Jason Maeda

lots of still photographers are using digital capture these days. i have seen wall-sized murals that were impossible to distinguish from a film originated shot. every year i see many more shoots go digital, and i believe i can safely say that in ten years there will be far more digital shoots than film. the advantages are multiferous, the disadvantages are disappearing, and it is getting almost impossible to tell one from the other. jk :ph34r:

has anyone contacted ebay about this? jk

"Please don't disrespect people who have a different opinion from yourself. Try to understand." why is it that when an american is called a nazi it's fair game, but when he gets tired of being insulted and responds he is accused of being antagonistic. whats the difference between guantanamo and auschwitz? i don't think it is i who needs to be more understanding. "Not everybody wants to eat steak." oh really? whose computer are you using right now? what shoes are you wearing? did you make them yourself? c'mon, please don't be so self-righteous, it's too simplistic. "How does it happen everyone i know is familiar with the india-pakistan conflic except the ones that rule the world?" factually incorrect and rude. "I do not see spending 87+ billions of dollars on war, as doing something nice for the world everyday. America has freedom. Freedom to pollute. Pollute the earth and our mind." lets all take a deep breath and then do a little research on what our own governments do with their money before we start pointing fingers, shall we? "I do not consider having 3 cars, 2 computers, 4 tv's bla bla bla as wealth. I see it as brainwash." woah woah woah! what happened to understanding and mutual respect? "we don't need world police!" oh right...unless it's nato or the UN or interpol or... people please understand that i have nothing personal against any of you. there is nothing more i would like to be doing than exchanging ideas without animosity. if you look back at every political discussion on this forum of which i've taken part, i think you'll find that i was completely polite until someone called me a nazi or something like that. i'm just saying, let's ease it up on the u.s. and its philosophies, because i could turn around and malign any nation in the world for the "sin" of serving their own best interests. i could also point out true acts of altruism from most countries in the world, nd most of all the u.s. lets be a little more intelligent and less bitter. jk :ph34r:

uma, i'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you are from india. is that correct? jk :ph34r:

a lot of the films i see written about in american cinematographer credit several different stocks for a single production. but i always hear people talking about the issue of matching stocks, which makes me think its a difficult thing to do. what are the techniques available to help the cinematographer match different stocks? jk :ph34r:

jack, why are you bothering to respond to this poop? do you think anyone so passionately and ignorantly anti-american is going to suddenly understand all of the contradictory demands that are made on the united states? the obligation of any great superpower is not to try in vain to indulge the interests of every nation at once, hoping against reason that all can somehow have their irreconciable, antithetical demands met. instead it can only be that she must suffer their childish outrage as a good king must suffer his envious, spiteful, antagonistic dukes, hoping in the end that while his reign lasts, his influence will be both far-reaching and just. the current conflict is a perfect example. were it not for aid from the u.s., the israelis would have been slaughtered by the arab world years ago, a goal that most of that world still holds as its dearest tenent, far above caring for its own citizens. could not america have utterly destroyed israel's enemies years ago? could we have not re-written the map of the middle east a hundred times over? could we not bite off huge chunks of nations at a time as every great super-power has tried to do before us? since its birth america has stood apart from the pack for its conviction to the idea of freedom and its courage in the face of those who stand against freedom. no one should be surprised that we do not leave our friend israel to die because of the threats from these extremist pseudo-islamic psychotic theocrats. but despite our just and light-handed efforts we were attacked time after time. finally 9-11, and america could stand no more. if the most violent, totalitarianistic culture that side of africa chooses to hate the u.s. for our propogation of freedom, believe that the u.s. will move the war right back to her. will the psychos swing back? yes. will the dukes bitch? of course. but what should we do? what exactly would the world have us do? i am so fu**ing tired of coming to this website and reading about how mad everyone is towards america for not acting in the exact way that they want. if the fifty or so people who come to this webiste can not agree on a course for america, then how can one possible expect her to satisfy the desires of every person in the world, each of whom is unavoidably privy to the actions of america as the most documented nation. lets hear someone say something nice about this country, which does so much for the world every day. jk

check the archives, there was a discussion about this very topic. by the way i loved it. jk :ph34r:

hey genius, do a little search for "spain" on that same amnesty website. jk

it is available on video, but it is a terrible transfer. it is not yet available on dvd. jk :ph34r: p.s. http://www.criterioncoco.com has a section where you can email them with title suggestions.

"I´m counting my words to not let go all the fury i have against USA." fulgencio, have you considered the possibility that you're angry at the wrong people? then again, i'm just an illiterate nazi bully. what do i know?

yeah ultra brings up a good question. are independent films seeing more success or is our definition of what is independent growing to include bigger and bigger films? jk :ph34r:

it's weird. i thought that it was going to do really well, or at least, really well for the audience they were aiming for. i give the edge this year to bill murray because a. he truly carried an entire film by himself b. he did it without a traditional dramatic arc from which to take cues c. he sort of validated all of his amazing past performances by doing the same thing here, this time without the comfort that comes from working within the genre expectations of the "romantic comedy" etc. jk :ph34r:

yeah i really agree with rachel. the tone and "lightly discombobulated" feel of the film is a success of style at the very least, and that alone makes it noteworthy. as far as its worthiness to receive an academy award...i look at it like "why not? all the other films that won aa's sucked even more". at this point i really try not to even pay attention to them, it's too distressing. i really liked lance's work. all the complaints i've heard from people about soft shots and uncorrected sources sound just like the complaints about "breathless" or italian neo-realism that were voiced at the time. frankly, the best shot on my reel is a happy accident where the subject was too close to the lens and fell out of focus. now i do it on purpose all the time. i really appreciate a perfectly "drafted" approach as well, but for me it's not so much a rule as it is an opition. jk :ph34r: by the way, speaking of the aa's, bill murray got completely robbed in not winning best actor. go see "lost in..." for his performance alone. it was the best that i saw from anywhere all year.

no it doesn't sound like it. also, and i know this is a pretty dubious way of predicting a film's worth, the movie poster makes it look really sublime and nice. my friend really vouches for it, and so does the voice, the times,etc. now i'm really into seeing it... jk :ph34r:

thanks for everything guys. that link is for a site i remember going to bur couldn't find a working address for. a couple dead ends only from google. great site! jk :ph34r:

thanks bill. apologies to everyone for allowing myself to become so heated about this issue. jk

how long will a bolex run after a full wind before it needs to be wound again? i can't seem to find the answer to this question on the bolex sites. does it change from model to model, or are they all about the same? thanks guys, jk :ph34r:

ok ok...it was "the seventh sign" starring demi moore. no satan but a creepy jesus. pretty funny films to confuse! jk :ph34r:

that list is amazing...moscow, beijing? who knew? yeah as far as harlem goes it may be the place to move right now. i know people living alone paying 600-700 bucks who are pretty happy about it. i pay more than that and have two roomates in the east village. among other places i've lived in boston, phoenix and salisbury, MD and in each one i was attacked for racial reasons, but as long as you're not pointing a camera at people, harlem is pretty hospitable. jk :ph34r:

im actually in the middle of it again right now (they're redigitizing some shots), things are going better today...who knows. i'm trying to remind myself that it's her movie, not mine, and i can always go back to telecine for my reel. but there's still a 10% chance i'm going to use the hamster/elderberries line! jk :ph34r:

just to clarify: scott at the tape house was amazing. i'm complaining about someone else. and it's not that big a deal, its more like another ball to juggle in my diplomatic attempts to push my agenda. thanks tenolian(sp?) jk :ph34r: p.s. a trick we always use when sending prints to clients after still shoots, is to send the one you wants them to use, then send them a really bad one as an "option".

ouch. "no a little earlier phil" "no a little later phil" "no a little..." jk

i havent worked on many films as dp, but i've come to realize that there are a few problems that seem to happen every time like clockwork. one is that when all is said and done, and you find yourself color correcting in telecine (or on a symphony as i am this week), suddenly your hard work becomes the property of the director, the producer, and even the colorist. in color correction, all anyone has to do is point and they can change everything you were going for. the worst part is, while most of my experiences with colorists have been really good (scott at the tape house comes to mind) the guy i'm with now really enjoys the power that comes with sitting at the controls (he's the "expert" that everyone is dependent upon), and when i've asked for, say, more blue or whatever on a couple occasions he's said things like "really? hmmm...." like that, then the director gets all freaked out, etc. etc. meanwhile the director is seeing her work and suddenly realizes that its scary to stick with all of your "high concept" ideas you talked about for months before production, and its a lot safer just to make everything look like an episode of law and order. i guess what im saying is, i feel like i'm trying to keep everyone on course, and to go for what we intended in the first place. but the control available to everyone at this stage of post production, mixed with directorial fear and colorist grandstanding makes it really hard to insure that your work will come out looking good. what can i do next time to secretly give less control to these people in post? jk :ph34r:

ha ha ha bill i just woke up and laughed my ass off when i read these posts. i dont even know if i can tell you what movie i thought we were talking about (it wasnt the seventh SEAL). im sorry... yesterday at 5am i was gaffing a big-budget stills shoot, at 10:30pm i was finishing color correcting a short film on a symphony workstation. guess my brain was a little frazzled. ;) yeah the seventh seal is great, jeez i don't want yellow and blue spraypaint on my apartment door or anything! hmmm how can i distract the swedes...dansk javla! jk :ph34r:

i saw the trailer a couple months ago and my date and i actually laughed out loud it looked so cheesy. since then it got a bunch of great reviews and i found out my friend from back home in maine is the director of distribution on it. so now i kind of want to go see it (the date still refuses). anyone want to warn me not to do so? jk :ph34r: