Sakari Suuronen

Congratulations! I just got my copy of AC and I'll read the article asap. Well done!

Don't mean to be a wiseguy, but if you were editing on FCP, isn't there a somekind of loglist in the system files that you could maybe backtrack at least some of your work? I'm probably wrong since it's been a while I've worked seriously on FCP.... We had a similar umberella rigging on an HMI just couple weeks ago.

Tomas, I remember brining stuff from dvd to Final Cut through "Mac The Ripper" program. It's free, google it. I remember it was a bit tricky but not impossible. I'd also like to see your footage.

This is kind of of off topic but is there a signifigant difference between the movietube, vs the mini35 vs the M2. I've seen the Mini35 and the M2 in action and for budget reasons I'd go for the M2.

All the best, stay positive and get well soon!

Just last night I saw for the first time Alain Resnain's L'Annee Derniere A Marienbad (Last Year At Marienbad) shot by Sacha Vierny. It looked amazing and I'm really happy I finally got to see that film. By the way, does anyone have any ideas how the last shot Antonioni's Passenger was made (the long one)? Nice to see that other people also like Melville's Le Samourai which is one of my favourite films all time. Le Cercle rouge (The Red Circle) is also great and I think it has everything that a french crime movies should have.

Just got the latest edition of AC and I was wondering how many prep and shooting days did they have? It seems to mee that shooting Miami Vice was kind of a nightmare because of the HD requirements and I was mostly thinking why would someone have all that extra stress about the technology? Of course it's different with really big movies (they can afford it) but at this point the benefits of HD aren't too impressive vs. film cameras. It will probably change dramatically in the near future.

I'v been trying to answer to this topic for days now but always something has come up....but anyway, thanks to everybody for the tremendous support. I couldn't be much more happy now and I'm definetely going after the stuff I want to learn. I think I'm in a priviliged position because I work as an editor already so I have some good contacts allready. In Finland they accept also foreign students through exchange programs if somebody is intrested. I was so excited that I ordered the late edition of Cinematography, Painting With Light Film Technology And Post Production Walter Murch's In The Blink Of An Eye. I've been planning to get those books anyway so I felt that there's weren't any more excuses Not To buy them... To Tony, at first you send you portfolio there. I felt that it was easy for me, cause I've done so much stuff that I had to leave out most of them. Then they invited I think 24 (not sure, but I think they took 8 of us in) us os in the actual exams, which were really laid back. The whole number of the applicants was 505, but it was for the whole media department so I don't know how many people applied for cinematography. There was the interview, which was really pleasant. One storyboard work and writing task about any current domestic media event and also the group task with five random applicants. It was just about basic human skills. Nothing too fance. If you're gonny apply next year, I' d say check out TTVO (Tampere), Taideakatemia (Turku), Stadia Viestinnän koulutusohjelma (Helsinki) and of course TAIK (Helsinki.) And then there's also the second degree program's so and "kansanopistot." I'd say that they most important thing is to do something for the year. Not just to wait if you're lucky enough to get in someday. It's important to build a strong cv beforehand, allthough it sounds a bit silly. It's also crucial to handle critisism the right way and learn from your mistakes and always be willing to go for the extra mile. I know loads of people who are really smart and talented but usually, it doesn't get you too far I you're lazy. Finally, watch tons of intresting cinema, read books and newspapers and listen to music. There are some really intresting film festivals here in Finland which show cinema from allover the world. I've had so many thrills at R&A, last one when I saw Nicholas Winding Refn's FEAR X couple years ago. There can be many things that inspire you. Like for me, years ago, also at R&A when I saw Harmony Korine's JULIEN DONKEY BOY. It shows that if you're idea is intresting enough you're production values don't matter. edit: In Finland, we don't get our education for free. We pay it through our taxes, just like everything else which are run by the government. I love paying my taxes ;-)

Jean-Luc Godard's "A Bout De Souffle" when Jean-Paul Belmondo is running in the street of Paris cop chasing him. I like just about everything in Orson Welles's Touch Of Evil. In Taxi Driver when Travis Bickle is sitting in the sofa and to cops are pointing their guns at him and there's the slow magical shot from above that's really amazing. Bernard Herman's music works really good too. There are tons of brilliant stuff in Scorsese's movies.

I was searching stuff about Nicolas Roeg when I noticed that the wonderful and allways intresting Mario Bava is not included on this list.

I'm no expert on this one, but I remember reading somewhere, might have been Raging Bulls, Easy Riders that the movie looked just the way Robert Altman wanted and the studio really hated it. He wanted the movie look really muddy and the studio was terrified by it (they wanted the stars to look beautiful.) I'm sure someone can continue from here. Respect to Altman for always walking his own path.

Just wanted to say that I got the letter today saying I've been accepted to the cinematography program here in Finland at Tampere and I couldn't be more pleased!!! I took me a while to get there (it's quite hard to get to a GOOD school here, but the education is free here) but I just wanted to say all to the people struggling there that don't give up, hang in there and allways watch loads of movies, read tons of good books and listen intresting music and do all sorts of creative stuff to get you where ever you want to go in cinematography. Couldn't be more happy right now and I'm really looking forward the next four years.

What what what*? David's coming to Helsinki!?!? That's great! Too bad you aren't coming tday (friday) there's this huge event at kauppatori where the "Lord" band won the eurovision and the whole country's gone absolutely insane and there's gonan be tens of thousands people there.... The phenomenan is quite silly.....(I'm not going...) (Sorry this is so off topic)

There's a slight possibility that I'll get a chance to try this system in the summer and I'm really curious to know what it actually can do. What's good to keep in mind when doing color correction with the Final Touch.

Probably film schools in eastern europe are more afforfable. Check out FAMU at Prague.

To me, Ridley Scott's last good film was Black Hawk Down, it was not great but definetily not mediocre. Good Ridley Scott movies for me are: Alien Blade Runner Black Rain (Can't comment on the 1492, it's been so long since I've seen it.) Thelma and Louise is okay but for some reason in didn't like the "too obvious" "this is the way how movies are written" structure. Same thing with many David Mamet's movies. Gladiator, Hannibal, Kingdom Of Heaven were terrible but most of the problems were in the script. Matchstick Men was an improvement, though you could see some of the twists too obviosly. Still, I'm always waiting his next films, cause as said before, he's such a strong visualist. Haven't seen The Duellist, which is kinda embarrasment to me... BTW: Does anyone have any thoughts about Tony Scott's Man On Fire? When I saw it for the first (and only time) I was shocked how terrible the movie was. It was so frantic and the editing was disturbing with the constant effects. Someone joked about Tony Scott trying to find genually new visual sense for hollywood and cinema and it got me thinking, could he be right? Anyway, I didn't like almost anything in that film but the idea trying to find something new(ish) was intresting. Haven't seen Domino yet, cause I still have some absorbing with Man On Fire. (I can definetely see why some people find Man On Fire attractive piece of cinema.)

I also have some old VHS of The conformist and I'm really waiting that one one on dvd. Just saw Bertolucci's Sheltering Sky last week and the cinematography was stunning. Haven't even heard of The Fifth Cord. Looks like Franco Nero is starring in that one. Nice! The Bird With The Crystal Plumage is one of my favourite giallo's out there. Profondo Rosso, Suspiria and Tenebrae are also good.

Check out the classic Battleship Potempkin. Also, there's lots of intresting experimental stuff made in the 20's in the russia. Maybe someone can drop some names? Japanese director Seijun Suzuki is one of my all time favorites. The Tokyo Drifter in the link above is good, but for me, he's best work is Branded To Kill. It's one of the coolest movies ever made (with Mario Bava's Diabolik) Tattooed For Life "Irezumi ichidai" is also good, though not as near those movies above. Newer japanse directors Takashi Kitano and Takashi Miike are definetily worth mentioning. From Kitano check out: Violent Cop, Sonatine, Hana-bi and Boiling Point. From Miike you can expect anything. He's really productive and at least for me, inspiring. Check out Dead Or Alive (it's a trilogy, I've only seen the first one), The City of Lost Souls, Visitor Q, Agitator. Many people have also liked Audition, I didn't. Fudoh is one of he's movie I'm dying to see. These movies will get you started. Oh, and you gotta see these too: Shark Skin Man And The Peach Hip Girl, Gozu, Kamikaze Taxi, Shogun Assasin (I think this qualifies) and Tetsuo and Tetsuo 2: The Body Hammer by Tsukamoto.

I also wanted to say that I enjoyed the trailer. I really liked the low lightning. (Reminded me of the Pusher films by Winding Refn, don't know why.) The music was disturbing (which was nice.) I'm actually looking forward the final product. Good job!

The thing is, one finnish tv company for some reason only accepts dvcam material and I've been thinking of maybe buying a camera, since I'm throwing good money for PD170 rental from my friend (way under the normal rental price). In Finland the rental prices are in my opinion incredibly high. For a DVX100 the price can be something like 150 euros for day, maybe like 500 euros for a week. Since I'm already using a camera in that price range quite often, it would seem logical to buy one.

OK, thanks. Maybe in the near future, the P2 cards get so much bigger, that it doesn't matter that you can't record dvcam on tape. Fingers crossed.

Can it shoot dvcam on tape?

So...Is my iMac G5 with 2.1ghz 500gb of hard drive and 1.5gb of ram out of the question with the P2 cards? (I'm a bit confused about all the tech talk...)

They are very similiar to chinese lanterns, I'm definetely trying them as soon as I have time...About the switches, maybe "detinator" is a better word to describe them? Anyway, if you have so mych light as 5k or one set, the detinators tend to heat too much and it's wise to wrap them in tin foil. So I've been told. I went to the local hardware store after work and realised there are loads of useful, really cheap stuff we can use in the studio. I'm gonna check out the Videssence and the lowell site as well.

Sorry this took so long but I've been quite busy with the presidential elections here and other stuff....but back to the studio. I bought the Ianiro Lilliput series here, with the changeable bulbs, so it can deliver 300w/650w, immidetialy I tried them and I was really pleased about the results I got when shooting on locations (I could only use two of the Ianiro's cause one of the bulb was broken...) The Ikea lamp, don't know it's name or anything, but it has a sort of paper coating, sort of a chinese lamp. The height is about 160cm's. I know, that some gaffers and cinematographers like to use similar lamps, only smaller for really soft light. The cost for those lamps is like nothing. I think the smaller lamp is kind of like a ball, the bulb is naturally in the center, there's plastic or metallic wires and it's covered with really thin paper or something like that. The 15K flueresents were in the roof of studio. There's a heating problem with the flueresent tube's switches (do you know what I mean?) but you can go around it by covering the switches with tin foil. Hope you understood? Any word about the dexel products?