Robin R Probyn

Ok thanks for your response sir.. yeah also the f55 /f5.. owner operators I would say 100% of them , have tricked out their bodies with cheese plates ,top and sides, and changed the handles .. for that reason.. but I guess rental camera bodies are less likely to be totally kitted out with all that stuff off the shelf..

DJI have just come out with a Go pro style camera .. which fits with Go pro accessories .. I've read the stabilizing system is better.. although it crops in more than the go pro to achieve it.. no free lunch !.. for either the problem with be the very limited battery life.. you will need some sort of ext power pack .. USB to Micro USB.. but there are plenty of those about .. We usually radio mic the people..you can also tape to dash board etc.. hide the sound devices in the back .. and do a hand clap .. or a slate.. keep it simple .. I wouldn't loop record as you could just as easily lose some great footage ..

Yeah first time was with Beyonce .. Ive had it before as we all have.. entourage /agents/ PR / Stylists ..what ever flunkies throwing in their 2 pence looking at the monitor.. usually just to justify their wage.. I sort of mutter something about Rembrandt paintings and they sort of slouch off with their phones .. which is what they want to do anyway .. I did try to stand my ground re having some sort of modeling light and frankly they were pissing me off too.. but I soon realised "they" were expecting me to do what they wanted ..In a much higher league , Ive read a young Haskell Wexler had alot of flax from Richard Burton, about the lighting showing his pock marked skin in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf.. who wanted him sacked off the film.. !!

How are you finding the Venice sir.. ?

Ive had the honor of lighting two very demanding ladies.., lighting wise anyway.... Glen Close.. (checked with mirrors !) and Beyonce .. mass entourage looking at the monitors and coming out with total bollocks re lighting.. I had pre lit them the same as I would anyone else .. which, if I say so myself is fairly competent .. Point of the story, in both cases.. I was forced to light them with probably the worst lighting I have ever done.. large Kino Flo lights completely surround the lens.. the biggest (square) donut light ever.. flat flat flat !! they, and massed flunkies , didn't want to see even the remote suggestion of a shadow ..anywhere on their boat race.. really crap lighting.. Just to warn you..

Well yes getting the clients is the hard part when you start off freelance.. a lot is down to luck TBH.. you can get good clients early or it takes time.. obviously you have the talent and know how.. as everyone says it really depends on your target market .. the most popular camera in the world now ,bar high end commercials / drama,s and some big budget docs ..is the Sony fs7II.. by a million miles.. this is the camera you will be asked for guaranteed ..at least 95% of the time for anything bar as stated before ..(you can substitute f5/55 too) a far second will be the C300II.. you cant make a real living these days without gear ,except the top end people who are doing the jobs where a ton of expensive gear is hired in.. look around at all the freelance you know with a nice house and car.. they will own a ton of their own gear.. there is no other way to do it.. tax deductible ,you know it works, always there and you charge for it.. end of story .. nothing else to say.. I have spoken .. Probyns criteria is always correct..and firmly based in science and empirical logic..

Ive shot with Sony F55.. NHK provided the cameras and assistants.. as a co production .. for the BBC Bristol Natural History Unit in Japan and we didn't shoot RAW.. thats big files with a lot of footage.. 17-9 4K Slog3.cine..

Sure but not really many doc s /corp.. shoot in RAW... must be a very small percentage.. when production say it has to be 4K they won't want to deal with RAW .. they will just ask you to get another camera or find someone else .. if its your own project or in-house .. sure .. but freelance .. passing Amira off for 4K won't fly .. and transcoding footage after a 12hr day.. no thanks 🙂 Im not at all saying the camera is not great ..it is.. but it has always been heavy and a real battery eater .. and now these days the lack of even UHD out of the can.. really not the best choice for your one and only camera .. it will limit your work choices ..

I wouldn't invest in the Amira ,great camera though it is, but heavy and battery eater.. main reason is lack of 4K.. as a freelancer, unless you have two cameras.. thats going to cut you out of many shoots..

Yes agree lighting serves the story .. don't agree with your broadside lighting theory though .. in this situation its the logical side to motivate the key light... which ever way you look at it..for a natural look.. as you have established the windows in the wide..

Yes I wasn't criticizing it.. and I didn't know the constraints .. just pointing out that generally the key is nicer from the across the line.. doesn't make it film noir BTW 🙂 .. as I said .. no rules and it looks great.. . but still if it was one camera I would put my key the other side for the over shoulder .. if for no other reason that logically it would be from those big windows .. you can have plenty of fill light.. thats another decision for the over all look..

oh ok I didn't know it was a live ,multi camera shoot.. then I think it looks great under the restraints .. a lot better than some big budget productions,.. that are massively over lit..

Commercials and docs are pretty different markets .. commercials the camera gear is usually rented in as a package.. and the cameras are mostly of the expensive type.. Alexa/Venice/ RED,s/ or film cameras.. with very expensive lenses..with large crews.. Docs I believe its better to own your own camera gear.. you make a lot more money, you know the gear is well maintained ,you know how to use it back to front, you don't have to pick it up,test and return..its available always..you can add all the accessories you want.. sensor size seems to be more important that actual manufacture these days.. I have not had a request for ⅔ inch ENG for about 6 years now.. and I doubt I ever will again..

Looks fine.. yeah generally (although no rules )... having your lights on the same axis as the camera.. will of course give you a very flat light.. traditionally for that over shoulder shot .. you would put the light to the right of the guy in the checkered shirt .. giving her a ¾ angle key light..she is looking "into" the light .. especially with that location as the windows are the obvious motivation for a light source... and some shadow/modeling on her left side..

The real problem that has led this thread, although interesting, down the rabbit hole ,is their is no answer to the OP,s question.. everyone in this industry has a different story how they got there.. sometimes its totally by accident ..or in my case a young offenders prison program.. just go out and shoot something.. knock on doors .. the usual stuff.. there is no magic first step..