AJ Young

Great work on the reel! If I may, cut together a shorter reel. Most producers/directors will only give the first seven seconds before they've made up their mind. Compounding on top of that, if they see a reel longer than 1.5 minutes, they'll be less likely to even watch it. Getting more narrative work is the desire of many, but there's no easy answer. It's largely a subjective career that relies heavily on "right place, right time" and meeting the right people. Your best bet to get long term narrative work is to network. Building relationships with directors, producers, and production companies will get you narrative work. Sadly, that takes time. Most of the aforementioned usually have their go-to DP's at the current moment in time, but maintaining a good network relationship with them can often lead to a good referral. Crewing on narrative shorts/features/episodic is an excellent way to network. Your lack of on-set narrative experience won't be too much of a concern; you'll pick it up in a week on a feature. Inevitably, you'll pick it up when you shoot more and more shorts. Shooting your own short can help, but it's a investment if you want a quality piece for your portfolio. Getting representation (or an agent) won't help. David Mullen gave a great explanation: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=73450&p=470324 I wouldn't pester other DP's, but definitely meet narrative DP's and get their advice. ALL DP's love talking about their work. Building that network of DP's usually leads to narrative work in the long run as well. For example, "Hey Toby! I'm booked up on a feature right now, but I've got a producer friend who needs a DP for a short next month." Guess what happens after you shoot that short for that producer? They'll tell their friends that you were great/terrible. A tip on networking: don't ask for a job or talk only about the industry. It's like dating; going straight to sex won't work; you've gotta get to know the person and put the time in.

Lighting purely off an incident meter for video is admirable, but there is a breath of caution: If your meter isn't calibrated, then it's giving you a false reading. However, unlike film, you'll notice on set that something is gravely off when shooting digital. I always recommend checking your meter with the camera during prep. If it's off, you can compensate for it and still use it. The waveform, histogram, zebras, etc are all just tools designed to measure exposure. Like David said, there's no reward for using an incident meter. The reward is effectively using any and all tools at your disposal to get the exposure you want.

Yes. The anamorphic lens is trying to squish the image to fit onto a 4:3 4perf piece of 35mm film. Of course, you're using digital, so how much of the sensor will be covered is another story. Do you have test footage of the lens? Would love to see the results with the adapter on.

Ron Dexter's website has a lot of useful info for stop motion: http://www.rondexter.com/

Easier to accomplish inside. If you're planning on using colored/colorless mist, then fog/haze is your secret sauce. I wrote a short piece on developing this look for a fog scene here: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=70937&p=477755 Same idea can be applied, but with no pool. I even did exactly what you described on a feature just recently using the above method with a car in a small warehouse.

You should contact a rental house that has one and have them show you how it works. Benefits: Creates a networking opportunity with the rental house that may lead to you getting on set with one of their clients using the crane. Answers all of your questions! :) Allows you to play with a technocrane. Pro tip: bring beer and food. A free lunch for a rental tech will make them like you a lot.

I don't think a rig like that will give the results you're hoping for. (Of course, you're still entitled and encouraged to try; I'd love to see the results either way!) You may be better off simply going handheld and riding in the rickshaw. You'll have bumps either way, but they can be somewhat corrected with post-stabilization. However, micro bumps are going to be a huge challenge to fix in post, regardless of resolution. The problem is that the end result of fixing micro bumps will be a softer image. One option is to take a cue from Evil Dead. They made a poor-man's steadicam out of a 2x4 piece of wood. The idea is to basically get a 3' or 4' cut of 2x4 and drill a hole through the center. Mount the camera to the wood using the drilled hole and a long enough bolt+washer. On set, have two people carry the board (one on each end). It'll take a moment of practice, but they should be able to keep their arms at the same height and level. Their arms will act as natural shock absorbers and mitigate most bounce; make sure they try to dampen the rest of their bounce with how they walk (see basic steadicam walking). I hope this makes sense; I definitely recommend testing it out!

The best practice, in my opinion, is lean management. Meet with your operator(s) during prep (or day of if that's the case) on the visual style of the project. Show them the references for composition, fill them in on how the project is expected to edit, and show them prior episodes if it's for TV/web/etc. Finally, create the culture of communication and develop an eager want to inform you when the operator deviates from the plan for a better option. Clearly communicating with the operator essentially guides them to shoot like you would. Of course, there will be some differences, but guiding and inspiring them to take ownership of the job will give you the results you would've done yourself. It's a team effort when operators are involved and giving them something to care about (like a killer composition) will ultimately help you. For example, if you've made it clear that you're aiming for a one-point perspective Kubrick style narrative, then they'll shoot it in that style. If you've said you want your wide shots to be done on an 100mm, then they'll do their best to do so. Naturally, in the creative world, there has to be room for adjustments. There's nothing wrong with changing a lens from 35mm to 40mm; it's a marginal difference. Changing a lens from a 24mm to 85mm is a different case and should be communicated to you. All that being said, the main unit DP calls the shots. Sometimes you need to put your foot down, other times you need to listen. It comes with experience, but using lean management and clear communication will prevent most butting of heads and egos.

Sounds like you've mostly answered your own question. The Heden system does connect with the Preston motors, but the results are less than stellar. Your best bet is to treat wireless FF and video like household batteries: never mix brands. If it's a Preston motor, then pair it with an MDR and Preston handheld unit. Otherwise you're in for a huge headache.

You can get a manual flicker effect with HMI's using a solid metal flag; usually a 4x4 or 2x3. Place the flag in front of the head to fully block it. With the flag locked into the gobo head (c-head), loosen a keeper on the stand to allow you to pan the flag. When the flag is parallel to the light, it blocks it. When it's perpendicular, it allows nearly all light through. Flipping quickly between those two positions will create a lightning effect. Requires someone to be a flag operator, but hey you would've needed to spend a crew member anyways right?

As a career move, yes. If the blockbuster does modestly (as in, makes money and the studio wants you to do another), then a director can use his/her newly gained notoriety to acquire investors for his/her own personal features. Or, if they play nice with the studio, they can take the Chris Nolan route in the long run. It's still a good move to shoot blockbusters, but foolish to think directing one will be like directing an indie.

I agree with Adrian, the litegear litemat is pretty excellent. Seems flimsy, but is actually quite robust and trustworthy. Great output and color as well.

You'll need to keep the black backdrop far from the subject and key light, otherwise they will expose on camera. Of course, that can be corrected by crushing the shadows in post, but that'll also crush the shadows on your subject. Furthermore, you'll want to "snoot" or "skirt" the key light. I also recommend using the "eggcrate" or "louver" on the Kino to make the soft light directional. Combing the skirting and eggcrate should help reduce light spillage, but keeping the black back drops at a distance will also help. I could see a potential problem with those windows your location; the light spillage from the sun may actually appear on your set (in the form of soft sunlight bouncing from the ceiling). If possible, I recommend a further 20'x20' solid to go overhead your entire set. 2x Highrollers and at least six sandbags should get the frame high enough. If you can't afford the additional solid, then I recommend getting a far brighter key light (which opens up a whole other can of worms) As for rigging your key, it sounds like you'll need to do a menace arm set-up. The Tegra is rather heavy, so you'll need to properly rig the menace arm; I'm sure a search of the forms or google search and show you how to safely do it.

Is the car driving? Is "sunset" when the sun is still above the horizon or just below? If parked, then lighting will be easy. Your biggest challenge becomes lighting the BG. A single 1.2 won't be enough to act as a key light and BG light. If the sun is still above the horizon, then emulate the sun by keeping your light low and hard (the sun is close to the horizon after all, right???). If the sun has just gone below the horizon, then soft light becomes your friend. I still recommend a low key for the "below" the horizon light because technically the entire sky becomes the key light for the subject; therefore the horizon (which has the most remaining sunlight) is lighting your subject.

You're right, Josh, that the cinematography should feel natural, but what is natural is relative to the content, style, and mise en scene of the movie. I agree with David that everything is intentionally placed in cinematography; nothing accidental goes on screen without the DP approving it. Sure there's happy accidents on set (see Conrad Hall's In Cold Blood), but those accidents become decisions because the DP uses them. Ultimately, cinematography adds layers to the film through performance, mood, perspective, or plot. Cinematography should be an invisible craft in my opinion. When it takes center stage during a film, we lose focus on the story itself. As such, I believe most DP's design cinematography to be subtle relative to the story. Chicago for example uses theatrical style lighting during the musical numbers...which makes sense and naturally fits in a world where people break out into song or dance. Sicario, however, utilizes a more realistic lighting approach to make the story feel real. Would Dion Beebe shoot Sicario the same way he shot Chicago? Would Deakins shoot Chicago like how he shot Sicario? They light what best supported the story and what would yield the best catharsis for the viewer. Lighting is just one aspect of cinematography; camera movement, composition, color, etc etc are all factors the DP takes into consideration and all are based on story and how they propel the empathy or sympathy from the audience.

Devil's advocate here, but I don't think it's a lack of discipline, but a method of operation for some directors. I just recently did a feature where the director would keep rolling as actors reset to their first marks. He didn't like how cutting and re-slating killed the momentum of his directorial style. It honestly worked too; he was able to get great performances out of the actors. I spoke with the lead and he said that the takes felt more like theatre rehearsals; he could explore more and not be reminded that he's on a set. Of course, he never treated a take like a rehearsal, but the idea of building momentum for a performance is definitely valid. That being said, I'm sure the director may regret such a move during post-production when he and his editor have to sift through so much footage. At that point, however, it's a discussion between the producer, director, and editor. Next time around, the director may cut more frequently, the editor will know what to expect for next time, or the producer will ensure that the script supervisor records timecode of what the director likes. On set, I did my best to help facilitate my director's style. When actors would reset, I typically would either point the camera directly to the ceiling and keep it there until we were about to go again or cover the lens with my hand. My idea is that this method helps the editor scrub more quickly through the footage and find the "takes" within the "takes". There were obviously times when constantly rolling wouldn't work. We had a fair amount of stunts so we inevitably cut and repositioned to our first marks. However, a simple OTS or MCU of a character during dialogue? Why not keep rolling?

Thank you! We used anamorphic lenses and mostly used the 40mm and 50mm. There was the occasional use of the 75mm, but we didn't want to risk fogging up the sensor and real element too much. We discovered the sensor fogging immediately after the first lens swap, so we then swapped lenses outdoors. Unfortunately, that took a lot of time, so we ended up riding the 50mm a lot. The fog did an excellent job, but then it would start to dissipate during longer takes. There were a few shots where we could see the edge of the pool, but our characters didn't cross them. We agreed that we could use set extension in post and cover the exposed edges with CG fog, a la After Effects.

I've had RED cameras configured for unique naming and the files are out of order. I've also recently tested the Varicam and the files were out of order when importing them into DaVinci.

Hi Davi, It doesn't look bad at first glance, but it is definitely a look. Can you elaborate on what you mean by a "natural look, but a little better"? What specifically are wanting to improve? Saturation, highlight roll off, shadow roll off, dynamic rang? With color, it's always good to first figure out where your content will be viewed. It's safe to say most content nowadays are consumed on TV, a computer, tablet, or phone. These devices all share (with exceptions) a REC709 color space. Working within this color space on your monitor (which is most likely REC709) will ensure optimal and close-to-consistent results for your final look. Cinema projection has a different color space and thus requires a different monitoring situation. If I'm not mistaken, DCI projection is a wider color gamut; essentially, more color information and dynamic range can be shown. I hope this helps!

Usually what the camera is saying the current (or about to be recorded) clip name is. IE: A002_CLIP004 This is crucial with matching handwritten notes to the digital data. Some cameras don't record the clips in the order that they're shot, so having the clip name recorded on the log will help with organizing footage later (and doing playback in camera).

Uncut ND Gell rolls are helpful with windows. I also recommend muslin or unbleached muslin for some thick diffusion. You can buy these at local fabric stores. Final recommendation is quiet grid; great for windy days.

Thank you! I hope my experience and photos can help others at similar or smaller budgets. It IS possible! :) Great thread idea, guys.

If I may, I would like to contribute a set up I did for a $500k feature I did last year. The Scene In the film, two characters must use a canoe to return from an island to their coastal home. However, their return home becomes dangerous when a thick fog rolls in. Inevitably, they become lost. The Results Behind the Scenes I only had a 3 ton grip truck for this feature, supplied by my gaffer Jarrod Wilson of Pirate Grip/Electric. Joe Paulet was my key grip for this project. My plan was to find an inclosed pool, block out all sun light, black out the pool, and then fog the crap out of the room. We found a pool that was 20'x40' long. We were scheduled to have one whole day to shoot this sequence. I split my G/E team of 4 up the day prior to send 2 of them for pre-rigging. Most of the pre-rigging was spent on blacking out the pool. On the day, we continued to black out the pool and then blacked out all the windows. Once we got our "base" made, we began to light. I used a 1.2 PAR HMI shooting through a 20'x20' half grid (folded up to 20'x10') as our sun. Our key light was a 1k Baby with FCTB bouncing off a 4x4 beadboard. We used an industry standard fog machine, the name of which is escaping me. I think it was a 12AMP fogger; Jarrod would know. To make moving the camera easy, I used a Matthews Intel-A-Jib hard mounted to a doorway dolly on track. This allowed me to float the camera over the water instead of going handheld, preventing any risk of me slipping with the camera. Plus, it smoothed out all of my camera movement! :) Joe would operate the dolly while I operated the head/jib in the water. This set up proved to be super helpful with getting the various angles we needed. The fog was so thick that the color temperature of the 1.2 HMI went closer to 4300K, so we regelled the 1K Baby accordingly. We were able to set up, shoot, and tear down in a 12 hour day with 4 hours of pre-rigging the day before. I'm beyond proud to have had Jarrod and Joe work with me to attain some marvelous results. I'm doing a similar set up like this again on a feature in three weeks; I'll share photos from that too! I hope this is helpful! Let me know if I need to elaborate on anything.

It gets easy; shots start to repeat, things stop changing. Usually codec is the same throughout and metadata is eliminating more and more things a report needs to have.

It's definitely frustrating. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. Best of luck!