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Andrew Wilding

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  • Occupation
    Director
  1. I don't think at the red or any other camera will nor could the role of the DP. That being said - filmmaking is turning away from being an art form or even a high brow or high budget entertainment, and increasingly becoming low budget, low ambition "content". In other words, most of us, aside from the lucky few, are making easily digestible and easily disposable material to fill the ever increasing hunger of the Internet and new forms of entertainment. Viral ads, funny or die, Behind the Scenes content, music videos, etc.The bar is set low in this arena. As long as the product looks merely adequate, most folks are satisfied. Many people even view this content on there phones. We've seen huge surge towards quantity over quality, I believe. This, more than any camera, has the capability to diminish the import of the DP. Hopefully this will serve as a sort of training ground for the genuinely talented filmmakers of the next generation, but my concern is that budgets will continue to drop and that the dream films of future Fellini's and Kubrick's won't be a financial possibility. I see a bigger divide splitting blockbusters from serious film, with blockbusters taking 90 percent of the studios Money ( and making the majority of profit) and forcing the smaller films to share table scraps. Thisnwould make a Barry Lyndon or Amarcord a difficult proposition. Ive gone on a completely unrelated rant. Apologies.
  2. Im in the market for a good, quiet super 16 package. Ive currently got my eye on a HSR arri sr. I plan to shoot primarily at 23.97 and only use the high speed capabilitys sparingly. Is this camera quiet enough to use as an a camera for a narrative project? Are the high speed models louder than standard arri's, even at regular speed? How might sound compare with an SR3? Might a a barney be enough to permit good and easy sound recording? Thanks!
  3. If you want it to feel like a real, albeit clean, physical space, I would avoid lighting it much hotter than two stops over your key. That should be enough to keep it from feeling muddy and gray without feeling like "Limbo"
  4. I use the same approach, but often find that the result is too flashy or lit looking. Example I think it might be an issue of demanding a full exposure on the face - perhaps keeping the face a stop under or so will let the practical do a little more of the lifting and call less attention to the additional lighting.
  5. David - when actually using a practical as a key, rather than carrying the practical with an off camera light, do you not find that its difficult to keep the shade from being "too" overexposed relative to the talents face? I realize this is all up to taste - clockwork orange is full of blown lampshades and looks gorgeous - but typically it seems a shade looks best 3 or four stops over key. Generally thats not enough to light the talent without brining in additional lights in my experience. Do you use blackfoil or hairspray or nd or what? I've had less than perfect results with all of these but id love to light scenes with only practicals (and maybe some toplight through a muzz) to free up the space for three sixty degree movement etc...
  6. Its not bad by any means. In hink that to best get across who you are a cinematographer though, you need to add a day interior and a night interior. When i see it, i think, ok, the guy can do backlit exteriors. But can he light a set/location? A very contrasty chiaroscuro of a man boxing is not enough to wet the appetite of a director I don't think. But the work is good so far, just keep adding to it and always excersize taste and restraint.
  7. pCam is an amazing app that has great support for super 8. Dof tools, FOV tools including a tool to match focal lengths for the same FOV in different formats, running time with different frame rates, and also tools like a Mired calculator. It's the most useful thing on my phone.
  8. I dont mean to be overly harsh. It just seems to me that any company that is at least attempting to raise the bar, so that we image makers can do our jobs better, shouldn't be needlessly torn to shreds. I welcome any techniques or attempts at raising the bar. Wether that means resolution, dr, color fidelity, what have you, I'm just glad that companies out there don't feel that good enough is good enough. I think even if you don't think Red has it's claims, you must admit,it that it's forced every company out there ton reevaluate there strategy, which can't be a bad thing for us. On top of it, there cameras, to my mind, are capable of amazing stuff In the right hands, and I think that they don't deserve all the name calling or what have you.
  9. If ever a television is turned on in a bar, and a baseball game is on, the local couch-potatoe-athlete will, invariably, raise his head andfrom the depths of his drunken stupor, mumble; " if I'd been at bat, boy, I'd have sent that ball clear to the moon... Burp!" It's very easy to criticize. It's much more difficult to put your fortune, your time, and your word on the line and try to actually deliver something.
  10. The idea with fill is that it is meant, ideally, to be "invisible". It just to tackle the hurdle of not being able to capture light the same way our eyes perceive it. With this in mind, generally speaking, you want to place the fill light where the shadows that it casts will be least visible. This generally means frontal and at the same hight of your subjects. But, if the light is soft enough, the shadows will not call a much attention to themselves and you can get away with more off axis placement. you might do soft overhead fill, which doesnt call attention to itself as being overly directional, and if you use a big enough source it will still get into the eye sockets a little bit. Or, just use soft sources with alot of natural wrap and creative bouncing and foam core, and do without a separate unit for fill. This is my usual approach.
  11. Making movies is a mere stepping stone on the path to partying at Cannes, David. You're such an idealist! ; )
  12. I couldn't agree more - frankly one has to just stay focused on making the films and put the festivals out of ones mind entirely, I think. I found the whole process fairly fatiguing, and worse, distracting. Time (not to mention money) that I should have devoted into new projects, I instead spent on "the festival circuit." I certainly had a naive belief that one can be "discovered" through a festival, and set ones self up for feature funding. I expected that Sundance would throw confetti over my head, parade me in a town car like some shiny trophy, and throw a six figure plus budget at my feet for any project that I've desired. Obviously, that is not how it works! I've had more people see my work through places like vimeo, and made more connections through the web then I have through festivals. And all for free. I've also found, and I hope this isnt mere bitterness on my part, that there is a certain type of film that is more "festival appropriate." These tend to be social lessons regarding racism, sexism, ageism, the upper class vs the lower class, etc. These themes of course all have there place, but unfortunately for me and festivals, they dont have a place in my work at the moment. Not explicitly at least. That being said, I'm very grateful to Fantastic Fest, which not only accepted my film but invited my film. I guess I've learned that the path to "film making success" isnt as easy as I'd imagined. There is no quick scheme to recognition and funding. Luckily, the journey there is paved with making films. Hard to complain. One simply has to keep the nose to the grind stone and making films. Again, thanks everyone for watching. I really appreciate it.
  13. Thanks guys - Im very pleased that you took the time to watch my short - That you enjoyed it is even better. Unfortunately, It hasnt fared too well in festivals but that might partially be my own lack of festival know how. Its impossible to get accepted into these things! Thanks again, guys. By the way, Stephen - Im an admirer of your work!
  14. I shot and directed this about a year ago - It was my first time either directing or DPing and I learned a tremendous amount, but there is so much I would have done differently now. Its amazing how much you can learn in a year. Though Im a little worried that If I had known all I know then that I know now I would have made the thing too slick for its own good. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy watching it half as much as I enjoyed shooting it. Criticism is welcomed, but not nearly as welcome as gushing praise and general smoke blowing ; )
  15. This is so by far the sharpest, organic, and beautiful 8mm I've ever seen. My head is full of questions. Max 8? What stock? Amazing, amazing transfer guys. I feel like you opened up a whole new world of 8mm.
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