Artyom Zakharenko

I heard people say that digital cameras have a 'daylight' sensor and therefor that its better to always shoot around 5600K and use orange filters in case you want your image to look warmer. Is this true? If so, why?

seen the film last week, absolutely gorgeous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq1DQdIEYAg 11.54

Hello everyone Ive been working on a project a while ago and the producer doesn't want to pay the bill. Can a DP block the rights to publish/distribute the film untill the bills are payed? (author rights) There is no contract between me and producer, theres no contract between producer and director, in fact there are no contracts at all. All rental companies (camera,light,grip) say their bills are payed, its just the crew now thats still waiting.

Hola! Im shooting a short film next week on an Alexa and got a call yesterday from our grader, asking me whether i was about to shoot RAW. I said no, first because i dont need it and second because we can't afford it. Then he said i had to check the color temp. and balance it correctly. I replied i am not always balancing it ''correctly'', but instead making it warmer or colder in some scenes, using camera settings, light gels and filters. This is where i noticed panic in his voice. He kept pushing me on using the exact white balance settings, saying he prefers to do the coloring in post, instead of in camera. Now here's my concern: I understand the fact that RAW gives you freedom in post, but i like to do as much as possible in camera, to create a basic palette and then correct it here and there in post. I've never worked with this guy before, but a voice inside my head says he isn't that experienced... or am i just paranoid? Shooting prores444 logc

Hey guys, I am looking for an underwaterhousing ASAP. We are shooting a film next week 6-10may 2013 in the Netherlands. We first had a deal with Vantagefilm in Berlin but they suddenly gave us the bad news that it was rented out allready... all very vague without any explanation. I've googled around but the only thing that came out was Gates products in the states. So, who knows a place where i can rent one of those housings for the Alexa or Epic? We are based in Amsterdam and ready to pick it up anywhere in Europe. if you're an underwatercameraman and own one of these, please contact me artyomzakharenko@gmail.com T. +31 611 38 03 11 Thanks!!

Hi there everyone Im thinking to invest in a set of effect filters like classic soft, promist, maybe some color filters... But then im thinking, is it really worth the investment if all these effects are achievable in post? But then again, is an effect created in post less in quality than an optical effect? Ive never actually tested it to compare, any experience or opinion is welcome! Thanks! Artyom

record it on a watchman

I actually have a situation now that is more complex.. Samsung ordered a bunch of videos at a branding company, but since they are only experienced in marketing a product they hired a director, who hired me. Now, Samsung paid the bill for the whole production, but the branding company claims there is no more budget to pay the last videos. This means the branding company can not pay the director, and the director can not pay me. Im in difficult situation right now, because i have to pay my bills, but i also cannot screw up my relationship with the director because he's one of my bigger clients. What to do?

why not showing them the end result with a watermark and send the final file when the bill is paid?

Well, you were judging a cinematographer's work by saying it was not original, but how can a cinematographer possibly be original by only being a technical expert? This would mean that the blown out skylines, heavy browns and center framings are the director's responsibility, it was his decision, his vision, his story, the DP only did what the director said... It's actually like saying: directing is not about story telling, directors only do what is written in the script by the screenwriter, so screenwriters are the actual storytellers. When you talk about ''being original'' you talk about personal interpretations and new creative decisions made by individuals, new ways of thinking, and technical experts do not make such decisions as far as i know. Watch this documentary called Cinematographer Style, it will give you a better understanding of the craft.

Oooh I caught you here boy, remember this discussion we had? >> index.php?showtopic=58727&hl= Here's your quote from that topic ''Every reel I see anymore is exactly the same as the one before it. And this one falls right in line. They are these DSLR shot, blown out skylines, heavy browns but otherwise desaturated, slow mo, and too much center framing. It seems practically EVERY reel I have watched in the last 2 months (and I watch many) has these attributes. Isn't anyone original anymore?'' And now, here's your quote from this topic ''What is all this crap lately about cinematographers being story tellers? They arent...they are technical experts who can pull off what the director wants.'' So what is it Matt? Make up your mind...

If this was the case, then directors would not care who they picked as dp on their project unfortunately (for you) there is a reason for all those couples like Tarantino/Richardson and Eastwood/Stern, and its not because they know where the buttons are

invest in glass

you could try NFTS in London though i think if its in you, you dont need other people or schools to get it out of you

what exactly do you mean with 'advanced' cinematography?

Hello there ladies and gents i have a question In the past (maybe its still the case) some cameramen used some sort of cloth/net that they put between their lens and body mount to give the image a certain effect. I don't know the name of this product, but if some of you know what i mean, where to get that? Thanks!

impressive reel.. though i wouldn't promote myself as dp/director/editor/catering and truck driver at the same time people don't know what to look for in your reel, is it your dp skills, your directing skills, your editing skills...? :)

loved your wide shots and landscapes

Okay, I'm waiting for Ashton Kutcher to walk into my room any moment and tell me i'm punk'd.. Dear Matt, you seem not to understand the difference between a showreel and an actual movie. After your second comment it also appears you can't tell the difference between a DP's task and a hobby photographer. It's good that you're in love with 'Coward', yes it is a beautifully shot film, no protest. If you read my previous post carefully, you won't find any sentence in which i claim to be a brilliant cameraman or that i think my work is in the higher league, you kinda made that up... By the way, are you Stephen's agent by any chance? The way you let us know how fed up you are with all the other 999,999,999 reels - i almost heard you saying: ''Your work is bad, because you're not Stephen''

90% of the paid work i get now, are somehow connected to 1 free project i did in the past, and i was just an assistant on that project. After a few years, you look backwards and connect the dots, that somehow got you where you are now. Also get ready for long periods with no work, and 30 sudden phonecalls on 1 day.

Hi Matt, First of all, thanks for your comment. Though you make it sound as if every DP has absolute freedom when it comes to making choices. Sure i could throw a pink filter in front of my lens, frame everything off frame etc. but would i serve the story doing that, or would it be just a way to be original? I can't come up to the director and say, hey i know you want this scene to look dark, but you know what lets make the whole frame 18% grey. Now, when you have a story that is asking for fairytale colors and mysterious fluid camera movements, then yes, i agree you can approach the project in an unusual way, because there is no reference/standard to a fairytale, its a blanco page and you can fill in everything the way you want it. Or, you have to be the director, dp, producer, writer and truck driver on your own project, like the guy from 'The Wheat and the Chaff', so you can do anything you like without limitations and let your creativity go wild. In the work i show in my reel, choices were made based on the director's wishes and story. Ofcourse there is a lot of me in it, but still within the director's frame/vision. As for the blown out skylines (that i couldnt find by the way), how many stops over, is blown out for you? Again, i believe this is a choice you make at that particular moment, i dont think there should be a formula for sky exposure. Sure, you could close your diafragma a bit more, but that will also effect the rest of your image, so you have to find the right balance between high and lowlights, and this is what i thought was right at that moment for that scene. You also seem to hate DSLR footage, which is okay because i don't like the footage that comes out of these types of cameras neither. The truth is, there is no DLSR footage in this reel except the forest scene. Though your comment makes it sound like it's a bad thing to use DSLR's. Ofcourse i'd love to shoot on film, or on higher end cameras with better pixels and higher dynamic range, but sometimes you just have to work with the available budget, sour fact. Please do not see this as an attack, i just found some of the points you made unreasonable... You can expect more creative work from a well established DP, since well established DP's have more years of experience, more projects they've shot, more opportunities to test things that have never been tested before. I also believe every DP has to know the basics of the craft first, before playing with light or color out of the box.

Updated my reel recently, comments are welcome Thanks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OpbJefT5Ab4#!

Hi there guys Last week i was shooting a video, our gaffer hang a 5K tungsten (build by Strand) in the studio, looking 45 degrees down. The lightbulb litterly exploded, broke the lens and burned the chimera. Now there's a discussion between the lighting rental company and my gaffer about whose fault it was. 1. The rental company claims the units are not supposed to hang high, looking down, because the heat in the unit can't get out that way. 2. My gaffer claims that those are studio lights, build for studio situations, including the possibility to hang them high and face down. Besides, the unit wasn't hanging straight down but 45 degrees, it had room to release the heat. The lamp was on for 5 minutes before it exploded. Does anybody have experience with this? Thank you Artyom

Hello there boys and girls... A question to those who have experience with highspeed cameras.. Im shooting a music video next week, most of it to be shot in 200fps (on the fs700) Now, here's what i wanna do... a 5KW as toplight and a few dino's on the background for the light show. I know the 5K is big enough to get rid of the flicker, but the dino's are 1K, theoretically they would cause flicker in my frame... on the other hand, they are pointed straight towards the camera, so we actually look into the light's housing that gives us a hot spot in frame. My question is whether i'll see flicker from the dino's in this situation? if so, i really wonder how to achieve flickerfree slow motion footage for a performance scene with a light show, only being able to use 5K's... Thanks in advance Artyom