Adam Ouellette

Digital cinematography is by no means more difficult than shooting on film. Both have their own unique difficulties. People could go on for hours debating which is better but that is not your question, so I won't comment on that. Really the best way to learn digital cinematography is to learn the tools, know they are tools, but don't hide behind them. It seems like a lot of people (students in particular) tend to hide behind their DSLRs and just believe that it will shoot a good film for them because its a DSLR, which is just wrong. Film will get you understanding the process of what happens shooting a film and in my experience film sets are just more professional and serious than digital sets. (since every time the camera rolls money goes down the drain) If you ignore the processes of shooting on film more than likely you will have less understanding of what is going on with digital. That just my opinion. If you're into DSLR be sure to read Phillip bloom and Shane Hurlbut's blogs. http://philipbloom.net/ http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/ If anything you will at least learn a lot from reading what these two guys have to say. But in the end the best way to really learn about shooting on any format for that matter is just to get out there and shoot. You won't understand some things at first, but getting into it and really getting down to business with it will teach you a lot. I've always felt like you can't learn composition and what "looks right" from a book. I learned everything I knew about composition etc. out shooting not from reading pages and setting things up how a book told me to do so. When you've shot long enough you can look at what you're shooting and judge for yourself what the right shot is and whats terrible, you can just feel it(its a sense some say). Books are probably best for lighting setup theories and explaining what NOT to do. But you can't apply your skills practically if you've just read about them, you have to be able to use them in the field. I'm just a rookie in the big scope of things and these are my personal experiences. Take it for what you will.

Very informative, brought up a lot of good things I have not thought about shooting in super flat. Just about to shoot a film in the next week on the 5D and this changed my mind about the color setting I'll be using. Thank you very much.

Everything you've said is pretty accurate. Personally I thought the light flashes were extremely over used. It could have been a lot shorter. The variety of shots was so few that it just felt very, very long. It did not need to be that long, try highlighting the good shots that aren't of the generic variety. Less two shots, over the shoulders etc. There is not too much special about that, people want to see what you do that is different. The easiest way to expand your reel is to shoot as many projects as you can and shoot all the time. Don't limit yourself to projects you are shooting for class, abuse the fact that you are going to school for film (im assuming) and talk to your fellow students and filmmakers and just get out there and shoot things. Always be thinking about your next project. I had a similar problem at first at film school until I realized I needed to shoot everything and anything at all times. Just get out there and get shooting pretty much. Biggest part of being a student, don't spend 60$ on things like light leak effects. That could have been craft services or costuming for your next shoot. Every penny matters. I wish I had known how serious that was a few years ago myself. Hope that is at least mildly helpful.

Thank you very much for the feedback everyone. Sorry for not responding sooner, I have been in Europe studying abroad and my post completely slipped my mind. I plan to be a regular on here in the future, I just need to stop forgetting about this place. Such a wonderful resource. Curtis, I considered that and even tried it but something just felt wrong about it. I think in the end it will probably just stay silent. It feels better that way I think. Bill, I don't think so. I believe it was done on this machine: http://www.dft-film.com/scanners/spirit_2k.php I had it transferred with www.scanyourfilm.com in 2k. When the image was jumping up and down, that actually had to do with the fact that the bolex I was shooting with needed a new spring and was on the verge of breaking. I was lucky enough that when I got back to the rental house the spring broke for the cager that was checking the camera in and I avoided all costs. Steven, I completely agree. If I had more time for the film I would have added more to his ascension into insanity. I actually shot some more footage of that but the problem was that it was a requirement for my schools end of the quarter screenings to make sure the film was under 4 minutes long. Every 10 seconds over loses 10 points off the full 100 for the grade. I'd go back and edit that in, but the problem is that would require me to rescan it and mess with the original print, since that is the only master I've got I'm too squeamish to touch it. I'd feel awful if I ruined the film print, that would be so much work gone, as good as the 2K transfer looks I just love the way it looks on its original medium. The way it should look. Thanks again for all the input and advice. I really do appreciate it! Best Regards

That is very depressing news. Who goes to see these movies anyway?

Hello Everyone! Just looking for some feedback on my 4 minute short. I'm currently a student at RIT in upstate NY, and this film was shot last year during my first 2 months of college. It was shot over the course of two weeks with all shoots taking place from 11pm to 4am when the diner we were filming at had low traffic. I edited the entire thing on a flat bed then had it scanned in at 1080 for web presentation. It was shot on about 10 100ft spools of Tri-X reversal using a Bolex H16. I was restricted on what I could use to light it being a freshman student, so the film you see was lit entirely using 4 650 moles. Take a moment and let me know what you think! (A few obvious things I'd like to point out about the film. It's set in the 1930's but there are various set dressing issues I am aware of. The diner would not allow us to remove the jukebox so we were stuck on that. Some of the times on the newspapers are incorrect. Every single piece of clothing in the film is either a replica or the real deal of something from the 30's or 40's EXCEPT the shoes the lead is wearing and the Heinz ketchup bottle. Some of the music is from the Film Up, a couple of the tracks are from the Aviator.) Since this is my first real post on here guess I'll put a little bit about myself. I've been making films of some sort since I was about 7 and I'm dedicated to it 100%. I'm interested in learning as much as I can about filmmaking as an art and as a craft in every way possible. Cinematography is my main interest, but recently I've started working as an AC and as a loader and enjoy it a great deal. I've made sure to work on real sets as a Grip, Gaffer, AC and DP on top of being in school so I'm actually applying what I'm learning instead of stepping out of film school thinking I know whats going on and not actually understanding the way real sets work. Lastly, I'm not that much of a fan of digital and only shoot it when I have to because of cost issues or because of turn around time. That's me in a very small nutshell. Looking forwards to hearing what people think of the film!