Douglas Wilkinson

I'm a sucker for them: Last scene in "Metropolitan" Last scene in "Gallipoli" Last scene in "The Breakfast Club" Clooney tearing his tie off in "Out of Sight" (along with numerous others in that film) Very brief stoppages in "The Good Thief" I just saw "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" tonight, and - in addition to the incredibly moving and inventive photography - I was pleased to see a series of freeze frames in the final sequence. More of an editorial decision than one of image capture, but certainly made easier with so many beautiful frames to linger on.

This film breaks my heart, visually. The story nearly INTRUDES on the photography. Actually, that's not true, but it certainly takes a backseat. There's a slo-mo bit where the camera tracks up a portion of the hill behind some troops and a butterfly meanders through the frame. CGI? Felicity? Butterfly-wrangler? Beautiful, in any event.

YES!! LION OF THE DESERT!! THAT'S IT!! THANK-YOU!!

Sometime around 1980/81, I snuck into a theatre with a friend and watched a very adult war film. I can recall only two scenes. One involved tanks (British, I think) rolling across a desert and crushing opponents (Arab resistance fighters, I believe) as they lay in ambush just under the sand. I vividly recall blood flying out of their mouths. The other scene involved the low-tech resistance fighters hurling bottle of lit petrol from a cliff onto a column of tanks and artillery. Any ideas? I was six or seven. I should have been watching Mr. Mom or something. Thanks. dw

Robert Yeoman Caleb Deschanel Peter Suschitzky

Does anyone know anything about the cost of using copyrighted music in a diegetic context, or as a narrative element (record playing in the background, for example) in a film?

I do want to shoot on film, for all the usual elusive reasons. I even like the way it smells. I've decided to shoot a much smaller script I had written previously, 3 pages. I suppose I could shoot a five-hour epic on MiniDV for $5. One tape, record/load/erase/repeat, free help, natural light, etc. But part of me wants to spend a chunk of cash - responsibly to be sure - if only to experience the budgetary rigour that the medium seems to demand. The first discrete film image I can recall remains my favourite: Caleb Deschanel's opening shot over the side of the boat in the Black Stallion, bisecting the screen, white boat, blue-black sea. I can also name the scene that made me look beyond the screen and want to MAKE a movie. The roll-in/freeze frame early in Goodfellas of Ray Liotta slamming shut the trunk and looking dazed. That was the moment I decided that it wouldn't suffice merely to watch movies. Thanks for all the input and support.

Very nice. That bird shot was excellent. I love slow film. Very crisp.

Sounds great. Ottawa's film community is small but avid, as is the case with many cities, I'm sure.

Emdeko ZL-7200 Lens: Reflex Zoom Lens 1,8 / 8,5 - 42,5 mm Manual / Auto Zoom Frame rates: 18, 32 Remote control socket No sound Just shot my first cart this weekend, so I'm not sure about performance.

Thanks Patrick. Nothing persuades like unanimity. Sounds like I need more film and less script. I'll try to swing 2000' (5 x 400' reels = 55 min, correct?) for an 8-10 min project. That's roughly 7:1, I think. Thanks again everyone.

Thanks Stephen. I was planning on some run throughs with my little MiniDV camera prior to shooting film. The optical printer and Oxberry are on my workshop list. I didn't know that about mixing stocks, thanks for the tip. Is it possible to find alternatives to shooting coverage (ie: filming actor A throughout dialogue, with one cut to actor B for the closing line; odd-angle two-shots) without appearing contrived or boring?

Thanks Richard, particularly for the contact name and number. 80:1 to unimaginable, 10:1 is no doubt appropriate, but still not in range. I'll have to be modest, inventive and patient (and lucky). Tall order, I know. I realize these are condition under which a lot of people on this board wouldn't work. I'm trying to get a foothold in the medium, so I have to cut these significant corners. And still have fun. Thanks again.

Thanks David. I do appreciate the elaboration. I'm a novice (ie: I hadn't considered opposing angles of same dialogue) and this sort of detailed explanation is helpful, particularly from a pro. Perhaps I ought to delay the project and save some more cash, shoot for 5:1. Thanks again. Doug

Thanks for the responses. Hi Stephen, thanks for the offer of help. Hopefully I'll have this off the ground soon. David and Phil, if I had the money for 12,000 feet of film, I probably wouldn't be seeking help on how to bring something meaningful to life, on film, in a First Time Filmmaker's forum. I meant it as a tactical question: Could it be done this way, with these resources.

Hello good board. I would like to have a 16mm "festival-ready" short completed by next summer, completed for $1500. I have a 15 page script and a small fundraising angle dwfilm.tumblr.com. What I need is some advice on crew and budget scope. Does this outlay look feasible? Overlooking anything crucial? CAST 7 actors - Volunteer CREW AD - Volunteer DP - $50/diem honorarium (4 day shoot) Sound recordist - Volunteer 2 grips - Volunteer GEAR (all rented) Eclair NPR - $80 Tripod - $30 Light Meter & Gel kit - $25 Arri light kit - $60 Sound kit (DAT, boom, mic, & sock) - $80 Dolly kit - $45 FILM (1.5:1 shooting ratio) 1200' Kodak Color Reversal - $510 Process to MiniDV - $360 POST (finish to DVD) FCP Edit (rented time - 10 hrs) - $70 Thanks for any tips. dw

I think Wes Anderson's movies are very charming visually. And I love his signature transition to slo-mo at the end of each film.

thanks Ram. this one is especially important, I think: do your home work and came ready to the set i hate the idea of wasting someone's time. i gather it can be fun relationship too. there's a bit on the DVD for Capote that describes a night when the director and the DP went out alone to get just the right shot of a train in the distance. big buget film, but at that moment it was just two guys and a camera.

A relatively experienced cinematographer has provisionally agreed to shoot my next project, which, for me, is very exciting. What makes for an efficient, fruitful Director/DP relationship? For a long time, my understanding was that the DP provided a technical solution to the Director's vision, but I think this is a limited view. I like the idea of working conceptually with the DP. Obviously there is a spectrum; I imagine some DPs prefer to be given a few instructions, then set to work, while others prefer extensive consultation on each shot. What is the best general approach, from the director's perspective? When to insist, when to defer, etc.. Thanks. Doug

Thanks James. If I had that AVI, I would definitely send it along; I'd love an editing demo. This is 16mm, transferred to MiniDV, edited in iMovie, compressed to Quicktime, converted to third-party Flash (Vimeo). Bit of a journey. I could send you the original 7-minute .dv file but it's over a Gigabyte. Not exactly email-able. Thanks for the offer though. I need as much schooling as I can get. By the way, when I said 'bookie,' I meant 'book-y.' A film about a drug dealer who forgoes payment and instead takes his buyer's novel because of an old memory of having his dad reading to him (8mm footage "bookending" the film). I can see the confusion though. Thanks again. PS: The music is me :(

Thanks Jonathan, very kind. I had requested a dolly kit for that shot along the shore - I wanted to roll in toward the actor at the same pace as his walking, slowing and pausing with him, ending with a close shot of his face. The dolly kit from my local film co-op was unavailable, so I tried simply walking toward him. He ended far too low in the frame. Bummer, but I used anyway. It's actually quite gratifying to see people on the board validate my mistakes as well as those things I got right. Thanks again. dw PS: Following a course in using the Eclair NPR, I'm planning a fall/winter project with sound and dialogue. Without a doubt I'll post the results here. The feedback has been professional, encouraging, specific, generous. I've had a great experience with this board.

It was meant to be a bookie movie. :( Thank-you Michael. The framing was deliberate, PARTICULARLY the shot of Porkpie Hat looking out over the river. In fact, the whole notion for the film stemmed from this image, which kicked around in my mind's eye for several months. My favourite films have very steady, set frames and sequences. This is my goal, visually, no doubt. Thanks fo watching it through.

Here's what I managed with my first 200' feet of 16mm (plus 50' of 8mm for good measure). http://www.vimeo.com/267743 Thanks again for all the encouragement this spring.

Thanks for all the encouragement. I just had a quick beer with my two actors, night before a 7:30 am call. The skies are grey, but what can you do. If the end result is basically presentable, I'll post. Great depth of knowledge and goodwill on this board. Thanks again.

That's a terrific quote. I hadn't heard that. Thanks for the boost.