Ed Nyankori

So many sceptics... I think in 50 years a $500 camcorder will record f900+ quality images and film will still be alive and well, in a niche market...Until then we just have to figure out where to budget the resources to bring our projects to life...The most memorable quote from film school for me was something like 'cinema will not be a true artform until the cost of producing it is as cheap as pen and paper'. I don't take the coment literally but I think it holds great merit. Now to answer your question I understand that as the technology emerges P2 cards will hold more memory and cost less...I of course remember buying a 2GB harddrive for $400+ maybe 7 years ago. So I welcome the change I hate tapes and its already been suggested that after market devices similar to iPods will be available to capture data. And Id rather download a P2 card onset and have it at my beck and call without tying up my camera anyway... What sucks is that unlike the Cinematographers of the pre-DV era whom could count on their investments to pay for theselves and still retain value; our equipment is becoing more and more disposable. I hear the street price of a dvx100p is under $2000 I think I paid closer to $4000 just two years ago.

The most common light kits are Arri and Lowel. I like Altman lights (we have a few in the studio) and Ive noticed their light kits are comparable to Arri kits at bhphoto.com...a little cheaper though. You can usually find some great deals on Colortran kits on eBay. Usually 650w open faced w/stands...Not as sweet as fresnels but once you learn them they are great... I own a lowel dp4 kit and its alright too...

Inspiring work, it looks great.

I want to up the profesionalism in the indie film community Im in. Im looking to put together a contract that outlines responsibilities ahead of time. You know who's to pay for damage to my equipment, day rates and for an up and commer like myself access to footage for my reel. Im not making a living shooting but Im losing money due to lost and damaged gear due to inexperienced crews, accidents and normal wear and tear. Does anyone have something I could take a 'peek' at???

Ive often wondered about this practice. The problem is 220v stove outlets are fed by 10/3 that means 10 gauge wire(rated @30amps) 3wire (red,black & white). the red and the black each 'hot' at 110v and the white is common. So if you split up the red and black to give you two legs each 110v then you are still running both circuits off a single common wire. Given that the breaker only protects the hot wires you have a great potential for damaging that common wire. I used to do electrical work on homes and was an electronics tech in the Navy. I have not reviewed the NEC (national electric code) since 1996; but Im pretty sure this practice is not allowed and in theory very dangerous (no common wire protection).

I hope you aren't blowing your life savings.No offense but you sound clue-less. Your making a short but you use the word feature, no wonder someone asked for $5000. Thats a bargain for a good DP. We live for this stuff and need to eat, you sound like thats not your concern. For your own good make sure you get some experience in filmmaking before you go out waste your time, money and chance at making a decent film. You probably won't so do yourself a favor and get an experienced art director (even if its a set decorator or interior designer looking to step up) and a competant sound mixer. Does anyone remember from film school who said (wrote): "Your first five films are going to suck anyway so go ahead and get them out of the way!" BTW: I expect some real shenanigans from the title of your post b/c DPs can be real pains-in-the-a$$ to producers and directors, crew members,their wives, girlfriends, etc and your just bitchin' about bean counting. Stand by.

The breakers rating 20amps is set to protect the copper wire leaving the breakerbox. Therefore using a higher rated breaker definitely will keep the breaker from tripping but will not do what it is intended to do: protect the wire that provides the electricity to said outlet. Even if you dont cause a fire you'll damage the insulation in the 'wire'. Which may lead to a fire. Its also irresponsable and illegal.

nice work; what did you shoot that with?

FYI: It appears we have a regional conflict here. The Atlanta film community interprets "Urban" as black if not just ethnic. I, for one, hate euphemisms - just say what you mean. That being said I apologize for perverting this thread but I felt compelled to dot the I's and cross the T's. Oh shite is that a euphemism? http://www.atlantafilms.com/cgi-bin/yabb/Y...;num=1111693585

Thanks for the clarification.

OK so does "Urban" mean city or non-white/mainstream ??? Is there an assumption about the demographics of the city or urban areas??? Urban to me means city not ethnic. Is it a euphemism in a pc world or not???

Is or is not "Urban Film" an euphemism for black mainstream film? Im not trying to debate what black cinema is, was,etc just confused about the term "urban film". I mean would anyone consider Woody Allen, an urban filmmaker??? Here in Atlanta we have the Urban Media Makers Forum and its definately has an African American agenda. http://www.urbanmediamakers.com/

What about the lights? Look on ebay for a colortran kit. They go cheap and are fairly hardy gear they all but force you to experiment with them to get meaningful lighting. I have lowel gear (not much better,if any) but work on 35mm,16 and dv for a dp that has mix match colortran gear. thats all we get for the low dough gigs and he really makes them work...you'll never love them but they work for cheap.

Light the blue screen first. If you can bring your laptop along and use the oscilloscope/waveform monitor to ensure an even lighting. You'll be looking for the flatest line possible on the scope. Add car avoid blue wardrobe,car,props,etc. Look for reflections in the mirrors and experimnt with windows up vs. down. While a slight movement to the camera would sell your effect better it will complicate the keying process. The hard part finding the right background; I had the most success shooting the background slightly out of focus hoping it would look like a depth of field effect. Remember your lens focal length you will need to shoot your background plates with the same lens attributes. Even in the daytime lighting conditions vary so think about whether or not you want to try to use a light to sweep across the dash, your subjects,etc. Its harder than it looks to make it all match up so do a test before hand...And for your sake I hope someone else chimes in with some ideas...

I like to work off the script and director's vision spatially and emotionally then working from there to build an image together. That can be by discussing other works, talking about the scene or drawing storyboards, shotlists beforehand or if need be onset. On the set, I prey to get the directors confidence so s/he can worry about the actors, blocking, how many candles to light, the inflection in a line,etc. That being said I offer ideas and hummbly (the best I can) take whatever is thrown at me. A film can ultimately survive the difference between a 12mm vs 18mm lens, a lighting hit, bad focus or a gratuitous dolly shot but it can't survive bad directing get on the same page with your dp and have fun.

Oh yeah, like what?? Ive resisted dv colortiming like the plaque, I use filters, lament over color temp anything to keep from the inevitable. That being said what other tweeks make b/w its best.

You are joking right?

The Cobra runs like $350 and its a step up from the jib Ive got (I bought a prototype from a manufacturor in Canada that probably thought it looked to pathetic too...But considering you've voiced this argument in the video section then touted your Moviecam experience with a Panther I can only wonder...What's better a nice sweep via a cobra crane or a pan/tilt via a $3000 Sachler tripod. In the end the viewer cant see the equipment - only the shot. It reminds me of the time my magic hour exterior went to poop b/c my gaffer insisted on using Arri 650s (he obtained from the rental house he worked at) instead of my Lowel DPs, I asked for, b/c they were "pieces of s#!T". David Ive always respected your posts but I think its important to remember people make films - all that crap in the truck are just tools. I recall working an indie where on the spot the director and dp envisioned a shot that required a jib but we didnt have one. Our Key Grip (who has worked huge films as a technocrane op) was working this low budget indie his wife was producing facilitated the vision with a combo stand and an assortment of grip gear. Dont be a hater...now ill put my drink down, turn off the computer and get some sleep. Early call, cheers... BTW what filters are you into Sloan, for that film look??

i have one and you dont need film to get the motor to turn...A tv show i work on used my 8mm for cut aways for a live band...everyone was very happy with it

Id say between the two cameras the cp is more user friendly; if you aren't to heavy on experience but the question Id ask as the dp if posed the question is what lens(es) are available for each camera. Personally i hate the Angeniuex lens that came with the cp-16 (12-120mm) but i work with a dp that has a prime set for his and its been converted to super 16 so Id pick that before a SR1 with a crappy lens. Really its about the lens and to be honest Ive never shot the BL but Ive gaffed and key gripped for it and I think its superior to the cp-16, "out of the box". Anyone have an opinion on the BL vs CP lens issue?

Wow, I thought I was crazy shooting day4night and night ext using a black promist and nd grad but everyone loved it... It was a highly stylized short that required 5 distinct visual pallets so I got to play alot.Another character owned a Low Contrast 2 filter which I thought looked great on location but now I fear an audience might just see it as out of focus (this is to be projected using a 5k projector in a theater). Im looking to buy a Ultracon 1/2 and tobacco grad.

Thanks all, in the end I advised him only to use the film to test movement and visual inspection for scratches. This board is awesome thank you all for your input.

Love it... What's the difference between God and a DP; God doesn't think he's a DP.

This reminds me of watching my first VHS movie on a $950 Hitachi Deck; shortly thereafter I met Jerry of Jerry's Video, the first selfmade millionaire I ever met. He was in buisness with a limited selection and stiff fines for a decade before Blockbuster was within 15miles of our town. Ah the good ole days... Point is the cost of technology tends to decrease as the value of it increases. Technology will provide for the day to day operation of the machines (spare cards,etc). I refuse to believe the average film geek projectionist can't be trained to read a self diagnosis and change a card. As far as the quality I have no idea Ive never seen a digital projection better than s-video.

Sorry to post more of the same but Ive been waiting to blast away at the anamorpic adapter. I came in late on a feature and shot the last 4 days of it. The anamorphic had been the productions choice from the start and I hadn't used it before so I was excited, for a brief moment, then came the horror of trying to focus, compose and light for this lens. I didnt know I was supposed to stay between f4-f/11 and Ive got soft focus shots to prove it. Forget dollying and the jib was definitely hit or miss... It reminded me of shooting 16mm for the first time. I wasnt sure what I was getting...In the end the producer and director were thrilled with our results and had few complaints about focus, etc. Great, but I know it would have been better without the adapter. Got some extra cash to blow buy a MatteBox and nd,blue,sunset grad set.