moviejoel

All, Thanks for replying. Mr. Keth: Ya know, I wish I could be upset at your response, but I've had those same thoughts. The purchase was more to make me feel better than it was for career advancement. The guitar collection is the same way. I'm not an Eddie van Halen or a Al Dimeola by any stretch of the imagination, but I think they're neat and I like having them around. The other thing was there was I didn't know of really any rental companies where I live to go try stuff out, so like my sitar, I figured if I really wanted to learn it and use it, I would need to buy it and tinker. Same with my NPR. Do I need it? No. And, back when the IT/telco market was kickin', the camera package was mad money, so, it was a not a purchase to transition to another career, but a toy, just more unique than a boat or a sports car. However, I disagree with the 'shooting film is more than...'. Every frame a Rembrandt. Right? so the concepts of still photography should carry over to cinematography. Just 24 times a second. And truthfully, some of the equipment thing came out of doing session work for studios, a long time ago. One month it was Trace Elliot, so you went and bought Trace gear, the next month, trace was out, and you had to have Eden gear, Ugh. So, that may have impressed to have the 'right' gear first, and admittedly, I wasn't thinking I was going to get the ASC credentials with just a reciept. As far as not getting work, work? Hell, I was just looking for a shot! Work? I've got that, you use my work every day on the internet. (Telecom engineering is how I pay rent). Mr. Tim: As a former electrician (that's why I USED to get Gaff gigs, Brian) I could still be pretty popular as a gaffer, but a couple of times I was called a hard case because I refused to violate code or run a circuit that was unsafe. Which leads me to: Mr. Mullen: Dallas is a small crappy market, and the arts scene of any kind, not just indie film, sucks, period. I know, I have to live here. Everybody wants everything on the super cheap. Right now, it's kinda crappy for everything that I can tell. I'll admit this as well, buying the package was a little on the vanity side. I'm no pro DP, and I know it. I'm not even sure I want to be, and I'm sure I wasn't expecting to make a living with it, but I didn't think it would be this dry. I mean, I have some of my own stuff, and try to do at least camera tests twice a year. I still love my NPR, I think its cool and I'm very proud of it and take exceptional care of it, and I don't regret its purchase. I've just been a little curious as to why no one has seemed interested, even for free. Either way, thanks for letting me vent. I enjoy reading and learning from you guys during the day, and appreciate the feedback.

Alright, I've had a few, but that's ok, right? I've always liked indie film. But, who doesn't? So, I started hangin' out with the indie group here in Dallas/Ft. Worth, and I heard the same thing over and over again: we'd love to shoot film, but we can't afford the rental, and don't know any 'film' DP's. OK, fine. Back when I made decent $ in the tech sector, I went and bought a camera package, an NPR, with all the trimmings. Sticks, filters, lots of mags, lenses, changing bags, the works. I've said the same thing for several years: you buy the film, I'll shoot the movie. Nothing. I've heard everything: we're shooting HD. Film is dead. MiniDV is the future (*ahem* BULLSHIT!!). So, here I am, almost $20k worth of gear in my closet, and 90% of mandy or other adds unanswered, and all the rest: 'we need someone with more experience'. Wait a second, I was a still photog for a long time before I ever considered cinematography, and (I know I'm going to get flamed for this) but I've always just considered a motion picture camera a still camera with a really really good auto advance. I've offered to travel, with gear mind you, even at my own expense. I've even bought sound recording gear to sweeten the deal, and still, no bites on me as DP. I've worked as a gaffer and LD, and a long time ago I worked as a live and studio recording/sound engineer, but still, the rejection letters are more than common. So, to all you pros, what did I do wrong? Mr. Mullen?

I think its the sound sync thing. On some cameras there was a 'bloop' feature that would fog a few frames at the beginning of a take. I haven't used it, as I don't have a Nagra or anything like that, and I record sound to a laptop or MD or something like that. If you look on the side of the camera with the veiwfinder, there is a screw, and under that screw is a little lightbulb, that was te little light that would fog the frames at the beginning of a take. I took mine out, so the switch on the motor doesn't do anything now. I hope that helps.

I have an NPR. And I'm glad I got it over a Bolex or an Arri S or BL. That said, it's a little hard to find eclair mount lenses, and it is a beast to try to shoot handheld without the shoulder mount. Mine cam with a shoulder mount, but I know most of them don't. The other thing is there are several different motors out there, I have an Alsa, but the best motor made for the NPR was the TCS motor (TXM-14?) which would use the TCS miliframe controller. Sweeeet. Tobin doesn't make them anymore. :( It's really a pretty easy camera to work on as well, mine was losing sync, and was a bit noisy. It turns out that the most common cause of both of these is the little rubber coupler that the motor cam sits in to drive the camera. That was an easy replacement, and now it works like a champ! It also runs a bit quieter than 16BL. Now, all I need is to convince people in my area to stop shooting HD. Although, I have had many offers for me to 'loan' it for 'important projects' for use by guys who are 'experienced dp's' with an XL1. They even asked to borrow a light meter. :angry: Oh well.