seth christian

just getting opinions on whatever! just keep in mind we're doing voice overs for the final 10 minute film. all shot with 7218. www.thinkmonkeymedia.com/untitledfilm

the problem with this would be (and this would take a big name or company with power behind it) to collectively get blockbuster, hollywood video, movie gallary, what have you... to get them to MAKE ROOM in their $2000/month leased store for films BY A NO-NAME, and WITH NO-NAME's IN IT, and BEING ONLY 20MINUTES LONG for the most part....then trying to convince them (even though they'd be free to obtain) would profit anything at all...when they could use that space for at least older movies that would have a greater chance at renting anyways. AND, the other issue is there would HAVE TO BE some sort of filtering responsibility by someone (good luck getting blockbuster or the other ones to hire people for that) because the short film industry's basket is SOOOO deep, that there'd only be small area in the store to show only qualified ones anyway. I dont foresee this ever happening unless some Scorsese stepped up and decided to make a nation-wide short film rental franchise! not sure if it would pan out or not...I dont think it would fly...cuz the public is saturated in the full-feature hollywood standard and short film viewers are mostly just filmmakers, actors, film schools and an occasional film nut/connoisseur. thats my 2 cents

some interesting things going on thru the story....but overall it was hard to keep interest. Narrator was monotone and boring. Obviously you're just beginning, so I say these things to only help you improve your skills, ok. :-) I would buy a reliable light meter and learn how to read a scene and know f-stops and how the film is going to read the light, if at all. And maybe you do already, but finding an f-stop to give you an image and lighting for a pretty picture are two different things. secondly, I would take some time to learn editing skills regarding the quality of your image: like gamma, contrast, blacks, grays and highs, key lighting, fill, kicker (back lighting), then just exercise your right to forum searching in "lighting" but most of all, keep doing more films! keep it up and remember all the little people in the end, christian

I think the man is asking "What is the purpose of HMIs" not just what they are. . even so, HMI can be used for a very wide variety of things...but the most common might be used for day scenes because they are powerful enough to penetrate in midday. they've been used to light up a forest, a parking garage, or a scene where the light needs to travel a long way, just about anything that calls for anything beyond 800 watts. they call for a lot of power source like a big generator to push the sufficient amps needed. so there's no specific purpose per say with using an HMI, its whatever you want it for, but they are TRUE in power as opposed to the weak "yellow" tungsten lights that say 1000watts you can buy at HomeDepot for instance. HMI's project differntly with a lens and you get reliable/consentrated light.

you said its a pet store with all natural lighting.... so with that scenario being all flourescents...all lighting would be pretty soft and even which would help your worry....so going with f2.2 with a meter reading of f4...I think you'll probably be alright! :-) but if you dont pull down a stop @ telecine...you will definitely have to pull down the level a bit in post to probably match others that may have been perfectly shot. let us know how it turned out and be sure to share your short with the world. pet store setting sounds interesting!!! good luck! :-)

I think we should have a forum topic just for Film Festivals. A good tool to get film-makers out there involved in other peoples work, do's and don'ts, keeping up with the film public and whats going on and only opens up more opportunity and support for people's films and dreams! One reason is because trying to push a short film out there for recognition and support (God forbid any profit) is like trying to eat chicken noodle soup with chop-sticks! anyone with me?

did they transfer it digibeta then ununcompressed 10-bit ? or did you do miniDV transfer, cuz that would make a big difference in color keeping

hey yall, let me first say...Guy at Cameraspro can talk your head off!!! ha! What a great guy! He's FANTASTIC! this is out of the ordinary, but he upgraded my 16mm camera last month and still has my camera because he seems to have email troubles and is really hard to get a hold of. (maybe he's out of town right now, dunno?) anyway, I lost his address where I sent my camera to him in Nevada and have been trying to reach him for the address to send this check because I need my camera back like A.S.A.P. does anyone have his address? better yet, does anyone have his cell phone? (not ...434-7051)

anyone seen the movie Dreamland? I know its on the DVD circuit now and not in the theatres, but I liked it so much that I just had to help promote such a beautiful piece. color editing is AWESOME, but I think they probably used some polarizing and other filters to help it along the way to post. story is touching and acting is well done.... and at parts its kinda like a music video. carries a great balance of darkness yet a blissful hope. I recommend it for your next movie gallary trip.

I dont know about any fur....i suppose anything in this nature is experimental...all i know is rabbit fur was found to work the best for the german testing because its so fine (guy at cameraspro agreed that a few layers of thin fur brings better results than one big fat piece) and the two benefits of using rabbit anyway..is that its thin so you're not packing on too much bulk around your camera....and two, rabbit fur is CHEAP!!!

thanks man! those look outstanding! any other companies that offer sunproof monitors like that that is not overseas?

i actually just shot a short with my EBM and I had remarkable turnout on this project. as long as you are using boom mics and not some omni or super cardiod or anything, you'll be amazed of the results. my barney is the original barney made for EBM's. (guy at cameraspro.com makes them by the way) and then I also lined the inside of that barney with rabbit fur...yes... believe it or not...rabbit furs. so i tried it and its awesome! there was a study done in germany years ago and they found that the best way to dampen sound in such case as a film camera is the microfibral hairs and many thin coats of rabbit fur worked 5 times better than any one large cotton filled, insulation stuffed, downfeather, canvas lined,......whatever. So....good boom mics + a barney from guy + 2 thin layers of rabbit furs = surprising results. However, Tim is right about one thing...if you dont want to deal with this hassle.... NPR or Aaton is much quieter.

looks great for dvx100. I love the filmic quality that the camera has to offer as well, but have found that it handles blacks very poorly regarding the final render to DVD. any similar issues with this?

I think for me...for this short film, it was a bad cast selection. Choosing the right people for the right character carries with it a HUGE weight in the believability and success in selling your film to the viewer. To me, that was my first initial thought, plus the sunglasses was kindof juvenile/amature to me......but maybe you were going for that young kid aspiring to be the cool, bad*ss on the bike (harley) idea!? Which is fine, but it seems like the idea wasn't harnessed with a lot of planning to bring the most out of the idea. I wont comment on the directing. Otherwise, some of the shot angles were fantastic; like the low-to-the-ground shot of when the boy is getting on the bike and taking off! And, I agree with the previous posting that...the edits and choice of shots were good! :) So, I believe my first comments pinpoint your weaknesses, and my latter pinpoints your strengths! I believe the best criticism is negative criticism to see our weaknesses in order to learn and grow....so I mean everything in good intention to help elevate quality in your next film! :)

I'm wanting a little monitor I can hook on the back or below my camera. any good experiences with what model???