Timothy Lou Ly

A rotating platform. I would have never thought of it. Now I need to see this movie. Sounds genius, but I'd never be able to do it on my budget.

Okay, I've just looked over the examples from Casablanca and Saving Private Ryan. I admit, the Casablanca dissolve does look kind of hokey. I think I will just skip over having the background in frame after all, and do something closer to the match-dissolve. But maybe you two can help me out with this shot I'm trying to work with, because I do see one problem with a match-dissolve with what I'd like. I'd like to have my main character sit directly in the center of frame. He closes his eyes, breathes heavily through his nose, and his chest and shoulders inflate and rise - all the while, the camera dollys in close enough for an extreme close-up of only his face. Not too long after, the camera will pull back to about a medium shot to reveal a new location behind him. What worries me is that because of just how tight the camera will be on him, and the movement he would be making, a match-dissolve doesn't seem very likely or practical. This leads me to believe that green-screening would be the way to go. But that brings up another issue - tracking and scaling the background with the foreground and camera movement. Are there any helpful hints you guys have about dealing with this? Should I go on location to where he will be transitioning to and from and just replicate the dolly? Should I set the camera at the same distance the character will be in when we pull out to reveal the new location, and then just scale in post? Are there any easier ways around this, or is my shot too complex?

Thank you for the replies! I'll look into it all with tests with green screen and in-camera, as well as watching all those examples.

I'm not sure what the effect is called, but it's pretty common. It's the effect seen where the camera pulls for a close-up on a character in a certain scene/background/environment, then the background visibly crossfades on-screen into a completely different environment - yet the character is in the exact same position. 1) What is this effect called? 2) Is it done in production, or post, or a combination of the two? 3) How do I achieve this effect? 4) Can anyone find any examples of this online so I can visually study this some more?

Really? That's it, huh? Are the editing facilities up to date? Foley/sound studios? How are the professors? I've heard some negative things about CSUN, but who hasn't heard any bad thing about any school? What makes the editing program better there vs. other CSU's? Is there really much of a difference?

I'm not at home right now, so I can't be 100% sure. I don't remember seeing any options for DNxHD though. Will I have to download the codec in order for me to use it, or is it already recognized by FCP 5 and PP? And also, any specific export configuration/option with the DNxHD that you recommend?

Unfortunately I can't export Pro-Res. I'm still using an old version of FCP 5 that I got a while back. No Pro-Res. What's the next best thing? Also, are you saying that a MOV file encoded in H.264 won't be able to be read by Windows Premiere Pro CS5?

I just tried exporting as H.264. It was looking good until the camera started moving. I got artifacts everywhere.

Hi Phil, thanks for the reply. The files are AIC encoded. I don't believe the Windows version of Premiere supports AIC, so is there a workaround for this? I'm just extremely worried about converting to another format without losing a good amount of quality. H264, maybe? Is there anything better that is supported in both Mac and Windows?

Recently my Mac that I typically do all my editing on crashed, and I had to back up all my files onto an external hard drive to move the project over to a friend's PC. When I backed up all my files, they were saved as MOV (which should be perfectly fine with Premiere CS5), but they were saved on a hard drive formatted for a Mac. I connected the hard drive to my friend's PC and downloaded a program called "HFS__________" (I can't remember the whole name) to be able to read the hard drive and extract the files onto my friend's PC. But when I extract, the files only contain the audio. Is there a fix for this? I would just import the footage directly into my friend's PC, but it's all HDV and he has no firewire imports. Please help!

Hi everyone. It's just about time that I start taking into consideration what schools in California that I may be able to go to. Personally, I really enjoy cinematography and editing when it comes to filmmaking. I was wondering if there were any CSU's in particular (although I'm not against any UC or private university suggestions - it's just that CSU's will DEFINITELY be more in my range financially) that have good programs dealing with the two. Two other really important aspects that I want to take into consideration: how connected is it to the industry? Will the school help me get a foot in the door or help expose or provide me the opportunity to meet and work with people who are in the industry? Secondly, how strong is the independent community around these schools and in the area? I realize that getting into the industry is certainly a big chance, but if there is a strong independent community of filmmakers, then I can still hone my skills, improve, and even work quite dedicatedly on my own films and not just others. A strong independent scene is very important to me. And that, I suppose, also figures into what school I'd be interested in as well. A school that takes more an independent approach to filmmaking or your more conventional Hollywood style.

I don't want to completely side-track the point of the thread, but this is something along the lines of what I was looking for. What I'm getting at is, I think, at least part of what George is wondering about - the sense of community. For myself, I'm at a bit of a crossroad that I'm sure most of you have been at as well. Should I make the move to LA or SF? To me, SF has always seemed to be the hub of independent thinkers, artists, and just creativity in general. It has also struck me as a really communal sort of living there. Lots of support from others who are interested in the same kinds of things, and even from people who aren't. There's a strong community in SF with strong support that focuses on an individual's vision, but it's a bit detached from the industry. You lose out on gaining some of those connections that can help you get a job or start your career. And who of us wouldn't want a career in film as a DP, editor, or whatever else? Not many, I don't think. With LA, you're in the belly of the beast. You have the opportunity to make connections, to get those jobs, jump start a career in film. Although the chances of finding big success (good amount of recognition and financial gain) are slim, the chances are still there. But in LA, you probably lose out on those communal, and at the same time, independent creator aspects. Plus, I'm afraid that all that work on a production crew as a hopeful craft services person would just be a commitment to routine, and ultimately will be decadent to creative growth. Both are two sides of the same coin though. They both have their learning experiences, but they go about it in different ways. I just don't know. I'm a student right now, and I'm looking for the best place to go that will help facilitate and encourage growth as a filmmaker. In short, I guess SF seems the more creative place for film, while LA seems the more technical. So then just how strong is SF's film community? How out-of-touch or in-touch is it with LA? On the flip side, is LA's independent film community even existent? Are there any co-ops like Scary Cow? Is the setting just decadent for creative individuals?

I'll be applying to the UCLA film program as one of my transfer possibilities fairly soon, and what they have as a requirement for the application is a creative writing sample. I'm not particularly good at writing screenplays so I thought it would be best that I try sending in a storyboard, as well as some pictures of the set, for the short that I'm working on right now. My question is, is there a preferred storyboard format in the industry or maybe even just by UCLA's school/professors? All up until this point, I've just been printing out simple storyboard pages that I've found online.

Interesting. Do you have any videos pre-grain and post-grain by chance? I'd love to see them.

The Canon EOS 5D and 7D have been out for a while now, as well as all the other EOS cameras that are getting rave reviews for their HD video capabilities. I've seen the images and yeah, it's no wonder why they're so popular. I've read that the cameras have/will bring death to 35mm adapters; but to be honest, I'm not so sure. Yes, the footage from the 5D and 7D is remarkable and the DOF is insane. Aside from some downsides involving control issues, the cameras are amazing. The pictures are just clear beyond belief. In a way though, that's kind of what bothers me. Don't get me wrong. I love how incredibly sharp the images can be, and how great the DOF is, but the clarity of it all seems just a bit unnatural. Am I crazy for thinking this? I mean the purpose for 35mm adapters was to achieve that DOF that the EOS cameras have, but am I crazy for missing the grainy feel and look that the spinning/rotating ground glass provided in the adapters? A cinematic look is more than just DOF, isn't it? So my question then is, would it be at all possible (when shooting video with the EOS DSLRs) to have the ability to make/use a grain glass adapter before the lens? Would it defeat the purpose all together if this ever happened?