Nathan Walters

I'm sure someone can chime in who is more technically savvy than me. But my thought is this. Shooting on a RED Gemini, a sensor with dual native ISO, and limiting it to 250 ISO seems like an unnecessary hindrance. Wouldn't shooting at its native ISO of 800 or 3200 actually give it the cleanest images and optimal dynamic range? I would do some low light tests at higher ISOs and re-evaluate that decision.

Using a net (single or double) to control the light more precisely so it isn't just a blanket exposure over whatever it hits. I imagine this would be hard with MCs and may be easier with a larger light source. Notice in the Euphoria shot how it is significantly brighter over her nose and mouth than her eyes. Her mouth and just barely the bottom of edge of frame are the highest exposed parts of the image. Versus in your shot, the shirt, the pillows are the brightest and most attention grabbing and it pulls your eye away from his face. It also looks like the Euphoria shot has some interesting shadows which you can mostly see on the blankets around her, especially on the right. Which would be getting a good tree branch or some kind of gobo to put in front of the light and help break it up.

I've noticed film starting to make a very successful comeback in my market of Atlanta, due to some very successful efforts from KODAK Film Lab Atlanta. Primarily through heavy efforts to push practical education in how to handle film. The truth is, most people my generation or later (I'm 32) would LOVE to be shooting on film if there were better resources in how to do so. And it seems those resources are starting to catch up with the next generation.

What an incredible resource. I would love to see this grow further!

Glad to know I'm not the only one to overall prefer the RED look over some other sensors. I'm mostly shooting what I would describe as grungy science fiction, so I feel the RED's color science has been a better fit for what I look for. Even though most of my peers think I'm crazy. I have a friend who just bought a dragon about a year ago, and he's not able to rent it out that often. There's so many comparable REDs floating around the market at this point in time. You'll probably get significantly more rental revenue on the raptor.

Yes; 1/2 silent grid cloth has been my flavor of choice lately. I have found them odd to purchase but I found a pretty optimal place (in the States at least) to be BarnDoor. https://www.filmandvideolighting.com/search-results.html?query=grid+cloth

I'm sure a lot of others on here would have much better advice than me. But having a VFX background, I'll say having rain shouldn't be a deal breaker when considering green screen. It's possible to key and maintain a level of smoke when using green screen, so I don't see why rain would be different. Then as long as you're getting some good splatter on the car itself and some rain on the windshield, you could add the proper level/intensity of the falling rain using a VFX particle generator such as Trapcode Particular, and really dial it to tastes. Of course, then you're allocating budget to VFX and probably wouldn't hurt to do some thorough tests to make sure you can pull a solid key with the motion blur of the rain itself.

I remember coming here 8 years ago, early in my career, and getting some great advice from David Mullen and the rest of the vets here. Advice I still carry to this day. That definitely gave me a huge confidence boost like I had some inside knowledge from those at the top of the cinematography craft. This community has always been such a hidden gem.

I like to do what I call a "Cinematography Scheme" for each scene. Granted, I've never talked to anyone else who does this. But basically it is the logline for the cinematography of the scene. So that if someone asked me about the cinematography for a certain scene, I could almost just recite the "cinematography scheme." It covers: What's the color temp? Quality of light? Lighting motivation sources. Weird phrases to describe the feel of the scene (e.g. "land of the dead"). Will there be extra elements such as haze? Camera support. Color palette. Mood. etc etc etc.

I'm in the same boat, looking to soon upgrade my laptop for data wrangling purposes, or being able to edit smaller projects on the road when need be. I've been a Mac guy for a while now, and am a bit scared that they are going down the tubes. One thought of input. Aren't HFS+ formatted cards only compatible with Mac, and thus could have troubles when trying to offload onto Windows? Assuming you had an AC that assumed to format the card to HFS+ without asking first.

I started on a T3i but haven't used it in quite a bit. I may be COMPLETELY wrong, but I think those settings are in reference to taking photographs and not video. Video, you pretty much have 720p or 1080p. All of it is recorded to H264 which unfortunately, doesn't leave you much to work with in color grading, though you can still do a good bit in practice. The t3i cannot record Raw. Although I think if you install Magic Lantern, you can record raw as well as have numerous more frame rate options. Plus more option in audio. But installing Magic Lantern voids any warranties you may have. The biggest thing I can recommend is to install a flat picture profile. I always used Technicolor's Cinestyle, though there are a few others out there. It records a much flatter image and increases the dynamic range significantly. It definitely saved me in being able to get enough detail in situations that would have been unacceptably dark otherwise.

I was actually paid from a "deferred payment" gig a couple months. I had no real expectation of actually being paid, but was thrilled and honestly shocked when I was. The project didn't make any money but they decided to pay me out of pocket later, which was greatly appreciated. That being said, I think the safe bet is that when you see "deferred payment," to assume it means "no payment." Though maybe I'm just cynical.

I think virtual reality has huge potential. Obviously right now, it's used primarily for gimmick purposes. But people said the same thing about film. It will take a long time, possibly even decades, but I think it could be a viable new technology for story telling. Starting out, it will probably be used heavily in the gaming world. But upon maturation, I think it could be much more. Though the scariest implication for cinematography, I feel, is the lack of being able to frame an object, since the main point of VR is for the viewer to be able to look anywhere they choose. Will take some experimentation, I'm sure.

Very nice and a major congrats. I saw Kiefer perform music a couple weeks ago and heard something about this. Hugely excited to watch this.

I was looking into cameras on a similar budget and went with the Blackmagic side of things. Only thing I should note is it won't do nearly as well in low light as Canon DSLRs or from what I've heard, the a7s. Other than that, it's a pretty phenomenal camera for lower budgets. Note, I got the Blackmagic Production Camera 4k right before they announced the Ursa/Ursa Mini; so maybe they've adjusted things since then.

I'd say it's all about story. The first shot, you're at the kids perspective, on the floor, and seeing things as he would see them (not that it's an actual POV or anything). The second shot, you're looking up at the characters, making them appear larger than life. I've heard a lot of people say the camera should always be at eye level and I kind of hate that notion.

Pretty much every film on this list: http://www.afi.com/100Years/movies.aspx

Red Giant has a really nifty plug-in called Instant 4k that does a pretty good job at upscaling images; as it sharpens certain details to give, what appears to be, a higher quality image. Doesn't have to be to 4k I don't think, but can be used for any upscaling I believe (though I'd check first before buying it). It's not Avid compatible though. May have to throw the clip into something like After Effects first, if it's available to you. https://www.redgiant.com/products/instant-4k/

I'd recommend going for a low level DSLR (maybe Canon t5i, t6i or whatever they're on now) instead of the Vixia. It will allow you to shoot in manual which is essential for doing professional level video. And I think it's about the same price now.

I feel it's not worth it, but that's just me. Part of the benefit of owning your own camera is to be able to use it whenever you need it, instead of having to go through the rental process. It's likely you won't be making enough money for the benefit to outweigh the cost. Though obviously that's a huge matter of personal opinion.

What he said^^^ As far as being able to have a second team with a medium to low budget. I've been a part of and seen numerous low budget films that were able to acquire a second team/stand-ins. If the film looks promising enough and you have good people in charge of casting, it's definitely possible. There's a ton of actors looking to obtain credits and simply be on film sets/locations.

I posted a similar thread a couple weeks ago, though I'm not coming from the photography side. Only thing I can really add to the conversation here is to recommend David Elkins' book "The Camera Assistant's Manual." It has some great insight on the actual threading of film into the camera and best practices. Great knowledge if you find yourself in a situation without an assistant and where you have to do it yourself.

I recently bought the Blackmagic Production Camera 4k and have had great results with it. It's definitely a bit simplistic on the settings side, but has suited most of what I need it for. The only issue I've really had is overheating (though only when shooting in 90 degrees farenheit and hotter). It also helps that it comes with Da Vinci Resolve, which is nice as I do a lot of color work on the side. Also been shooting in Cinema DNG Raw. Using a pretty powerful system and Adobe Premiere can play the raw files without any trouble, though I still use a proxy based workflow as I'm sure once the timeline begins to get more complex, things could begin to get a bit sluggish. Being somewhat who has shot mostly on DSLRs in the past, it's definitely been a huge upgrade.

Wow an incredible wealth of information here. Thanks everyone for sharing. Looking at spot meters online and I'm shocked at how affordable they seem to be. So definitely going to look into getting one. Also going to try to get my hands on a bolex r16 camera, if I can muster the extra room in the pocket book. And of course "The Negative" by Ansel Adams. I can't speak for everyone in my "upcoming" generation of filmmakers, but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say film seems like a very out of reach thing. I honestly doubted I would ever come to use it until I recently read through "The Camera Assistant's Manual" by David Elkins and the ASC Manual, which are both very film focused and helped beat some concepts into my brain. Now it feels much more attainable but I'm still trying to find that extra bit of information to somewhat "push me over the edge." ------ One more, probably dumb, question. Shooting mostly (lets face it, always) on digital, I'm often able to get away a lot with low lighting. Film requires more light, am I correct? So that's something I should take into account when shooting? Definitely would appreciate some personal insight here.

I'm a fairly young cinematographer. Note that what I am saying is geared towards my generation. There is a ridiculous amount of resources for learning digital filmmaking. Every 20 year old has a DSLR camera. It's easy to go online and learn about Blackmagic, Red and other digital cameras. But film seems to be a whole other beast. I've read a good bit about film in misc books and some resources from Kodak and am starting to grasp certain concepts. But no way would I be comfortable on stepping on set and shooting with film. I hear certain directors and Kodak expressing how superior film is (though obviously everyone has their bias, I think it really depends on the project). And I would love the idea of using film. But the resources don't seem to be nearly as available. So what's the best way, in today's digital world, for the upcoming generation of filmmakers to learn film? What resources are out there? And in a world filled with learning resources on digital filmmaking, don't you think there should be more movements on teaching the next generation how to shoot with film? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts.