Grant MacAllister

How much for the preston kit? Willing to sell individual pieces? WTB HU3 & Motors

I've just sent the director this e-mail.

I am on a short, small budget student film as the DP, and we're supposed to be shooting in a week. My director, however, doesn't seem to have anything together. We're a week out and we still haven't locked any locations, we still haven't found our principal actors, don't have insurance coverage still, don't have any equipment rented (and we still need to order stuff from LA and have it shipped out to New Mexico for the film) and still don't have any real crew. This production has been somewhat of a nightmare with all sorts of things falling through, and the only thing keeping my interest in it at this point is the fact that I am supposed to be getting paid to shoot it, but if that incentive weren't there I think I would have walked a while back. The director expects me to act as a producer and help him find cast and a million other things that aren't in my job description. I've done about 4 months worth of pre production on my end, and have basically been a producer, instead of the DP! I'd like to resign from the film at this point, but I'd still like to get paid for all the pre prod I did for months. Anyone have any suggestions for how to approach this conversation?

Wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase a spot meter of my own? Rent one per shoot? Or is it possible to get producers to buy the equipment for you (if the budget allows)? Thanks for your feedback!

Read the ASC Manual, and The Filmmakers Handbook.

Read "Masters Of Light" http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Light-Conversations-Contemporary-Cinematographers/dp/0520053362

Thanks for your advice everyone! I plan on meeting with the director when I go back, just to see what exactly he's offering. If the shoot can be pushed until I return from school in the summer I might do it just for the experience and reel footage. But I plan on staying in school and honing my skills.

I'm fairly sure its shooting on DSLR, as he asked if I had my own gear. I own a 60D, but I'll have to wait til I meet with him in December to get more specifics on format. I'm presuming that since its a low budget, it's on HD format, which I'm more familiar with.

Hey all, A few days ago I got a call from a director who's shooting a low budget indie feature back where I'm from. I'm currently at school in Chicago as a Cinematography major, and I've shot several shorts and have a fairly decent reel at this point. Shooting for the feature is speculated to take place in February or March. He'd gotten my number from one of my AC's on a short I shot over the summer, and said he was looking for "a shooter", I don't know if this means DP work, or Cam Op, or what? Also the financial situation seems a little odd, it's low budget, and he says "all principles get a percentage of the pie. So, it will only kick, if the participants seed the project and view it as a mutual investment for return." So I'm uncertain to whether its a deferred payment deal or not? He says he has strong cast in place and that it would be a highly commercial project. He worked with some, now bigger names on his last film, several of them went to work on the TV show Leverage. So I wonder if I should take a semester off to help build my resume and reel, or just continue on in school to where I have a better understanding of Cinematography? Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks, -G