Kevin Masuda

I grew up in the eighties and nineties but the movies that most influenced me were Star Wars, Raiders, and the Sergio Leone westerns. I also grew up on a lot of Asian cinema: Zatoichi, Kurosawa, Bruce Lee, occasional Shaw Bros flick. It was mostly due to the fact that my dad watched most of this so I'd watch it too. I don't know didn't watch too many films that were made in my time because all we watched in our household were classic films. Kev

I forgot to mention John Alton. Kev

There are many whom I admire as in the cinematography world but two have been the most influential on me: Dion Beebe ASC, ACS and Vittorio Storaro ASC, AIC. Kev

Hey Jonathan, How do you take classes over at Monaco? What's the registration process for that? Kev

Looking for a variable speed motor for my Arri S. Kev

Fuji is usually cheaper than Kodak stock so it is accurate. The difference between 500T and 200T is it's sensitivity to light. 200T needs a longer exposure time so thus is why it's slower and the 500T is faster because it's exposure time is shorter. There are other differences between them but right now I can't think of all of them, someone else here could better explain them. Kev

I also go to the Academy and it's a great technical school but the asthetics and art side has to come from you because no one is going to teach you that at the Academy. So generally I watch, read, analyze and observe everything I can because when I get out I want to not only be technically proficient but asthetically as well. Kev

Terry, You're a student right? Where do you go to school? Depending on how big your school is you could probably put a crew call out around campus. Kev

24p refers to digital video and not film itself, all those cameras you mentioned shoot 24fps. I don't mean to be rude but it sounds like you've never shot film before. If that's the case then you might want to reconsider and practice on something a bit cheaper than 16 like Super 8. It really doesn't matter what camera you use if you want the grain, it depends on film stock and lenses. If you want grain then maybe you should look into using a high speed stock like a 500T and using maybe an older lens. Shooting on film will be expensive so you should shop around to various places on the net such as Cinelab or Fotokem. Are you a student? If you are then you can get a discount from Kodak or Fuji if you buy directly from them. Most labs will transfer the footage for you but again this can be expensive, they usually charge by the hour, at Monaco Labs here in San Francisco they charge $300 per hour. Kev

Yeah, good ol' Disney. Kev

Anyone know where on the net I can download a legend that has the symbols for drawing a lighting plan? Kev

David explained it much better than I did. Kev

High key lighting, you have a much lower contrast ratio which means that between you key light and your fill and fill alone there is little difference. Usually you'd get a 1 to 2 stop difference in that case. In low key you have a much higher contrast ratio, 3 stops or more. For example, say you have a subject that is lit with a split left. Now that subject will have a key on his left face at lets say an F-stop of 2, with an 8:1 contrast ratio. So between your key light, the fill and fill alone you will have 3 stops. So his or her face will be in shadow on the right side, giving more contrast. Low key is usually used for dramatic effect, so purpose is up to the story being told on screen. Did I answer your question? Kev

Take a look at the Arriflex 35 Book by Jon Fauer. Kev

Hollywood, and the world has lost another true great filmmaker. Kev

I don't know if anyone posted this yet but I just heard that Robert Altman died, he was 81. They don't know what the cause of death is yet and there's supposed to be a release later today. Hollywood just lost another great. Kev Nevermind, I saw someone posted this in the General Discussion. Kev

I'm DP'ng a student film and there is a scene where the police officer investigating inside a dark house, he's in a hallway and he shines a flashlight, the beam shines through the rib cage of a zombie so you can see the rib cage and through that also the cop w/flashlight. What I want to know is, what can I do to achieve this? Should I rig something or make him get a high intensity flashlight? Kev

Filmmaking is not your forte? Kev

What are the current costs of stock and developing in the UK? Or in the EU for that matter? Kev

Well then you should look into getting a Hi8 or even Digital 8 camera. Kev

What about cinematography? Kev

Not to mention that going the film route would be expensive. It sounds like you've already made your decision but what you should really ask yourself is what is your ultimate goal for this feature of yours? Do you intend for this to be distributed? Or do you simply just want to show this at festivals? Kev

I just saw this yesterday and Max was right, the only thing that was great was the cinematography and costume design, I liked the shot when Marie steps out of the...I think it was the carriage, and she was the only one lit brightly while the rest of the scene was darker. I didn't care for the story or characters, to me it just seemed like a teen flick set in the 1700's. Kev

Where are you located Sean? If you are in California, I own a DVX package and might be able to help you. Kev

It's possible to transfer to 35mm but since your budget is only 10k then I don't think that's going to happen unless by some chance you either get more money or it gets picked up for distribution. I think your deciding factor is going to be what you want to do with this feature? Kev