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Paul Maibaum ASC

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Posts posted by Paul Maibaum ASC

    Having arguments with your director

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Cinematographers live and die not only based on the quality (and how quickly one achieves said quality) of their work but by their reputation as well. Two candidates for the position of cinematographer on a shoot can have equally impressive reels and resumes but the question often asked to break the tie is with whom would you prefer to be locked in a sound stage for 14 hours? One's reputation precedes them prior to the interview process......a director or producer looks at a prospective D.P.s resume and checks in with the people this person has previously worked with......"how was candidate A to work with?"......you do not want the answer to be "he/she was a pain in the ass, argued about every set up."

    One will have a very short career, if any career at all if this becomes the perception.

    • Upvote 1

    Getting Paid

    in Business Practices & Producing

    Posted

    Many years ago while still in film school I was hired as the Director of Photography to shoot scenes in L.A. for a feature based out of a foreign country. It was a 2 or 3 day shoot and my assistant camera person warned me not to hand over the exposed film until the L.A. crew was paid in full. Being a trusting person I did not heed his advice assuming the producers were honest and turned in the exposed stock. We were not paid. We went en masse to the local office of the National Labor Relations Board to research what recourse we had in order to force the producers (who lived in L.A. even though the majority of the project had been filmed overseas) to pay the crew. The rep from the NLRB asked us who had notified the crew as to when and where to show up for work as that person was ultimately the responsible party for the payment of the negotiated wage. In this case the person was a crew member hired as the UPM and who also was not paid. The moral of this story is be very careful in giving out crew calls to one's fellow workers.

    Learning the Gearhead

    in Camera Operating & Gear

    Posted

    See if you can take out both a fluid head and a set of wheels, it would give you the opportunity to try the gear head and you would always have the fluid head to fall back to.

    In all my years being a camera operator I was never called upon to "operate" a circle or figure 8.

    • Upvote 1

    The Philosophy of a Demo Reel

    in Please Critique My Work

    Posted

    Put your best stuff first, and your even better stuff last.

    Leave whoever is screening your reel with the desire to see more.

    Use the widest array of styles and techniques, do not repeat yourself in the reel.

    Try to, if you have the material, to use footage wherein the actors/actresses are known, it gives one credibility.

    Remember that, ultimately, your potential employers are looking to see elements of their upcoming project on your reel. That can be very frustrating but it is the reality.

    I had a meeting and submitted a reel to a director for an MOW many years ago and he contacted a mutual friend with whom I had worked with and confided in him that he "liked" me but felt that my reel was somehow "lacking". In what, he was not specific. My friend then posed the question, was the director planning on using any of the footage from my reel in his show? The director admitted that no, obviously he had no plans to do so. Then my friend said that he should hire me. I did end up getting the gig.

    Getting a job has as much to do, if not more, with past relationships as it has with one's reel.

    • Upvote 1

    The Academy and Cinematography

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Inexcusable and unbelievable.........

    A re-post from Facebook from Peter Green, son of Jack Green, ASC....

    "As many of you may already know, there was a very inexcusable mistake made during the Academy Awards Sunday night. While the Academy was honoring the members who had passed away since the 2012 awards. They used a picture of my father when they were honoring his mentor, friend and accomplished DP, Bruce Surtees. As horrible as it must be for Bruce's family, I would like you all to know that my father, Jack Green, is still very much alive and quite healthy! To the Surtees family, I speak for my family in saying we are truly sorry for your loss as well as the indignity of not identifying Bruce correctly! We all lost a member of the camera family. He was kind, talented, admired and selfless. We all appreciated, loved and adored Bruce! He deserves a correction and an apology from the Academy. Please help by contacting Oscars.com. Thank you all."

    "Sons of Anarchy" Season 5

    in In Production / Behind the Scenes

    Posted

    "SOA" season 5 (cinematography by yours truly) premieres this coming Tuesday, Sep't. 11 on FX. Check your local listings for times.

    Shot this season, as last, on the ARRI ALEXA using Optimo Zooms (15-40, 28-76, 45-120, 24-290).

    Utilizing Sony F-3 cameras as the stand alone 2nd unit package (2nd units shot by A camera/Steaicam Operator Spencer Combs) in conjunction with 5Ds and Go-Pros.

    Using the Sony F-3 as a "C" camera on main unit and on the occasional "pick-up" unit. The F-3 is intercutting seamlessly with the ALEXA in all conditions so far including low-light night exteriors, day exteriors and stage situations.

    Feedback welcome, enjoy the ride.

    post-4505-0-94111800-1347239811.jpg

    The Next Step

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Depends on what you think your next step should be. Working in a rental house, where you should be making plenty of contacts with assistant camera people, can position you to get on crews as an assistant once you decide you want to leave the rental house and start freelancing. This is predicated on the assumption that the path you would take would be to move up the ladder, position by position, in the camera department.

    I worked at an L.A. based rental house for 5 years before going out on my own and getting gigs as a film loader, than a 2nd assistant, then 1st assistant, operator and finally Director of Photography. It took me 10 years to make the move up to D.P. I did have an advantage in that the rental house I worked in was a signatory to IATSE and I was able to join the union while working there.

    If the direction you want to take is to immediately become a cinematographer than I think the advice previously offered that you shoot as many projects as you can and build a reel is sound.

    Camera Movement Inquiries

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Appears to me to be a dolly in combination with a zoom, a slight displacement between the motorcycle helmet in the foreground and the out of focus bottles behind the bar can be seen. It looks as if the zoom starts at around 51 seconds into the clip. This kind of move is often referred to as "burying the zoom" within the camera move. It's executed very well in terms of the timing of the zoom in conjunction with the camera move, both being completed at the same point in time.

    Directors shooting their own films

    in Cinematographers

    Posted

    Well this is my situation. Im currently in pre-production on my senior film for college. My professor is trying to advise me to find a DP. I really want to shoot my film since cinematography is the field I want to someday get a job in, and i just love shooting. I thought of the idea of having an assistant director to the bulk of the directing work, but then I would have to worry about telling he/she what to do. Even though its not the best route, i want to direct/shoot my film.

     

    Anyone have any thoughts on this?

    This may be you only opportunity to find out what it is like to shoot and direct at the same time, and you're paying for your education so you should do it.

    But if you have an "assistant director" do the "bulk of the directing" than I wouldn't claim credit as the Director of the project.

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