John David Miller

With a budget of $35k you are looking at making a non union project. You would not need a payroll company to issue payroll to your cast/crew. All you need is your crew members to fill out a w-9 form. This form gives you their information so you can issue them a 1099 at the end of the year. Each crew member should turn in an invoice for their time, or you can provide a generic one for them to fill out. Once you have this you can pay out in either cash or check. This protects you from the IRS. Anyone issued over $600 in a fiscal year should be 1099d. Allow your crew members to invoice you as an individual/DBA or as a "loan out" or corporation. If a crew member submits as a corporation ask for a copy of articles of corporation. You should get a Deal Memo made up that outlines terms and your rules on and off set. This memo should also include "policies and procedures." The PnP should include rules about using personal vehicles, mileage, per Diem, turning in petty cash receipts and the type that are acceptable, ect... Any vendor of equipment should submit both a w-9 and a rental agreement that outlines terms. A confidentiality agreement or non disclosure is also typically signed by cast and crew to protect intellectual property. Crew list info with emergency contact, known allergy and health conditions should be should be provided by each crew member. A copy of this should be kept at the shooting location with the MSDS sheet. Material Data Safety Sheets, are a list of toxic substances, if any, that are being used on set. These sheets have solutions to problems associated with toxins, ie. what to do if fog juice is swallowed. These MSDS sheets should be kept in a binder with a responsible production member on location. A location agreement should be drafted up for any location you shoot at. This should include all terms, release of liability, time period, and compensation. If you are in a public location a "Notice of Filming" poster should be posted informing people that by entering a specific area they are consenting to the release of their image to the production company in all "perpetuity" (such a nasty little word) SAG Actors, I believe, require a "SAG Bond" which differs. This amount you must allocate as a deposit depends on how may SAG Actors and how long you plan on using them. Generally you must bond %40 of all SAG actors salary's and pension/welfare up front for the entire project. Separate agreements for the script, director, and producers should be made. Terms of compensation should be well outlined. Think of what will happen if your project makes $200 million and the people who will come back wanting some of the action. Protect yourself. Insurance. Get some. You may want to start a LLC or LLP to protect your personal assets and separate you as a person from this project. Get an umbrella policy that protects you and your project. Most serious vendors will not release you equipment without proof of insurance or an insurance cert. Petty cash envelopes, mileage logs, asset disposition lists if you plan on giving out cash floats to depts. These all keep track of what/where/when production petty cash is being used for and the status of any asset petty cash was used for. Things like labor or services, chits, tips, handwritten receipts, should not be paid for with PC. This warning should be in your PnP. A production report. This is a report that is done daily that should be a single source of anything pertinent on set that happens. When every persons call time was, when everyone broke for lunch, and wrapped. Also any injury's, damages, re-rates, special equipment. Call sheets, duh. Daily time sheets. These are turned in by dept heads. They tell exactly who worked, when they started, lunched, and wrapped. Re-rates or comments are usually put down as well. These are all gathered and used to make and full production report. Schedules or one-liners. This lets everyone know what is going on. Even small changes in scheduling can have massive effects to a single department. This helps mitigate future problems. I'm sure there is plenty I am forgetting but I am also not a producer. I hope this helps a little.

Sounds like shooting the background plate first may offer some advantages. Don't you want realistic interaction between the singer and the background? For instance, when he is walking backwards and a car drives next to him is he effected by the wind? Or if he walks under a light or a tree does he go into a shadow? If you shoot a plate first you can add moments that help immerse the singer into the world. I'd set up a 20'x20' green (tracking marks) with a treadmill painted green for the actor, and scrap green for the ground around him. Film him normally walking but composite him played in reverse. Or have him walk backwards on the treadmill. It will be your background plate that sells the movement. Interesting concept, I'm curious to see how this comes out.

That is so funny. I now Key for the only other DP in Hollywood that I know of that uses the intercoms. In fact, I am wearing one now as I write this. Ask Chris if he knows of another DP who uses them. He'll chuckle but know exactly who I am with. Chris was his Key at one time as well. I have met Chris only once but alot of his crew are guys who came up under me and give me lots of good stories. Small world.

You may also consider set dressing around the problem. Think of something clever to block the flame at the sweet spot that is bugging you. Perhaps it's as simple as having your actor cup/cradle the flame with a his free hand, as if to protect it from wind, but what he is doing is using his hand as a lens flag for you. Using a smoke machine to diffuse the entire space may help and is well motivated, just don't get too thick with it. A smaller flame may be helpful as well. Get candles with small wicks and candles with double or triple wicks for large flames (to help with lighting off camera if needed). Try using a different set of lenses if you have the means. Some of the newer lens coatings do a better job mitigating the flare.

Mr. Richardson is one of a small group of DPs that can almost do whatever he wants nearly without question and he loudly exercises that power. I have even heard many of his ASC peers refer to him as "a true genius" but also as "The White Devil." Chris Centrella, his Key Grip, also helps him out tremendously by being very frugal with both gear and manpower. For example, Mr. Richardson likes to spend the day (almost everyday) calling the shots off of a rideable crane arm. Rather than get a Chapman Super-Nova, which is quite arguably the best (and most expensive) rideable crane in the business, Chris chooses a lesser known crane that doesn't come with a tech and is about 1/4 of the cost. Respectfully, by nature Mr. Richardson is quite impatient, this leads Chris to come up with rigs that are quicker and more versatile (down and dirtyesque) rather than big, slow truss monstrosities that come with large rental and manpower costs. Mr. Richardson is an exception and there are a few others out there. These exceptions are becoming fewer and fewer. I am not going to publicly mention names of once A List feature DP's that are having a hard time finding work because of the costs associated with them. But there are several of them. The days of being a "cowboy" are coming to an end. Feature films are becoming more and more cost driven. Wiping out 35MM film for digital is a bit of a danger. The looks producers give when a DP wants an ArriMax on a digital shoot is quite disgusting. Samjay, why do you keep three 80'x200' black silks on your truck for a DP that rarely films in India? That seems like a lot of wasted space that could be filled with something that is used more often...

Or to a police helicopter with a search light, right? What is some of the best "Day for Night" footage that you have seen? To me, it always stands out or looks off especially when it's inter cut with actual night footage. It always seems to catch my eye, pulls me out of the film, and says "looks like they didn't make their day." I'd like to see a few examples of what some of you feel is good looking footage.

Jon, My advice to you is to put as much thought as possible into the politics of being a DP. I can only speak from the POV of a grip. I have seen guys with no business calling themselves a DP at the helm of a $50M feature because of his "silver tongue." I have seen some of the biggest DPs in Hollywood become unhireable because they thought they were above politics. The successful DP's I have met are all just as good at politics as they are with cinematography. They all know how to keep studio execs happy, commercial agency producers happy, directors happy, actors happy. They are impeccable at picking and choosing their battles. This is a trait I have noticed almost across the board, those who lack do not seem to last. Maybe you felt these students lacked the kind of thought or respect for a political answer. Maybe you are just tired of "playing the game." I urge you to put yourself in the shoes of others. Learn where the fence is and when you do, play both sides of it. You NEVER know exactly who is going to make it in Hollywood or who may hire you down the road. I cannot emphasize enough about doing whatever it takes to be behind the camera. Then again what does a grip know...

HAHAHA! You forgot the Directors brother is at Tiffen Filters picking up a Full Pro Mist and a Full Soft FX to give it that "film look." You don't mind sharing a Co-Cinematography credit with the Directors brother, Sven, right?? Cause that could be a dealer breaker.

Tell them what they want to hear. That you don't want this to look like a student film either, in fact, you'd like to make it look like a studio film. "Tree of Life" looked great and didn't use any artificial light, neither did "Barry Lyndon." Tell them you want to take what Mother Nature offers us by humbly asking her to hold still while you photograph her good side. Tell them how excited you are about the project and about using the Panasonic HVX -whatever. There isn't a successful DP I know that didn't do whatever it took to be behind a camera. The reality is, do whatever it takes to be behind a camera. Before you know it you may be in a interview with Jerry Bruckheimer saying he wants to make a $200 Million studio picture...but he wants it to look like a student film. ;)

I do not believe any employer has the right to garnish wages on labor without a judgement. Doing so is a grievous attack on the livelihood of an employee. Most states have labor laws regarding the amount of time an employer has to pay it's employee. Most deal memos are a joke and will not hold water in court. I strongly suggest you seek the consultation of a reputable labor attorney. I think he will have a field day with these people. I have never ever heard of such nonsense. They have absolutely no right to take money out of your paycheck for ANY reason other than taxes. I am really curious to know what happened with this. I do remember a producer telling me and my guys we would be responsible for the walkie talkies once. He wanted us to all sign them out. We all turned in our radios and I explained that I would just yell on set instead. The producers just smiled and said, "I'm just trying to keep people from being careless with them...of course I can't hold people financially responsible for them."

That is a little harsh. What was wrong with Timecop??? It is pretty hard to make Van Damme look bad.

This is a good question that is often misunderstood. First off, I feel sorry for any DP who endures a grip crew that cannot skin a frame of diffusion tightly. It is grip 101. When the sun (a light source) is shinning brightly without any clouds or smog take notice of all the shadows. Get a camera, a cheap one will do, and take some pictures. Get buddy (a subject) and position him so the sun is at his back while you photograph him from the front. Then try it with him facing the sun and then with the sun coming from the side. You can even try 3/4 angles from all sides if you have the time. Just keep track of the suns angle and time of day so you know what you are comparing to. Also find a tree and take a nice wide angle shot that also shows it's sharp, well defined shadow. What you are seeing is "hard light" from the sun with some ambient light reflecting off almost everything. The shadows are sharp because of how far the sun is from us and how small it appears as a source in our sky. The next step of this little experiment is to repeat everything in overcast conditions. Have your subject wear the same clothes, stand in the same place at the same time. Finish with that nice wide shot of the tree. Now take notice of the shadows or the lack thereof. What you are seeing is "soft light." The shadows are softened because the cloud cover is now the source of light which is closer to us than the sun and is larger from our perspective. This principle can be translated with virtually any source and any subject. Grab a small object with texture like a rock or a golf ball. Go into a dark room and turn on a single light. Get as far away from the light as possible and hold your rock or ball to the light. Take notice of the sharp shadows and how little the light "wraps" around. Keep your eye on the ball as you walk it closer to the light. Make sure there is nothing in your path to trip over. Keep going until your are holding the ball or rock next to the light. Sure it is now brighter. Notice the shadows or lack thereof. Take notice of how the light "wraps" around. By moving closer you have decreased the distance of the source and increased the size of the source relative to the ball or rock. The beam coming out of most big studio lights is coming from two sources, the element inside the globe and from the reflector inside the lamps housing. The first order of business is smoothing these two sources out. This applies to groups of lights as well such as Dino's, Kino's, LED's, the goal is to merge everything together to get a single source...causing a single shadow. As the light hits the frame of diffusion it becomes the new source lighting the subject. So the larger and closer your frame is to the subject, the "softer" or more "wrap" the light will have. That is why you will see many DP's bring the diffusion in as close as possible for close ups. So now we have lots of choices in materials to use as a diffuser. Hampshire Frost, Opal Tough Frost, 251,250,216,129,Full Grid, Half Grid, Half Soft Frost...how do we choose? Size is a good start. Most rolls of diffusion cannot be sewn together to make larger frames of diffusion. Our choices for diffusion that are 6'x6' and larger are: Full Grid or Grid Cloth-6 Half Grid or Lite Grid-10 1/4 Grid-5 *All of the grid cloths are now made in a "silent" as well that handles noise caused by wind or rain better. Full Soft Frost or Full Frost or Shower Curtain-3 1/2 Density Soft Frost or 1/2 Shower Curtain or "Howard"-10 Hilite-1 Bleached Muslin-7 UnBleached Muslin-0 Silk-3 Poly Silk-3 China Silk or 1/2 Poly Silk-0 1/4 Silk-0 Black Silk-1 1/4 Black Silk-0 * Many vendors specializing in overheads also have silks and grid cloths dyed with color correction as well. I may have left some gimmick ones out or forgot some of the nicknames. Now it comes down to preference and how each of these fabrics spread the beam of light and the amount of intensity lost doing so. I have added an arbitrary number after each fabric that rates, 1-10, how often each is used. A zero means I have never used it. Most DP's I work for prefer the Grid Cloths and 1/2 Soft Frost. Using a color correction dyed in is very situational. The choice really comes down to how much intensity can be afforded to lose. Full Grid does a better job of spreading the beam than 1/2 Soft Frost but you lose a lot more intensity. The same basic principles apply for 4'x frames but now you have more options. You should note that as the size of the source changes so does its "fall off." See Inverse Law of Squares: http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/lighting-articles/rules-for-perfect-lighting-understanding-the-inverse-square-law/ Opal, 250, 216 are the most used outside of the grids and 1/2 SF for me. How well a diffuser does in high heat is a consideration. Clipping 1/2 SF to the barn doors of a hot light may not be the best idea. Opacity may be what decides which material to apply to windows as a frosted look. Order a few cuts of some of these and play. Take notice of the shadows and how much intensity is lost. Please spare me any comments of how you or your DP likes to make 20'x20' frames of 216.

Firstly, I am sorry to see you are motivated by health reasons. I hope you persevere and overcome. Please message me or post what you would like for it and what comes with it. Is it just the camera body? Does it have a case? Also where is the camera located?

Haha I was looking for a 4'-4 bank not a raw tube.

I was not sticking up for directors as a whole. The best of the best are truly amazing to work with. I'd say majority of Directors have no business even being a Director, let alone trying to be a DP.

If it is a clear day keep an eye on the shadows it's a dead giveaway.

If you own a truck you may want to sub rent a different trailer. There is no way to get all the salt out from all the hidden places. If you are going to wear shorts with boxers or no underwear put sunscreen on your 3 piece set...trust me. You will be at the mercy of the wind so don't get too attached to big overheads...unless you have the budget for it. I'd take a few 12'x ultrabounces and you'll be able to go neg or pos quickly. Have a half grid or 1/2 soft frost for overhead on close-ups. K.I.S.S

I worked for a commercial Director/DP named Peter Smillie who, like a Russian gymnast, made it all look so easy. He also owned the production company as well, which I believe made him the exec producer. His big account was Lexus I think. In the last few years I've noticed commercial production company's have hired well known feature ASC cinematographers to come in and Direct/DP car spots that are all running footage and pack shots. This tends to be a very productive way of getting a large quantity of good looking footage. I am not so sure that taking on both roles is a good idea on features. I can think of several Directors who are more than capable of doing both but choose not to. I think they realize it is important to have somebody watching their backs both technically and creatively. I have listened to Tony Scott give instruction as to exactly which lights he wanted used and where he wanted them mounted. He also choose the focal lengths and camera positions. His DP (at the time) just called out changes in exposure. Mr. Soderbergh seems to do just fine. I know he rely's heavily on his department heads. Peter Walts, his gaffer, takes on more responsibility but is also given a lot of creative freedom. One of Mr. Soderbergh's smartest attributes is that he has created a family of crew that he loves, trusts, and is loyal to. His crew has his back 100%.

I would guess the Kino is just in the upper left hand corner of the frame with beige tape, perhaps tan masking tape, covering what is in frame. It is made up to looks like a cabinet that is joining up to the fridge. If so, very clever!

Perhaps the use of practicals and set dressing could be employed. Add some wall sconces or hang practical "China Hats" or raw Edison bulbs. Introduce a reason for light.

I applaud your desire to stick a light were no grip has stuck one before. I keep a few neodymium magnets on my setcart. Over the years I have found their use to be quite situational...perhaps sticking a cut of diffusion to ferrous metal that, for whatever reason, can't be taped or clipped to. I strongly urge you to use caution when hanging a light with your new "rig." Several things have an adverse affect on a magnets strength. Heat, strong electrical current, having other magnets in close proximity, radiation. 100lbs is a good amount of strength but is easily overcome by some electrician pulling on a light with it's cable, doors, scrim...remember dynamic force. Few things terrify me more than the thought of my rigs falling down. Your plate could be useful to rig single tubes or LEDs to the body of a car that has a peel coat or a finicky owner that hates suction cups. You will also be able to show a refrigerator door who is boss as well!

There are a number of advantages to using bleached muslin over ultrabounce and cons as well. Ultrabounce: Is a more efficient reflector. Far more durable. Much easier to clean and maintain. Has added value with a near black out reverse side. Is cheaper (than 20'+ seamless muslin) Bleached Muslin: Can be SEAMLESS up to widths of 32'! (5' panels of ultrabounce) Handles wind better (allows more air to pass through) Stretches better. Light can be pushed through it and is nicely diffused(comparable to half grid cloth) Can be found around the world. A far more consistent "white" between different bolts of fabric Does not fade to "brown/yellow" as easily Makes less noise in wind and rain. In the case of the OP, budgeted provided, 18'x18' frames completely skinned (wrapped edges) with 20'x20' seamless bleached muslin would probably give a near flawless look. Of course full seamless sides and ceiling could be done as one piece...a lot more costly. You could go smaller to 12'x12' seamless but you'll find it becomes harder to evenly light it while keeping it close enough to the car to cover. I know this is an older post but perhaps this will help someone down the road.

I remember hearing of a key grip who wore gold lamay spandex bicycle shorts on set once during the 80's. The DP kicked him off the set. I met the guy at Fox Studios, English bloke. I can't remember his name though. The only time I have called someone a "super grip" was as a sarcastic insult... I remember the grip test! lol

Correct. I think you were being Punk'd but I doubt "Kutch" came jumping out of the bushes to surprise you at wrap.

I could put this together for you. PM me to discuss details.