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David Hines

Basic Member
  • Posts

    17
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Occupation
    Cinematographer
  • Location
    Lima, Peru
  • My Gear
    Red Epic, Panavision Platinum, BMCC, Arri 16, Sony DSC-HX400V
  • Specialties
    I specialize in narrative short films, primarily horror and fantasy, with plenty of experience in drama as well.

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://www.davidthines.com
  1. After shooting a live event the other night with two fs5's and an f55, I think I'm sold on the middle ground of the F5. One of the production companies I work for uses Canon C300's almost exclusively, and there's something about that camera I just don't like, can't put my finger on it yet though.
  2. I've recently had a bit of an epiphany and realized that I want to be shooting nature documentaries, more so than narrative fiction. Enter the issue: All my camera and lens research thus far in my career has been focused on cinema, and my understanding of the necessities for doc work is lacking. What kind of camera systems are you guys using for documentary field work? I've got my eye on a Sony F5 for its compact, lightweight body and (in my opinion) beautiful images. Suggestions?
  3. Point well taken. I've been working on giving up control over the past few years. I've had my best experiences on set when everyone does their role and stays in their box, including me. Some of the best work I've ever done was when I was able to completely focus on my own scope of the production, and trust everyone else to do their part to the fullest of their ability.
  4. I'm a bit of a control freak, so It's usually a battle for me to release control to other departments. Being a cinematographer, with a decent amount of experience directing, I usually find myself wanting to "correct" the director on a lot of the shorts that I shoot. Fortunately, I've secured a gig later this month where I'm directing, and that's it, so hopefully that'll get the control issues under thumb for a while. I'm writing a feature length script right now, and I plan to shoot it, but not direct it. I feel like someone else could lend a much needed secondary opinion to the story, which could only make it better in the long run.
  5. I've played in both camps, a dedicated crew where everyone has their own role, and the do everything yourself side. I'm much more a fan of the crewed up production than the latter. Being a DP on a fully crewed shoot feels like magic after some of the crazy hectic shoots I've been on (once shot a near feature-length film with a crew of four, in five days). So I guess my original question would be more geared towards the world of the professional crews. When it gets right down to it I suppose it doesn't really matter who wrote the script, as long as it's good and everyone shares the directors vision of it. For me, the difficult part is to let go of the image of the the story that I had envisioned when writing, and to relinquish that responsibility to the director.
  6. Kind of an odd question, but does anyone know of any films that were written by the Director of Photography? I ask because I enjoy writing almost as much as I enjoy Cinematography, and have some ideas for scripts that I'd love to shoot.
  7. I'm not a huge fan of the white background either, I think that was just a reaction on my part to the overly dark design that I had prior to this one. I'm still in the process of tinkering with it in an effort to have the web design take a backseat to the content. The wix.com editor has some pretty decent features, but it gets in it's own way some times; in retrospect, I probably would have gone with a hosting service that allows more freedom in content creation, but for now, it works. Thanks for all the feedback guys!
  8. I found the use of unconventional framing in Mr. Robot to be quite effective. It helped to create a sense of instability throughout the entire season. It did feel a bit heavy-handed at times, but overall, it fit the story, and wasn't distracting (aside from a few instances). Given that through the entire season the viewer is treated as a character, this kind of framing actually helps to engage the audience in the scene, forcing you to search for the subject. Though, I could see it becoming very tiring if they keep it up for the next two seasons.
  9. Thanks for the feedback guys, I've made a few adjustments to the site. I may end up just hiring a developer when I get back to the states, as I not only suck at web design, but I find it incredibly frustrating.
  10. Thanks for the heads-up Frank. I've decided to head back to NYC next month, much more work there for me. I tried to start a network down here, but it's simply not happening. All I see is TV work and ultra low budget stuff, which I have no interest in.
  11. Hey fellow light-junkies! I've spent the past week revamping my tired old website from the ground up, and would really appreciate some feedback on it. Overall design, content, functionality, etc... Thanks! www.davidthines.com
  12. I had the pleasure of watching this amazing film a few months ago. Hopper is my favorite artist, so I was very excited to see how they brought it to life. I can't remember the last time that I sat in stunned silence for an entire film like I did with this one. Not only did they capture the look and feel of Hopper's work nearly perfectly, but they managed to add another dimension to it. Watching the behind the scenes footage blew me away! The attention to detail and perspective (Hopper always had a bit of a skewed sense of perspective) was mind-blowing. This is a film that I make sure to share with everyone I know.
  13. I saw it the day it came out (of course some super-responsible parents brought a baby and sat right behind me...) and recall being impressed with the visual style of the film. At the time, I didn't know much about formats or cinematography as a whole, all I knew was that I liked it. Quality and resolution aside, Anthony Dod Mantle made some bold choices on that film, it definitely wouldn't have been as good with a DP that wasn't as willing to take risks. It also helped to have an original member of Dogma 95 at the helm of the visual department.
  14. I still remember drooling over the XL-1 and GL-2 back in the day when I was using a sony Digital8 camera. Seeing 28 Days Later in theaters when it came out, I don't recall thinking anything of the image quality. Looking back at it now, yes, the quality is shite, but that may very well be because we've become accustomed to super high resolution imagery everywhere. In my opinion, it served the story, helping to create a bleak and distorted world.
  15. The reason I like the original Roki Cine line is that occasionally when I'm working on a low budget piece, and there's not a lot of wiggle room in the budget, I know that I can squeeze some good quality out of them and save money for other neccessities. I'm interested in the XEEN line because they will probably have a much lower day rate than many other cine lenses, and would hopefully provide better quality, as well as more familiar functionality for the camera team. If I were to invest in a set of lenses, it definitely wouldn't be something like this though.
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