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joshua gallegos

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Everything posted by joshua gallegos

  1. After using this app more, I don't understand why someone would want to film on an iphone, it's incredibly unorthodox, as you have no control of f/stop and it's a pain trying to lock down the exposure, plus you have to white balance everything! I'll just stick with SLR, because there's more control. I saw Reed Morano's video for Magnetic Zeroes again, and it seems she ran into a lot focus issues. Sometimes the highlights blowout by accident? I can see how this app could help a documentarist or someone capturing live footage for news, etc. I think Reed used some kind of adapter to use a different lens, plus she's already a bona fide cinematographer, so I think it's even harder to use an iphone for someone like me, who has virtually no experience. It's an impressive video, though. Loved the homage to 7th Seal. I know it's a long road to improve, but I'm more than ready to walk it. To think I wasted a whole year not filming anything. :(
  2. I think I'll use it to make silent short films, since audio will be an issue. But I like what I saw, considering it's a cheap method of filming. Though I wish I had more control of focal length lens, and the fact that you can only rate the iphone at 450 ASA, won't be good for night shooting, considering the shutter speed has to be at 1/48. But it's better than nothing, I suppose. little test clip, didn't have much time today. https://vimeo.com/195656618 I did notice the exposure changes, even though i had it locked down.
  3. That's a 600 dollar phone! The program is only 9.99 on the app store.
  4. It's been a very long time since I've made a short film, and I was looking into FilmicPro for iPhone, and the fact that Reed Morano shot a Magnetic Zeroes video with FilmicPro on the iPhone. The biggest challenge to making films are locations, I mean if you do it straight with paperwork, it's nearly impossible to achieve because you need filming insurance. So, I figure the best way is to shoot with an iphone, because it doesn't draw any attention. I want to really separate myself from narrative filmmaking and do more experimental work, I wanted to further explore David Lynch's structure from 'Inland Empire'. Has anyone used FilmicPro? I figure I will shoot 720p, since I don't like very high definition. I want to make at least 10 short films this upcoming year on the iphone and refine my craft. I think the past mistakes I made, was that I was critical in my thinking, whereas filmmaking is more about feeling the image, so I will change my approach completely. Here are my first two short films, which I shot with a dslr, they were great learning experiences. I think overall I only have about 28 hours of filming experience, butth is something I cannot let go! https://vimeo.com/jthomsg I'm pretty excited to get back it, I thought taking a long break would cure from this illness of cinema, but it just won't go away.
  5. I think the best thing any aspiring cinematographer can do is to remain humble, and to keep learning. What amazes me is how even a seasoned cinematographer like Roger Deakins, is still open to possibility, regardless of his lengthy and legendary career. He's always remained humble to the arts and sciences of the motion picture industry. It's like Andrei Tarkovsky once said, (to paraphrase), that filmmaking requires everything of you, the best films are the ones where you sacrifice a part of yourself for that fragment in which the entirety of the film is being made. It certainly isn't an easy art to peruse, but in the end it might prove to be a worthwhile endeavor, and perhaps life-fulfilling. Never stop learning and never stop asking the right questions.
  6. I think everyone is too obsessed with technology, but I've always found Cinemark's digital projectors to be quite outstanding, especially when Turner Classic Movies is presenting beautiful, innovative work to the unknowing masses. I truly have no issues with digital presentation, because if it were to be presented on film, you would need a skilled projectionist to make the experience less bumpy. I remember reading a review on 'Inherent Vice', and how messy some of the screenings were due to inexperienced projectionists. And I also remember reading about Tarantino's disastrous Sundance screening of 'Reservoir Dogs, he had to take over the booth to project his own movie. I think everyone is nostalgic of dinosaur technology as David Lynch phrased it, we should just embrace change and be glad we're still able to see some great films in this day and age on a big ass movie screen. Next on the list, Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'. http://www.tcm.com/fathom/?ecid=subnavtcmfathom
  7. There's no substitute for an actual movie theater. A massive movie screen DEMANDS your attention. Watching a movie at home is deeply distracting, your tempted to do something else, it's not the same experience.
  8. Did anyone watch the Dr. Strangelove special event by Turner Classic Movies? It was a nationwide release by Fathom Events. I saw the film tonight, and it's the first film I've seen in a theater since forever, and I quickly erupted in tears as the film opened, I don't even know why that happened, but maybe it's because I've been resentful of movies for the obvious reason that it was my dream to make them someday. It was sad that only four people showed up for the screening, considering the movie house had a capacity of 300 people, it just shows you that very few people treat cinema as an art or have any respect for the classics. Film lovers are something of a deep minority; when I saw the film again I just appreciated it even more, that first close-up of Sterling Hayden was breathtaking, I just needed such an experience in my life again.
  9. Come to think of it, life isn't the same when I'm not trying to make another little movie. I just can't get rid of that feeling deep inside that tells me make more and more. What I realized is that money is actually cinema's worst enemy, but at the same time you're able to open yourself creatively. The key is finding creative like-minded people who actually don't care about money! I think that's why it's important to go to film school and find like-minded people who want to make films.
  10. It sounds like a very expensive experiment, the hardest part about making films is coming up with resources and the proper crew that will make your vision the best it can be. Since you plan to do everything yourself, it's going to take you years before you become proficient in making movies. I became incredibly disillusioned with making short films, because I realized I can't do everything myself, and since I don't know any rich people to borrow money from, I can't get any projects off the ground without compromising my own money. Shooting with an Alexa XT makes very little sense since you're a novice planning to shoot the entire yourself. I'd reconsider, since Alexa files are too big to store on any hard drive, post-production costs will rack up. Consider a great filmmaker like David Lynch and what he managed to do with a Sony camcorder, it's really extraordinary. Experiment without spending too much money.
  11. I haven't been to a movie theater for over a year, it's not an enjoyable experience anymore. Even most of these Sundance/Cannes movies are about homosexual romances, it's as if these directors think we want to see their autobiography. I am absolutely done with new films.
  12. I looked up the director, as I haven't seen the film and to my delight it was William Dieterle. I have seen a couple of his films: Devil & Daniel Webster, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
  13. I've never seen 'One-Eyed Jacks', but I particularly love The Ghost & Mrs Muir, added to the soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann, it's truly a great underrated film. I remember being completely enchanted by it, when I saw it on TCM some years ago.
  14. I really enjoyed the cinematography in 'Some Like It Hot' by Charles Lang, it was Billy Wilder who went against the idea of shooting the film as a comedy, because the opening had to be very gritty and real, so that the audience believed that the characters were really scared. If you really think about how absurd the plot is, you would never have imagined it would've worked so well, that's just the pure genius of Wilder. Also the work done by Robert Elswit on Punch-Drunk Love.
  15. That's great, I completely agree. But I just can't enjoy new films, I don't think they'll ever be as great as they used to be, it kind of seems like theatrical films are trying to find a way to become relevant again, but I could care less about them now. I mean I can't see a difference from a Coca-Cola commercial to the look of a theatrical film, there's just nothing special about movies anymore.
  16. I disagree, I don't know how long ago you worked in the gaming industry, but things have changed so fast, especially in role playing games such as Fallout 4. A new virtual reality technology is now available, and the future of the gaming industry will slowly creep into mainstream cinema. Younger audiences will no longer be interested in watching cinema in two dimensions once they get a taste of virtual reality technology. Just look at this small clip and look how the environment actually changes, the game has a built in clock, so there's actual day and night. With the addition of virtual reality, the lighting will become a crucial aspect of the immersion. This is going to change everything.
  17. Because there is such a thing as proper technique, you can only browse through several decades of powerful filmmaking to know what works and what doesn't. There are just some things you can't change about moviemaking. Strangely, the biggest cinematographic breakthroughs are actually taking place in videogames, because they are made for the sole purpose of IMMERSING the gamer, to experience things as if you were experiencing them in real life. And what you see, you see how you would normally see it. There aren't any aberrations as in film, where the color temperature is not what your eyes would normally see.
  18. I don't mean to disrespect any cinematographers working in TV, a lot of them do amazing work in shows like Game of Thrones, or Reed Morano's work in Vinyl, and David's work as well. But I've browsed through enough network shows and seen plenty of trailers like Purge, to know that not every up and coming cinematographer has cared to look at past films. I don't understand why Mr. Robot feels the need to create such disjointed composition in every frame! The fact that it's a popular show, just comes to show you that very few people care about past films.
  19. There is, but it's used appropriately and it doesn't look as messy as the scene from Mr. Robot that I posted. I think the basis of this entire discussion is differentiating the differences between film and digital, and my point is that there is no difference, it comes from the cinematographer's eye. For instance Roger's work in the digital and film format have no discrepancy, because he acquired such discipline from shooting film. Nowadays, the lower tier cinematographers/ students, do not have such a discipline and rely heavily on color correction as opposed to trusting or having that eye. I remember Roger posted a story where the monitor for Skyfall wasn't properly calibrated, and he was still able to tell it was off, even though they were telling him it wasn't off. I think every cinematographer should at the very least aspire to be as great as Roger Deakins, some will never reach that prowess, but they can surely try. It's just things I've noticed, how image making has in a way, overshadowed the film performances. A great example is Chivo's work in 'The Revenant' or any other film he's shot, it's all about "wow, look how pretty that looks", and it wasn't like that before, just like in Ford's 'The Searchers', the cinematography doesn't overpower the performances, it's there to help the story.
  20. My point was that approach is often misused, especially in TV. One of the most perfect films ever shot in recent years is 'True Grit' by Roger Deakins, and that is because every image tells the story- the way it's composed and lighting, and even his perfect use of image color balancing! And you can see an enormous amount of discipline on Roger's part, something that is lacking in most films these days. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. Most commercial films I've noticed tend to look the same, they're hardly indistinguishable from one another, especially horror movies. And I didn't think East of Eden was all that bad, it was made in the 1950s, I think color balancing differently may look impressive at times, but it may detract from the story or give a scene a level of 'importance' that it didn't need. It just has to be used more sparingly as opposed to just be there for the sake of art.
  21. Every Tv show appears as a masterpiece the first two to three seasons, there will come a time when it will become formulaic and completely redundant. Have you seen 'The Interrogation' by Francis Coppola? The way he achieves the character's alienation from reality doesn't have any gimmicks like most TV shows, it's masterfully crafted.
  22. Punch-Drunk Love ripoff, they even stole the flare lens from an exact PDL shot. Pfft.
  23. It's incredibly well written and acted, but I just don't understand why the composition is so jarring. It actually reminded me of Psycho when Norman Bates confides to Janet Leigh in the hotel office.
  24. This is just one example of exaggerated color temperature shift, and it doesn't look very good at all, the lighting is pretty terrible and the composition is far too distracting. They should have placed the camera lower on Rami Malek, it looks like floating heads. it doesn't make sense to me.
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