Tom Jensen

You know Richard, I belong to a few other forums and I surf the web way too much and I have noticed that the shield of the web creates an atmosphere where you can say just about anything on the web and suffer no real consequence. It really is a self policing media. The cruelty is astonishing. It is so easy to say just about anything at all. 30-40 years ago if you got caught with what you can find on the web under your mattress, you could go to jail. Now, it's anything goes. I saw something the other day I found pretty disturbing. Perez Hilton who is an openly gay blogger was judging a beauty pageant and he asked Miss California what her opinion was on gay marriage. She said it should be between a man and a woman. She lost. But he went on his blog and called her a bitch and said he should have called her a C*nt. Now, I'm straight and I completely agree that gays should be able to marry anyone they want. I don't care, it's none of my business. But who is this guy to call her vicious names just because her opinion isn't his opinion. Before the internet, could a judge of a beauty pageant say this about a contestant? I don't think I have ever heard a comment from a beauty pageant judge before in my life. Now it's acceptable? Sort of. He did apologize, though. But, come on, now we can't even watch the news with our kids without hearing vile filth. I'm no prude, believe me, but man the web and the TV media is just going overboard. We are supposed to be evolving as a species but as technology advance, people seem to slipping backwards. Man cannot keep up with technology.

When you are working, you are the greatest cameraman there is and when you aren't then you are the biggest pos. People blow up in this business and oddly enough it is often for a good reason. You always have to be prepared. Always be ready so when the camera rolls, nobody is waiting on you. Steve Burum calls it actor time. When the talent walks on the set, this is there time and if your are ready, things are more likely to go as planned. You can't take it personally. This business is tough. You will get fired. If you haven't been fired in this business, you aren't working in this business. It feels terrible. If anybody critiques your work, you must realize that you are not yet where you will be after you get experience. I worked more as an assistant than I did as a DP. But years of experience taught me how to utilize what I had learned up to that point. Shooting without a crew and equipment is a drag. I remember when I finally got the chance to shoot 2nd unit and finally a film with equipment and crew, your work gets better. It is so much easier with a crew. Don't beat yourself up, just accept the fact that you will suck at first but you will improve. You just have to believe that you will get better.

I've been to the ASC Awards I'm guessing about 12 times starting with the 2nd ceremony. I've been lucky enough to meet the greatest cinematographers in the world and I have gotten to sit down and talk with, eat dinner with, and have drinks with many of them. Vittorio is one of the kindest and most sincere of them all. I said to him, "Vittorio, I think you are the greatest." He said, "No, everyone has something to contribute, even you." I'll never forget that as long as I live.

Look up a crane operator or owner in your area. Tell him what you are dong. Appeal to his senses. Beg and cry. Make him feel guilty. What grumpy old guy could resist a 13 year old DP? Believe me, there aren't many people in the film business who knew they wanted to be a cinematographer at 11. You might have a future. People can appreciate someone your age taking an interest in film like you do.

It's a derogatory joke. :lol: I was just making reference to how the second AC's often go beyond their call of duty to act as the official keeper of the espresso machine. It troubled me to have the second do my time cards because I often felt bad for them given all they do. I got use to it, though. ;)

Set it up and look at it. When you like it shoot it. Get someone to sit in.

Here in LA they give you an Espresso machine, a camera report and 3 time cards. You have ten minutes.

I just posted this somewhere the other day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_angle This should help. They clipped the shutter in Saving Private Ryan. I think it 45 degrees and that is what gave it its' look along with hand held and the bleach by pass in processing.

Even though the sorcery is limited to a small amount, Monty Python and the Holy Grail ranks at the top of my list as does the Princess Bride. Excalibur was classic. The David Bowie soundtrack was a great touch to Labyrinth.

Sorry Michael, I was thinking of Robbie Greenberg.

It must be good money too since Gary drives a Ferrari.

It's a curse I know all too well. :lol:

That's true. Let's just say I have a soft spot in my heart for artist and a not so good love affair with producers. Of course the only directors I know that finance their own films are very few. The ones that do usually shoot on video and the film lasts for 10 minutes. It's obvious that film making is expensive and very few people can afford to make a feature length film. Page 1 productions says don't use your own money to make a film.

Hey look Wikipedia even has something, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutter_angle Shutter angle effects the amount of time the film is exposed. In camera meters can be reliable, they just don't often do what you want.

It might be but 500 would give you more. Take a meter down there ahead of time and take some measurements. I've never been in there but if you have pools of light you can walk them into that. Find the light available and use it. Don't make it too frontal, keep it kind of sidey and use a background that is lit up. Use a bounce card for fill. Just have someone hold it. Even if the face is a stop under on the bright side it will look good. Let the fill side go even darker.

What will you be shooting? People? Trains? What film stock?

I think the issue concerning Apocalypse Now was the running time. It was a lack of constraint if anything. It was definitely a film of excess. Eleanor Coppola wrote a book called "Notes" about the making of the movie. In it I remember her saying that Storraro and his crew were always making these great Italian meals.

ND's don't effect color as far as I know. They only reduce the level of light hitting the film. It effects depth of field by letting you open up the iris.

I think you could handle it. You probably have the tools and the skills to be a lens tech or a camera tech. Where do you live and are you planning on making a move to a film city?

Try it and see. Use different combinations. Go heavy if you test. See the extremes. There are two approaches I've see people take to using color. One is to compensate for the loss and the is to not. Try both and see what you like. Spot meter the filters if you compensate.

Don't forget to remove the core. That's if you have to. Yeah, I went there.

I started knowing nothing. Start at the rental houses. Call them and tell them who you are and what you do. You may have to start as a driver but that is how it is normally done. If you have some experience you might be able to skip the driver step. I started at Armistead which is gone, then I went to Otto Nemenz. Then I ventured out to be an AC, operator, DP. Throughout the years I worked and filled in for people and worked at Birns & Sawyer, Keslow Camera, Ultravision. I worked as a Lens Tech for The Camera House and CamTech. Lens teching is skilled work but I got training and I had already worked with lenses in the field and knew what they did and how they worked, I'm pretty mechanically inclined so it was easy for me. It's all a matter of timing and being persistent. It can be done.

There is truth to what you say. However film is an art form. The director is the creator. I don't like seeing creations mangled. I don't know how much a publisher calls the shot in a book. It may be significant. It's just my opinion. Doesn't it mean it's right or wrong.

It's criminal in my mind the influence studios exert on directors. Sometimes directors to get carried away and there are plenty of examples. Plus there are time constraints as mentioned on another thread. But Apocalypse Now comes to mind. I remember watching Coppolas's version and it was brilliant. It was a great movie either way but it made more sense to me after seeing the longer version. I loved both. I'll have to check out Well's version. Thanks for mentioning that.