How do i get started?!?!?1

[zac shaheen]

hi, my name is zac. i really want to get into this buisness asafp! i have no idea how to start. i know alot about cameras but dont have any profesional training. i shoot DV and i am in a media class. but i hate video and really want to be working with 35mm cameras. is there anyone that could give some advise? or anyone in the new england area need a PA? i worked as one on an i-party commercial. it was shot with an arriflex 35 bl 2 (man that was cool). but could anyone help me? :blink: !

[Dan Goulder]

If you've already worked as a PA on a 35mm shoot, then you've got a good start. I assume you observed how light is metered and how it translates to the iris setting on the lens. I don't know if there are any rental houses in Maine, but if you can get to one, those are good places to get some hands-on training of how to load the mags and do a basic camera setup. Try a one or two day rental, get ahold of some short ends of 35mm stock, send it to a lab, and have them transfer it to a format where you'll be able to view the results. One caveat: Working in 35mm ain't cheap...so be prepared.

[Nate Downes]

Hey, I have family in Berwick! Transplanted Mainer here.

 

But I'll keep an ear out, I still hear of productions in my old neck of the woods on occasion.

[zac shaheen]

Hey, I have family in Berwick! Transplanted Mainer here.

 

But I'll keep an ear out, I still hear of productions in my old neck of the woods on occasion.

 

 

thats so cool that you have family in berwick. its a small town so i probably know them :)

[zac shaheen]

If you've already worked as a PA on a 35mm shoot, then you've got a good start. I assume you observed how light is metered and how it translates to the iris setting on the lens. I don't know if there are any rental houses in Maine, but if you can get to one, those are good places to get some hands-on training of how to load the mags and do a basic camera setup. Try a one or two day rental, get ahold of some short ends of 35mm stock, send it to a lab, and have them transfer it to a format where you'll be able to view the results. One caveat: Working in 35mm ain't cheap...so be prepared.

 

i did study the light meter and how he was using it. apparently florescent lights photograph green so they had to replace them all. the whole shoot was about 7 hours. thats alot of work for a 30 second commercial :blink:

[zac shaheen]

If you've already worked as a PA on a 35mm shoot, then you've got a good start. I assume you observed how light is metered and how it translates to the iris setting on the lens. I don't know if there are any rental houses in Maine, but if you can get to one, those are good places to get some hands-on training of how to load the mags and do a basic camera setup. Try a one or two day rental, get ahold of some short ends of 35mm stock, send it to a lab, and have them transfer it to a format where you'll be able to view the results. One caveat: Working in 35mm ain't cheap...so be prepared.

 

well, what kind of camera should i rent? like an arri 2c? or like an eyemo?

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

16 years old, has only shot DV and wants to get into "the business" ASAP

 

Excellent ambitions for someone so young. I would recommend you graduate from DV and start shooting some Super8 or 16mm and REALLY start to understand film's relation to lighting and get some hands on experience with some cameras.

 

But honestly, at 16 yrs old, there aren't many people who are going to trust you with handling the expensive equipment (cameras/lenses/lights). So your best bet right now is at getting crew jobs as a PA or grip, just as you've been doing. The more on set experience you can get, the better. Just be sure to do your own homework and continue learning in the meantime.

[zac shaheen]

16 years old, has only shot DV and wants to get into "the business" ASAP

 

Excellent ambitions for someone so young. I would recommend you graduate from DV and start shooting some Super8 or 16mm and REALLY start to understand film's relation to lighting and get some hands on experience with some cameras.

 

But honestly, at 16 yrs old, there aren't many people who are going to trust you with handling the expensive equipment (cameras/lenses/lights). So your best bet right now is at getting crew jobs as a PA or grip, just as you've been doing. The more on set experience you can get, the better. Just be sure to do your own homework and continue learning in the meantime.

 

 

heh yeah, i was thinking that.

[James Steven Beverly]

Work after school and on the weekends, save up your pennies and/or hit up your parrents and buy a Konvas KSR-1, 6 volt 35mm motion picture camera. These are the cheapest 35mm camera out there that's worth a damn and the chapest model of Konvas your likely to find. It is stickly an MOS camera but the only one you're gonna likely be able to afford. This little camera from Russia are high quality and practically indestructable. A complete package comes with 5 lenses 22mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 135mm, 5 200 foot mags, a short and long power cable, built in reflex viewfinder, a hand crank, a hand grip, a single frame hand crank for anamation, tool kit w/ pouch, leather carrying strap, lens cases and a camera case as well and will go for between $300 to $800 dollars plus shipping and bank transfer fees to the former Soviet Block, but more than likely, you'll get an somewhat incomplete packages which is functional but missing some acessories. There were over 10,000 Konvas' made between 1952 and 1993 with minor changes. They are VERY popular in the West and there is countless support groups and info on them. The KSR-1 is perfect for a film student because they are rugged, cheap, availible and usually come as a complete or nearly complete package. There are 2 Konvas' listed on ebay right now for under $500 bucks.

 

Item number: 230146806698 This one is going for $349.50 plus shipping

 

Item number: 120135121559 This one is going for $490.00 at this point with $110 shipping to the US. I've dealt with this guy before, he's reliable.

 

Don't have the money, no problem, these come up all the time. Take your time anf find one in good shape so you don't have to put a lot of cash into it.

 

Once you have secured a camera in good condition, looked up how to lubed it, done so with sewing machine oil and found a power supply or batteries for it, save more money anf buy 35mm short ends which should run about 15 cents a foot or buy some recans on ebay because Konvas ksr-1 200 foot mags only take 180 feet of film with the kodak core adaptors made by Raf Camera installed in them, which go for 25 bucks each plus shipping. You'll need 2 per mag otherwise you have to spool Kodak film onto the old Soviet style cores which is really the biggest pain about the KSR-1, but you can just do one mag to start with and buy more as you go along.

 

You'll also need a changing bag or tent to load and unload your film, those run like another hundred bucks. Light meter, say 50 for an old one. At some point you'll want to buy filters, go with Cokin A, they'll cover the lens and are cheap maybe 5 to 10 bucks each or less if you get a deal. Don't worry about those right now. Shoot some stock footage you might be able to use latter on in a film and ship it off to be processed and printed or transfered to a digital format. If you want to print the film and look at the original footage, you'll need a 35mm prjector, hand cranked silent ones from the turn of the century are still availible at prices a kid could afford. These were toys and were made by the boatload. They go for around a hundred bucks, sometimes you can find a silent electic powered projector from the 20s and they're pretty cheap too, 3 to 4 hundred, just make sure they work before you buy them.

 

There you go, a way to get into 35mm ASAP. B)

Edited June 29, 2007 by James Steven Beverly

[zac shaheen]

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you. :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! like woah thats alot of awsome information.

[James Steven Beverly]

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you. :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! like woah thats alot of awsome information.

No problem....I am a genius you know :rolleyes:

[zac shaheen]

No problem....I am a genius you know :rolleyes:

 

yeah i sort of figured that out. are you a director of cinematographer at all?

[James Steven Beverly]

yeah i sort of figured that out. are you a director of cinematographer at all?

 

No, as you can see by my signature, on most shoots I usually work as the HMFIC. B)

[zac shaheen]

No, as you can see by my signature, on most shoots I usually work as the HMFIC. B)

 

i learned alot of film jobs in communications class but i dont think i remember that.

[Matthew Buick]

Hey, I have family in Berwick! Transplanted Mainer here.

 

But I'll keep an ear out, I still hear of productions in my old neck of the woods on occasion.

 

I was born in Berwick...North East England.

[James Steven Beverly]

i learned alot of film jobs in communications class but i dont think i remember that.

 

You don't remember that acronym?! H.M.F.I.C.? You cinema education is sorely lacking. That dates back all the way to the 70s. B)

[zac shaheen]

You don't remember that acronym?! H.M.F.I.C.? You cinema education is sorely lacking. That dates back all the way to the 70s. B)

 

DARN MY IGNORANCE! eh, well our class was kind of stupid. they didnt know a PL mount from an arrihead. hehehe.

[zac shaheen]

You don't remember that acronym?! H.M.F.I.C.? You cinema education is sorely lacking. That dates back all the way to the 70s. B)

 

HAHAHaHAHA thats really funny! i just got that.

[James Steven Beverly]

'bout time :D

[zac shaheen]

'bout time :D

 

so then you do directing? what kinds of things have you directed

[Lana Loukota]

Whoa, I am still LOST on the acronym, but then I never went to film school ;) Do I want to know?

But James, how do you know so much about cinematography. And, while I'm feeling impertinent, why do you have a dependent clause (aka a sentence fragment) in your signature? :P

Sorry, that's the english major inside me creeping out during my summer break... I do like your statement, btw.

[James Steven Beverly]

I said I was a director, not an English professor. I'm surprised that a gentleman such as yourself, so educated, don't know that acronym. I simply have to question the validity of a school that doesn't teach who the H.M.F.I.C is. The sentence fragment is part of a quote from Kurosawa that ends "why would I make a movie?" which is kinda a famous quote so I just assumed it need not be completed sorta like When in Rome... or A penny saved.... I'm not surprised you like my signature, thought after all I am a genius you know and you are obviously a man of good taste. B)

Edited July 2, 2007 by James Steven Beverly

[Lana Loukota]

I said I was a director, not an English professor. I'm surprised that a gentleman such as yourself, so educated, don't know that acronym. I simply have to question the validity of a school that doesn't teach who the H.M.F.I.C is. The sentence fragment is part of a quote from Kurosawa that ends "why would I make a movie?" which is kinda a famous quote so I just assumed it need not be completed sorta like When in Rome... or A penny saved.... I'm not surprised you like my signature, thought after all I am a genius you know and you are obviously a man of good taste. B)

 

I wouldn't say 'so educated', I've only just completed my 'freshperson' year (and learned mostly about political correctness :rolleyes: ) and my education in cinematography is limited to the few books you can get at Arkansas libraries and this forum :) and a tiny bit of experience, but that grows (though slowly) weekly...

So anyway, as I am an uneducated little girl, who knows far more about writing than filmmaking, I'll just let the acronym thing drop, and see if I can manage to squelch the curiosity that keeps coming up... I'll probably just smother it (the curiosity, that is) by studying more about lighting or something.

Ah, I see about the quote, I expected as much :P

Genius? well, then, I will not question you any more on mundane matters of grammar ;)

[James Steven Beverly]

I wouldn't say 'so educated', I've only just completed my 'freshperson' year (and learned mostly about political correctness :rolleyes: ) and my education in cinematography is limited to the few books you can get at Arkansas libraries and this forum :) and a tiny bit of experience, but that grows (though slowly) weekly...

So anyway, as I am an uneducated little girl, who knows far more about writing than filmmaking, I'll just let the acronym thing drop, and see if I can manage to squelch the curiosity that keeps coming up... I'll probably just smother it (the curiosity, that is) by studying more about lighting or something.

Ah, I see about the quote, I expected as much :P

Genius? well, then, I will not question you any more on mundane matters of grammar ;)

 

Well Lana, if you read my posts, you'll find there is very little about me that is "politically correct" therefore I don't know how much you education will come into play :D . Sorry I called you a guy. We have a lot of guys here with somewhat androgynous names and I made the mistake the other way a few times, I now assume everyone I'm addressing is a dude until they tell me differently . So "little girl", if you have any questions about anything to do with film making or screen writing for that matter, don't hesitate to ask, if I know the answer I'll be happy to help you. I find it admirable that you have found something you felt strongly about learning to do and have put forth an effort to educate yourself about it . THAT'S the kind of person I like to help! B)

Edited July 11, 2007 by James Steven Beverly

[Hal Smith]

hi, my name is zac. i really want to get into this buisness asafp! i have no idea how to start.

If I was in Maine, I'd look into the Maine Workshops. Doug Hart's AC courses are the best in the world at learning that area.