Tyler Purcell

Actually, I think it really does. Having made a feature documentary about a filmmaker (Sam Fuller) who spent his entire youth roving the country, went to war, came back and became one of the most prolific and talented writers in Hollywood. I understand that it doesn't magically make you successful, but what it would do is give you stories that don't revolve around Hollywood. You've gotta remember, most scripts are tweaked by people like Sam, they're the "ghost" writers and are brought in to add all of those extra seamy bits that make for success. You could spend 10 years learning the trade and working your way up the ladder, but it doesn't mean you'll have any success. Thousands of people are in the same boat you're in, everyone is trampling over each other, trying to screw one another, trying to make THEIR project a reality. So what differentiates your project from the next guys? It's not how you write honestly, it's all about what you write. It's the uniqueness of the story that makes your film what it is. You aren't writing the next crappy blockbuster, you're writing the little indy film that will start your career. It's gotta be an awesome little story, most of which you'll base on the unique experiences you've had in your life. Being on a film set will only teach you so much and almost nothing about filmmaking craft. Most films are made in the months prior to production (writing, casting, story boards, art design, pre-production) and months after production (editing, music, sound mixing, coloring). Production itself is only the result of all the prior hard work and that's one of the reason you won't really learn much on film set. I'd say watching movies and decent behind the scenes documentaries, is actually better for you. So if you wanna learn how to make movies, you need to go out and make movies. I know that kinda sounds stupid, but it's the right way to go. When I started making shorts on film in the late 90's in Boston, we had to figure everything out on our own. We learned a lot after making our first short and eventually became better filmmakers along the way. Today with digital technology and the ease of making a commercially viable movie without the expense of film, you can really make something good for very little money. Here in Hollywood, you can get help from experienced people for very little money and hopefully someone can mentor you through the process. It's all about making the right connections and simply going for it. Come here with a lot of money, get a decent 9 - 6 job that will pay your bills, work on your film every night after work and shoot on the weekends. Pay for it all out of your pocket and make something super unique that everyone will want to see. That's just my .02 cents.

If you did a good job lighting it, yea it would be OK. But that kind of setup takes a lot of time and can look unnatural. Since the film isn't out yet, it's hard to know what they're doing and why. I bet there is a reason we just don't know yet. Same with 'Rogue Nation' shooting underwater with the Alexa 65. It was a better choice for that scene then film. It meant they could use less light and have less grain for the green screen work.

That's pretty cool, but it's also pretty rare.

Basically there is no protection. You have to sue the studio to prove it was your idea. Most of the time, they will just steal one or two concepts and make something close but not incriminating. However, sometimes they just won't care and steal the whole thing lock, stock and barrel. They'll have someone tweak it and then make it over seas with a european production company. The WGA has no jurisdiction anywhere else, so there is zero protection outside of the US. They also won't fight for you unless there is really good evidence. So there are two thoughts on this... one is to never tell anyone your ideas and the other is to not care. I personally like the not caring method because honestly, if you don't tell anyone, you'll never get valuable feedback and never get anything sold. The best screenplays are usually a collaborative effort with ghost writers, story/dialog editors and lots of tweaking through interactions from friends/family, to make something that works. It's nearly impossible to write something good enough at home, buy yourself and make a successful product out of it.

It's the only thing film doesn't do well, no matter what CMOS will always have better sensitivity. You can push Vision 3 500T very easily to 1000 ASA, I've done it many times on 16mm and it doesn't look half bad. Grainy for sure, but very artistic looking.

Couldn't have said it better Adrian!

Well, I did it! Celluloid Dreaming has officially got off the ground and we've acquired a camera! I think what I got was an amazing deal. I must thank Scott, the absolutely awesome guy I got the equipment from, who understood my cause and was VERY, VERY, VERY generous! I met him over at his storage facility and saw the camera. It had some issues, the mirror was hitting the inside of the front case. I explained to him that I'm a pretty good technician and could fix it no problem. So this is an unusual camera, it's a LTR modified to an LTR 7, with all of the super 16 updates done to the mags and of course body. It will run at 54 fps without an external crystal, the batteries have recently been re-celled (been testing and they seem to be great). Comes with three magazines, four batteries, color video tap which can run a monitor off the internal battery, it's pretty much everything I wanted as a "B" camera. Then we got started talking about lenses. He showed me what he had and I went crazy. He had the full 6 lens Optar prime kit and a beautiful Zeiss 10 - 100 F2.4 and adaptors so I could run all the lenses on either Aaton mount OR PL mount. After examining everything, I decided to make an offer, but I didn't want to be a jerk and low-ball. So I told him the truth, I have this great program I'm running to help people who want to shoot film. I told him this equipment would be in good hands, loving hands. I told him how much I was trying to get lenses for and how much I could afford. After some cattle prodding and almost two hours of discussion, we decided on a price that was worth it for both parties. He got rid of old stuff he wasn't using and I got old stuff that will make someone's life so much happier. I wound up getting everything for $5600. I went home, stripped the camera down and fixed the problem as I suspected. No damage had been done yet, but had it continued running like that, it would have broken the mirror. It was some sound insolation material that had come loose, probably from the heat we've had recently here in LA. I glued it back together again very carefully and re-assembled. Man, I LOVE this camera. Having been an Arri guy for so many years, I'm astounded how much BETTER this camera is in so many ways. All of the things I didn't like about the Arri, like the magazine threading and shoulder mount comfort, these things are fixed. Sure the Aaton has it's weaknesses, the battery system is kinda bogus and the viewfinder is ho-hum. However, those things aside, this camera is quieter for sure, it has a bitchin' and reliable pull down system, far better then I expected. Its well made inside, the little connectors are dynamite, I wanted to take pictures of them because they were so cool, so european. So now all I need is decent light meter, another camera, matte boxes and follow focuses for both cameras, new cases, sticks/quick release plates and odds and ends. I'm going to buy the XTR I've been eye balling once I have some more money coming in. Man... can you tell I'm happy? This is the first time I've had a 16mm camera in my possession for nearly 14 years. I must have walked around the house for an hour with the camera on my shoulder running dead stock through it, testing the mag's, batteries, everything to make sure it worked and it's pretty flawless. Just got the first script for our first short film! Should be in production mid November! Canna wait to bring it to you guys and show you what we're doing! :)

Well, I did it! Thanks to your guys suggestions and comments. I think what I got was an amazing deal. I must thank Scott, the absolutely awesome guy I got the equipment from, who understood my cause and was VERY, VERY, VERY generous! I met him over at his storage facility and saw the camera. It had some issues, the mirror was hitting the inside of the front case. I explained to him that I'm a pretty good technician and could fix it no problem. So this is an unusual camera, it's a LTR modified to an LTR 7, with all of the super 16 updates done to the mags and of course body. It will run at 54 fps without an external crystal, the batteries have recently been re-celled (been testing and they seem to be great). Comes with three magazines, four batteries, color video tap which can run a monitor off the internal battery, it's pretty much everything I wanted as a "B" camera. Then we got started talking about lenses. He showed me what he had and I went crazy. He had the full 6 lens Optar prime kit and a beautiful Zeiss 10 - 100 F2.4 and adaptors so I could run all the lenses on either Aaton mount OR PL mount. After examining everything, I decided to make an offer, but I didn't want to be a jerk and low-ball. So I told him the truth, I have this great program I'm running to help people who want to shoot film. I told him this equipment would be in good hands, loving hands. I told him how much I was trying to get lenses for and how much I could afford. After some cattle prodding and almost two hours of discussion, we decided on a price that was worth it for both parties. He got rid of old stuff he wasn't using and I got old stuff that will make someone's life so much happier. I wound up getting everything for $5600. I went home, stripped the camera down and fixed the problem as I suspected. No damage had been done yet, but had it continued running like that, it would have broken the mirror. It was some sound insolation material that had come loose, probably from the heat we've had recently here in LA. I glued it back together again very carefully and re-assembled. Man, I LOVE this camera. Having been an Arri guy for so many years, I'm astounded how much BETTER this camera is in so many ways. All of the things I didn't like about the Arri, like the magazine threading and shoulder mount comfort, these things are fixed. Sure the Aaton has it's weaknesses, the battery system is kinda bogus and the viewfinder is ho-hum. However, those things aside, this camera is quieter for sure, it has a bitchin' and reliable pull down system, far better then I expected. Its well made inside, the little connectors are dynamite, I wanted to take pictures of them because they were so cool, so european. So now all I need is decent light meter, another camera, matte boxes and follow focuses for both cameras, new cases, sticks/quick release plates and odds and ends. I'm going to buy the XTR I've been eye balling once I have some more money coming in. Man... can you tell I'm happy? This is the first time I've had a 16mm camera in my possession for nearly 14 years. I must have walked around the house for an hour with the camera on my shoulder running dead stock through it, testing the mag's, batteries, everything to make sure it worked and it's pretty flawless. Just got the first script for our first short film! Should be in production mid November! Canna wait to bring it to you guys and show you what we're doing! :)

I think being on a set and learning is smart, but it won't help his screenwriting abilities. Far better to meet an up and coming filmmaker who loves his writing and make a career that way, if he's good. As I always say, the creme always rises to the top!

I'm going to see the LTR 7 and do some checks on it. I think it's the right way to go initially because even though it's an older camera, it will give me a wider option for glass right off the bat. Once I have serious financial backing, it will be a lot easier to buy a few other packages for my project. Being able to use a wider variety of glass is more appealing to me.

Yea, not much to critic there! Loved all of it! :) You're a very talented cinematographer Matias.

When I moved from Boston to LA in 2002, I had a pretty good portfolio, some great little short films, had been shooting on celluloid for years (16/35) and was a pretty good camera man. I started working as a cinematographer right away, finding jobs anywhere I could. However, I was taken for a few rides, got screwed over many times and eventually needed to pay rent. Most of my friends had the same things happen. They started to build traction, only to be completely let down when the money didn't come OR the next job was canceled. So most of us left the creative side and worked on the non-creative side. It kept us in the industry, but it kinda destroyed most of our dreams. The sad part is, my situation is pretty typical. Everyone graduates film school with a head of steam and most of the time, only the ones who work 80+hr weeks hustling their ass off, living on coffee, adrenaline and no sleep, ever become successful. The great thing about being a writer is that you can work from anywhere. I get sent spec scripts from all over the world and most of those people have full-time work outside of the industry. If you really want to write, I'd just do it as a pastime and get a really good full-time job wherever you want to live. If your scripts are good and they're winning festivals, people in the know will seek you out. Heck, I'm always looking for and reading other people's scripts. The biggest problem you'll have is someone stealing your idea because lets face it, you probably can't afford to fight them. There are two ways to get your ideas made. One way is to have good industry connections and hook up with other young filmmakers like myself who are looking for ultra low budget scripts. You won't get much money for the writing, but your movie may get made. The other way is to make the movie yourself. This is obviously a lot harder, but it's absolutely doable if you spend years working towards that goal. It's gotta be a bitchin' little script, you've gotta shoot a short (proof of concept) to show people you know what you're doing and then somehow sell yourself. Yea... it's hard, but it's been done a lot. You'd be shocked how many first time filmmakers have used this trick and eventually been in line to win an oscar. If you want to work in production, my suggestion is to come here with A LOT of savings, live very cheaply and work very cheaply. You've gotta be able to work for peanuts, show people you know what you're doing and eventually be dragged along to other jobs. This industry lives off word of mouth, there isn't anything else. So it's all about schmoozing, going to parties, working crazy hours, being consistent and a really good worker. If you can show people these things, you may be able to work up the ladder. However, it does take years and it really robs you of anything you'd consider to be a normal life. Everyone has their own story and thoughts on this. I'll say this much, it's A LOT EASIER today then it was when I moved here. Yes, there is less work and less money, but today you can shoot something bitchin' on a thousand dollar cinema camera. Your little film can be seen by millions on the internet. That outlet didn't exist when I started making movies and I think that fact alone makes it easier then it's ever been.

That's what it looked like to me in the trailer, you can see those few night-time digital shots on the river. They stick out in the trailer like a sore thumb; "can't do that on film"

I've been told to stay away from zooms because their optical quality isn't close to that of primes. I actually prefer zooms because it allows for much quicker shooting since you can change focal lengths on the fly. I grew up shooting with zooms on film, most of my 16mm and 35mm film work has been using zooms. Plus, I can use the zoom on my pocket camera, which would be very nice in the future. With all that said, I'm shooting two series of short films. One is narrative where I'll need optical quality because the lens will be wide open a lot (shooting in dark locations with shallow depth of field look) and the second is documentary. However, the documentary work won't have much run and gun. It will be more thought out and staged. I use a 25mm on my pocket camera for 80% of my work and I think it would still be my (go to) lens on film. So maybe I can work out a deal to get three primes; 8, 16, 25, which will cover all the wide angle stuff. Then get a zoom to cover everything else. This way... when I have 2 cameras (which is my goal) I'll have enough lenses to shoot with both at the same time. My other question is... could I ever adapt my canon glass to work on the LTR 7 aaton mount?

So now that I've decided to go Aaton, I'm struggling to figure out the lens situation. I have three way's to go, each of them are pretty much the same price. 1) Zeiss 11 - 110 zoom lens PL mount (used) $4500 2) Zeiss 9.2, 12, 16, 25, 50 - 1.3, PL mount (5 lenses used) $5000 3) Optar Illumina 8, 9.5, 12, 16, 25, 50 - 1.3, Arri Bayonet mount (6 lenses NEW) $5000 So to me, it's a no-brainer to buy the Optar's and just adapt them to PL mount for the Aaton or Arri. Should I take the plunge?

Nice job Matias, looks great. I love the coloring as well.

Great, that would be awesome Bill! Thanks!

The big thing I need help with right away, is getting the word out. If you guys have a facebook page, like our facebook site and share the pinned post with the video at the top of the page. If you use the crowd funding donation, you can also hit the share tab on there as well. Support will come once people know about this initiative and get excited. I've also started advertising with facebook, but so far no click-through's Once we launch, I'm going to need a lot of help. The big thing will be articles written by professionals about certain subjects. I also need professionals in our video series, but that's harder when we're all spread out. Still, I think there is a good chance we can organize once we get money and equipment flowing.

On the main page of the website, there is a "Donate" tab, which leads to our crowd funding. All of the pertinent links are on the main website. However, here are the links separated; Website: http://www.celluloiddreaming.com Funding: https://www.gofundme.com/celluloiddreaming Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/celluloiddreaming Video:

Well, I've been keeping this secret for quite sometime and we're officially launching monday, but today we're doing a soft launch. You can read more about it here or below: http://celluloiddreaming.com My goal is to create an interactive educational platform revolving around the continued use of motion picture film. Using well produced tutorial videos, interactive hands-on training and up to date resource guide, in order to educate and preserve filmmaking on celluloid for future generations. As everyone knows most film schools have moved away from shooting on motion picture film. Digital cinematography has taken over due to it's lower cost and ease of use. This means, students and young budding filmmakers aren't shooting on motion picture film. At the same time, many of the experts are retiring or sadly passing away. It's becoming more and more difficult to find educational resources about shooting on motion picture film and the support necessary to do so. Many of the rental houses and online resources, have stopped dealing with film cameras all together. Even though there are boutique (art house) and professional filmmakers who continue shooting on film, many of them aren't sharing their knowledge to the masses. With Celluloid Dreaming, we're going to build an interactive website. We'll have manuals and online text-based guides to basic operation/quick reference guides to cameras, lenses, film stock and most accessories. Our video's will go into great detail on almost every camera on the market. Discussing bodies, lenses, batteries, magazines, storage and basic maintenance. This way, someone interested in buying a camera can watch a single video and learn all about it's operation. We'll also make video's focused on lenses, film stock, processing, lighting, metering and other basic cinematography techniques related to shooting on film. Finally, a video series all about young filmmakers experiences shooting on film for the first time will explain the pro's and con's in much better detail. We'll focus on 16mm and 35mm to begin with, adding Super 8 up the road once we get going. Our hands-on experience will be held monthly and will be free to filmmakers who already have experience shooting. The goal is to put the cameras in the hands of people without the tremendous cost of going to film school, taking specialized classes or renting. The courses will be very small, 2 - 4 people maximum per month. Each class will be jam packed and be spread over three days. The first saturday will be camera break down, learning about lenses, magazine loading and basic cinematography. Some film will be shot saturday indoors in a lighting situation with charts and single subject to shoot. Sunday will be on-location, where students can shoulder or tripod the cameras, shooting anything they want. The only cost to students will be heavily discounted film stock and processing. Film will be processed during the week and stored for the following weekend. The second saturday will be analyzation of a one light print of what was shot the weekend prior. Everyone in the class will critique each others film and be able to take the negative and positive home. Eventually we will purchase a telecine machine and go through that process as well so students can use their footage on a demo reel. Once the course is completed, students will get a certification card saying they're up to speed on our equipment. This way, when they wish to borrow from our stash, it's a simple sign-out sheet like film school and away they go. There will be a small cost for rental, just to cover our insurance expense. We'll have online scheduling system and plan to eventually have many camera bodies and different lens selections, so students partaking in our class can have a wide-range of shooting possibilities. We plan on having Super 8, S16mm and 35mm cameras. We'll also have special deals available for sound packages and eventually transfer will be done in-house by students for a much lower rate then any lab. Students will also be invited to participate in our "short film" series, where they can shoot a short film for our educational foundation. We plan on shooting one film per month and our students will be able to use that film on their demo reel. These films will be fully sponsored (no out of pocket cost for the student) and in some cases, students can earn pay for their work. Our funding comes through donations, website advertising and industry sponsorship. Since we're going to be a non-profit, we'll require substantial industry support to get us going. We plan to go live March of 2016 after we've collected enough video and film content. Thanks for reading and I really hope some of you have interest in getting involved. We need to come together and make this a reality! All of the pertinent links are on the main website, including a "Donate" tab which puts you into our crowd funding site. Here are the links separated: Website: http://www.celluloiddreaming.com Funding: https://www.gofundme.com/celluloiddreaming Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/celluloiddreaming Video:

Thanks for the info guys! Will, I'll for sure be buying PL mount glass for myself no matter what. I just need more then one camera package. I'll be filling you guys in on the reason tomorrow! :)

Can I show you guys something else? http://www.ebay.com/itm/151853247958?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I also want to purchase an MOS 35mm camera for playing around. I purchased a bunch of old stock and I wanna just play around. I noticed these lenses were old Arri mount. The guy selling the Aaton has arri mount adaptor to Aaton mount. So unless I'm missing something... why can't I buy those two antique 35mm cameras, make one of them work with all those parts and use the glass on the Aaton as well, assuming it's not in rough shape. I know it's a stretch here, but it sounds intriguing and cheap! If it's just junk, I'll just resell.

Thanks for your input guys, it's much appreciated. I'm waiting for some full package quotes right now, one SR3 and one XTR. Depending on what they look like, I might forego everything and try this LTR for shits and giggles. It's a very low entry price AND glass cost will be peanuts compared to PL mount stuff. I need more then one camera, so I may just grab the LTR anyway.

Kenny, click on the eBay ad... See what he's talking about.

Really? So the camera has timecode out, multi-channel XLR (audio) inputs and headphone output for monitoring right there on the body? This is what that connector is for: http://www.red.com/store/products/pro-io-module http://www.red.com/store/products/dsmc2-redvolt-expander In our modern world of shooting with video cameras, it's amazing people don't want/need audio pre-synced to the image so they don't have to re-sync later. I have actually, but I let the professionals at the rental house put the package together. After careful examination, I saw no way to mount a V mount battery to the back without blocking the I/O port. Sure you can screw the V mount battery onto the back of the I/O module, but for what reason? It's a modular system, the REDVOLT battery system works fine for me. In the real world, it's an unusable workflow. So no Bill, it doesn't work. You can't really edit using RED Code, you can tinker, but actual editing is pretty much impossible. My point is that Pro Res is integrated and does work fine with multiple streams because it's designed specifically for multi-stream playback, spreading the load amongst the processor cores instead of gobbling up all the GPU like RED Code.