Tomas Koolhaas

Shari,

This is a hard subject to weigh in on with judgments because we dont know your son, but I will share my experiences of film school and maybe it will help. for the record I have NO ulterior motives at all, I have NO connection with my film school anymore.

I went to the los angeles film school, it was a one year course with a professional certificate (it has been certified now so offers an associate degree in film now).

It cost around 20,000 when I went. I didnt do any essays which was good for me, I like practical work, it sounds like your son does too so a practical school might be better than a degree course where he'll have to do other subjects/essays too. At LAFS I just shot from the first week to the last. On the whole I didnt really enjoy my experience at the school, but I did make the most of it...I left with a pretty strong reel (for a student) using which I got work immediately after leaving school....I have done well since then with work, but as other people have said its not that simple. Because work can be sporadic and unpredictable there is no straight trajectory in terms of success. One year you may have an awesome year and make a lot of progress shoot only 35mm features and win awards at festivals etc.. and the next year you might be back to shooting shorts on mini DV scraping by....not to say that's lightly but it happens a lot. Personally I think paying $70,000 for a school and having your son come out knowing the technicals but still having very little practical/professional experience seems to me to be a pretty big gamble. only 3 people (including me) from 30 in my film school class still work in film at all. I really do think if you are willing to spend $70,000 you may be better off buying him a sony EX3 camera and buying him many good cinematography books and sending him to a cheaper shorter more practical film school, that way he will have shot some projects and have a camera to keep learning with and to use on paid jobs when he leaves school.

It all depends on your son, I just feel a degree doesnt really help when getting film jobs, as a DP personality/talent and demo. reel/past work speaks louder than any degree. Doing essays doesnt prepare you for film work, and it seems the schools that cost the most concentrate the least on practical experience.

Hope this helps....good luck, and respect to you for supporting your son's dreams.

I just did some more research online, from what I found the camera itself sells from between $150 to $350 (that seems high, but there was one for sale from a pretty reputable company for that much...without lenses). And the lenses seem to be worth between $30 to $70 dollars each...so my kit would be worth around $500 according to what I found on these sites.

Probably between $150 and $225.

For everything....including the lenses??? I was lead to believe the the camera itself was worth around $200 and whole package was worth around $1,000 because the lenses where pretty hard to get hold of in good condition these days....maybe I was lied to : (

Really nice!!!

What was the music? the whole thing was not only visually impressive but touching in a way that I wouldnt usually expect from a demo reel...very well cut to the music.

Good work.

Here are the lenses I have with the camera: Kodak Cine Ektar prime lenses and viewfinder lenses for each lens plus various adaptors: 63mm f/2.0...15mm f/2.5...25mm f/1.4...102mm f/2.7 (Lumenized).....50mm f/1.9.

Hi Guys,

Since you are all K100 owners I was wondering If I could ask how much you think my K100 package is worth...I am trying to sell it..its in perfect condition and I have Kodak Cine Ektar prime lenses and viewfinder lenses for each lens plus various adaptors: 63mm f/2.0...15mm f/2.5...25mm f/1.4...102mm f/2.7 (Lumenized).....50mm f/1.9.

Any input is appreciated.

Cheers.

Hi I have a kodak K100 16mm MOS non-reflex viewfinder camera with numerous prime lenses, I was told by the person who gave me the camera/lenses that they where extremely rare and he had to buy some of them as far away as Russia?? everything is in perfect working condition (I have shot with the camera once and the footage looked really good, the lenses give a very nice vintage look that you would expect from old lenses like these). Honestly Im still trying to figure out how much exactly the whole package is worth...so if anyone is interested I would be willing to listen to any reasonable offer. Photos available upon request.

Thanks.

Hi all,

I am looking to sell my Super16mm Aaton LTR 7 package:

Converted to PL mount (converted by visual products), Internal B+W video tap (By visual products $3,600) two mags, two batteries, charger, iris rod adaptor (can be used with most accessories, unlike LTR's stock square rod), hand grip, Aaton to Arri Bayonet mount adapter, film changing bag, extra fuse, two pelican shipping cases. Was totally overhauled/upgraded by visual products including battery recelling, many parts where upgraded, made like new. I also had ground glass replaced and marked with additional 2.35:1 markings and the viewfinder upgraded by Abel cine LA. Camera is in mint condition and works flawlessly, Email for photos or with questions. I am looking for an offer in the region of $10,000.

Thank you.

tomas@fnvfilms.com

My EX3 did not come with a card reader. If you plug the camera into your computer via USB, it functions as a removable drive. You copy the files across using XDCAM Clipbrowser. Your not really using it as a deck in the strict sense, it's not playing back. It's about 6-8 times real time to copy.

 

You might also want to look into ExpressCard adapters. Using one with SDHC cards is far cheaper than SxS, and many recent laptops have an SDHC slot. The only gotcha is limited overcranking, but you just use the SxS that comes with for that.

 

http://mxmexpress.com/

Yeah I know what you mean, I guess I just meant that when using a Cam. as a deck you cannot use it to continue shooting, and the EX3 will be out of comission while downloading the cards, which is unacceptable to me. I also just realized I called you Steven in my other post David, for that I apologise, dont know what lead to that confussion, but thanks to you for your very helpful posts. I have been looking into it further and it seems most Cams dont come with the reader, even though on another topic on here I read someone saying they usually do. The reader is pretty pricey, I think at this point the EX3 seems the way to go (the detachable lenses, larger chips, 2/3" lense use w/adaptor is swaying me), the only issue is the cost which rises significantly with the reader and I would probably want to buy the 60G hard drive for the EX as well (260 mins of storage -depending on the setting). Do you have any experience using that drive or others with the EX? also I heard something about "flickering" on the EX, this issue is not limited to the EX by any means and can usually be fixed in camera using the shutter or similar functions (synchro scan/flicker free options on some cams) but I was wondering as someone who owns one, do you think the flicker issue is worse on the EX? is it harder to fix in cam than on other cams?

Cheers.

One more thing...I have found it hard to clear up if the EX1/3 comes with the card reader as standard usually, I dont have a laptop with the right slot so would need one, dont want to have to use cam as deck!

One of the blokes at Abelcine banged one together. Never tried them, I have an EX3 and matrix settings don't transfer well.

 

The EX series is so flexible for it's price range. Complaining about not liking the default settings is just bizarre.

 

HVX Matches for EX1

 

PP1: Cine V

Matrix –

- Select: High Sat

- Level 0

- Phase +2

- R-G -11

- R-B -23

- G-R +38

- G-B 0

- B-R +17

- B-G -23

Detail –

- Level –30 (subjective)

- Frequency 15

 

Gamma –

- Level -1

- Select: Cine 1

 

Black – -2

Black Gamma - -99

 

PP2: Cine D

Matrix –

- Select: High Sat

- Level 0

- Phase +6

- R-G +22

- R-B -36

- G-R +19

- G-B 0

- B-R +14

- B-G -16

Detail –

- Level –30 (subjective)

- Frequency 15

 

Gamma –

- Level -1

- Select: Cine 1

 

Black – -2

Black Gamma - -96

 

PP3: HD NORM

Matrix –

- Select: Standard

- Level -5

- Phase +1

- R-G +8

- R-B -30

- G-R +15

- G-B -24

- B-R 0

- B-G +10

Detail –

- Level –30 (subjective)

- Frequency 15

 

Gamma –

- Level +11

- Select: STD4

 

Black – -1

Black Gamma - -52

 

PP4: FLUO

Matrix –

- Select: FL Light

- Level -8

- Phase -5

- R-G -64

- R-B -24

- G-R +64

- G-B -18

- B-R +24

- B-G -23

Detail –

- Level –30 (subjective)

- Frequency 15

 

Gamma –

- Level +11

- Select: STD4

 

Black – -1

Black Gamma - -52

I want to say to Steven thank you for posts like this, this is why I signed up on this sight in the first place, I havent been on here much recently because most threads end up getting hijacked with stupid internet "beef" back and forth nonsense! this is the stuff I want to see, nice one. Im thinking about getting an HVX or EX1/3 for documentary and non narrative art pieces, the info in this thread is all helpful. I shot numerous projects on the HVX and HATE the lense and focus ring!!! the EX detachable lense is a big plus, but I just wonder for me to cut my own footage on final cut on my IMAC will the P2 or XD cards/codecs end up being more convinient/yield better results. Also I use PL mount adaptors whenever possible, so not having to go the HVX relay route is very attractive, I much prefer to atach the adaptor directly!

Right! I forgot to mention im shooting Super16.

Hi,

I am shooting ALL exterior project in the palmdale desert, various looks and times of day, one of the stocks im looking at is the Fuji Eterna 160 vivid, mainly because I might be able to get a good deal on some, has anyone used it, do you have images online and what did you think?

Cheers.

I used 5279 a bunch of times when I was a student because we got good deals on it at my school, I liked it so much I shot with it after I graduated on a few projects too. It is pretty grainy though, test it before you decide to push it, as I recall the colors arent too saturated which is a look I like.

Thanks very much guys,

Yeah these are all the problems I feared! the short spread of the focus marks would be a big issue, as would be getting a follow focus to engage the teeth on the lense! the breathing as Morgan said would probably be able to live with since we would have movement and action to hide it a bit, but the other issues make using these lenses for my purposes a VERY unwelcome prospect. I will try to convince a rental house to break up a set of Zeiss primes to give me an 85 (they dont really like doing that, especially on the weekend it seems!) the daily rental rate of the lens isnt the main problem, its the fact that the shoot has no insurance and rental houses usually want a massive deposit if you dont have insurance. Anyways I will make do no matter what, it may just take twice as long if we do end up using the EF.

PS Morgan we would be using a standard follow focus, not remote (budget reasons again) another annoying factor since my AC is going to have a hell of a time staying out of the way of doors, actors the steadicam and still pull focus!!!! (I usually wouldn't accept this kind of situation on a shoot, but its a favor to a mate of mine).

Cheers.

FYI, you can rent Canon still lenses fairly cheaply from Samy's Camera in LA. Doing a long steadicam move on an 85mm may be what you're going for, but don't do it because you feel that it's a budget restriction. Here's a link where you can download the rental catalog:

http://www.samys.com/rentals.php

 

Any of the Canon EF lenses are going to be tough for manual focus pulling, as they're designed to work primarily as auto-focus lenses. The best option I'm aware of is the new Zeiss manual focus still lenses, a few of which are now available in Canon EF mount. I'm not sure if they're available for rental anywhere but it would give your focus puller a fighting chance. Here's a link to the Zeiss website, click on "SLR lenses", the ZE mount works with Canon EF:

http://www.zeiss.com/photo

Thanks Mike,

Yeah those Zeiss's look much more suitable, but I think I i'm going to try and insist on getting some propper motion picture glass! This will just be too hard with a unfocusable lenses! I just cant imagine they cant afford even one prime! (I only need an 85mm) but we shall see.

Thanks for you replies guys.

I haven't shot any motion pictures with them, but I have been shooting EF primes for three years, including the 50mm f/1.8. It will breathe a bit, however how noticeable that will be really does depend. The depth of field changes, depending on your shot, may detract you from any breathing that is happening at the same time. The smaller screen you will show your work on will also make a difference (hence TV lenses breathing more than cine lenses). My primary concern for you would be how the heck are you focusing the thing? The Mark II version of the lens has a very, very poor and rudimentary focusing system - I don't know if the Mark I is any better but I would NOT want to pull focus with it...

 

As far as the 85mm goes, I've no experience with it I am afraid.

Thanks james,

Yeah the focus is definately going to be a problem, it would have been even with good motion picture lenses, due to the MANY shifts in focus that have to be timed to the song/Action/steadicam moves! But I havent used the Canon's (or any other Still lenses for that matter) for motion picture so maybe I'm being Naive in thinking we can make it work eventually, as I said since I've never used them I dont know. Just for the record I think we will be using the 85mm not the 50mm.

Cheers.

Hi Guys,

I am shooting (as a favor) an ultra low budget music video and we managed to get a camera package of HVX200 w/redrock adaptor but the guy only has Canon EF 1.8 primes 50mm and 85mm I know this is far from ideal but it seems we really cant afford any other lenses (there's no insurance so we probably couldnt even get them from a rental house!). The whole thing is one continuous steadicam shot with focus changes, I know this lense will breath but how badly is what I am wondering? anyone who has used these lenses for motion picture please fill me in on anything I should know, particularly in terms of practicality and how bad the breathing will be.

Thanks very much.

Tomas,

 

Great stuff.

 

Cut: the one of the man wearing sunglasses. And some parts of another man driving an Audi. You've established your ability to shoot stuff in a car much better with the work at the beginning of the reel.

 

Keep: shot of the woman holding the beauty light and put it closer to the beginning of the reel because that was really spectacular.

 

In general keep more of the lit interior stuff and less of the unlit exterior shots unless you really can't part with them. The only reason I would have hesitated to say this is because a lot of the quality in your work is excellent composition. and I saw several nice magic hour shots. Do you operate your own work?

 

I'm currently debating with my own footage whether or not to keep a hint of narrative structure or if its better to assault the viewer with a variety of images.

 

best of luck

Thanks VERY much, all of you gave very constructive and useful comments! I agree with them all, and I think I will put a "teaser" section in the begining with various shots from all different projects just to show that the whole real wont be one project (I had someone else say "are you going to show any other projects" about 10 seconds in!!) then go project by project, but try to increase the pace and use only the VERY best shots, I will loose the sunglasses shot, I agree it doesnt really add anything. I dont know when I will get time to Re-Cut but when I do I would really enjoy comments from you all again...I'll keep you updated. P.S. I Operate myself on Film and I have an Operator on HD so that I can be by the big HD monitor, not a black and white viewfinder or small on-Board!

Hi Michael,

Regarding the antionette video, first off nice work!! Secondly, I know you didnt DP it so maybe dont know, but there seems to be a certain slight glow/softness to the highlights that doesnt look like just over exposure or boosting in post, do you know if they added some kind of glow/defocus filter in post or did they use on lense diffusion/FX filters?

Do you know what lenses they used?

Cheers.

hmhm. i understand and agree with the idea you are defending, however, there are 2 or 3 points i want to clarify. first, and picking up what you said about the editing yourself versus having that work made by an excelent editor, i think this was a bad example :P u being the director and the editor have no logistic disadvantages ( where i live, portugal, a country in southern europe, directors always edit, or most of the times). you being director and DP, on the contrary, has. you cant be an excelent director and also a great DP and perhaps a great actor's director if u are making all these things at the same time. first of all, because you ll miss all the details. second, maybe u can be the director and the DP, but then u ll need a great crew helping you with this. either way, i think making films is about teamwork (not only, but u know what i mean).

 

on another direction, dont you think it is interesting to work with people that are not in your mind, and therefore bring fresh ideas, ideas that u havent think of, different angles, different aproaches ? i think the clash of ideas is always a good element in the creative process.

I know what you mean, a good DP always brings something to the table that the director hasnt thought of! Also in general two minds are better than one, its just a fact that between two people more 'angles' can be covered (figurativley speaking) than just by one. But this is assuming that the director and DP are EXACTLY on the same page, about everything! which as we all know (unfortunately) is not always the case. In the reality of a 16 hour night shoot (for example) on the 16th hour even a good DP might start to cut corner's or get frustrated and the cohessiveness of the relationship could suffer, whereas if you DP and Direct, the two elements will always remain cohesive. On your other point I agree, a great crew is essential!!, especially a gaffer who knows your work/style well and can predict what you will want/need before you even say it, and I didnt operate on my short because I felt if I was practising camera moves etc.. as well as checking lighting and rehearsing actors, my directing really would have suffered! My operator was great and really understood what I was going for as well and this helped a lot too! I think we may have got our wires crossed, I was actually saying that there is no benefit editing AND directing, whereas DPing and Directing there are, although there are many drawbacks too, and depends heavily on the project and person involved. I agree with what you are saying in theory, but in practise I am glad the DP I was going to use dropped out, I dont think he would have grasped and implemented my vision as exactly as I could, of course he would have added some new elements too, but given the fact that he would hardly have had time to prep much I think I might just have gotten a piece that looked more like all his other projects rather than what I wanted mine to look like.

i believe the concept to have in mind here is 'specialization'. i think is perfectly possible for a director to also DP and also write. but i cannot say i believe the work will be done as good as if there is a specialist for each role. final product will never be as good. making films is a group activity, and i think one director as only to gain by being suported by a talented DP, or vice-versa.

I tend to agree in principal, for example if I edit my own film its not going to be edited as well as if I got an actual Editor, who's been editing for years, to do it! Having said that, when I directed an DP'd my short it went exceptionally smoothly (was the fastest and smoothest shoot I ever worked on) and I think the imagery compliments the story/emotions PERFECTLY...this is obviously because I created the story and the imagery in the same mind (my own). If I had had a DP (which I wanted at first) I dont believe that human language is even capable of giving him the insite into exactly what I wanted, as doing it myself (and If it is Possible it probably would have taken longer explaining on set which would have detracted from my directing!). Being the DP and director is like having a DP that is psychic and knows EXACTLY what you want immediately without having to spend ANY time explaining it, unless all DP's develop ESP there is a definite case to be made at least for DPing and Directing.

Hey Matt,

Thank you! I agree about the length, I need to cut a few shots, but I'm having trouble deciding which ones (thats the problem with cutting your own work...no objectivity) If you (or anyone else) have any specific shots you think are weaker I would definately be interested to hear which.

In regards to your suggestion about mixing footage, I have always had my footage mixed, this is my first reel that goes project by project, but I tend to preffer it this way, if for no other reason than the changes in grain and aspect ratio when intercutting always distracts me from the actual footage. Also I tend to feel that this represents the Narrative aspects of my work as well as my lighting/framing aspects. What I mean by that is that people can get a feel of the mood I created for a piece rather than just getting barraged with almost random nice shots with no context or idea of the piece as a whole and how I created a sense of mood and narrative with the shots.

Thanks for your comment, its much appreciated.

Very nice work!

The lighting was naturalistic but still moody enough to draw me into the story and set a definite tone for the piece. The red looks good (again) VERY crisp as usual. The trailer was cut very well too, I actually wanted to see the whole film. There was one shot were his eyeline was a bit off and took me out of it but that is a very minor detail (and you may have intended it to be that way for effect).

Well done mate.

Hi,

I am a DP, but wrote a short film recently, initially I wanted someone else to direct it and for me to DP it, but I couldnt find anyone who's style I thought would fit. Then I decided to direct it, so I wanted someone else to DP so I could concentrate on directing (since it would be the first time for me). The DP I wanted pulled out at the last minute due to getting a big feature, so I ended up doing both myself. I am actually REALLY happy I did both myself, it turned out really well. There are definately drawbacks (time being the biggest one, actors tend to feel neglected when you have to go and light something while they are preparing for the scene). I found that this was negated by a MASSIVE level of pre-production! I had EVERY shot figured out about a month before the shoot and did a video storyboard, which I exported stills from so that every shot on the shotlist corresponded to a still frame using stand-ins that exactly depicted the staging/angle and positioning of the shot, this helped immensly as it cut down time I would have spent explaining the shots to Operators/gaffers etc... giving me more time to spend with the actors. Also having very simple/naturalistic lighting helped, if I had had to be more styalised it may have been a bit harder to juggle both roles.