Drew Ott

Hello! I'm producing a feature film that will be made by a core team of very young people (under 21). The film will have a budget of around $100,000 and likely be shot in Austin, TX. I'm scouting the internet for the best young DP in the world. If you or somebody you know are this person, please send me an email and let me know! This will be produced in a very experimental way. The team of young people will live in a house together for 2-4 weeks during preproduction, spend a month during production, then the director and editor will spend 1-2 months editing. A documentary film will be made simultaneously about the efforts of the inexperienced but talented team. This project is in its early stages, but finding the core team is the starting place. We are also still scouting for an editor, production designer, and sound designer/mixer. Thanks, Drew Ott

Good points made by everybody. When I said that I was bringing my camera, I was intending that to be the, "Let's make a film together," mindset as opposed to, "Come work for free as an assistant wedding videographer," or something like that. I never rent my camera out for free or even very cheap locally (except to friends), but I was figuring that bringing a camera would make people more interested in working with me. Interesting thoughts though. Maybe I will reconsider some things.

This summer, after graduating high school, I’m going to be doing a solo extended travel around the U.S. living in my car. While on the trip, I want to work on as many shoots as possible (narrative, doc, commercial), and I’ll gladly do it for free. The goal is to gain experience and meet as many of you as possible. I’m willing to stay in one location for a month or more working on a feature, or just help out on set for a day. The only experience I have on 35mm sets is as an electrician. I worked as an electrician intern on Ex-Terminators (shot in Austin, TX) for about 20 days, and that’s the only time I’ve worked on what I consider a “big set.” I learn quickly and am glad to work as any position; I just might be asking lots of questions in the beginning. Aside from that, I’ve worked as various crew positions on about a dozen short films and documentaries. I’ve been camera operator, boom operator, gaffer, grip, 2nd AC, loader (I’ve only loaded with the Arri SR2), and PA. I have lots more to learn in every department, so I’m happy with any position I can get. Anyway, if you think there’s a chance that I could be useful on anything you are working on, please let me know. I’ll probably bump this thread once the trip begins, so if you don’t have anything planned now, maybe you will then. Also, if you’re interested, you can check out the travel blog at http://drewott.wordpress.com. It’s not geared toward filmmaking, but you’ll be able to follow where I am if you want to meet or work with me. The trip hasn’t started yet because I’m still a senior in high school. I think I'm going to leave in July. One more thing: I wasn’t planning on bringing any gear, but I own a Canon XHA1, so maybe I’ll bring that in case anybody is interested in shooting something with it. My email is DrewOtt@DesolateFilms.net -Drew Ott

Depending on the size of the light, it's very possible to extend a c-stand arm out over a table. If you need to double up on arms, you might need to put a sand bag on the back end of the arm to balance out the weight. Also make sure you have tons of sand bags for the legs.

Please elaborate on the kind of shot you are looking for. I recently shot a scene that might be similar to what you are describing. http://www.vimeo.com/1277704 Skip past the first scene to about 1:33 (first scene looks terribly dark on that upload) and let me know if that's anything like what you want. I wish I had a better key:fill ratio on their faces, but oh well. That was my first film I ever shot.

Thanks for all the advice so far. Unfortunately switching out bulbs is out of budget. If I am to overexpose the background, how many stops is reasonable? I am shooting on a canon XHA1. The Eyes Wide Shut look might be nice. Gives me something to think about for sure.

I'll be shooting a short in a month or so, and one of the scenes takes place in a hospital at night. I'm going for that super-white feel that is common in hospitals. We will probably shoot the location during the day, so any day-for-night interior tips would be greatly appreciated. I often like to have some sodium-colored light coming in through windows to sell night time, but we probably will not be shooting on the first floor, and the budget is not high enough to rig lights outside on the building. I'll be using mainly daylight balanced fluorescent fixtures. One shot is a steadicam shot down a hallway (no idea how to light this), and the rest of the scene takes place inside a room. I might mix tungsten practicals with daylight fluorscents in the room. Is that a bad idea? I'm looking for this sort of color white: http://flickr.com/photos/aestheticheart/207430150/ except at night and motivated by the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Not sure how to do this... any advice? Sorry if this sounds like a lot of rambling.

I own some Cool Lights fixtures. Advantages: Cost Disadvantages: Build quality isn't as good as Kino, ballasts are part of light (could be advantage is some situations). They still output the same quality light, and for somebody on a budget, the Cool Lights fixtures are great.

Well you can color correct if you want the scene to look more like blue. What would help sell night time is having dark areas and light areas. Right now everything is pretty evenly lit. Having most of the scene fall off into shadows and motivated areas of brightness will help a lot.

It really depends on the look you're going for. To sell the night effect, one method is to fill the room with daylight balanced ambient light (china balls, Kino, HMI through the window, etc.) and have 3200k balanced practicals everywhere you can.

Yeah, the internet is a fantastic thing for filmmakers. I was his age just a couple years ago, and forums like this have been my main source of film education. Keep learning and shoot all you can. Good luck.

Is it just me or is there not actually a list of books when you click on books. It seems to be moved but I can't find where it went to.

Deakins.

Sounds promising. Even if it does cost a fortune, won't it drive down the prices of current light sources?

Yeah, I guess it's that HMI's are out of the budget. Maybe I'll try to hang a bunch of china balls around the set to increase overall exposure.