Luke Miller

good points guy's thanks for the replys

Michael- the x2 is a good processor. which model did the installer put in for you (4400+, 4800+, etc.) also, im not sure which motherboard you have, but usually on a dual processor board there is the ability to have seperate ram for each processor. If that is true in your case, i would suggest at a minium putting 1gb of ram per processor. check your system properties, and see if you actually have two processors. I am not aware of any dual socket Athlon boards that exist, you may have dual core confused with dual processor. (the x2 has two cors which act as seperate processors, but are actually one piece) in which case my earlier comment about ram is nil, and I would suggest a pair of 1gb ram sticks (which you would buy as a set) for a total of 2gb. heres a quote from something i found on the AMD forums: "There wont be any dual CPU S939 or AM2 mainboards, due to architectural limitations (missing Hypertransport Links of the S939/AM2 platform)" but besides all that yes it is a good processor.

In regards to the photo. I didn't watch the whole short, but just in the first few shots I got the feeling it was a DVX or similar on a glide cam type stick from the movement of the frame. Check out how when the camera moves it almost appears to be moving around the axis of, or directly behind, the lens. With most 35 cameras if your not steady cam it is going to be on your shoulder, which doesn't create quite the same movement, it would be more tripod like in its pans, and the movement didn't look very steady cammish to me. The last short I shot on the DVX was entirely on a glide cam, and whenever I wasn't holding it steady (between takes) it looked alot like the movement in the first few shots of that youtube clip. anyway my 2 cents. ... another thought, if it looked like he was mixing up formats throughout the piece, perhaps he was using the animorphic adapter during some of the shots. The way it softens the image, and allows you to use the whole ccd is enough to look like a slightly different format. -luke

Wendell and Brad - Thanks for the advice and encouragement

Morgan - thank you for the input. Ram - thanks for the advice. Your comment on shooting as much as possible, and gaffeing as a day job is pretty much what I had in mind, gaffeing not only to keep the bills paid, but also to improve my control of light, and work closely with other DoPs I really appreciate all the comments. -Luke

Thanks Kevin.

James, Thanks for your response. Fortunately for me, I've spent a good deal of time, and money for that matter, studying filmstock, processing, lenses, cameras, etc. So I do not share the fate you proposed for your friend. My hesitance towards taking the camera dept. route is that I haven't spent many days on set as an AC, while I have spent many days either as a gaffer, or doing G/E work. I have been taught the ways of the AC, but do not have much practice at it. If its necessary to start over so to speak, then so be it. But from my point of view it seems more logical to continue with something I'm already becoming experienced in. Your comment has got me thinking though, might not be a bad idea to AC on some freebies to sweep out the cobwebs. -thanks -Luke

I finished film school about two years ago. I spent the majority of the first year in an unrelated corporate job to stay afloat financially, taking some time off to work on, or shoot, films. When capable I quit that job in favor of freelance TV work. The freelance work was split between Shooting (mostly B camera) or lighting and sound mixing. Two months ago I moved from Chicago to LA with a plan which until recently I believed to be rather sound. I intended to attempt to get into the Electric Union with enough hard work eventually move up to being a gaffer, then once established as a good gaffer, make my way to working as a DoP all the while shooting as many independent films as possible in between jobs. Then I heard something that made me question my plan. To simplify things lets just say that I was indirectly told that to become a DoP the route is through the camera department, people no longer go from gaffer to DoP. Normally I wouldn't give such a broad comment such weight, but it was coming from a working TV producer. It is in my planning where I am seeking advice from anyone willing to give it. Does this man speak the truth? I already knew that as far as "moving up the ladder" union-wise, that camera department sort of has a chain leading towards DoP, but it had never occurred to me that there was some sort of wall that one would reach at the gaffer stage, preventing the move towards shooting. (Don't get me wrong I love to gaffe, just not as much as I love shooting) Would it make more sense to forgo the attempts to join a union, and focus all my efforts on shooting independent films? I don't have any problem with "putting my time in" before I am able to work at the level I desire. In fact I fully believe in learning under someone with much more experience. I just want to make sure that I am "putting my time in" in a way that is the most beneficial to my goal. I appreciate any advice / suggestions / opinions from anyone. I am looking for answers from people with experience, as well as thoughts from people who might be in a similar situation. Thank you.