Jason Maeda

that's way too much dpi for what you're doing, and yes you can do the pans and zooms in fcp. you create wireframes and waypoints... jk :ph34r:

wow you're a real fu**in tool. ha ha! joke! :rolleyes:

"Okay admittedly its [sic] directed by Atom Egoyin [sic] and has an English actor in the lead." Atom Egoyan is Canadian. jk :ph34r:

if you do not push the "macro" button does it still zoom within the macro range? jk :ph34r:

totally depends on which niche of competing films you're talking about and what exactly you consider "natural". if you want "accurate" green that's one film, if you want "accurate" contrast that's another, and on and on... velvia was always a little crazy for portraits i thought but i'm sure many people loved it. then again provia had so many different characteristics during its production... anyway the whole debate just sounds so old fashioned now. the photo assistants i talk to who are making these decisions dont even know how to load film into a camera. cinema will be the same in a few years, unfortunately. it all be about the cool curves you carry around on a hard drive in your pocket or something. jk :ph34r:

F5.6 and shoot lots and lots of rolls before viewing any footage. jk :ph34r:

spectra film and video in north hollywood. they care about their work. jk :ph34r:

My wife called me at work recently to tell me she had just seen the lead actor, Hiroyuki Sanada, at an outdoor restaurant. I so wish I could have met him. Twighlight Samurai and the Hidden Blade are both fantastic mainstream films. The camera work in both is very confident and understated, a real lesson for all of us who find orselves wondering "where to put the camera" from time to time. jk :ph34r:

No kidding. L.A., beyond having beautiful weather and excellent ethnic food, is good for seeing film, as is NY. I'm also a big fan of the Boston cinema scene. I think it has something to do with having 300+ universities in a 20 mile radius. I wonder what other US cities have good venues for film? jk :ph34r:

Good point. Plus I should learn how to spell "grindhouse". God I just did it again! I must have some weird dislexia that only applies to d's and g's. David I thought you were living out here in NYC. When did you move out to sunny southern California? jk :ph34r:

wow. really? whole lot of thought going into "gringhouse", though. jk :ph34r:

This 9 hour 2003 documentary, divided into three sections, just finished a short run at the Film Anthology in NYC. I don't know how many of you might have seen this film, but if you get a chance it is a fantastic work of art. It chronicles the erosion of a community once supported by 20th century chinese industrialism. It is shot on mini-dv, mostly handheld and very shaky at times (especially when walking, zoomed in, through the bitter cold). There is no non-diagetic music and no narration. i believe i counted three title cards total. jk :ph34r:

thinking of you john. jk :ph34r:

Let's not get caught up in a political conversation. I've never heard an interesting argument from anyone on this site regarding US foreign policy, and even if someone is hiding in here with a brilliantly laid out analysis of the dozens of conplex factors at work there, this still wouldn't be the place for it. And I certainly don't use this site as a platform for criticizing anyone else's cultures or national beliefs. This site is best when treated like we treat strangers to the dinner table: no politics and no religion! I mean, if I can't use this cinematography forum to point to the fact that Mathew Barney sucks in almost every way without nearly getting death threats than I certainly don't want to hear some Cal Arts student tell me my president is an a**ho** and my nation's foreign agenda is evil. jk :ph34r:

"Its actually very easy.There is always a specific part of the sunset that you wish to be represented as a mid tone. Point the spot meter at it." this has always been my method. if you are lighting a forground character, be careful how far you go dumping the background (do you guys say that in film?) if you go too far it starts to look really fake, which may of course be what you want, but i think most people here tend towards verisimilitude. jk :ph34r:

"(you know how the Japanese are when it comes to saving face and keeping up appearances.)" ha ha! thank god, too. without that social shame thing we wouldn't have half of the great japanese films! jk :ph34r:

the cranes are flying in california! very fun, david. also, i really covet that guy's moustache. jk :ph34r:

Where did you here that his is the only print? I've seen it at least twice and I can't imagine he's sending one print out that often. You are lucky to have seen this film, it is an excellent work by a master. It is also important as it is his first film to clearly display the style and thematic concerns which would later be indicative of all of Angelopoulos's work. jk :ph34r:

I own the DVD and those shorts to which you refer are included. All very beautiful and meaningful works. Morvern Collar wasn't my favorite...I didn't really understand what it might be trying to say or do, but I look forward to seeing any future works. The on camera kight she rocks here and there is great; shares a lot of the same vitality that existed in the fashion/art-scene photography of the time. jk :ph34r:

Manish, My humble advice is for you to start at the absolute bottom, probably in a rental house, and maybe as an unpaid intern. If you are tireless and punctual, keep your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open you will probably do fine. If they don't want you at first don't be afraid to drop by every couple weeks (with a box of dognuts? don't laugh...that poop works) and remind them that youre interested. just dont ask them lots of questions or show them your reel or something: they dont care. jk :ph34r:

"Lol. How about telling us what it (more importantly than media used, style) is about? A well-shot film without a story be it a dramatic story or otherwise is still not a good film." - except this is a cinematography website, not a storytelling website. jk :ph34r:

I think it's important to step away, regroup and then revisit your lighting sometimes. This can be hard on a busy set with minute to minute deadlines, but even a few minutes can help sometimes. I don't think shadowless photos are any more acceptable in fashion photos than anywhere else. Different photographers use different lighting and some can be quite hard and oblique, while others may be soft and flat. The idea that fashion photos are all shot with big, frontal softboxes is incorrect. jk :ph34r:

ok there's no such thing as good or bad. it's all opinion. my opinion is that i like art with depth and meaning. jk :ph34r:

"the things that resonate with me most aren't things that can be endlessly deconstructed or 'read', but are those little feelings or tones that you can't quite put your finger on, that exist on a purely abstract, instinctive level" A valuable point. I believe we brought up Japanese film at some point in this discussion and the works of both Ozu and Mizoguchi (very different in most ways) give us excellent examples of analogous moments that defy the expectation for typical, directly-correlative symbolism. I'm a huge fan of Antonioni but his weakest moments are when every element becomes part of a tightly wound, yet ultimately simplistic, system of symbols and meanings. If you deconstruct his films far enough you sometimes end up with something like: "the next shot represents Aldo's inability to communicate. this next shot represtents the fruits of intimacy, lost to him because of his inability to communicate. the camera move shows a transition in Aldo's sense of self..." etc. etc. Really it comes dangerously and unexpectedly close to operating in the same, trudging manner of a Hollywood film...with the shot list a model of artless efficiency and single-mindedness. "the next shot shows that the lawyer doesn't care about her client. the next shot shows the client realizing this and being sad. the next shot shows the client's kid, who is cute and reminds us that the client's predicement is important" etc. etc. Other similar directors like Angelopoulos and Tarkovsky evade this specific shortcoming by allowing their work to breath a little; they allow for symbolism that exists parallel to its meaning, not necessarily as its mirror. Wow I just rambled for like 5 minutes. Sorry and, by the way, I really love Antonioni! jk :ph34r:

David, looks very tight. i swear the camera didn't stop pushing from the first shot of that trailer to the last! the contrasty light on thorton's head at the dinner table scene looked really cool. good luck! jk :ph34r: