Marc Levy

I second Detroit Power and Light. They've got what you need.

Just saw Ballast at LA Film Festival. Pretty amazing cinematography by Lol Crawley. As naturalistic/minimalistic as a film can be. Stayed very close to the line between bad and brilliant, but always on the brilliant side. Visually, it never played a false note. It looked unlit - in a good way - and from what I read in AC mag, it was unlit for the most part. Kudos to bravery behind the lens.

Hmmm. Yeah, I noticed that many of the film titles under that pseudonym are in Spanish. Might anyone have articles or details on the shooting of those films?

I have become a big fan of Shane Meadows' films (Dean Man's Shoes, This Is England), and I love the the look of two of them, Dean Man's Shoes and This Is England. They both are naturalistic, with very few camera and lighting conventions that characterize many larger-budget films. Instead, it's lots of hand-held, and source-motivated lighting that feels real. IMDB says the cinematographer is Danny Cohen, but also says his "AKA" (also known as) is Roger Pratt and Gonzalo Fernández Berridi. Is this some sort of error on IMDB's part, or is Danny Cohen, in fact, the Roger Pratt who shot Troy? Either way, any articles or info about the cinematography in these films would be appreciated.

How long is the scene? If it's shortish, you may be able to catch the sun with a mirror board and direct it into the window. Then, no worries about inverse square law. I would still make sure that you can get the mirror high enough to simulate the sun's angle in the sky. With this approach, you will probably need to have a good bit of light inside to bring up the ambient level, as the ratios will be extreme using real sunlight. Oh, and haze it up. Best

When I've shot with the DVX100B, these are the settings I've used for a "film-look" over and over again. If you want, you can change the chroma level to give you either a more saturated or less saturated image. Also, setting the color temp to -2 or -3 and then manually white balancing can yield a nice warmth that I've used a good bit for day exterior work. Scene File F5: Detail Level: -2 V Detail Level: +2 Detail Coring:0 Chroma Level: 0 Chroma Phase: 0 Color Temp: 0 Master Ped: -6 Auto Iris Level: 0 Gamma: Cinelike Knee: Auto Matrix: Cinelike Skin Detail: Off V Detail: Thin Gain: 0db Progressive: 24P

The more I shoot, the more I learn that the color/tonal qualities of a space is one of the biggest factors in the outcome of the image. Yeah, lighting is huge, but it's really hard to light a space that looks bad from the get go. Unfortunately, location choice seems to be one of the most-neglected parts of the pre-production process. Now, I make sure to impress upon directors the importance of wall color.

The effect of the narrow shutter also depends on what the action is and type of camera movement employed. If you have a static camera, with static subjects, the effect of any "narrow" shutter is much less apparent than if you have, for example, a hand-held camera running behind a person. I've shot hand-held stuff with a 45 degree shutter that looks like fast-motion when played back at normal speed. And then I've shot stuff at that same shutter angle that was not nearly as recognizable because the subject and camera were stationary. But, like David says, if you're shooting video, you can play around with it on set.

Hey Chris, I would definitely separate the types of footage into different reels. For your film reel or narrative reel, I'd only include stuff that feels "filmic". This can include stuff shot in any format, and can include stuff from music videos, commercials, etc. - but it should all feel "filmic". I would then cut a reel for your industrials, and then a reel for docs. Hope this helps. Regarding the song, I'd find something that you like, and that you feel personifies or represents you and your work in some way (with or without lyrics). Cheers,

Scott, Thanks for the great feedback. I never really thought of the navigability in the sense you pointed out. I will definitely try to modify my website so that when one is watching one reel, they will see the options for the other reels on the same page - great point. Regarding the Stella commercial, the one on my website is the final cut "long version" I received from the Director. There is a short version as well. Cheers

Hey all, (I'm reposting this here, as it may be a better section.) So I'm not getting as many responses as I have in the past from my online replies to job postings. I'm now beginning to think, hmmm, maybe there's something I need to change. I usually provide the job lead a link to my website, and then let them pick what to watch. It is below: www.marclevycine.com Any feedback on my website, reel, or montages, or thoughts on how to modify my presentation would be welcome and appreciated. Cheers

Hey all, So I'm not getting as many responses as I have in the past from my online replies to job postings. I'm now beginning to think, hmmm, maybe there's something I need to change. I usually provide the job lead a link to my website, and then let them pick what to watch. It is below: www.marclevycine.com Any feedback on my website, reel, or montages, or thoughts on how to modify my presentation would be welcome and appreciated. Cheers

Very beautiful stuff. Some of the compositions (especially the row of leaves in the rain) are rather inspirational. It's some of the best ext. photography I've seen in its format. Could you share a bit about you camera, camera settings, etc. etc.?

Ram, Some strong stuff. Nice variety, displays a good range. Also, the production values seem fairly high in many of the shots. Kudos. The only stuff I do not care for - and I tend to feel this way about all the reels that have this - is the rap video footage. It's very cliche in subject matter/content, and I feel it detracts from your reel. Great work! Marc

I bought this chart from Birns and Sawyer for $12.00 - just a laminated framing chart: http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/cgibin/BIRst...0Color%20Charts Best

Clint, I've used the Panasonic BT-LH1700W, which is a 17" HD monitor - and it has a waveform monitor function built into it. I've had success with this monitor, and have found that in general it represents (if calibrated properly) what I am actually recording. It's available at most rental houses. http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/s...odel=BT-LH1700W

I don't know much about the HDX900, but I do know it doesn't have variable frame rate as does the HPX500, which goes from 12FPS - 60FPS. This capability is a major factor in my camera choices. Also, the HPX500 does have SDI out.

Although I have not tested the two cameras side by side, I like the HPX500 better. The most apparent difference is the 2/3" chips which give me more control of DOF. And the lens that I'm using, even thought it's an ENG (non-CAC) lens, seems far superior to me than the fixed lens on the HVX200. And even compared to the HVX200 with the P+S Technik adapter with Zeiss Super Speeds on it, I think I'm liking the HPX better. It seems like I get a sharper, fuller image. I do think one could intercut the cameras, if necessary.

Michael, thanks for the above demo. It's very useful. I feel a cool wave of relief now, as the waveform images you posted are close to what I've been staring at for the last week on this shoot. I just got a frame grab of one of the shots I was concerned about. It's an H264 compressed file from the editor, but here it is:

I knew that going in, but I don't like the response to highlights I get from Cinelike V or B. Press - they tend to look more "videoish" sometimes.

Looks good Bill! Any video?

Hi, I need advice on exposure. I'm shooting a feature on the HPX500. The film's dark, so I'm lighitng it that way - very little fill, nothing frontal. I'm shooting in Cinelike D with a Master Pedestal of -3. I chose Cinelike D because it gives me the most latitude, and I prefer its response to highlights better than any of the other matrices. My problem: When I look on both of the HD plasma monitors I have on set, the image looks good (albeit low-con at this point, as I plan to crush blacks and bump contrast in post) but the waveform monitor doesn't look right - much of the time, most of the image reads below 50IRE (even with caucasian skin tones in frame), and there are times when nothing reads over 50IRE. Both monitors are calibrated, both show very similar images. So then I open up the aperture and the waveform looks better - but the image looks overexposed to my eyes. So I go with my eyes and stop back down, worrying that I'm screwing myself. Oh, and these images seem a bit noisier than I'm used to. Anybody have similar experiences or any words of wisdom to ease my worries?

It's never too late. Just be prepared for the financial strain of the hustle. Best

Yep. It seems like the reflections are simply from the rear projection setup. Thanks for the link.

Thanks Michael, That's exactly what I'm talking about. I know how to shoot the time-lapse footage that will serve as the background plate stuff. So would you say they were using rear projection there? Also, how did they achieve the streaking reflections on the windshield and top of car (as in the 1st 20 seconds of the commercial)? Were they projecting the image directly onto the surface of the vehicle? I have no experience in this regard, so any thoughts are welcome. Thanks