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J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR

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Everything posted by J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR

  1. Mostly video editing/post sound and music now but I've had several musicians/bands over that wanted to record in a different place. I also recently shot some interviews in there as it's ultra quiet.
  2. That is very true. I'm shooting a small DV feature right after Christmas and it actually has some OK actors in it. Most have real experience, training or have worked as stage actors at Dallas Theatre Center. The director seems to have a good eye for the right people. It boggles my mind when I see really bad acting and actors. Espescially because if you send out casting calls in LA, New York or Texas you are usually bombarded by a billion actors and some of them actually have experience. I guess if you didn't live in one of those places it would be harder but you should still hire pros.
  3. My XP3000 @ 2.17Ghz and 1GB of RAM runs Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Nuendo, EMU Patchmix and MS Word all at the same time with no problem. Of course I don't actually have them all actively doing something at the same time. It's pretty amazing that you can do all of that, though. The sure way to crash it is to hit 'Print' in Word. I avoid printing stuff untill after a session and close everything down. I'm just about finished with converting my spare room into a recording studio/edit suite. It's completely sound proofed, has isolated ground power circuits and custom built (by me) desk with 19" rackmounts. Pretty cool, it's taken me a year to get it this far.
  4. 216 is a Lee number for white diffusion a plastic material. I think Rosco equivalent is called 3026. You should mount the material on some sort of frame like a 4' x 4' and aim your light through it to get a nice diffuse quality.
  5. Well you either stand by a light source or bring a light. There's no two ways about it. Except if you want hideous color and underexposed scenes full of noise. It's better to "drag lights all over the city" and get what you want than not. It's like people who want to take good landscape photographs then proceed to carry the smallest camera and flimsy tripod (or no tripod) into the field. I carry 6' wooden sticks and a view camera. Then they wonder why their pictures aren't as good as mine. Sorry if I sound like a jerk, I'm just saying you get out what you put in.
  6. Actually, in some places it's a very hard business to crack. One tip I know works is to get business through bridal stores. Some stores have preffered photographers. I know the big chains do. You can get locked into one store and they send everything through you. You'll probably find all these slots are filled up already but maybe not by a videographer. You might have to find out who the photographer is and team with him.
  7. Tim, do you know anything about David Odd? Some of his work on the "Masterpiece Theatre" programs is very "staid' and classical in a very good way. Some of the best composition I've seen in a long time.
  8. Even though your films are free for public viewing, I'm going down to the Cineplex to watch a Hollywood movie instead.
  9. Yeah, it's fine. Just like the DVX-100 with both 2:3 and 2:3:3:2 modes.
  10. When shooting, especially DV, I like to keep a hundred things with me that cut light. All kinds of ND sheets, rolls, panels, nets, 216, blackwrap and window screen both metal and plastic in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It doesn't take any time to wrap a bare practical bulb in metal screen mesh if you don't have anything to spray on them. If it's in a shade you can wrap ND gel or some 216 inside the shade. Carry some lower wattage bulbs with you or some dimmers. When the rubber hits the road lighting is really about light control. The more you learn about it the more you'll realize how to utilize all of the tools and how you're crippled without them. Looks like that's what you're running into. Try to plan more in depth and try to anticipate problems to stay one step ahead of them.
  11. What was the philosophy behind the re-edit. Did you simply remove segments of shots that some people complained went on too long or were scenes removed? Ebert seemed really amazed by it. I haven't seen the original edit, just curious.
  12. Certainly you want to get the best you can get your hands on. Get the best you can afford now and make your movies now. Personally I find it a bit funny when people compare 24p camcorders to 60i camcorders. Because I'm thinking, what the hell else do you want it for if you aren't going to shoot 24p? 24p exists because it emulates a film look, plain and simple. A film look or film itself, in my book, is necessary probably for 95% of anything I would care to shoot. I don't shoot sports and news and I feel documentaries and EPK's benefit from a film look. Even infomercials can get a boost in legitimacy from a film look. This obsoletion issue is another strong reason to rent if you can. It's interesting what your friend says about nothing being truly obsolete. That's true to a point. Equipment becoming obsolete to the majority of professionals is what it's really about. There's many obsolete film and video cameras but an artist can still find use for them. This reminds me of a band called Treewave, they use old Atari's, old PC's, old printers and all kinds of obsolete stuff to make music. They litteraly mic up a dot-matrix printer to get a beat!
  13. Yeah, I'm with you on Godard, Truffaut, fellini and Antonioni. Some of the best directors ever. And Yeah, let's talk about 'Brown Bunny' plus and minus the 30 or so minutes that made Ebert hate or love it.
  14. Sorry fstop, I have to completely disagree with you about Kaminsky on Spielbergo films. While I wouldn't put him above other top flight guys like Daviau and Willis, he is certainly in their ranks. His work on "Schindlers List" and "Saving Private Ryan" is way above ordinary and more than competent. The battle scenes in "Saving Private Ryan" are arguably the best ever done and don't forget about the whole sequence in the government offices and that beautifully lit and photographed Ryan farm and house. "Schindlers List" is at least as good as any B&W photography ever done. Just my opinion of course but there you have it. And like Vincent, I wish he would work more with other directors on interesting stuff.
  15. In states like Texas that whole scenario wouldn't fly. You can get a judge to enter a judgement against someone but there is no way to make them pay. They can go right on ignoring you. You cannot garnish wages and you cannot get leans on property except in extreme cases and certainly they will not arrest anyone. The best you could do is possibly ruin their credit. But these days credit card companies send pre-approved credit cards even to bankruptcy filers which is illegal.
  16. That show "History Detectives" had a story about Japanese citizens being detained in San Francisco I think, while trying to immigrate. It seems like they were hearded into small buildings and kept there forever. I thought that could be expanded into a feature. Of course "Snow Falling on Cedars" touched on the subject of the WWII internments and the way Japanese-Americans were robbed of their homes and possesions. It really only scratched the surface though. IMHO, probably Robert Richardson's best work and certainly in my top 5 of all time best cinematography.
  17. I think it's still set for a wide release next year.
  18. Too many good ones to name. I have to thank my Mom really because she would always take us to shows in the 70's early 80's that people in this 'neck of the woods' didn't normaly see. Like "Fiddler on the Roof" "Jesus Christ Superstar" "The Three Musketeers" "Chariots of Fire." She would take us probably because she couldn't afford a baby sitter and I probably annoyed other theatre goers but she says I usually sat 'transfixed' the whole time. I can remember seeing "Infra-man" (sp?) at the local drive-in and couldn't believe what I was seeing! To a kid that poop is great! I really remember "Black Beauty" and "Being There" I love most everything Caleb Deschanel does. Rerun musicals too, like "The Music Man" and "The Sound of Music" completely blew me away. Though maybe not a Cinematography masterpiece, shots like those of the ladies hats during "Pick a little, Peck a Little, Cheap, cheap, cheap.." are shots that cut to the seam of what's happening in the story. Artistic composition and visual economy at its finest. War films were good too, I usually saw them on TV. "Big Red One" "The Longest Day" "Raid on Entebbe" and the TV series "Combat!" is still almost the best thing ever produced for TV. I have to also throw in the 70's Sid and Marty Kroft stuff, "H. R. Puffinstuff" has a certain genius. Then of course when I was older I saw a Kurwosawa movie and couldn't pick my jaw up off the floor for weeks. "The Seven Samurai" "Yojimbo" "Sanjuro" "Dreams" all good. Then I remember "3 O'clock High" by Phil Joanou. That movie I think was one where I really discovered how a film is made. I just loved the way they kept ticking that clock off until 3:00. Then of course he made "Rattle and Hum" the U2 film and I nearly wet myself in the theatre. Brinkmann and Cronenweth. U2's music videos have always been an influence along with Declan Quinn. That's only a small part of the story, I left out "ET" "Jaws" and a bunch of others. I think seeing "Schindler's List" "Amistad" and "Saving Private Ryan" is what made me realize I never ever want to do anything else. Those three movies for me breathed a fresh life into modern cinema that I haven't felt since "Star Wars" probably. I can't believe Spielberg even made all three of those films. Probably the Pinnacle of his career. Oh yeah, I have to add one of the weirdest TV shows ever made "I Led Three Lives."
  19. PPro 1.5 will remove the pull down no matter what kind of session you edit in. Even in 29.97 session it attempts to edit and play it as 24. If you use a 24p or 24pa session then burn a 24p DVD everything should be ok. PPro as far as I know can't really add back the pulldown on export without a bunch of errors. It's a bug in the software and I don't know if they fixed it yet. I believe most people are exporting to After Effects to add back the the cadence to 29.97. Because of this bug it's nearly impossible to edit a session with both 60i and pulled down 24p material in the same timeline. Mine does it fine until you render it then, the 24p gets really screwed up.
  20. Me personally, I would go with the DVX if the film look is what you wanted and you are not required to deliver on HD. Unless, you could come up with a post scenario that made the 60i look closer to film that you liked the look of. Such as de-interlace and all that and I mean you should know exactly what you are going to do through testing. Mostly that stuff to me still looks heavily processed and like it has been 'Filmlooked' but that is better than straight up 60i IMO. I can't remember if the F700 shoots in the 25 PAL format or not but that could be an option. Just make sure you have the right post production workflow in place.
  21. I believe they come in; 123 200 and PAR 250 400 575 and PAR 1200 and PAR 2500 and PAR 4,000 and PAR 6,000 and PAR 12,000 and PAR 18,000 I don't know if those 50 and 100K softsuns are considred HMI's. I think they are actually ESD or something.
  22. One thing that irks me about Stone's films is IMO sometimes his casting is way off. I haven't seen Alexander yet but everybody looks rediculous in the trailers. Like they are only playing the role because no one else was available. Which is not true. Angelina Jolie as somebodies mother? When I see her I see 'hot chick' not mother. Why didn't he pick more of a mother type? Val Kilmer looks too young in his role and it looks like his beard is glued on, whether it is or not.
  23. It's definitely beautiful to look at but it seems like that's more do to set and costume design than the cinematography.
  24. This thread reminds me of an old studio audio engineer who used to get pissed because people wouldn't know what he meant when he said Cue and Review.
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