the
essence, there is nothing worse than arriving to check a location only to find the orientation of the
time/location/sun is completely wrong. You are just wasting your time."
"The WSP has now found a permanent place in my meter case."
Greg Harrington
Director of Photography
Arrested Development
20th Century Fox Television
“I found the Sunpredictor software fantastic!"
“My use of the Sunpredictor came about unexpectedly. I normally use SunPath printouts. I recalled
seeing the article in American Cinematographer for your software, so I soon flicked through the recent
issues and found it. I figured what a way to refine my work on recces. So I put the 7 day trial to work,
heading up to the Hunter Valley for a recent recce proved just the job. I astounded my producer and line
producer when I told them exactly what time we could get a sunset shot across a mountain range. And I
mean down to the minute!"
“So the Sunpredictor will be in my pocket on every job from now on. All in all, an awesome tool."
Matt Horrex
Director of Photography
“To have the power to accurately predict the sun’s path is pure gold."
“I have just completed a project that required the production designer to build a town. The location
had been surveyed and construction about to begin by the time I joined the production. On my first survey
of the site, six weeks before shooting was to commence, I used the Wheeler Sunpredictor to plot the sun path
over the entire shoot period. I realised that a 90-degree rotation of the site plan was going to give far
better results. Using the Sunpredictor, the first AD and I were then able to work out a schedule to best
maximise the backlight in the town. Great programme, easy to use, run on compact portable hardware, a
must have during preproduction."
“Thanks John Wheeler."
Ben Nott ACS
Director of Photography
“Its great when a Cinematographer designs a tool for Cinematographers, and the Sunpredictor is a
fantastic tool."
“I have been using Sunpredictor for the last 5 months now with great results. It is very
straightforward and simple to use. I have used other GPS units but found them to be slow and cumbersome."
“Recently I have been shooting in South America, America, Thailand and China, Australia and
New Zealand and the Sunpredictor has been a lifesaver. Shooting in foreign county’s can be difficult,
moving from one hemisphere to another confusing, but I have found that I can rely on the Sunpredictor.
Just select the time zone, lock into your satellite and away you go."
“To have instant access to so much sun related data is awesome."
Daniel Ardilley ACS
Director of Photography
Sydney, Australia
“Whilst shooting in Japan during February 2006, I gave the Wheeler Sunpredictor™ a really tough test."
“I arrived in Tokyo and traveled directly to our location for a recce. The fog was extremely heavy;
visibility was down to a few meters. I was able to plot the position and track of the sun, then lock
down the locations in advance of the shoot."
“The script required me to position a 40ft crane and remote head in a very tight location. The crane
could not be moved easily once it was set up."
“On the shoot days, the weather was perfect and the calculations made by the WSP were spot on. It’s
portability and updateable graphic display make it a very powerful tool. The Sunpredictor™ is now an
essential part of my kit."
“The accuracy of the Sunpredictor™ made the scheduling easy and the shots were perfect."
Rob Murray ACS
Director of Photography
".....with the Wheeler Sunpredictor I can easily and accurately predict the future position of the
sun, anywhere in the world....this has given me enormous confidence.....powerful and compact, it is now
so easy to have accurate information on future sun angles and daylight hours....it's accuracy is bang
on......I love it."
Viv Scanu
Cinematographer