Zachary J Esters

Hey Jonathan! When you say "hand-edit..." .....are you referring to the old school way of cutting the frames with scissors and taping them together? Many kudos to you my friend! I don't know many people that do that nowadays (because it's VERY time-consuming, and time is money, or more time that you could've been using to film more), but I do believe that it will be a learning experience, and by the time you make it to editing digitally, you'll appreciate the digital/computer editing suites ALOT more than the ones who've never had a chance to "hand-edit." However, as Matt Stevens said above, keep a "digital camera" in consideration. If you want to see fast results of your cinematography (lighting, camera-work, etc) -- then the turnaround time from preproduction to post will be long, mainly because you're trying to find the cheapest methods of shooting, processing, and viewing, but all of this that you're trying to purchase will be costly; also if you're not experienced at hand-editing, it'll be more costly because you have to hand-edit it right, and before that, have it processed in a lab and made insensitive to light then sent back to you, etc.... when virtually speaking, you're going to switch over to computer editing in time anyway, because it has been found countless times to be much more efficient. If you have a lot more money in your budget for it than you make it seem, then by all means, there's nothing wrong with making a film camera your first camera. As far as hand-editing though....... haha, well, that's all I will say about that! Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

What ISO, aperture, and format will you be shooting on?

I remember her! Oh, SHE'S real. Haha, she has a youtube channel where she films herself with her laptop camera as well.

The more you know! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Lydia! Why yes, yes they are! Actually you'd be surprised that some popular episodics aired on television use D-SLRs as well, but they are highly popular for use in the realm of Television Advertisements. Zachary J. Esters

For very cheap you can purchase beacon lights online. Buy two or three of these, and experiment with the timing. Zachary J. Esters

Avoid the sky. .........just thought I'd be the 15,000th person to say it. And make sure it looks like you want it to look! Trust your eye! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Matt! The last music video I shot with a Canon 7D DSLR was also framed for 2.35 as well. I didn't have a framing chart with me (just my equipment and my laptop), so I set the camera on the tripod, faced it toward a yardstick on a wall, and filmed for 5 seconds (don't move the camera, yardstick, or tripod). I imported the clip into the editing software and added the 2.35 matte on the image. Then I remembered the markings on the ruler at which the matte marked. I inserted the card back into the camera and had the camera on live view (see note #1), and I marked the LCD's 2.35 border with transparent tape first. Then, I covered over the transparent tape borders with black electrical tape (see note #2). Note #1. I marked the LCD using Live View instead of playback because on a Canon 7D particularly, in playback video mode, an extra border is added to the top of the screen and the image is pushed down, so if you marked the LCD while in playback mode, the 2.35 border will not be accurately marked-- which will be much more of a hassle to the editor in post since he would have to push all of the images up. Note #2. The reason I used transparent tape first, then covered it with black tape, is because sometimes there will be certain pieces of valuable information and playback usage icons at the top and bottom of the screen, that you cannot see with the black tape over it. While you cannot playback footage on a 7D to see your framing specifically (because of note #1), sometimes I peel back the black tape while in playback mode to preview the footage for other purposes, such as showing the director how well the talent performed. Then, I place the black tape back into its original position over the transparent tape, which serves as a "marker". Without the transparent tape, I wouldn't know if I was accurately putting the black tape back into the right spot or not. From the way you described the story to me sounds like I would resonate more with 1.85, but it's ultimately up to you to decide. I'd suggest looking at some of your favorite Sci-fi movies that use both aspect ratios to make a more accurate decision about your film. :) Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Shaan! My favorite close-up shot I've done was one in which the key light was a China Ball on a dimmer, which I used on a 16mm film shoot (drama) about two years ago. It happened as sort of a happy accident: I was originally using the light to simulate an overhead lamp of a conversation at a restaurant's dinner table. When the actor got up to stand next to the table and we framed for the dolly in close-up shot, my light meter was getting a great reading for his key from that China bulb, and it looked beautiful as it was, so I did not move the China bulb as we did for every other shot in that scene. The China Ball also provided a very beautiful catch light in his eye as well! There was also another close-up shot in that same scene where we used the 5K with an 8x8 silk (not too close to talent), which was actually our fill light in a previous shot. My gaffer suggested a chimera for the 5K originally, but I wanted the light to be more malleable, for easy altering on the fly, so the 5K with silk was what we went with. Then of course, I could move the silk closer or further away from the 5k for more or less diffusion, and add or subtract scrims/nets for more or less light, etc. There was also a different shoot (fantasy) in which I've used a Par can through Opal for the keylight, and it also had a very satisfying effect. I haven't necessarily gravitated toward one of these lighting setups yet (I like to change it up frequently for the additional experience), but my favorite shot was acquired with the China Ball! I would definitely use it again, but I haven't had to yet! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Erlend! This is a great read to start with! It is called "Digital SLR Video and Filmmaking for Dummies." Please do not take offense to the title of the book-- it REALLY is very helpful, and a very great book for fresh beginners, especially if you're merging from photography to videography! If you're feeling skeptical and have a Border's or Barnes and Nobles store nearby, I highly suggest to go take a look at a few pages of it before you buy! Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Exactly my friend! That is also what a lot of my fellow classmates (the complainers, not the "do-ers") whined about after graduation--- these are the same people who give the school bad press, but in the end, it was obvious the reason why they came to the school in the first place was because of the "good press," not the education. They came expecting immediate placement, not to learn; might I add they had a strong tendency to not practice their skills outside of class. I am glad you are not one of them! Zachary J. Esters

More than likely. :)

Hi Zachary! First and foremost, thank you for your service. How many years will you have been in the military by the time you get out? If I remember correctly, the G.I. Bill also skips the entire "Admissions" phase with select schools. I don't think it is for ALL schools, but I know there are select schools (there's a list of them online somewhere) in which, if you've served military, the admissions phase is skipped, no ACT/SAT scores are looked at, and no "written essays" are required. Look into the AFI Conservatory. They have Master's Programs for select disciplines in filmmaking. You could get a Master's in Directing. If you're looking for a "broad range of experience in all fields", please reconsider LA Film School and Full Sail University. The only downsides about the degree of these schools is, if I remember correctly, they are "nationally accredited" but not "regionally accredited." Nationally accredited school credits don't always transfer over to regionally accredited schools, so if you got a Bachelor's degree at Full Sail in Film production and wanted to get a Master's in Mechanical Engineering at another state university, chances are, that university is regionally accredited and you wouldn't be able to transfer your credits over. Thus, you'd have to do an undergraduate degree all the way over again in order to get a Master's in Mechanical. As far as the EDUCATION of the school is concerned, they teach you everything you need to know and you get to practice every aspect of filmmaking. And they don't look at ANY of your SAT/ACT scores. If you're looking for a "regionally accredited" film school... I'd consider looking into USC or UCLA film school (very popularly attended schools by professionals). I haven't attended nor visited these two schools, but I've heard lots about them. Keep in mind that you MIGHT have to consider paying a little fee to take the ACT/SAT to get some scores if you choose one of these. It doesn't hurt to go ahead and just take the tests.... it widens your options, and may even help you make a better decision. :) Regardless, after you've gotten your Bachelor's, still consider getting a Master's in Directing at the AFI Conservatory. Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Jon! Well, no, you don't necessarily NEED to go to film school to become a filmmaker. However, all of the questions you're asking, generally people come out of film school knowing all of those answers, and much more. I'd say that if it's resonating with you to not go to film school, then just don't go, until you get a "gut feeling" to go. The last thing you want to do is pay for something you feel you don't need. Those are usually the students that don't pay attention in class, are distracted by social networking sites on their laptops, and/or rather slack off in their spare time and play video games instead of shooting a short film or commercial with classmates outside of school. Simply put: If you go to film school, you need to be 110% motivated to go and learn something. If you DON'T go to film school, you need to be 110% motivated to make a film career on your own without it. That means purchasing educational/informative filmmaking books to read in your spare time, practicing your craft (as a DP) and reading up on cinematography books, and most of all, improving-- in EVERYTHING. You don't need a Mechanical Engineering degree to fix a car, but you still have to learn how to fix that thing yourself from somewhere. School is just a faster way of learning a general amount of information and knowledge that would otherwise take much longer for you to learn on your own in that same amount of time, that's all. Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Bracey! Had I not read the description, I would not have known that the film had anything to do with Y2K. I still don't know what it has to do with 64 cents. Overall, I personally think there should be more to the story. I'd highly suggest that. Doesn't necessarily have to be longer: there are several ways of adding more story to a piece, whether it's strictly editing or more filming. As far as cinematography, you executed this look VERY well for what the story was meant to represent. I noticed some unmotivational bouncing of the camera in the running scene at the beginning, during the last few shots of his feet at 0:44-0:46. I'm assuming you were running without any rigs here. You're probably aware of this, but keep in mind that the job of the cinematographer is to properly execute the piece without compromising the image, under any budget. It's not much of a big deal in this piece, but in future collaborations, in similar situations, it can be. You were also co-directing as well, so it's understandable that you were focusing on two different things at once. The rest of your handheld shots were executed nicely, ESPECIALLY for rig-less handheld! Only advice I'd give you on this piece is "More Story." The film is supposed to be the storyteller and market itself, so that you don't have to run around telling people what the film is about before they watch it. Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Pierre! So what results have you so far? Zachary J. Esters

Hi Jeff! For 6 hours, that's a lot better than most of the student short films that come from there. As far as for the concept, I'd take those same people you worked with and make it into a short film all over again and distribute it to festivals. I personally wouldn't make it into a feature -- at least not yet. But if you do decide to make it into a feature in the very near future, hire professionals to shoot it and not aim to have a crew full of classmates. As a producer, you have to keep in mind that you and all of your classmates are still learning, and you probably don't want to risk no gain in profit simply because you wanted to make your friends happy. Overall, you have to keep your art piece in mind, and if you are really passionate about this idea, you'd find the most experienced to execute it, or, if you really want to use your classmates, you'd wait until they have more "Real World Experience." I would know these things, I used to be a student there. :) Zachary J. Esters

Hi Sundar! Here are two links that may help: Fixed-Pattern Noise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-pattern_noise Video Denoising: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_denoising Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

"Great advice" is a more accurate term! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Kyle! For mobile power, purchase a power inverter, and hook it up to your vehicle. You should then be able to pull power from your car.... unless, of course, you'd rather tug a generator. Good luck with filming! Zachary J. Esters

Another good technique to get started that I heard a fellow camera friend tell someone while working on American Idol: he said to "buy a camera that everyone desires to shoot on, and rent your camera out, but rent yourself out with the camera as the DP for cheaper." Also, if you haven't yet, add the ASC manual to your reading list. :)

Hi Nate! To elaborate on what Hyun said above, it's all about getting your "hands-on" career going as a cinematographer. Simply put: to start working as a cinematographer, you have to start shooting something. I find it amazing and a GREAT headstart that you started reading... many Kudos to you! Be mindful though, that even though keeping yourself informed is good enough, it is still not as educational as having the camera in your hands and filming with it. Cinematographers are usually hired on a network basis: if they know you, and know and love your work, they'll hire you. It is important that you have something to show for your craft, so get started! What you know and who you know is fairly important, but it's not really about who you know, it's about who knows YOU! Upload everything you film online to let others critique it or, if it is a short film, send it out to a film festival. There are also several video/commercial competitions online that are free to enter, but with large cash prizes, that you could use to get started, just in case you haven't thought of anything to start shooting yet. My favorite site for these is http://www.onlinevideocontests.com . There ARE others that I can name, like mofilm.com, but you can Google and find these easily. Just get started is all. Start filming. And don't hesitate to work with other directors on their projects.... it's what cinematographers do for a living, after all. Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Use the method above in combination with the street lamps available. And good luck!

Hi Megan! It seems you happen to have an issue with budget and lighting/mobility. If you do happen to have (at the least) any lights at all that pull 2000 watts or less, look into purchasing a "Power Inverter" from Wal-Mart, online, or any other select store. Connect this up to a vehicle for mobile power, and you should be able to hook an additional light up to this. You shouldn't need to have your vehicle turned on to use power via this method, so get some extension cables/stingers and have someone "boom operate" the light and walk with talent. Important Sidenote: If you instead try to do a moving handheld shot with no extension cables and in which the vehicle is also "on and moving," keep in mind that Sound will be an issue. Also, if you have access to an LED panel, it is also possible for you to boom these as well, since they are generally battery operated. Hope this helps! Zachary J. Esters

Hi Brett! As a cinematographer, in order to make sure that you do make the best of your art piece without "compromising" the image, it is necessary that you run some tests before entering production. See if you can take the Epic and run a test. I'd test a couple of shots outside in the daytime, one with the anamorphic lenses, and one with the spherical lenses. Then test a couple of shots inside in the same fashion. Hand it over to your editor and project the images on the largest screen possible. If you love that particular "look" for your story, then go with it.