Darryl Shaun Palapuz

what lens/camera will you be using? I once did something like it a couple of years ago. What I did was I duct taped my Canon Rebel on the dashboard facing the two in front seats, with a wide lens (10-22mm) that shows both of them in frame so I never have to worry about panning left and right whenever someone is talking. Distortion may be an issue here but I found less distortion around focal length of 17-22, so that depends on the lens you're using. Another thing you can do is shoot from the hood of the car and record the audio separately from the inside. But you need to watch for glare on the front windshield.

I too agree with Adrian. It's not much about the camera, but the quality of the work you put in. Try to do some work in the community as a DP, get your name and your work out there in public. Prepare some business cards because that will help you in the long run. While school was basically taking time away from me and my crew to film sketches, I figured I'd offer to the community and film some events for free, just to get my name out there. I had a free time last May because I just finished a semester. I heard a recording artist was in town and I got offered to document her gigs in the city within 3-4 days, got honorarium pay even though I didn't ask for it. That's just few of the things that got me started. Of course this doesn't happen often, and I always wanted to shoot weddings, so I asked a few friends if I could be their second shooter, again for free. Just to learn the basics, the workflow, and all that. That's basically what I need to get started. Luckily I was able to shoot my first wedding with a friend as the 2nd shooter and every thing paid off. A few issues here and there but nothing that can't be fixed. I always strived to better myself, my craft. So when I'm not doing anything, I watch wedding reels, music videos, on how I can get better as a DP, editor, and as a colorist of my own work. I can tell you one thing, that you are off to a great start already if you stick with the same people who does the same job as you. And since then, I've always kept on thinking that "my new work needs to be better than my last". It's a challenge to myself, so that I am always looking for something to improve in. From what I've heard, there's always more than enough work need to be done in West Coast, so get to know others so they can help you get started. Networking is big specially when you want to land gigs. Settling as a second option for a gig when the first few guys are fully booked for the year doesn't sound too good, but it does get better. I did a 7th Birthday for a friend of a friend last May, and since then I've done my 4th Birthday gig from the same group of friends by word of mouth. Be prepared to settle for small payment gigs at first in a saturdated market. But once you think that you work is getting better and you are being booked more often, then start charging accordingly. I also never had to cancel or deny a small pay gig as long as I'm available to shoot.

Also, just to add on to this. You can pretty much get this look if you just play around with Red Giant Magic Bullet Looks presets and change accordingly.

I went to see it in theatre, normally I would usually wait til it comes out on BluRay to watch it, but my colleagues offered a ticket for free so I couldn't say no. I honestly thought this was way better than the previous one, the characters developed much more in this movie making it much better in context. I am also in shock because I didn't know it was Jim Carrey until I've seen the credits. Hands down one of his best performances. Come to think of it, I'm glad I didn't know it was him at first because I can never picture him being all that serious in a movie. I gotta hand it to the makers of the movie for not taking this movie way too seriously. I mean that in a good way.

I'm surprised no one commented on this yet. But anyway, I will to try to answer all of your questions to the best of my ability and knowledge in the field. 1) The only time you'd need a 2nd monitor would be if there's another director that calls all the shots for you, or perhaps say you're the director and someone else is doing the camera work for you. Then you'd need another monitor to make sure the shots being taken are what you're looking for. If I were to decided, I'd only get one monitor for the camera operator and just view the footage after yelling cut to double check. It's much less expensive that way. 2) Best slider? I haven't really tested a lot, other than what I have now (Glide Gear 23"), and some sliders I've seen in the store such as SevenOak 23" and 47", Kamerar Slider and slider Dolly. I hated the SevenOak versions, they require high maintenance, performance is affected once you start putting in camera and lens on top of it because it drags the camera thus making a noise that could get picked up on the audio recorder. Same thing with Kamerar. Why I like mine though is because it doesn't make any noise and slides smooth. Cheapest for price? I'd say get the Jag35 basic slider, I believe it's full manual as it doesn't come with a friction control, which for me has its advantages and disadvantages. I would take my time picking out the best slider that works for you, if I were you. 3) I record with a separate audio recorder on a Zoom H4n most of the time. Then with my camera, I use a Rode Videomic just so I'm not stuck with on-camera audio in case I need to add short audio clips on top of a background music, or something like that. If you have the Beachtek already, I suggest getting a shotgun microphone like the Rode mic or something like the Zoom H4n. Using the on-camera mic with the Beachtek still won't give you better results compared to recording audio with a different recorder. Search up on YouTube ways to record great audio and you'll find lots. 4) I can't say much about Canon RAW since I haven't used it yet, but I find Magic Lantern very helpful. For color grading every shot I take easily, for recording more footage longer than 12 minutes, and just having more creative control overall. However Magic Lantern's RAW feature is still in BETA so I'd wait a while for them to get it working properly. 5) For ISO, it really depends on your camera body because they have limits before camera noise shows up on footage. For example, you can go up to 1600-3200 ISO range during lowlight situations on your 5D Mark III with just minimal noise on your footage, compared to when you do the same thing to a Canon 7D or an older body. As for video, I try not to go above the limit of 800-1000 ISO when doing video. If I can compensate for good lighting condition by changing aperture and shutter speed, I'll go for it. 6) 1/50th is not the only shutter speed to use. I don't want to say that it doesn't matter. Of course it does, it just depend on what footage you want to shoot. Normally I match the shutter speed and sometimes even double the shutter speed for the focal length I use. For example, if I'm shooting with a 50mm lens, then I would go for 1/50 or higher (1/125) if somehow along the way I choose to slow down my footage in post. This also depends if you shoot at either 24fps (1/30-1/50), 30fps, 60fps, etc. 7) Why don't you post the specs of your imac here so we can check. Normally you'd need at least 6-8GB RAM, with minimum of 2.0ghz and minimum of Intel i3 processor to edit using Adobe Premiere Pro or FCP. My current PC of 4 years only has Intel i3, 4GB RAM, 3.0ghz, DDR3, etc. but it still works fine with many softwares I've used, except DaVinci Resolve, which requires a much better PC in order for it to work. None of these specs may matter, but when you start using plugins and other color correcting stuff on top of your editing software, that is when you'll start to notice when your computer's performance is low. I hope this helps. If there's anything else I could help you with, just send me a message.

Working as a freelance cinematographer/dop, I had to learn how to properly pull focus on video. I noticed that I'm better at it during lowlight because I can easily distinguish whether a shot is in focus or not rather than during daytime. I'm in nowhere near perect in focus pulling, I am actually planning on buying a better follow focus system to make my life easier because some follow focus systems just don't work properly. It does take time to practice, and I'd rather learn it than have a second focus puller unless necessary for a shot that requires two person to operate.

Take a look into redhead video lights. I bought two of these. They are warmer so it's easier to find locations where you can use it. It also comes with a dimmer. The only downside to it is that the cord length is short so you may want to buy an extension for it. Before having these video lights, we used to have a ring light. It's great for evening shoot but only good for close-ups and it's heavy with the camera body and lens combined.

I've seen it just a week ago as well and I'm very impressed. It was not boring at all like I originally thought it would be. Did you watch it in IMAX with the D-BOX that's why it's $40? I only went for regular 3D but I can't complain. I was also have been on a hunt for BTS footage so thanks KH Martin for those links.

I'm one of those people who started as a photographer 4 years ago and now turned into a full-time cinematographer. One thing that made me change my mind is I askedto myself 'how am I going to compete with the rest of these photographers in my city who are far more creative/advance than me? What do I need to do in order to give myself that edge over them?' Luckily, I was already filming a few music/dance videos during this time so I thought if I keep on improving my craft in cinematography and applied what I know in photography, I could totally make it in the industry given the fact that there aren't many cinematographers out here in our city. After having some photography experiences in doing Birthday parties, I figured it wasn't for me so I decided to educate myself and work on my cinematography skills so I shifted my focus on that instead and kept photography as a personal hobby. Being a full-time cinematographer has been the greatest experience I've ever had my entire life because I've been given many chances to work with very talented individuals in my city and even from outside the city on many projects. I'm just giving you my input, whatever it is that you go for, you'll be successful with it as long as you stick with it. Good luck.

Only time and yourself can tell that, if it's something you're passionate about (which I believe you are), then go for it. You're still young so you'll have plenty of time that would be enough for you to realize that by the time you reach a certain age, it would be something that you may want to do for the rest of your life or perhaps move on something else. I used to make videos back in High School when I used to take courses that introduced me to digital videomaking. I thought it was boring, maybe it's because of the fact that it's different when you're being told what to do compared to now, where sky is the limit because I decide what I want for my films. I'm currently taking Film courses to further educate myself in the field so that I can make better films in the future. My goal is that every time I produce something, it has to be better than the old one, ALWAYS. Otherwise it's a joke, well for me anyway. I started as a hobby three years ago, when I felt such a newbie with my first DSLR, but now I just can't live without it. It came to the point that I used it to start making my own money by doing weddings, birthday parties, concerts, etc. One thing I gotta say with taking on this hobby, if you're going to get serious, it will be a very expensive hobby for you because equipment doesn't pay for itself. You'll start with a better camera and lenses, then next thing you know you'll want to invest on a better audio recorder if you're going to be doing interviews, short skits, etc. Then there's lighting, sturdier tripods/monopods, and even steadicams, until you come up with your own set of studio equipment, maybe. I may have exaggerated on that last part, but we never know. My final piece of advice, again, if you're serious about becoming a cinematographer, keep doing what you're doing, and always aim to be better. Watch plenty of movies, tv shows and even music videos and focus on the cinematic side of it. Learn the terms and start living it. Becoming a film enthusiast has given me the ability to enjoy movies and become a better critique, especially on my own work. Lastly, never ever compare yourself with others than yourself. There may be others that will discourage you at some point, but use that opportunity to prove them wrong. Good luck!