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Sabyasachi Patra

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Everything posted by Sabyasachi Patra

  1. $500 is way too low. I also shoot corporates apart from documentaries, commercials etc. The lowest rate that I had charged for a corporate was 750 USD and that was five years ago. It was a 15 min interview and a prestigious project. Even on that I had charged cost of equipment and assistant as extra. Many clients tell me "ohh its just a one hour shoot". Even an hour's shoot means atleast half a day is spent. You have to arrive and get through security with equipment and set up lights etc. Generally the corporate shoots are like max three people - DP, Director/Producer, PA. They try to avoid sound person as much as they can. Commercial rate is way higher. US clients find my rates very reasonable. However, UK clients freak out when they hear the rates. May be top end UK clients pay more? Independent documentary guys when they start telling how great their previous film was and how great the present documentary will be ie. how many countries the documentary will be shown etc etc - then I know that they will offer peanuts. ? For genuine documentary guys, if I believe in the cause then I support them if I am free.
  2. Canon has launched cine lenses with image stabilisation. Canon CN-E 18-80 t4.4 costs some 5K+ USD. There is a servo style zoom for eng kind of zooming as well. There is also and Canon CN-E 70-200 t4.4 which is not yet available. These lenses are made for s35 sensor coverage and are much better than the still lenses. You can easily rent from your local rental agency and check how it works.
  3. The tripod should give lot of vibrations. Something like an easy rig or similar variants will be better. Even completely handheld with just a barebones camera and lens would help.
  4. I saw the exact same message in reduser. Is this the new way to promote products?
  5. The OConnor and other such good ones will last a decade and half or two. If you calculate the cost, it would be like 500 dollars a year. People often buy cameras even DSLRs at some 4-5000 US dollars. And these cameras are upgraded every 2-3 yrs. So the investment in tripod and good fluid head is economically sound. I have an OConnor 1030HDs and Sachtler ENG 100 CF2 tripod and I remember how much I thought before plunging close to 10K in buying the combo. And it will work for a long time. When people use flimsy tripod and head, you will often find that the starting and ending of the pan is unusable. If your tripod and head is good then you can carefully choose the starting composition as well as the ending composition.
  6. In India, most of the films do ADR. For one horror film shoot, I was told by the director that he has done the location scouting and told me that there would be no noise as it was a dilapidated fort. I doubted it as in India, there are very rare outdoor places without human induced noise. When I landed up, I found all sorts of noise including bells from a local temple and loudspeakers. These days a majority of the people are shooting digital, so it is not easy to shoot in film and get good quality at a limited budget. All the best!
  7. Definitely a cinematographer would and should know that the final film is going to suck. However, telling that to the Director is another story. A few years ago, I was the DP and told the Director of the film and it led to major disagreements. So I decided to focus on documentaries and corporates till I get a good director to work with.
  8. Since you are shooting with Dragon, you can always change over to the EF mount and use the Canon 100mm f2.8 L IS Macro lens. It is a pretty sharp lens. If you want further closeup, get a 25mm or 50mm extension tubes and place those between the lens and the camera mount.
  9. Couple of years ago, I too faced a similar situation. The director had no clue and for every shot he had to ask the opinion of one of his assistants, who was completely clueless about cameras, equipment etc. I was a very painful experience. However, the fact is ultimately the director's writ prevails. Despite some of our best efforts, once in a while such things happen. In a student film, you always have the option of not including it in our showreels and hoping that not many people notice that you have shot it. :) Once you move up the ladder and do bigger projects, this option vanishes. These creative tensions also exist when a producer or a financier sees some rushes and gives opinions. In case of documentaries and commercials that I produce for clients, often one executive from the clients side tries to poke his/her nose even when he/she doesn't known what they are talking. Discussing the rough cuts is where I find a major problem. I have found that it is better to sort it out face to face rather than via emails. Having been a suit-boot executive earlier in my career, I can tell you these confrontations can be nasty.
  10. I get more stock enquiries based on my youtube footage.
  11. I have a Canon C300 and 1DXII. I have a 5D III DSLR converted into infrared. It helped me regain my love for photography again. Also have a Go Pro Hero 4 Black.
  12. What weight do you want it to handle? I have a Gitzo 3530LSV and had changed it to flat using the adapter. For small jobs I have a manfrotto 501 HDV head. It is not real fluid head. You can also use a Sachtler FSB 8 head which can be made flat.
  13. You should try the Canon 70D with Dual pixel autofocus. With any other model of Canon you may try the Canon's 24-105 lens and zoom out from 105 to 24 mm. It will retain focus.
  14. Sharing a short review of Canon C300 Mark II based on my experiences in the field It contains some wildlife footage, slow motion and low light.
  15. I think there are bigger things to be worried about than $1 less. In this economy one can't even buy a cup of coffee with one dollar.
  16. Learning a camera takes time. If you really want to buy, then look out for the second hand EOS C500. It is selling cheap these days at around 7-8k usd. A new Canon 1DC will be 8k usd. It will also help you with still shots. Cameras have evolved to a point where we are not longer limited by cameras. Rather more by creativity and vision.
  17. Too often a beginner has to grapple with buying a camera, lenses and other accessories. It is far more important to shoot with whatever he/she has. If a person shoots every weekend a short 2-3 min film for a year, that means 50 odd movies. The amount of learning one can get from that would be phenomenal. As opposed to that if one has to hire equipment, then the cost goes up multifold. Everyone has a cellphone. So all one needs is some kind of adapter to hold it. Whether to show the early work to the people or not is another question altogether. :)
  18. Hi Neal, It was a wrong choice of word late in the night. I didn't mean anything bad. Sabyasachi
  19. When Satyajit Ray did his first film Pather Panchali which is the first of the Apu Trilogy, he asked Subrata Mitra. At that time Subrata Mitra had never touched a film camera. Satyajit Ray asked him based on his still photo skills. So don't fear. Think your approach carefully. Having a good gaffer and assistant would be very helpful. To Neal Norton's opinion that documentary guy can't shoot feature, Roger Deakins has come from documentary background. Dean Semler, of the Dance with the Wolves fame is also from documentary background. If I remember correctly, Dean Semler had even got Oscar for Dance with the Wolves.
  20. Sounds pretty interesting! Have a great time shooting. Cheers, Sabyasachi
  21. I think it is best to watch movies of one well known director and then move on to another. That way one can learn a lot. After a break of a month or two, I again go back to Kurosawa's movies. Every time I am amazed. Apart from the cinematography, use of shadows and light, different lenses, technique, I ponder over the philosophy of these movies. The long list of movies mentioned by David is of help. That will help to pick and choose movies of directors of a particular era.
  22. Check the Wooden camera rig. You can quickly move from shoulder to tripod mode.
  23. I hate to make calls. However, the fact is people who are good at sales and may with even half of your talent, will get more business than you. We are human beings after all, not just robots deciding based on data. When I am in the set or before that in preproduction, I like to get involved as if it is my project. Once the client is very happy, they tend to remember us for a longer time. However, they do lose our data. for eg. I once got soaked and lost my phone. So I lost all the data of the freelancers who used to assist me in shoots. If they don't call/text/email me, then I have no way of connecting with them. So bottomline is one needs to keep in touch with the clients on a periodic basis.
  24. First question you need to ask yourself - How are you different than other rental companies? Do you have an USP (Unique selling proposition)? If DPs or producers are used to dealing with existing rental agencies and have built up relationships, why will someone come to you?
  25. Since you are a student and not going to make money, you can as well shoot with your phone and edit it and learn. If you pick up a Canon 70D, which is within your budget, then play around with it and learn shooting. Its APS-C sensor is nearly similar size to a S35 sensor. If you get paying jobs, rent equipment and shoot. Mac is not just a US thing. Even in India, Mac is a standard as far as creatives are concerned. Mac vs Windows is a never ending pissing match... why get into that. If you think windows is good for you, then go ahead. There is no single path. So find your own path.
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