Josh Bass

If you want to get an XL2, I'm sure you can find a NEW one for at least $500 less then your quote, possibly $1000 or more. $5000 seems way high for a new one. I'm not even sure it was that much when it came out several years ago. I got the body only kit from a local (Houston) for $2800 in 2006, so with the stock lens it should be about a $1000/$1500 more. Be very careful with ebay and high-end prosumer cams. You can get a sachtler perfectly suitable for the XL2 for about $1000, again, brand new. I have the DV4 tripod from them, though they don't make that one now (it's the DV4 II or something).

I can think of a really weird, roundabout way to do it. . . If you have access to Windows (and I'm not even sure this would work, truthfully), you could try downloading the Vegas 8 demo, and capturing a small sample of the footage (or are there different framerates, etc. on the same tape?) it with that. Vegas doesn't make you specify capture settings, it just takes stuff in. Once its in, you can find the clip's properties, including framerate, and a few other things. This is, again, assuming that everything on the tape has the same settings. Audio's anyone's guess.

I suppose that's fair. I'm just super paranoid about stuff like that. Especially being that any camcorder, prosumer or no, is a fairly sophisticated electronic device, if you think about it. The range of things that could be wrong with it is staggering. What if there's some deeply buried problem that doesn't always manifest itself, and can't be discovered during a simple examination at a prospective seller's house/place of business? That's the kind of stuff that would keep me from buying a camcorder used (unless it was from a trusted friend/colleague). Lights, stands, even (maybe) audio gear, different story, but a camera, no sir. That's my opinion. Do you what you will, and good luck.

I believe prosumer cams are one of the big scam items on ebay. Granted, I sold my XL1s on ebay, and I didn't scam anyone, but still. . .yes, super risky! I would just shop around. . .B&H, ZGC, those are both good places. Any place that's got the camera for way less than what either of those stores are asking is probably going to screw you/scam you somehow. I know it sucks, but would you rather send $2000 (or something) into the ether never to see it again, or spend $3500 and get the actual item you were trying to buy?

Does the "art" of "songcraft" count? http://joshbass.com/Site/Music.html

Bryan, are the fests in your list geared toward lower-end/lower-budgeted productions, high-end, somewhere in between? I'm definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. I have a short that I'm currently submitting, and while I'm proud of it and it's gotten good response at all the screenings I've seen it in, it was shot on miniDV, no big stars, no sharks (that's an "Open Water" reference), etc. There are only a handful of specifically digital/DV-oriented fests that I've come across so far, and a lot of fests seem geared towared higher end stuff, judging by past entries/winners, and the photos of various celebs everywhere. Forget Sundance, etc. Just looking for worthy places to submit. Besides the NY Independent Film Festival, of course. Being that there are over 3000 fests worldwide, just curious as to why the 200 that are on your list are on that list. Thanks.

I think most "broadcast"/pro cams have that somewhere in their menus, and some prosumer ones too. I would swear the DVX series does, but unfortunately, not the XL series (I have an XL2 and had an XL1s)

Be your film good or nay, IMDB's message board is 90% populated by morons. Guaranteed, any movie, there will be at least one thread titled "worst movie I have ever seen", and there will be at least one thread where a middle-aged woman from a midwestern state is offended by the sexuality in your film. Along these same lines, the craigslist film forum, which I browse for funsies (NEVER participate) is just a seething nest of flaming butts. As for IMDB stories, I have nothing to do with this, but: There was a locally (Houston, Texas) produced horror movie called "Mr. Hell". Very low budget (though they did use 35mm), sounded cheesy just from the synopsis, etc. So I would check the message boards on IMDB to see what "the people" thought. For the longest time, there were only two or three comments on there, all praising this movie as the greatest thing ever. Much later, I check again, and almost every review pans the crap out of the film, and furthermore accuses the first few posts of being shills or people who worked on the movie. I find that all mildly amusing.

Hey, guys. . . I don't know how new your Macs are, but if they're Intel-based, I think FCP versions up to 5.0 are NO GOOD! 5.1 is the first version that was made for the Intel-based stuff. I got the 5.0 Suite off Ebay, for my new Imac, and found that whenever I captured footage, it was out of sync--one of the issues of FCP 5 not being supported on the Intel machines. So I was rather forced to upgrade to FCS 2 or suffer. Maybe only 5 has those issues, though I don't know how that could be.

Thanks, everyone. I only need two, 'cause I only have two c-stands. Also, I don't generally use 'em as a hi-hat or anything like that, mostly just for weighting the stands.

Sorry, won't let me edit. Few more questions: Oh, and, if it says "sandbag" and you put shot in instead of sand, is that bad, and if so, why? And if it says "22 lbs" or some such, is that to mean that it might burst if it weighs more than that, regardless of whether filled with sand or shot, or does it mean that it should be physically unable to hold more when it weighs that much (bulging at the seams, I mean)?

So I had a shot bag or sandbag, and after a only a few uses, it sprung a leak in the corner, where the stitching burst. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a place to buy some new ones from. It's much cheaper to buy and ship them empty, and then buy the shot in Houston and fill them, so keep that in mind. I'd like at least 20lb bags, 25 also fine. Also, can't remember the reason that people use shot bags over sandbags, unless it's that sandbags can leave a "sandprint" after being put down too hard. If anyone cares to explain, that'd be great. Thanks. So, looking for affordable 20-25 lb shot bags, to sum up.

there's a book called "The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide" (or something close to that) that's supposed to be good at illuminating this whole world and aiding the tiny indie guys in their journey.

Found some other free ones Forgive me if Rough Draft was already mentioned here, that's one of 'em. Another I just came across is called Cynergy. . .this one seems a little smarter than either Rough Draft or Celtx.

Can I cut in here and ask a question that's bothered me for a long time (that wasn't it, by the way)? Okay, so some of these sitcoms (not the single camera comedies) are shot in front of a studio audience. So how does that work? It's not like they just perform it as a play, 22 minutes straight through, and that's what airs. I mean, there are retakes if someone flubs, I know they have to (or did, not sure which sitcoms are still film) change mags. So, if the cast/crew shoots for an eight hour production day (Patricia Headon mentioned this on a talk show as a perk of why she liked sitcoms), does an audience sit there for eight hours, or what? Don't get it. Thanks.

You would have to talk to my client about that.

Wrong category? The only other one I saw that might fit was "Critique my work" (or whatever it's called). . .I wasn't really looking for a critique, per se, just to share.

Well, I don't DP much--that's not to say I don't shoot much (though I don't)--but usually on my shoots I'm more of a videographer, but I get a real live DP credit on this one. They had it storyboarded and shotlisted, scouted, etc. before I came onboard, but I had input on composition, exposure, DOF, etc. This was done in about 3-4 hours, in available light save a for a reflector'd shot that didn't make the final cut, on my XL2, on the factory defaults. 4:3, 24p. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWE0hsebje0

Yes, but then you're jumping from a $400-ish system to a $1200-ish one.

Like I said, not TOO persistent. . .once a month should be sufficient. I guess if you're talking about production offices, you're talking about movie jobs/reality shows, as opposed to commercials, corporate video, etc. THOSE I really don't know about, as I've not ever worked on either. Getting to know the people I mentioned before should help you get in though, provided those people themselves are involved with the movies/reality shows.

It doesn't say what city you're in, but when I PA'd, here's how I got started. Hopefully your town has a production guide (in Houston, we have a Houston Production Guide, sort of a phone book for all things related to video and film production-it's a book, but can also be found online. If your town has a film commission, they should be able to point you toward how to get ahold of one). Anyway, so you get this production guide, or some other means of finding these people, and start cold calling all the Unit Production Managers, Production Managers, and Production Coordinators listed in the directory, and tell 'em your situation. . ."I'm Jaime, and I'd like to get on your list of PA's. . .blah blah blah." Many will probably ask who you've worked for previously as a PA, to which you'll have to reply that you have no previous experience. Some, or many, may not want to hire someone with no experience, but someone will surely give you a break. Do a good job, and they'll hire you again, hopefully pass the word on to others. Continue to a do a good job, and it snowballs from there. In my experience, cold calling the production companies themselves doesn't work too well, 'cause they don't hire the crew directly, that's done through a production coordinator, manager, or UPM (who the production company hires----I may be talking out of my ass here; I never got familiar with this side of the biz, but it seems to be how it works). It may be different depending on the company. . .some smaller companies do call the crew themselves; but for the most part, I would call the three categories of people I mentioned above. Another thing, kind of important, is that you have to be kind of annoying and persistent, but not too much. If you don't hear from someone, I would keep calling that person back maybe once a month and just ask if they've got anything going on. A lot of people in the industry don't work as often as you would think they do, and memories can be short until you worm your way into their brains with your persistence. I'll go further and give you some set advice. People like a PA who does things without being asked. Once you get to know your duties, if you can do things before people ask you to, they love that. Even though there'll be down time on set, try to always be alert to places where you can help, instead of chilling out against a wall when you're not needed. I wasn't very good at this (I find it hard to maintain a razor alertness/focus for 12 or more hours straight, one of the several reasons I stopped PAing). They loooooooooooooove that. As for being in school, I was told that a lot of the production managers etc. will be understanding to your situation, as PA's are usually younger people, and will work around your schedule. If you're only available on weekends, you'll probably won't get called nearly as often as someone who's always available, but you gotta do what you gotta do. If you only go to school three days a week, list you're available the other two week days, right? Hope this helps.

I'll take matters of light and depth by Ross Lowell (Lowel?)

I'm sorry, I should have thought of this before. A friend of mine raised money for a feature simply by having a little party with family and friends and asking for donations. . .somehow managed to raise $35,000 to shoot a miniDV feature. I know it ain't much, but it's an idea.

Maybe this is naive, but I ask, seriously: why doesn't anyone ever consider grants?

Every fantasy videogame, novel, pen/paper game etc. in existence has orcs.