Gene Sung

Hi Adrian, Thanks for responding. What you said makes a lot sense. I'm seeing full Dragons kits from places like Brainbox - cine lenses, good sticks, all accessories, etc... renting for $1000 a day for a package that probably almost $100k. That's crazy cheap and I'm not sure how they are even making money off that. I think I'll just upgrade from my current camera to a moderately price camera like the FS7 and rent for the bigger jobs. I do need a decent camera as I often shoot a lot of my own art projects and I just like to shoot constantly just for fun, but at $8K that's not going to kill me.

Thanks for the response Satsuki. Gives me more to think about. This is a tough choice as I definately don't have a trust fund; and for the first time in my life between shooting and doing motion graphics work, I can actually afford to buy a higher end camera. Lots to think about.

Some background on myself and I priced a basic Dragon package around $45K I'm a Los Angeles based upstart-ish DP who mainly shoots network promos, show main titles and a few lower-end commercials. I get about one or two decent TV DP gigs a month (adequate crew, scripted, fair pay, lower end shoot budgets around $15k to $40K per day - sometimes higher) and a smattering of crappy shoot jobs - events, some reality and event jobs. I've been shooting on a FS700 + 7Q for the past two years and worked my way up from ULBs, to some legit jobs. I make OK money from shooting, but I make good money doing Motion Graphics to fill in the gaps, so I can swing a Dragon financially without stressing much, even if my shooting cash flow does not quite justify a Dragon. Alexa's are too expensive for me. I know if I want to step up to the better jobs, I have to learned the higher end cameras like RED, F55 or Alexa; as cameras like the FS700 + 7Q, C300, etc... can only get you so far. I was thinking of investing in an Epic Dragon since it will probably lead to a bit more work and possibly working on higher end jobs. My questions are: 1) Do you guys mainly rent? Or are you an Owner / Operators? I'm especially interest in guys in my position - starting to get some decent network / commercial jobs, but still having to do crap jobs to make money. I know the more established guys like David Mullen don't have to own, but please give me your 2 cents as well. Much appreciated. 2) For those who invested in a higher end camera like RED, did you guys start getting more work because of the camera? I know you reel is super important, but having a nice camera can't hurt. 3) For those who rent the more expensive cameras, do you guys ever run into issues like broken cameras, not finding cameras in a pinch, etc...? What are the downfalls of renting? 4) For those who own, did you think it was worth it to buy? Has it helped your career? Obviously some major pluses like learning the camera really well; but any minuses besides the crazy up front cost? 5) Obviously, renting is way cheaper but I'm having difficulty getting any practice on the higher cameras to really learn them. Any ideas on how to learn a system like RED or Alexa in a decent amount of time? Owning allows one to learn the system really well, but a very expensive way to learn. I'm down to AC for sure, but that's tough to get into also. 6) An alternative might be getting a slightly better camera like the new Sony FS7 (which has the same menu as F55, so I will basically know the F55) for the lower end, and rent RED, Alexa, F55 for the better jobs. But yeah... I'm having trouble getting enough time on higher end cameras to really learn them. Sorry for this insanely long post and thanks so much for any advice as buying a RED is a huge decision. Gene Sung www.builtbyUgene.com

I'm re-doing my resume link now that I actually had a string of more legitimate network TV projects, as opposed to before where I listed anything out of desperation, LOL. Right now I'm mainly getting paid work shooting TV show main-titles, broadcast promos and a few commercials - so mainly TV broadcast / promotion type stuff. My questions are: 1) Should I list DP credits for Spec. spots? Since they are not "real" spots, do Specs count? Should I credit them as "Spec" or as a commercial under genre? 2) What about short films? I've DP'd some ultra-low budget short films in the last few years, should I keep those on even if they were ULB? 3) I've also done several corporate gigs. Should I list those? 4) What are the do's and don't(s) when it comes to credits? Just trying to figure out what to keep and what to get rid of. Thanks!

I personally really like long focal lengths, but I have NOT shot a lot of narrative as I mainly get brought on to film more MOS beauty / pretty footage type stuff which long focal lengths are great for. I was thinking about picking up a Zeiss ZF 135mm f2, but is 135mm used much for narrative work which I'm trying to do more of? Seems like it would be tough to keep focus on dialogue with a 135mm lens. Might be great for some pretty non-dialogue footage though. Thanks for any input.

Edit: I just figured out a way to squeeze a scrim over the speed ring on my 650w Soft Box, so I'm assuming I will be able to do the same on the 1K Fresnel (if I get it). Isn't it always better to have a more powerful light and then have the ability to cut down? I'm assuming that by squeezing in a 1 stop Scrim, the 1K will essentially become a 500 watt, is that correct? Thanks again

I have a small light kit (a mix of Kinos, Tungsten and LED lights) which I use on smaller projects. Right now on the more powerful Tungsten light end, I have one 1K open face light (Lowel DP Light) and a 650w Fresnel (an Arri knock off made by Cool Lights) with a Soft Box option on the 650w. I wanted to pick up a third tungsten light to compliment the 1K and the 650w. I am mainly going to use it to light talent. I was thinking of getting either a 1K Fresnel or another 650w Fresnel. Originally, I was thinking a 1K Fresnel but a scrim will NOT FIT in the 1K if I'm using a Soft Box, so that might be too much light on the talent. I might be able to gerry-rig something to the speed ring to be able to fit a scrim on the 1K with a soft-box though, which might sway my opinion. So to compliment my current 1K Open Face and 650w Fresnel for lighting TALENT, what would you guys choose for a 3rd light - 1K Fresnel or 650w Fresnel? Thanks for any advice.

Hmm.... for some reason I always though Aveillan was a DP, but I guess he's a director. Anyways... how does his DP get that really cool looking out of focus, distorted Bokeh type look.

Obviously Bruno Aveillan is an amazing cinematographer. I was wonder how he gets those really cool looking Bokeh shapes and lens distortions. It's like he puts some type of glass distortion in from of an anamorphic lens or something. Here's a video of what I'm talking about. Thanks for any info.

Hey Guys, That's also the big problem I forget to add: SINGLE Camera - FS700 + Odyssey 7Q shooting in 422 10-bit Pro-Res. Not sure if we can get a 2nd FS700 + 7Q, because the 7Q is so hard to find. Now that I added the 1 camera caveat. What do you guys think?

So I was asked to DP an Indy feature and I need your guy’s opinion on the feasibility of it. Here’s some logistics. This would be my first feature as I mainly shoot short format type stuff. 1) 90 page script so around 90 minutes I’m assuming 2) Dark Comedy. 90% takes place in the same location, a bar and it’s mainly dialogue driven. Think Cheers the TV show. Lots of 1 liners and banter. 3) There is a big twist in the middle which will require about 2 days in the bar shooting action / VFX type shots. 4) I was told the original budget was $100K, but I don’t think it’s that now since the shot days got cut. 5) 12 days shoot (originally 15 days, but it got cut down). 6) Since we have 2 days of VFX shots, the principle photography would be 10 days 7) Small crew, about 7 people. Talent = 5 principle, 3 auxiliary. My question to you guys is: What your opinion on doing a 90 minute feature in 12 days (10 days of principle photography + 2 days of VFX / action photography)? It is mainly talking heads at a bar with minimal action, but still… 12 days seems pretty short for a 90 page script. If it does end up being 12 days, what short cuts can you recommend. I was thinking I would have to 1) Shoot Zooms to save lens swamps 2) Slate less and have the actor rattle off larger blocks of dialogue 3) Lot more close-ups for less lighting setups 4) Limit performance to 2 takes, maybe 3 max. Anything else you guys can suggest? Thanks

I have a Lanparte follow focus and it's very, very good. With that said, the first one I got had crazy play and was a defect. The replacement is excellent. I'm going to get slammed for this, but the director I work with the most has an Arri follow focus, and on the last few shoots we used the Lanparte FF because while they both have very, very little play; the Lanparte is really easy and quick to setup and change. It's a very simple but smart design. Maybe it just works with my rig a little better.