Jump to content

Brook K

Basic Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    25

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Brook K

  1. Brook K
    Thanks so much everyone for all of this advice and these tips. As with all the responses to my other topics I've started, the info is overwhelming, but in a good way! I need all of this advice because it's from people doing what *I* want to do, and know what and how to do it. So again I thank all of you and am working on drinking all of this in.
  2. Brook K
    I suppose I forgot to mention! My super 8 camera doesn't have any controls for frame speed, zoom, or pretty much ANY control. But I'm still very tempted to test out the medium and see what challenges and rewards it offers, even for just a very short experimental film. As for using a DSLR, I definitely want to. I just don't have the money to buy even a basic video-capable one. I suppose I'll have to save up for one first. That bothers me though because I am 43 years old. I feel a burning desire to get this movie made before I get much older and before time therefore runs out. It's just frustrating, cuz I want to go from step A to step K, and know I can't but know I have to deal with those steps. :( That's life i guess.
  3. Brook K
    Ok, more than ONE question, I admit! :) I am a VERY beginning filmmaker who has not an iota of filmmaking and directing experience. Yet I have the dream of creating this huge, complex, well-polished independent short film using motion picture film and professional movie cameras. I am tempted to laugh at myself and say to myself, "Dude! You have no experience! Snap into reality and realize: you will not make this film and make it how you want it, without some type of filmmaking, directing, and cinematography experience." I am sure that is true and so.... I have no video camera except a cheap phone that has barely any memory on it so that is not an option. I do not have the money to buy a DSLR with video capabilities that I could use, either. BUT, I do have a Super 8 camera that someone gave me. So I figure, why not work with what I've got?! So, for any people out there who have made, or like to make, Super 8 films, what would be the best quality, least-grainy super 8 film out there? I would want it to be as clear and as close as possibly to standard 35 or 16mm as I can get, color-wise as well. I am guessing that the only way to do cuts is in-camera, correct? My camera has a tripod mount which I think is AWESOME, as I will definitely be using it! I am wanting also to do slow motion and time-lapse with the film, which leads me to my main question! Am I correct in guessing I would have to do that post-filming, using an optical printer?
  4. Brook K
    Thank goodness I've been through photography school and know all the lingo and know what you were saying about lighting! :) I LOVED location class, since everything we learned was stuff that could be used in a film set (for the most part). But yeah I got everything you said. I don't think I'd like using an anamorphic, as I've looked them up and don't like the "tall and squishy" look they give to the images.
  5. Brook K
    Great advice to keep in mind! Thanks Justin!
  6. Brook K
    Gotcha! Wonderful! Thanks so much David. Another of many things I will want to check into! :)
  7. Brook K
    Pardon my ignorance as I am new, but what are Low Cons and what is halation? LOL
  8. Brook K
    Indeed! Awesome. ;) Thanks Adrian.
  9. Brook K
    ARRGHH! I'm already extremely daunted! I knew making films is a huge undertaking and a huge amount of work, but seeing the steps laid out makes its scope seem even MORE daunting! LOL Guess I'd better get used to it huh, if I'm going to be a director. :) AND producer also, now that I think about it. :)
  10. Brook K
    EXACTLY the look I was referring to! Looks like fog filters are the way to go to achieve that effect then. I always thought it was ONLY from using tungsten film but now I know there is more to it. :) Thanks David!
  11. Brook K
    Sounds like one thing I needed a reality check on was that LIFE gets in the way of a film coming out exactly like one wants it, unless all the "stars are aligned right". I knew that already in the back of my mind but needed to be reminded of it. It ALSO sounds like storyboards are a HUGE help, and almost are a must. There's no other way i can think of that the director can accurately communicate exactly what they want a scene to look like without those drawings. Also sounds like *pre-scouting* all locations is a must as well, because then you can see what shots will and won't work and can choose ones that still look great and fit your vision, while working within whatever confines exist in the workable space. thanks so much for that info sir!
  12. Brook K
    I am a new filmmaker and have a movie I am wanting to make (which is just in the planning stages at this point). Here is my question: I have a very specific vision of what I want the movie to come out like, even down to the camera movements and angles. Now, I know that many of you have gone to school to be cinematographers, and part of what you do is the camera angles, and you work with the director to figure out the way to best represent a scene visually; that is part of your art. My question is, would you work with a director who has to have every scene in the movie the exact way they envision, knowing that it removes some of your creative input (using the information you went to school for)? and if not, why? and what would you say to such a director about how he/she can work equally and in balance with you to get things done, and still allow both you and he/she to come up with a product you both are proud of? hope that makes sense!
  13. Brook K
    Thanks for clarifying about the developing of the film. Yeah I had originally figured that a lab was the only realistic and feasible way to go, and what you said cemented that in my mind! :) Thanks so much for explaining that little editing process to me. I want to do as much of the editing myself as I can, or at least be involved in the process almost constantly, as I have a specific vision of how I want it to look. Thanks for letting me know also about the 35mm and about it being most practical to use the 4 perf film. (Which as far as I know is the standard for 35mm film and has been for years, so to me it's a natural choice). As for the aspect ratio, I'm still not completely sure what it is or how it will affect me (or how I can MAKE it affect me) in regards to making the film. I know that it will affect how my the film looks when displayed/projected, depending on what device or screen it is projected onto. But I don't know much more about it than that.
  14. Brook K
    Well, I'm torn because I want graininess but not too much. Probably the average graininess from any of todays' normal films would do. Film with grain will ALWAYS look more beautiful than a digital recording with noise (trying to replicate the grain!) As for the S16, I will definitely look into it. As for the editing movie in digital, how would I go about that? Would I scan the print in somehow into digital form and then edit it in a program like Premiere Pro? I'm gathering no one does old time editing and splicing machines with film anymore!! although I'd wanted to, to see what it was like!! And YES I definitely wanted to get an ULTRA talented cinemtographer! As well as a magazine loader who knows what he's doing. EVERYTHING associated with the film stock and camera I have to do totally right, because not only does the look of the movie depend on it but also the movie itself, since if the stock gets screwed up then that's a lot of money wasted. As for the developing, I am a photographer and have had experience with developing rolls of still photography film. I presume the process is just the same with a reel of motion picture film. Only I'd have to be absolutely errorless with it!
  15. Brook K
    Pardon my ignorance but I am still incredibly new (as in, haven't as yet shot a single film!) What is DI? As for what film I was using, my *dream*, to be frank, is using 70mm. But the cost of that will surely raise the cost of making the film exponentially, not even to mention the extra cost there would probably be to get the 70mm print printed onto 35mm reels for showing on the average cinema projector. SO, all that said, I will very likely go with 35mm, since more information can be fit onto a frame of that than 16mm, obviously. and I want THE best quality image, for every single frame.
  16. Brook K
    Yes I am a VERY new and beginning filmmaker, but still the thought of processing my own film freaks me out! What if you get an air bubble trapped and that one frame does not get fully developed, or you mess up loading the film on the developing reel, or this and that and this and that?... To me it seems like extremely risky, because that's your master! And if gets screwed up, then YOU are screwed and have to reshoot that entire scene and splice it in later, probably. Maybe I'm just way too paranoid. LOL
  17. Brook K
    This is the first of MANY posts I am probably going to do, on this and also on other filmmaking website. I have a huge (very SPECIFIC dream) of an independent motion picture I want to make, and have all these ideas knocking around in my head, and am overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. These forums would appear to be my only savior in making sense of all of this and getting advice I can use on my Film Adventure! :) Therefore, the first two of the many questions are these: 1) I have noticed in many older films (1980's and prior) white artificial lights will have a bluish hue to them, including headlights, when in the dark or low light situations. I love that effect and want to achieve that on my film. I have heard something to the effect of that you can get that effect if you use tungsten film as opposed to daylight (something about the emulsion color balance, I would assume). So, is that necessarily the case, and if not, what do I do to achieve that effect? (WITHOUT using a CTB) 2) I am not going to be using any special effects at all. My film will be straight-up, 100% film sent through the camera and then processed. I want my film to have a specific hue, graininess, and even color balance that was common in films from the 80's, and more of an extent in the 1970's and 60's. Below I will include a link to a clip of a 1975 movie that shows a close representation of the look I want. The question therefore, is what brand/type/speed (and any other specific data) of film do I use to get that look? If that is even possible. Thanks so much for all of your help and answers! I feel intimidated by all of the talented cinematographers with all their experience, but at the same time count myself lucky as I can avail myself of it! :)
  18. Brook K
    Thanks SO much guys, for your informations and contributions to this thread! This information is invaluable to me and you've no idea how much I appreciate it!! It might help my dream of making a few independent films a reality someday!! Thanks again so much. :)
  19. Brook K
    Thanks so much David! You are a huge help! I am glad you are answering these questions for me. Someone who has shot film for 25 years in Los Angeles! Can't think of someone who would be more knowledgeable to answer my questions than such a person! :)
  20. Brook K
    Thanks for the information. As for the "basic photo stuff" like composition and all of that, I already KNOW that stuff. That's why I said I was a photography student and was asking if all that still applis to a motion picture camera. :)
  21. Brook K
    For someone that is not going to film school (if film schools even TEACH 35mm anymore), or who isn't planning on film school and just wants the basics of operating a 35 mm motion picture camera, what (if any) options are there to learn? What resources are there and what do you recommend for learning once the resources have been located? This obviously is presuming that the person already has access to such a camera. (Which in my case I do not, but hope to someday; I have films I'd like to make!) I am a photography student interested in making the natural graduation from still photography (digital AND film), to motion picture film. Yes I realize film is almost unused anymore and takes a high learning curve (or so I've gathered), but there's a mystique and an attraction to it I just cannot deny! Questions that arise for me are: how similar is it to a regular 35 mm still film camera? I'm sure motion picture cameras have F-stop controls of course, but what about shutter speeds? I assume photography "stuff" all applies, such as dynamic and detail ranges, inverse square law, keeping highlights and shadows at an even balance, Sunny 16 Rule, composition (a huge one for ANY type of photographer), decisive moment, blah blah all that BS? LOL So hit me up with some feedback, everyone! :)
  22. Brook K
    Wonderful! Thank you so much David. :)
  23. Brook K
    Hmm! Very interesting. All I knew was, as I said, I'd seen it done countless times in music videos in the 80's (and not really anywhere else for some reason), and it had always intrigued me. Now I have a bit better idea how it's done! Did you catch the part about doing slow-mo on super 8, and if it is possible and then HOW to do it?
  24. Brook K
    For quite some time, I have wondered how the "sticky" (as I call it) slow-motion is done, the type that you see a lot in music videos of the 1980's. By sticky, I mean a noticeable appearance of advancing from frame to frame, as opposed to the much more common fluid and smooth slow-motion often seen in movies and TV. Here is an example, if you are still wondering what I am referring to. (The link should start right at the 3:22 mark, which is where there is a slow motion of two kids in a traditional dance). https://youtu.be/BY_ozF-4IAU?t=3m22s If you are any older than 30 and used to watch music videos in those days, it will probably be familiar to you! My question is actually a two-part question: how is that effect done? And...is there a way to do this effect, or indeed even any slow-mo at ALL, with a Super 8 camera??
  25. Brook K
    I have a dream of making a film. Problem is I have very little money. I haven't looked into any "crowd funding" or anything like that yet because the movie is just in idea stages how. Needless to say it will be a short independent. I would like it to be an hour but I'd have to get tons of film and then all the $ to do everyhing necessary TO that film to get it developed, processed and edited. Anyway, I would like to get input and ideas from anyone who's had experience with making their own dollies, trailers, and even a Steadicam, and all other equipment, from scratch. IF there's even anyone on here like that! I may just wind up being a "pioneer" of all that! LOL Any other tips you want to give to a first time filmmaker, I will welcome all the way!!! I will suck it all in like a sponge! :) I'm in photography school, but cinematography to me is a natural extension of still photography and just "feels right", and since I am learning to express myself through still images, I want to express myself through moving images also. There's a little background on me. :)
×
×
  • Create New...