Matt Stevens

Film is so dead, the next Star Wars will be shot on 35mm. http://www.theforce.net/story/front/Report_Episode_VII_To_Be_Shot_Using_35mm_Film_153798.asp Dead my ass!

Freya, one issue that worries my DP is the RED's inclination to overheat. Since we will be shooting in Vietnam where 90+ degrees with horrific humidity is the norm, it makes him nervous. He'd prefer shooting on the Alexa, but we are going to have to work with the lone rental house that has it and try to come up with a compromise on the costs. I've no idea if that is even possible. Last night I watched two films. DRIVE (Alexa) and SNITCH (Red). Without question I preferred the look and feel of DRIVE, but that can come to no more than the lighting and skill of the DP. Over the last few days I watched half a dozen Vietnamese and Korean films shot on the RED MX and for the most part hated how they looked. The Korean films were less distracting but I think that comes down to the fact they have a lot more money to play with and therefore can affords a real grading of the final product. If I have my way we will test all three BlackMagic cameras and see what's what. The problem is the people behind the scenes would rather we just shoot on a RED and not "waste money" on needless fiddling. Say what?! It's still early so I will continue pushing for what I believe in.

No unfortunately there are numerous reviews out there of the first camera that mentioned dropped frames. We'll be renting one to see for ourselves.

I love Super16 and I love 500T. One would have the embrace the grain and plan the look around it.

We should try to keep this thread on topic.

Yes, it is most definitely personal taste. I am not at all liking digital cameras. The Alexa fools me at times and for the most part I enjoy what it can produce. I have Anonymous and Skyfall on BluRay and when I watch them, I never think I am watching a video. Whenever I view something that was shot on a RED I have that thought. Hell, last night I watched a Vietnamese film called Passport to Love and new within 30 seconds it was shot on the old RED. It was video video video. Ugly. Right now I am pretty much being forced into shooting a feature with the Red Epic because nothing else is viable in the country where we are shooting. My dp would prefer the Alexa, but we cannot find a way to get the support we need. I've looked into 16mm, but the logistics are a nightmare. The Red Epic is a great camera for many people and usually I can go to a movie and not be too distracted by it. But good grief it sucks being told you can't shoot a movie without it.

I think it looks good, but to judge properly I'd need to see far less compressed footage on a large screen.

I understand about the intention and it works. But I despise how clean and video the RED can look. It was distracting for me.

Watched Blue Valentine the other night, a mix of super16 and RED. The 16mm captured me, but I hated the RED portions. I am currently watching a great number of Vietnamese films (because I have a feature to be shot there) and they are all RED MX and I really dislike the look. Some of the camera work on the action films is sensational, so don't get me wrong. The crews are performing miracles on sub million dollar budgets. But the super video clean look and overly manipulated colors leave me cringing. Apparently the EPIC has made inroads over the last few months and newer productions are using it. But still... I so miss the look of film. I have found that I prefer the look of the Alexa vs RED and I have no foot in either camp. I've never used either camera. But in looking up how films have been shot I am struck that I tend to be OK with those shot on the Alexa and less so than on the RED.

I am intrigued. Very. And a bit stunned. I fully expect to wake up from a dream. Will the lens be centered with the fully 'wide' portion of the film so that we do not have the off center capture of current gate widening techniques? One issue with that is the gates for many scanner won't be equipped to scan the full image and it could scan off center. Have you kept that in mind? Good grief, this is exciting. Seriously, truly exciting.

Adam, a long and detailed response and one worth reading. I am gearing up for my first feature after numerous shorts and I agree with all of your points.

I felt that when the couple was apart, the photography should be cleaner. When they are together, grittier to reflect their relationship is fractured. I had no idea if the 100D would work on the subway train and when I nailed that shot I thought for sure it would be under exposed. Yet is wasn't. How I love love love the Nikon R10.

First of all, I checked out your reel. Nice. I'm certainly interested in your comments and thought on the BM since so few are using it. I have been talking to my partners about using it for a feature we plan on shooting in Vietnam. They seem to have RED2's over there and I am not not NOT keen on that. I do want to stay fast, loose and small and the Blackmagic fits into that. Having RAW is a huge plus. I've looked at as many tests and shootouts vs the 5DMIII as I can and this one seems telling... https://vimeo.com/49875510

That is my all time fave 8mm short subject and I am an thrilled you posted it because it had been taken off Vimeo long ago. I had no idea it was on YouTube.

Many thanks. Editing in camera, baby. We started shooting a week earlier and messed up, so we had to start over a week later. Thankfully the screw-up was only an hour into the shoot. Oh yes... Roll 1 was 500T. When we started over I reconsidered and said, "Let's shoot Tri-X for the mood and hope we get it right." Believe it or not, that was only my first time shooting a short with 8mm. Prior to that I had just shot some test footage in an attempt to learn how to use and understand the camera. Doing that I learned how to avoid under and over exposure with Tri-X. I was almost always wide open at 1.4 and could get away with it because unlike say the Canon 1014 XL-S, the Nikon R10's lens is still sharp at 1.4. There were times when I was able to hit 2 or 2.8 and you can tell because in HD those shots are crisper. Being perfectly frank, I had no clue while I was shooting. It's a miracle I pulled it off. What's amazing is that I was unable to see the developed footage for nine months as it was a Straight8 entry. It screened at a festival in England and then they shipped me a DVD and the original roll back. Read Straight.net for details on how that worked. A few months after that one I shot what I consider to be my best short film, MISCOMMUNICATIONS. The exteriors were all 100D. The NYC subway was 100D wide open at 1.4 and the apartment interiors were all Vision3 500T, typically 2.8, but a few shots were wide open and I was incredibly worried they wouldn't come out. I worried for nothing. NSFW! Watch this at home. NOT at work. Trust me. https://vimeo.com/27267624

I don't like that I am reading about it having issues of dropped frames with even the most expensive SD cards.

Have any features been shot with the BM as of yet? Or made for TV stuff?

500T is far grainier than 200T. I think you can safely expose 200T and have a sharp, clean image. It's certainly more forgiving that Tri-X. Below is my Straight8 entry, TRAPPED. We shot the underground stuff between 11 PM and 4 AM throughout the Manhattan subway system. Straight8's are shot and edited 'in camera" so you need to get it right the first time. Everything is shot in order. What a nightmare! I won't do it again. Too exhausting. :) https://vimeo.com/30138459

That's bad. Yikes. Unfortunately, most people stored these with the batteries in place and so most of then R10's in storage, closets, attics, basements, etc. are ruined.

I've been quoted $70 to $100 numerous times. And I never paid. Not gonna happen.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. It's just that those go for a serious premium. Your best bet it buying a used dead nikon, but then you face the likely prospect of bad contacts.

Well I see no reason to hate on the Dragon footage. RED's cameras continue to improve and this will likely bring it to the next level. Films shot with an EPIC will look as good as its cinematographer is talented. Were I in charge of a multi million dollar budget I would want to shoot on 35mm but that is just what I prefer.

I've shot 100D, Tri-X, 200T and 500T in NYC's subway system on SUper8 using a Nikon R10. Surprisingly, the 100D came out best of all, being perfectly exposed. That was inside a subway car with the subject at the door and the lights above her clearly being new. They were white and not the standard ugly yellow old subway lights turn. Everything I shot came out with varying degrees of success but no doubt if you shoot the 200T you will not need to expose one full stop over to be safe and minimize grain.

Film is certainly going away in favor of digital, but every time I see something like this I am reminded of what film has that video does not. They are not the same animal.

That is a hell of nice little piece of work. The opening Hong Kong shot is stolen from something else, but the rest is fantastic.