Giacomo Girolamo

All the middle ground Canon dlsr are weather resist, and I believe the top of the line (not the cinema, I mean like a Canon 7d) are water resist. Just research a little in the home page.

It depends on the project, and I know some interviews are tough, but you could talk about other interesting that could complementary with your DP work. The other day, someone talk to me about working as DP in a 48 hours project, in which you have to write, film and post produce a short film in a weekend. Well, I am sound engineer, and even if I don't be checking or working in the sound department, the director saw that as an asset because I could help in post production. Same thing if you are good with editing (but maybe in a feature, is not the best option because as DP you are too close to the footage). Also, if you are good writing scripts, you could help in the pre production. The other day I was watching an interview with Geoff Boyle, and he says that every DP now has to know a little about post production, color grading, CGI, etc., because if you know that, you can save time when shooting (not to fix things in post, but to save work to later in post, not the same thing) and if you save time, you save money, and increase the chance that people call you again. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Hi Tiago, I know is not what you ask for, but here's an interesting video while you waiting other people in the forum recommend you some great books. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFxvpobdkLs&frags=pl%2Cwn&ab_channel=DedoWeigertFilm Bye!

It's very simple. You open the app in the phone an with "enhanse reality" (like pokemon go or any app that draw things in you camera) show you the path of the sun (or the moon) and the path has dots with the hours of the day, so for example, if you want to film in the street and there's two building, with the app you can see that between 13:14 and 14:34, the sun is going to pass between the buildings, therefore you are going to have sun in the streets at that time. For example, if you want to make a siluette in this lake, you can see that you have to wait to 08:15 because, before that, the sun is going to be cover by the trees. So is a very useful app when you have to your exterior productions, because you can decide just visiting the location, what kind of shoots you're going to have. With the button between the date and the hours, you can't switch between sun and moon, and the date is also useful if you visit the location weeks before the shotting, because the sun moves it path on the sky a little everyday (the earth moves but you know what I mean, haha).

Just don't film when the sun is so high, wait to the sun is cover by the house or when is down and the spill don't "tint" so much.

Get a nice zoom lens for film and a lightmeter and you'll be fine.

To add on what's Matthieu already says (and I agree, you definitely needs to go there) you can find some app from your cellphone (there's a lot ones, some even free) and check the sun pathing and more important, what time frame you have to work. I used a lot an app for ios (iphone app) name Lumus. Is free (at least when I get it) and you have the path of the sun and the moon with hours. Is not perfect, but is a simple tool to make decisions about how to work, with how much time and in which frames and angles. Have a fun and good productions, and share some images or the final product if you can, Best of lucks!

Sorry for the thread revival, but Satsuki answered your questions, Taylor? I'm looking for info about Mike Gioulakis. Thanks!

I get what everyone says about music. Something I'll add is some Foley in the shots, thats could improve a lot the final product. Not in every detail like a movie, but the most important things, the points in the shot where you rest your eyes, like the knife cutting the vegetables, or the steps while he's running, just little things but if you do it, is going to improve your video (and there fore, the message you want to tell) a lot!

Looks great! What about the shot on 0:41? Was filmed from a car? And the shot on 02:50? Was a drone?

The problem with that (shooting a real gun) is how you record it, because a microphone records things because has thin membrane that vibrates with air waves, and that movement generates an electrical voltage, and that in form of a electrical signal, is audio. So, a gun is so violent because generate a sound so loud and fast, that is impossible that the signal not clip (thats when you record something that is out of range, like when you blow up whites in camera), and therefor you get a crappy sound, all distorted. There's a lot of foley data base, and programs like soundly helps you to get all that sound organize. Bye!

Yeah, with panning I mean that you can take a sound and throw it to one side of the stereo spectrum. When you listen a rock band with headphones, you could notice that maybe the kick of the drum and the snare are in the "middle", but if the band has lots of guitars (like for example foo fighters), is very common that you "open" the guitars to the side. This is useful, not only as aesthetic choice, but (and this is important to filmmaking) because some frequencies "compete" between each other and is difficult to hear it. The sounds "sticks" together, but if you panning, you can separate sound a little bit. About how much, and if is important to respect the framing, well, there's no rule about that. To me the answer is, whatever don't take the audience away from the story. Kinda with the 180 rule, is not important because you have to respect it, is important as a way to don't distract to audience. But if you have a good reason to break it, just do it. Same with panning, just experiment with it, and now you know about it, try to pay attention in series, movies, etc. About the gunshot, I don't understand you. You actually fire a gun and record it? Because if you do that, is not guarantee that you have a good Foley. It's like cinematography. You could try a realistic aesthetic, but you don't pay as DP to film real things, but to film beautiful (or meaningful) things. When you work with a talent in her 50s, 60s, you aren't trying to capture how she really is on a Saturday morning, you're trying that she looks great on camera. Same with Foley, sometimes the best sound for a broken bone is not a bone breaking but a vegetable being kick, you know what I mean? There's lot of cinematography channels on youtube in which you can see how to make your own foley. And don't worry if you miss the knock on the windows. When I made a list of sounds, before I start to work with Foley, usually end with 2 or 3 pages of sounds, because there's a lot of things go in on on the camera, and to me audio is 51% of a film. The extra per cent is because people usually can bare a bad cinematography (insufficient lighting, bad composition) if you have a professional audio, but nobody is going to watch your short (even if Janus Kaminski is your dp) if the audio sound like crap. Keep making and sharing your films, you did a great job with the first one!

Great work man. Congratulations for what you pulled off with your gear. Everything looks great, and you generated an interesting atmosphere with the first shots, kinda a hitchcockian feels. The talent is good except the moment when he is about to die, but I understand that you worked with what you had. If you are interested in improve it a little bit more, let me tell you that the sound still need a little more of work. Don't get me wrong, is better than lots of shorts I watched, but there's some little things that take you away from the story. That's always a bad thing. First, I wished that you play a little bit with the pans, because all the sound is panning at center (or pan so little that means nothing), for example in the shot inside the car, when the talent is on the left, you could pan the radio on the right. The levels, not all, but some levels need more mixing, because are too soft or so loud that distract you and take you away from the story. The best foley is the foley you don't notice. It's like a bass in a rock band, people (not musician or bassist) general notice the bass when they can't hear it. You didn't use foley with the steps on the road (only in a close up), and miss the opportunity of use a really muddy, sticky sound that immerse you even more in the mood of the story. You miss the knocking on the glass, that take me away too, and the shooting firearm was kinda metallic to me. There's a lot samples of shoots on the internet, you can find something better. Also, some shoots are kinda long, to me you can have the same short in 3:30 minutes and then, the shot is going to be much more stronger and effective. You need to think that you are not doing anything new, we all knew what is going to happen from the first frame (and it's ok, I understand that you make it to practice and learn) so, is really not necessary delay the final result that your audience already know from the started. Great work man! If you want, you can fix that little things and the short is going to be even better than now. Bye!

Nobody is going to ask you which school did you go. People are interest in your work, in what responsible you are and if you could get the job done. You get better by working a lot (in different kinds of projects) and all the time, because this craft forget easy and you need to keep on with the new technologies. Saying this, school is good to "practice" in a safe environment, to get access to equipment that probably you can't buy or rent by your own, and most important, to get contacts and meet people with your same interest. And some people, really need a "education system" to tell him what to learn, in which order, and in this or that way. Other people feels constrain and prefer learn what they want and kinda discover they own way. Is not any way better that another, but people is different and have different needs. You can be a great cinematographer, but is not depend if you go or not to the cine school. Try to find what works for you and more important, no matter if you choose the school or not, you really need to do things (and work whenever you can, even for free) ALL the time. Is the only way that you really are going to learn the craft and more important, discover if this type of life is what you want for you. Best of lucks!

Some cheap LED light has the same quality of greenish (which is a problem in general, but here kind play in your favor).

Please, upload the reference pictures you want to show us. I've watched the movie you referenced, but maybe another ones don't. You can use a chinese paper ball lamp (I don't know how they name it in english) and moving near the talents, follow them at the same distance. Take care you don't have spills on the walls, use black wrap to avoid this.

To me, the 35mm is more natural, like you are talking with the guest. The 80mm helps to isolate the person an has a kinda good feeling. Weirdly enough, the 50mm looks off to me (at least in the picture you update)... sorry Hitch

I guess if I have to choose, a 35 and a 85... Tough choose, by the way.

Hope is not to late... You can also try to rent a Helios 85mm f2 which has an interesting effect with the bokeh, in a spherical way.

Hello, to me the pair of 2ks has to be a couple of feets on the left, just by looking the psychiatric still. The lights looks high too, looking the cups and the different objects on the table. Oh, and don't forget the sparkle light on the eyes of the patient!

You could use a difference in order of the physical world. I mean, you could filming the flashback a little above the eye level, you could play with the background, making it with less details that the rest of the film. You also can play in post with the sound, with a little of reverb or a different EQ. When people remember something, they usually focus the memory on the details they are trying to relive back. That's why I talked about about a simple background, maybe a close up of the mouth when the talent say the most important word or phrase in the shot. Just a bunch of ideas, take what you like (if you like someone) and leave the rest.. Good luck with the film!

This guy just don't get it. The "cinematic look" (if such a thing exists) is not about money and the latest camera. It's about lighting and deep framing, who cares what lens or camera do you use to capture that?

Really like it! Lot of dutch angles, haha, but looks great.

I'm not an expert on fishing or hunting, but I guess that in that case, you need to buy a tool and of course, that tool can have different qualities. With filming or recording, is better imagine a chain, and you need to know that when the chain is "weak" in some link, the rest of them get weaker too. You buyed a really good lens, which was a great because you probably use it for years. I'm not saying that you make a mistake (and you already buy it, so...) but for now, I urge you to spend in the first links of the chain. It's a little bit abstract in filmmaking that in audio recording, but I'm gonna try to explain the chain so you can understand me better (also, as you probably already noticed, english is not my main language, so sorry is some term looks weird to you). I'm not going to talk about capture audio for the film, because is just complicate things, but audio in film has his own chain to. The filmmaking chain You need something to tell (not necessary a script, but something that speak for it self, something interest to capture on film). If that is a story, it have to be a good one (a good script). If the story has people, you need good actors. If the story need a place to be told, you need a good place (with good props, etc.) (TO ALL THE THINGS ABOVE, YOU DON'T NEED ANY FILM GEAR) You need that your subject (whatever it is) is properly light, because film works with light (film or a sensor, it's the same). You can use free light (from the sun, from a street lamp, from location) but you still probably need some lights gear to get the look that you need. You need a lens to decide what "part" of the scene you are going to "capture" (for example, a tele or a prime, and is not the same 20mm that 50mm). You need a camera that let you decide how your gonna capture. The frame rate, the ISO, etc. You need a sensor (or film) to finally capture the light and transform (in a DLSR case) in information (a binary system of 0 and 1). Later (after probably work with your material in a edition software) you need to render that information in a video file. And finally upload it in some place which probably "eat" a chunk of the information of the render video. It's a simplistic way of see it, I know, and maybe I'm forgetting some links in the chain. But my point is, in this chain, when you lose quality you can't get it back later. You have a good lens (you probably gonna need more than one but that's another story). Now, if I was you, I'll invest my money in the first links, because it doesn't matter the lens or the camera if the scene is poorly light. The same, you can shoot in a professional studio, with great gear and lights, but if you don't have any to say or you have bad actors, it doesn't matter. The good news is that good lights are a lot cheaper that a good lens or camera, so I don't think you have problem to fix that part. If you watch filmriot, you can notice that they take really serious the lighting, even if the use really cheap low edge lamps. The first episodes where filmmed with a really basic DLSR, but the lighting job is still great. I also recommend Filmmaker IQ, is a really great channel if you want to learn in more deep about how a camera and a lens works. One of the best exponent of the "youtube university" as you call it. Hope I make myself clear and you find the information useful. Bye!

What is the ISO and the f/stop that you used in the video that you uploaded? You have a really decent lens for the camera you have. It's kinda a 50mm because the sensor is 1.6, but it's should look better than that. Did you try the lens on f4.5 or 5.6? Because even if the lens can open to 1.5, that doen't mean that is the optimal f stop. The lens usually shine at their best on f stops a little bit higher, like 4.5. Oh, and the last think. You have a expensive lens but really crappy lights. Cinematography is like audio, is a chain and if you have a crappy link, all the chain in front of that is crappy. It's like recording a guitar. If the instrument is bad, all is bad, no matter what console or mics do you have. If the cable of the guitar is bad, even if the guitar is good, you obtain bad sound. If the mic is bad, it doen't matter the preamp or the console, and so on. If you want to shot an scene, forget the freaking camera. It doesn't matter if the scene have bad lighs (and if you have good lights but a bad actor, is like a good preamp with a crappy guitar). You need to have a good scene, and then have a good lens, and a good camera, etc. And the lights are usually cheapers that a good camera or a good lens, but people often miss that, and is a easy mistake to avoid.