DavidSloan

Hey guys, Shooting my 1st 35mm project. It's a music video so I need your recomendation on a 35mm MOS camera, preferably one that can be easily handheld, and won't eat half the budget. I think we're looking at 30-40k. Thanks

Xmas lights wrapped around the lens! Now thats something I want to try :D I recently started having a grip rig a 4ft, 1 bank kino to the top of the camera with gaffer tape to control the spill on the face...it works perfect.

It depends on what you're lighting and what look you're going for, Daniel. 500w may be enough if you're doing portraits with a single lamp and bounce cards but if you're doing wide shots, in your house, the 500w is not enough. Also, flood lights are hard to control so make sure you have cinefoil and reflectors, and such.

You're on, John; and btw a good amount of this film was shot on 7279 pushed 1 stop, and it looks great!

Exterior, sunny day, with Fuji 64D. The mag was opened in the changing bag while unzipped.

Is it still useable? I heard from another DP that it is useable, but will have a flashed look...what do you guys say? Thanks

Has anyone ever shot B&W 35mm with all white sets, white actors, and white clothing? I have an opportunity to shoot a music video and the director and I have tossed this idea around based on some stills we saw. Has anyone ever tried this, and if so what kind of advice can you lend? Thanks

What are the stills of?

I've never worked with these trick movie candles...does anyone have a link for them? Thanks

Done this shot too many times...twice this weekend. All you need is an inkie with a snoot aimed at his face, on a dimmer. Just rehease to get the person on the dimmer and the actor in sync and that's all it is.

I think it was Gordon Willis who said: "Everything falls apart once you move the camera." I tend to agree with that philosophy. I'm generally inclined to like slow paced films with very subtle movements, if any. I really love the hypnotic way Tarkovsky moves his camera with the super slow dolly/zooms shots. I also love the static, yet perfectly composed frames of Gordon Willis, and Hou Hsiao Hsien. I think that the content, and the director/DP approach to it, ultimately decides how much movement is necessary, if at all.

My list is almost the same as yours. I would probably just add Cassavetes and Angelopolous.

@ Brad, yes! I love Gerry, I think it's a magnificent piece of cinema. But you better go watch Bela Tarr's work to understand where that film came from. As awesome as Gerry is, there is not a single thing in that film that was new, cinematically. The shot of the bopping heads was lifted straight out of a Bela Tarr film. Tonight I went to the NY premiere of Theo Angelopolous's The Weeping Meadow. I even got to meet Harvey Keitel, surprisingly he is very well versed in art films! This is the guy who said "what's a mook?" lol Anyway, Angelopolous is another amazing director who makes films composed of highly elaborate, expertly choreographed long takes. This film was 3 hrs and I kid you not when I say I don't think there was 100 cuts in the film. ~Sloan

All I know about them is that they are the creation of Matthew barney, a ny based artist. I've seen all 5, they are pretty insane, but very beautiful, and entertaining.

Guys, I agree with what you're saying 100%...I'm just pointing out that in reality this isn't always the case. People hop from job to job and don't have time to immerse themselves in the script, a la Storraro. We can always look to the masters for examples of the best possible work: Willis, Storraro, Alemendros, Wexler, etc...but how many DPs are those guys?

I think Gordon Willis said it best: "Why the fu** do I want to shoot a guy walking up the stairs, 14 times!" :D hahahahaha!

I thought the off topic board was an appropriate place to post things which are "off topic?" I didn't mean to start a liberal bashing post, I just wanted to post a story about a fellow filmmaker. Sorry you got so upset, Dave.

OK. Here is an example-we were discussing DPs that get fired from a job, in a different thread. These guys didn't have the time to spend on a rigorous pre production schedule, or read the script 50 times over. They were called in for the job, on the fly. Do any of those films look bad? Aliens, Titanic, what about Days of Heaven? Wexler had to step in midway when Nestor had to leave for Europe. My point is, a DP needs to know how to light, and light well. So long as he has a basic background of the scene and knows if it's night or day, that's all the info he really needs. Every other interpretation thereafter is subjective. So yes, I do have friends that DP who when they recieve a bad script they won't read it rigourosly. Esp when they have little off time between jobs, and their dailies still look amazing. Sure it's nice to analyze character and ambiance and all that, but when you just stepped off a 4 week feature and will start another one in 2 weeks you need to know practical things as opposed to why Mary is crying in the bath tub because daddy smacked her. Not everyone has the luxury of doing 2 features per year. Some of us still pull in $100 a day.

@TSM: who hires who? Ultimately a director should know the script better then anyone else and his job is to create, what he feels to be, the most appropriate interpretation of the script. I don't know about you, but I don't generally find most DPs I know caring that much about the script. This is not to say that they are bad, because some of them are VERY good, but I'm surprised if they've even read the script more then once. DPs get off on lighting, but the director sees the total picture: from editing to sound design, to lighting, to delivery of the acting, etc... This is evident when you watch films by people like Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Antonioni, Scorsese, Godard, etc... even though these directors switch DPs they still retain the same visual style and mood throughout their ouevra because THEY are the ones responsible for the final product, and everyone is there to support their vision. At least good, passionate directors operate this way, I don't know or care about the shitty ones.

@David: I think the point Matt is making, which is partially grounded in truth, I believe, is that liberals tend to be very choosy about which human rights abuses they protest and turn a blind eye to others. It's very easy to find liberals, in the states, that are up in arms about George Bush and the present administration, but you would be hard pressed to find those same people there to protest human rights abuses in Syria, or Cuba, for example. Many liberals seem to be very sympathetic with Totalitarian regimes, and tend to only blame the west for problems that exist in the world. Basically it seems as if in any conflict that takes place between colored people and westerners the westerners are the always the ones who are doing the wrong, by default. I don't classify myself as a liberal or conservative, both have their pros and cons. I just wanted to post this article because I feel it is important, and also peculiar as to why no one is saying anything about Theo Van Gogh's death?

Amen George, amen!

Man on Fire. I also just saw Kinsey...poop film but all the CUs were on a Long Lens.

That's what I figured...Oliver Stone is a mess. Essential noir is sweet. You have to see Gun Crazy! I was at the Forum on Fri to see the new Godard. Have you seen the poster for the new anniversery Taxi Driver print? That's gonna be a treat!

I'm curious to know if anyone has seen this latest swords-and-sandals movie. I don't plan on going to see it but I'm interested to know if it's as bad as the critics said it is...I mean this thing was bashed all the way down the line.

The first Batman (michael Keaton).