Bill DiPietra

Congrats and have fun!

I was one of the few people posting his praise for the photography of "Collateral" in this forum when it first came out. I thought the HD images blended rather well with the 35mm footage and the look fit the story perfectly. I too enjoy "messy" images. I've grown very tired of the reduced grain in 35mm film stocks. Nice to see someone pushing a visual envelope and Michael Mann has done that throughout his career. Michael Mann always has very definitive reason for everything you see on-screen. I'm sure what he has done with "Miami Vice," however it looks, was intentional. I grew up with the series, though...so it'll be weird not seeing Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in the leads. But I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them showed up in a cameo...

Hello all! I used to be an active poster here but I've been out of the loop for a while. David, Mitch...glad to see you guys are still here... Anyway, over the past year and a half, I've been busy as an FDNY EMT (great job and I love it.) But I am looking to get back into filmmaking purely as a hobby. Yep...it's an expensive one, I know...but since I can still afford it, I figure what the hell..? I've found a 16mm camera and editing package for less than $5,000 from a reputable retailer and I am considering making the purchase. My intention is to use the equipment for short films. I know that digital is what most people are using these days, but the people who have known me in this forum also know that film has always been my format of choice. My question is this: in your professional opinions, how much longer do you believe Kodak and other film manufacturers will continue to sell 16mm NEGATIVE stocks? I really don't know how far digital has progressed, but I still have a feeling that film is not going anywhere for a while. However, I am asking about 16mm stocks, which, as we all know is not the industry standard. Anyway, glad to be back and I hope everyone is doing well. Please post your opinions on this topic freely. Talk to you all soon.

He was the king. And he will be missed.

My thoughts exactly.

Well, thanks for the very inspirational posts, everyone (Nice work, Greg!) They definitely helped me get my head on a little straighter. Happy New Year!!!

Tim, I must say that I was disappointed to see that no mention was made of Jerry Orbach's death, yesterday. I expected to see a headline on the front page of the website but there was nothing. Is that space only reserved for when a cinematographer passes? I seem to remember you putting up articles when other members of the film community (non-cinematographers) passed. Mr. Orbach contributed much to the stage, televison and film communities, respectively, over the years. This is why I started a thread which included a pasted article about is life and career. Tim, I am sure this was just an oversight on your part. You do a good job with this forum but I needed to let you know, publicly, that this irked me a bit. I know that this is a cinematography forum, but I have always thought of this as a film community. Mr. Orbach deserves to be remembered in this forum as well. Thank you.

I was saddened to hear that actor Jerry Orbach died last night at the age of 69. As a big "Law & Order" fan, it was a great pleasure for me to meet him on the corner of 7th Avenue and 57 St. one day. Nice man. He will be missed. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 'Law & Order' Star Jerry Orbach Dies Dec 29, 11:13 AM EST Associated Press NEW YORK - Actor Jerry Orbach, who played a sardonic, seen-it-all cop on TV's "Law & Order" and scored on Broadway as a song-and-dance man, has died of prostate cancer at 69, a representative of the show said Wednesday. Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said. When his illness was diagnosed, he had begun production on NBC's upcoming spinoff "Law & Order: Trial By Jury," after 12 seasons playing Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original series. His return to the new show had been expected early next year. On Broadway, Orbach starred in hit musicals including "Carnival," "Promises, Promises" (for which he won a Tony Award), "Chicago" and "42nd Street." Earlier, he was in the original cast of the off-off-Broadway hit "The Fantasticks," playing the narrator. The show went on to run for more than 40 years. Lights on Broadway marquees were expected to be dimmed for one minute at curtain time Wednesday night in Orbach's memory. Among his film appearances were roles in "Dirty Dancing," "Prince of the City" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors." In the animated feature "Beauty and the Beast," he voiced the role of the candlestick, and got to sing a key song, "Be Our Guest." Orbach is expected to appear in early episodes of "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," for which he continued as Briscoe in a secondary role, when the show premieres later this season, Davis said. "I'm immensely saddened by the passing of not only a friend and colleague, but a legendary figure of 20th century show business," said Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of the "Law & Order" series, in a statement. "He was one of the most honored performers of his generation. His loss is irreplaceable." With his hang-dog face and loose-limbed gait, Orbach was adept at playing the street-smart tough guy, but could also hoof and carry a tune. And not only was he a beloved star, he also personified New York's well-worn but implacable edge. A lifelong New Yorker, he inhabited and embodied the Big Apple like few other actors. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called Orbach "a friend to all New Yorkers" and "a devoted ambassador of the city." Born in the Bronx in 1935, Orbach was the son of a vaudeville-performer father and a radio-singer mother. He started his acting career in school plays, then attended Northwestern University's prestigious drama school, though he couldn't swing the money to finish. In 1955, he returned to New York to hit the stage. In a 2000 interview with the Associated Press, Orbach remembered those days fondly. Money was tight, even with his early successes: In 1960 he was earning just $45 a week in "The Fantasticks," but "even married, with a son, we lived all right." He then began an association with producer David Merrick, appearing in three of Merrick's biggest musical successes, starting in 1961 with "Carnival!", in which he played an embittered puppeteer opposite Anna Maria Alberghetti's winsome Lili. Orbach won a Tony for his performance in Merrick's "Promises, Promises," the Neil Simon-Burt Bacharach-Hal David musical based on the film "The Apartment." In the show, Orbach played Chuck Baxter, the role originated in the movie by Jack Lemmon. Yet his biggest hit for Merrick was "42nd Street," which opened on Broadway in 1980 and ran for more than 3,400 performances. In the show, which is based on the classic Warner Bros. backstage movie musical, Orbach played hard-boiled producer Julian Marsh, who brings the young hoofer out of the chorus to replace the show's ailing star. Orbach also was in the original production of "Chicago" in 1975, which also starred Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera. He played Billy Flynn, the role Richard Gere inherited in the 2002 film. "It was gift to work with him," recalled actress Brenda Smiley, who co-starred with Orbach in the Off-Broadway stage hit "Scuba Duba," a dark comedy by Bruce Jay Friedman, in 1967-68. "He was a master at that kind of performing and he made it so easy for everyone else." From early, obscure films like "Cop Hater" and "Mad Dog Coll," Orbach rose to appearances in Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and the 1981 crime drama "Prince of the City," in a cop role that presaged his "Law & Order" character. In 1987-88, he starred in the series "The Law and Harry McGraw," a spinoff featuring a character he created in "Murder, She Wrote." It flopped, but five years later he struck gold, following Paul Sorvino as a detective in Manhattan's 27th Precinct. In a 2000 Associated Press interview, Orbach said "Law & Order" brought him "wonderful security" rare in the life of an actor. "All my life, since I was 16, I've been wondering where that next job was gonna come from," he explained. "Now I take the summer off, relax, and I know that at the end of July we're gonna start another season." He said he didn't know "where I stop and Lennie starts, really. ... I know he's tougher than me and he carries a gun. And I'm not an alcoholic." "I know I wouldn't want to be him," Orbach summed up. "I guess THAT'S where I stop and he starts." Orbach is survived by his second wife, Elaine, whom he met doing "Chicago" and married in 1979, and grown sons Chris and Tony from his first marriage. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hey gang. This post is definitely a little off-topic and just something I feel I need to write. Call it self-therapy if you must. So feel free to bypass it if you want. As some of you are aware, I had a career change from media to Emergency Medical Technician not long after 9/11. I wanted to be affecting people's lives for the better in a more direct way. Plus, I was soured by a lot of the egocentric people in the film community. I will grant you that most of them were first-timers and had no concept of what they should be aiming for. But I did feel that this was just a sign of what lay ahead for me if I continued with film. I also looked at the direction that the industry (independent and mainstream) was going in and just saw a lot of stale work being produced. There are no Stanley Kubrick's in the making. I found it very depressing that so many people nowadays are satisfied with mediocre art. So now I am an Emergency Medical Technical. And I will tell you that I REALLY enjoy helping people. I hope to make it into FDNY EMS and make that my career. However... ...I do miss film. That creative spark has never left me. Once a filmmaker, always a filmmaker, I guess. I watched the special edition of "GoodFellas" the other night and everything came rushing back: how that film turned me into a film student, my love for the craft, spending hours on the editing table in college, etc. Cinematography is definitely too narrow a field for me. I've always been more of a writer/director type with very specific ideas for every aspect of the film. Probably why Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann are my favorite working filmmakers. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how to route film back into my life. Anyway, thanks for reading this little stream-of-consciousness post. It's really something I have to work out for myself. But if any of you have ever been through similar scenarios, feel free to post. Thanks again.

Bottom line - it's worth it. Just look at the picture on the "Contempt" DVD. I saw a re-release of it in the theater and even the print didn't look that good!

DVDs: Martin Scorsese Collection Collateral ...and lots of other cool stuff

Thought of that before I started this topic and even I have to agree. Point taken. Let's all just try to stick to the topics. Thanks.

There have been so many nonsensical, run-on posts on this forum that have absolutely NOTHING to do with cinematography or film for that matter. Even those that start out legitimate, seem to deteriorate into petty politics or social disagreements by the thrid page. How about limiting topics to no more than 3 pages?

Yeah. That's a BIG no-no. The sound tech and I were having a disagreement in a room one day. It escalated to the point where the director (who I'd been working closely with for about a year) reamed me out in-front of my crew. Did I contribute to this? Of course I did. But there was no need for him to have a temper tantrum in-front of everyone. And I walked off the set. A bit drastic, yes, but I wasn't even getting paid. I was doing this project because I was enjoying it. That was the last film I worked on. As for the age thing, I really don't advise going with anything that "makes you look old." If you know what you're doing, believe in what you're doing, and have a clear vision for your cast and crew, that's what people respect. Not how many gray hairs you have. Good luck and don't forget to have fun.

I saw "Collateral" in the theater and loved the film and the look. I didn't think it looked crappy at all. I actually had difficulty discerning the film images from the HD images. And I have a trained eye. I don't think you're getting a fair example simply by watching the trailers. You need to see the entire film on a large screen.

"GoodFellas" opened my eyes to the world of filmmaking. Michael Mann had a big influence on me with "Miami Vice." When I was in college, the TV show "Homicide" made an equally large impression on me. Just a few examples of what got me into it. Now I'd have to say Godard and Fellini are the two influences I reach for first.

That's not fair and not true. Take it from someone who was born and raised here, New York is a rough city, but extremely generous. And most people ARE polite. At least the ones I encounter in everyday life. Maybe you ran into a bunch of butts, and if that is what happened, let me apologize to you as a resident of this great city. I will agree that when you get someone with a bad attitude in NYC, it is magnified ten-fold compared to someone who is not a New Yorker. It's just the way it is and you have to learn to deal with it one way or another. Instead of knocking the Europeans, I will say that most British that are in New York, ARE extremely polite. But the ones who have been here a while know that they have to have a bit of an edge to survive here ;) So don't be to hard on us.

I'm not a "serious shooter" since I'm not really involved with film that much anymore. But the one video shoot I did, I remember switching everything to manual. It just gives you more flexibility, especially if you are used to shooting film.

Maybe not. The episodes I've been watching are from two seasons ago. Very little grain. They look like they could definitely be either 35mm or HD. Maybe Schmidt played with a different format, then switched back to Super-16.

It was in the October 2003 issue of In Camera. So they must be referring to this past season, no?

I watched an episode last night and it did look a lot less grainy than Super-16 normally would. Much cleaner than the original look. So I really don't know what they're shooting. Maybe we should just read the article and believe Rohn Schmidt. :)

In that case, it definitely looks like Super-16 is the predominant format. But, to be fair, I haven't read anything about how the show is shot since it first came on.

Are you referring to this past season or the upcoming one?

There are scenes that are shot on video but it still looks like Super-16 to me.

Come on, guys. I'm a VOLUNTEER EMT and I very often pull double-shifts. So whether it's film or, in my case, EMS, you can't deny that we do this stuff simply because we love it.