JJ Labritakis

Hey everyone, below is a link to some raw stills from a rap music video I shot on the Red Dragon at 6k. We had a very tiny camera crew; myself as DP, a 1st AC, a gaffer (only one out of 2 days), and a PA. The lenses were Zeiss ZF and I only used the 28mm and 35mm. We all love how it came out on the budget! What do you all think? Cheers! Stillframe album here: http://imgur.com/a/X4uu5

Here's how this came out if anyone is interested. Raw from the Red Dragon. http://imgur.com/a/X4uu5

I should've said scene. Definitely each scene.

Hello! It's about time I posted here again. So I need a little help with a church scene for rap song music video. The scene starts off with the church goers and the priest all screaming and yelling evangelical style. At one point communion shot glasses are passed around and the party begins. There are 3 6'x6' windows at eye level and stained glass windows above those. The talent will be up front center stage, he is about 15 to 20 feet from the windows. I am more worried about lighting the scene before the party. I want to give that morning church heavenly look with a slash of sunlight behind the talent with a more dramatic ratio. I was thinking of pumping 1.2k HMIs diffused through each of the 3 windows and controlling the bounce coming from the opposite wall. I'll haze up the place a little as well. Is this a good way to approach the lighting? I would love some help. Thank you so much! Cheers.

I was on that set here and there as a guest of Jeff. From what I remember, the white balance was never set to 3200K and 5600K. Jeff and Fincher would dial in their white balance for each shot.

Pretty much what Brian said. You generally shoot with any camera, but 1/3", 1/2', or 2/3" CCD sensor cameras are the standard. Settings should be how you want to your shot on air. Sony, Panasonic, and Canon make the most popular camcorder/broadcast type cameras. High Schools and colleges with use cameras such as the Sony EX3 and your local news stations will be using shoulder mounted camera like the Sony DVW-970.

Hey guys, just wanted to get some advice and critiques on my demo reel. Before you watch let me explain one thing. All the shots in the middle with the same guy are place holders right now, the editor wanted to do that and have me replace most of them after I shoot 2 music videos in the next month. Rip it apart! Thanks! http://vimeo.com/18696773

Hey guys im just looking for critiques on my short film Random Musings. Things you like, things you don't like, things you think I should change, and whatever else. Thanks everyone!

For my senior project I will renting equipment from DTC and Chater in the SF Bay Area. I need to do testing but as of now I'm renting an AF100($225/day), 5 lens set Zeiss standard primes($250/day), and a grip van($200/day). It will be weekend shoots and I can get these for 1 day price weekends. Of course I need to get equipment insurance. Chater and the Sacramento film commission are going to help me get set up with insurance. My question is, how much should equipment insurance cost me per shooting day(Sat&Sun)?

Don't do what Sebastian said, that's not a good idea at all, you would have a camera with no lenses or gear with $5000. Brian's response is 100% spot on, renting is the way to go. What I tell people if they live in an area you can't rent or they shoot a lot of small things is to go with the panasonic gh2. Only reason is that the camera is great quality for the price and you can use old Canon FD lenses which run cheap. I own a GH2 and have made my money back with it and for other shoots I rent.

I have a shoot coming up where the script calls for light streaks coming through the window. I know it is done with a PAR and the room slightly fogged up. I'm not sure which PAR to rent for that shot since I've never used a PAR before. The shot is morning light streaks gently rolling into a psychiatrist office. And ideas?

Here is the link to my updated demo reel. Tell me what you think.

For my advanced cinematography final we each had to recreate the aesthetic from a scene. The scene I was assigned was from Panic Room, here's that scene from Panic Room. I wrote a script for a different class and used it for this short. I used my GH2, 20mm pancake, a dolly, my Konova slider, 2 Arri 2Ks, an Arri 650, a bad title, and okay acting. Also, no color correction was done. This is what I got, what do you think?

This is what I shot... the story was actually for a different class. http://vimeo.com/21368189

Awesome! Thank you very much.

Thanks! And will do!

For my Advanced Cinematography class final I have to recreate the aesthetic of a scene from "Panic Room" . I will be shooting in a warehouse, picture is below. The shot does not have to be one continuous take but I will be doing dolly shots mixed with slider shots to get the fluid solid movements. The camera will be going through the racks to mimic the countertop shots. I will be using a 20mm lens stopped down. The lighting available to me is an Arri kit consisting of 2 1k open face and a 650 fresnel, a soft box, a 4x4 kino flo (3200K and 5600K bulbs), mafir clamps (I can attach to the ceiling), a small Z96 LED light panel, and gels of course A forklift and a cherry picker are also available. Any help would mean a lot. Thanks.

I haven't posted on this forum, but I do spend a good amount of time reading around here and soaking in the pro advice. It's time to actually get involved and ask questions of my own. I'll start with asking advice about my demo reel. I'll take any criticism, advice, or anything to help a noob student cinematographer. Tear it apart if you'd like. My Demo Reel Thank you! Edit: Sorry about repost, I wanted to move post to the proper area. This post was originally in the student section.

I own old Canon fd photography lenses and I rent Zeiss Standard speeds, Super Speeds, or ZF. Get the focal lengths based on your needs. I usually get 22, 35, 50, and 85. The crop factor compared to 35mm motion picture film is 1.18 which is literally nothing so don't worry about it.

I haven't posted on this forum, but I do spend a good amount of time reading around here and soaking in the pro advice. It's time to actually get involved and ask questions of my own. I'll start with asking advice about my demo reel. I'll take any criticism, advice, or anything you can help a noob student cinematography. Tear it apart if you'd like. My Demo Reel Thank you!

I was supposed to get a crew together the other day and shoot a short but that fell through. So, me and friend went out to Old Sacramento and came up with a short with no preparation. I shot on a Panasonic gh2 with a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 and the Panny 20mm f/1.7 mostly wide open. It's all straight out of camera, no color correction. I was DP and Loren Keely was director/actor. I should add, I love this camera.