Gregory Irwin

Gotcha. LA is maxed out now. I'm having trouble staffing my movie. Everyone's working. Good problem to have I guess. G

Very true. I guess I left AFI out because it's a graduate school. One under grad school I accidentally left out is Chapman University. Great school. G

1. USC 2. NYU 3. California State University at Long Beach 4. UCLA In that order.

This is really not true. There is currently more IA union work in the US than ever. Between commercials, TV and features, the IATSE represents the majority of production in the United States.

In the IATSE, DPs make $98.21 per hour if they are working at union scale. This is based on an 8 hour day with OT after 8. This doesn't include the benefits that are earned as well for healthcare, pension and retirement. Most VFX companies and employees are non-union. G

;)

I'm sorry Carl, maybe I'm not understanding you. What you wrote makes absolutely no sense to me. It doesn't matter what you have or don't have if you don't have the correct attitude to back yourself up. Higher education won't do much good if you feel entitled and don't put forth the effort. Just as a $5000 camera won't do much if the person behind it has no training or ambition to learn and compete in this near impossible work environment. G

Weber, Here is the bottom line to all of this: From this moment on, whether you decide on college or no college and your decision on which career path you choose, you better be 1000% committed to your choice with a perserverience of character and an attitude of "take no prisoners". Otherwise, you will be STEAMROLLED by all of the others who do have that commitment and desire for the same. I wish you the best of luck for your future. Greg

You're a paid observer who gets to see it first! ;) G

No apologies needed. All good debate. G

I've got to play devil's advocate with full respect to Carl's posting. I believe that he has a valid point to a degree. There are certainly cases where one can point to successful people who have not gone to college. But there is more evidence out there that college degrees do have an impact on one's earning potential - even within our industry. I received two degrees when I was in college. One was a degree in cinema and the other was in business. What did I get out of it? Certainly not a guaranteed career. But I was taught a method of critical thinking and a discipline that led me to achieving my life's and career goals. I was given opportunities via my schooling to take full advantage of a pathway in. And of course, I was formally taught the craft and business of cinema to proceed forth in creating my own successful career. I'm not even getting into the whole "college experience" that helps define one's self. I still have great friendships and business relationships that were created back in college. That was 35 years ago. From that time through today, I have been blessed with opportunities to have continually worked on the type of jobs that I originally got into the industry to be involved with - the big budget, studio Hollywood movies. Back in 1989, I started my own camera equipment rental company that still services the Hollywood studios today! I attribute all of this to my own ambitions and to my education. To Carl's other points, I would hate to see Weber go out and blow a ton of money on a camera that will be outdated in a year. If he's going to buy a camera, buy a less expensive one in order to practice the craft with. A good cameraman can make beautiful images with less fancy gear. Finally, Carl has an excellent point with regards to the financial impact of Weber's education vs. his mom's financial well being. A sound business plan is needed but that's now a whole new topic. The school of "Life's Experiences" is a good one. But I will always argue that the formal version of education will take you to another, higher level and offer opportunities that you mIght not otherwise have. I feel qualified to say this since I'm of an age where I have experienced both. Greg

I'm assuming that based on your picture and FSU, you are talking about Florida State. The good news is that a state funded university should not cost anywhere near $200K. Am I wrong? And if I am, I'd rather spend the same money and go to USC Film if you could get in. G

And you cannot go into the film industry because you want money. You have to do it because it's your passion, otherwise you will not last 6 months. R, I totally agree! That is reality. Greg

Hi there! Since I worked on BAD BOYS 2 and made this shot, I can give you some insight on how we did this. First and foremost, we had the budget to make this shot. It involved alot of visual effects. We built the house as a rigged set, on stage that could accomodate our circle dolly track that went around the wall we magically pass through. Via VFX, the window and wall we pass through were replaced by CGI. We operated the shot remotely on a libra head and pulled focus remotely on a Preston from another room. We also did the same shot with Mark Wahlberg on PAIN & GAIN. I'm sure that there are simpler ways to achieve a similar effect but you'll have to figure out what you can afford and adjust your strategy to accomodate the limitations. Good luck! Greg

I agree with Brian, Weber. It is impossible for you to make these career decisions at this time. Film school is much like a military boot camp. It's survival! My experience in film school, during my freshman year was I don't remember even touching any equipment! It was studying, reading and getting a general understanding of the structure of our industry. There is so much to learn that I had no social life. It was a 1000% commitment to maintain the grades just to stay in film school. That's how much competition you will be facing. Your focus needs to be on your passion for the craft of filmmaking and not how much money you could make. You may not really know what craft you want to do till your junior year. And in reality, it doesn't get any easier when you actually work in the industry. There is actually more competition and stress and you are managing a self employed business. But I'm happy to report that it is all doable. It just depends on YOU! Just out of curiosity, what school are you considering? Greg

God bless them! Greg

Actually, not at all. The jobs that I do are high profile and high stakes. They pay me well to give them the best I can do. If that means working off of the Preston, then so be it. In reality, I'm not far from the camera. I'm still close to it. But since I wear bi-focal glasses, it's much easier for me to face the action and hold the handset in a position where all I need to do is shift my eyes without moving my head. I have no loss of reaction time that I believe I would have if I had to keep turning to look back and forth from the subject to the lens. It's a system that works successfully for me. I don't recommend it for everyone. G

I completely agree. G

The funny part is that I haven't touched a manual follow focus in years. I live on a Preston FIZ full time. That allows me to position myself, free from the camera and choose my own vantage point. I'm not sure if I'd be any good on a follow focus after all of this time! G

I recently did a pilot where Panavision gave a 80% discount. You can't lose if you don't play. Can't hurt to ask! G

Ha! Who would ever suggest that????!! :)

All of this talk of "glow in the dark" this and that sounds over the top and complicated. Keep it stupid/simple. Put a simple low light source such as a battery operated, goose neck flash light and shield the light spill with a piece of black tape. Aim it at your lens or disk and do your job. These are easily obtainable at hardware and electronic stores. Having mentioned the disk on the follow focus, I have always believed that using that disk for marks is a big mistake. First: there is at times, way too much sloppy play in the gearing mechanism. That could cause one to be off of the actual lens mark. Second: it causes the focus puller to look at too many different places (ie. the subject, the lens marks and the disk) thus moving one's head too much costing lost reaction time. I believe that by placing your head at the film plane and looking straight down the center line of the lens, one can see the subject and the lens engravings with a simple shift of the eyes. In other words, if you need to make focus marks, make them on the focus ring of the lens with a simple tic mark of a grease pencil or even cut out tape arrows. This is much more efficient. But everyone has their style and way of working. You have to figure out what works for you. Still, keep it stupid/simple. G

Guy, you have made an excellent analysis of the principles of exposure. You are right on! I don't think the younger members of our craft truly study "the curve" anymore and relate it to balancing the light. That's ashame. Great post Guy. G

I go through John Clark Insurance Brokers in Los Angeles. Only due to a very long term relationship with them. But there are others like Taylor & Taylor Insurance who specialize in our field. Any of them should offer the WRC feature. It's an option that should always be available as far as I know. G

I've owned my camera equipment rental company, Latitude 33 Motion Picture Services, LLC, for about 25 years now. In that time it has substantially grown with the amount of gear we own. I don't know what I pay for insurance annually, but I believe that it's important to pay for worldwide replacement cost. It's more expensive but if you lost everything at once you would most likely be out of the camera gear business. Without this feature, you will only receive the depreciation value of the affected gear. Thus it will cost you additionally to replace it after the insurance. Since I have gear spread out all over the place at any given time, this feature gives me additional peace of mind. Of course, the production insures the gear first and foremost before any of my company's insurance would kick in. They are required to provide a certificate of insurance made to L33 MPS prior to any gear being delivered. Hope this helps. G