Shawn Sagady

Yeah beautiful use of the light to define the silhouette and really make use of that visual contrast. 

Not only the eyes but the amount of contrast from one side of the face to the other. 

8 hours ago, Brian Drysdale said:

I suspect this thread is getting too political for a cinematography forum. 

As for the original question, after the first bell curve has past is the most likely time scale.   

Yep we have to get over the hump and have more people who have survived and can’t get sick again than are vulnerable. After that herd immunity kicks in and the ability of the virus to jump and find valid hosts exponentially falls off. Still want to be careful and wash hands and stay away from huge gatherings but most jobs should come back. 

I’m doing my best to set myself up for success when things calm down. Getting as much as possible done so that once we’re allowed back into our normal lives I can finish up things like casting and fundraising and get right into production on my next film. 
 

I figure it’s better than waiting for arbitrary work or jobs to start trickling in.  There are going to be a lot of people wanting to get out and start shooting.  I suspect it’s going to be a fantastic period for indie films.  

The sorkin class is more about structural fundamentals but he does give you a lot of leads for where to find inspiration etc.  Mentions studying the Poetics quite a few times. I think though there is no magic bullet for things like how to write a twist. It takes time and planning. Setting up events and good story telling, all of which are just fundamentals. 

That being said I imagine there are a plethora of books out there on those subjects if you have specific interests. Many will just dissect other writers work which can be helpful, but also something you can do yourself. 

Resolve added a facial tool kit thing that for my money is creepy as hell if you do anything beyond very subtle touches.  Partly because it’s an automated solution so it will never fit perfectly with your shot.  Great if you need to push through a lot of facial retouching fast but lord it’s so easy to go wrong. 

That’s a beautiful camera package for a great price. I’d snatch it up fast if my financing was done.  I’ll be keeping an eye on it. 

For your purposes the only difference will be price.  DLP have much better color and black levels than LCD, so they are preferred when you are worrying about image quality.  But the visual trick you are doing, the differences will not be visible.  
 

the only thing you need to consider is how bright you want the beams to be.  And make sure you have good source of atmospheric haze to make the beam read. 

I don’t know much about DVD archival but if you want a mostly lossless format you could transfer to celluloid.  35mm film transfer onto a super clean stock. That negative will last a really long time in the right storage conditions and of course should we ever go post apocalyptic film could still be viewed.

Do you take first born children as payment?  It’s a beautiful set, wish I could take them off of you. 

So my day job is as a projection designer and i wanted to offer a couple solutions. 
 

if you are looking for the flicker effect as an ambient source you would be better off using some sort of LED effect unit and bouncing it for the brightness. Depoending on your budget it can be difficult to get a video projector that can be bright enough.  Even a source4 with a color correction gel and a flicker box could work pretty well. 
 

If it’s about seeing the beam in the dark room then a video projector will be a much better choice since you and cram some footage in there and get the movement within the shape of the beam.

Thanks Taylor!

Thats very helpful of course.  I’m actually thinking I might save the kinos for rentals, and while the litemats are beautiful they are still damn pricey.   
 

Soonwell has a flexible led mat product that while not quite up to par with litemat for CRI and features provide a really decent light that is super light and stick anywhere.  Also 1/3 the cost and more light per sqrfoot. Going to pick up a couple 2x1 and a 2x2 for the cost of the litemat or the kino and have a good basic kit that travels easily for interviews and shorts etc. rent to expand when needed like everyone else. 
 

probably also grab one of those new fangled LES fresnels just so I have a hard source when I need it.  

12 hours ago, Max Field said:

Or they shoot on film as a workflow choice as opposed to the actual look. After dealing with a few sets where the musical artist was also the music video director.. and needed 6 takes with playback for literally every single little shot.. I was thinking "man if we shot film we'd be gone in like half the time"

That being said, are you a billionaire or something? Why do you wanna shoot film so bad? Arri Alexas are cheap now.

Without some serious advances in technology and sensor and processing speeds were not going to see a product that can stand up to actual celluloid.  We are close, and cameras like the Alexa paint an incredibly film like picture. Close enough to satisfy the audience.  But our ability to sample the light coming through the lens is just not even close to dense enough to truly emulate film and the chemical analog process. 
 

it is of course a case of exponential advancement.  The close you get the smaller the increase in noticeable quality and it gets exponentially more difficult and expensive to get that result.

I love shooting on Alexa and after a lot of other cameras it feels satisfying to have a sensor so capable, but given opportunity and the right project that can really benefit from it, I’d choose film any day. 

I feel like people have not followed the whole thread of yedlins thinking.  He explains very clearly that he is not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. Of course the digital footage doesn’t look perfectly like film. His goal in the experiment was to show you can take two very different cameras with quite distinct looks between them, and using some science we can make them close enough that the audience will not question it if we intercut between them. 
 

Ultimately his wish seems to be inspiring a paradigm shift in how we think about cameras.  As long as the lens and sensor are capable of gathering enough data then you can, using a reference from another camera, get “that look”. 

By detaching the idea of look from the hardware we free ourselves to become more creative.  35mm film Vs a digital camera is just one example that excites him because he loves the look of film before it has been heavily processed, the natural look you get from developing the negative.  

2 hours ago, Phil Connolly said:

Stay safe and try not to start a podcast 

Thats the real danger here... podcasts lol.

30 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

It is and so far all of the documentaries about the fandom have not focused on the true origins; artists. 
 

We're not going to be using the word "Furry" anywhere in the marketing or in the documentary either. We want to focus on the aspects of cosplay, which is a broader range than the more specific Furry world. We will include the anime, comic and pop culture character references as well, that's actually how the documentary will start, as that's where the furry fandom came from as well. It started with comic books, which turned into animation and characters that come from animation. Television was the distributor and it programmed everyone into liking what they saw. We're going to be shooting a section on this aspect, using some really cool computer animation to show how the whole thing started. 

I won't know about any backlash until we're finished... I'm in the community pretty heavily, so backlash is not something I've felt thus far. 

That’s all great. Sounds really awesome especially driving into the origins and divergence of communities etc.  best of luck!  

Looking for anyone who has had a chance to work with these lights. They both seem really solid panel lights, each with different things going for it. 
 

just based on reviews and brochure the main takeaway seems like...

LiteMatt 4 S2:

- bit brighter. 
- larger surface area. 
- Lighter and easier to work with.

Kino Flo Diva 21 LED

- Not just High CRI bi color but comes with a host of color options as well, including preprogrammed gel references. 
- Sturdier at the expense of weight. 
- Has FX system to do things like fire light and lightning easily.
 

Both are roughly the same price as kits.

My usage is primarily to have a couple solid lights to cover me on small and low budget projects, interviews and such. Would rent to expand for larger narrative work.  I do own some smaller single panels as well though they are not amazing  budget options from long ago. 

Huh I was about to be a smart ass and talk about swing aways etc but that’s pretty clever.  How does it mount to the lens?  How much effort to change lenses when working with prime’s. 

This is incredibly subjective. For a feature? For a short? Genre?

 In general I would wager the goal is to shoot just enough to get across the style and concepts behind the production, prove that the vision can be accomplished and works well on film, all the while spending as little money as possible.  
 

also often used to prove a technical problem has been solved. 

On 3/13/2020 at 12:55 PM, Will Davies said:

Thanks for the responses so far!

I thought about the Sekonic 478, although I’ve heard mixed things about the touch screen - how have you found it in your experience?

The Spectra is a possibility - can it be calibrated easily? What kind of battery does it take?

It gets the job done. Little funky sometimes but overall easy to setup and once you have your ASA and Shutter Angle set it’s a piece of cake to work with.

certainly there are better options out there but this is a great starting meter and will get you used to working with one.  Really improved the way I thought about lighting. 

Hey Tyler this is great and I’m super fascinated to see someone digging into the furry scene as it is often I think misunderstood and even maliciously mischaracterized. 

I am curious though way back when you started this thread you called it a cosplay documentary, which struck me as odd.  While the very broad definition of cosplay “Costume Play” would seemingly include furry culture, the common pop culture that identifies as cosplay is often quite at odds with it, being more about dressing as pop culture characters from film, anime, comics etc.  

so I’m curious if you explore the difference in culture and origin or if you have received any backlash because of it? 

My first lite meter and current lite meter is the 478

good balance between cost and functionality.   

They should understand its film and won’t have to open the cans. They will do chemical swabs of each can and run their tests then see you on your way. Just be really upfront and let them know.  I usually mention stuff like that to the TSA person checking my ticket and ID. Just allow an extra 20-30 minutes Incase it’s busy and you have to wait for someone to take the film through. 
 

Do you want it to be hard light or diffuse. 
 

for a more smooth mirror like effect try Mylar stretched over a frame. Make sure it’s right or it will act like a concave surface. 
 

if you want diffuse reflection use the dull side of tin foil and wrinkle that poop up before flattening our and applying. 

Beautiful use of available light and stunning locations.  Really it’s a whole package between costumes, performance, blocking and shots. A real visual treat.  
 

I work in theatre so I particularly appreciate the convergence of modern dance and film. Editing and cinematography felt super in tune with choreography.  
 

We’re you using a gimbal or steady cam? Lots of very smooth movement.