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  1. Hey Filmmakers! This summer i'm officially doing my first job as a paid DoP for a short film (30min approximately) . I've never shot fiction before, i am foremost a Director and Writer for my own films. Although i have studied still photography for a long time, i've only shot and directed my own documentary short film. The film is mostly taking place in one location, a forest with a cabin/small house. I want to create a very unique look for the film, i'm gonna play with mist/rain, shoot early mornings and evenings. I take a lot of inspiration from my favorite filmmakers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Theo Angelopoulos and Yasujiro Ozu. I'm worried that my technical knowledge will set me back during filming, i'm probably gonna have to rely on my camera operator if that ever happens. We're a pretty small team of great guys and girl, so i'm in no worry that we're gonna be in a disagreement in anyway. What are the things that i should avoid? The lightning equipment is not much but i want to achieve a soft looking light in a lot of scenes, i will also list those below with the gear. All tips/comments are welcomed! Camera: Sony PXW-FS7 Lenses: Sony FE 28-135/4,0G - Sony FE 24-70/4,0 - Sony FE 70-200/4,0 - Sigma AF 18-35/1,8 Tripod: Manfrotto 519 Rig: Shoulder rig, Slider Lightning: 1 Smaller LED, 1 Blondie, 4 Flags, 3 Bounce boards, Black wrap, some C-stands
  2. I recently received a Rex 5 for a shoot. I have my own h16 reflex and have had no problems loading it. The rex5, however, doesn't seem to want to take the film maybe I'm doing something wrong? Need some help ASAP as my shoot is in a week. Cheers The spool seems to just jam and not thread the film through unless I add a bit of pressure onto the loop formers do I perhaps need to adjust them? If so how would I do this?
  3. Hi, I'm fairly new to this forum so hopefully, I'm writing this query in the right place. For my dissertation, I completed a test using Dedolight DLH4's (The 3 head kit) and I used the dimmer switch to adjust the intensity of the light. I was wondering what the dots represent on the dimmer switch? I've attached an image below for reference. I was hoping to find a numerical value as so far my research has only found this indicating 'dimming from minimum to maximum'. Any information or guesses are greatly appreciated and hopefully, someone can shed some light on this!! Thank you.
  4. WTB UNDER £1200 Graduate in the summer and would like to shoot my own film on 16mm. Preferably looking for a bolex sbm or rex 5 but don't mind as long as it's reliable! Based in Newcastle/London and willing to travel. Thanks
  5. Hi, We are in the middle of production (with extremely tight budget) of our directors masters degrees work called "Adamah" I'm looking for Kodak Vision 2 5205 or something similar to match our footage. The stock can be: shortends, recans, outdated stock. I need something like 600m/2000ft. We are on really tight budget, so prefer affordable offers. Our teaser (pardon for the bad color correction, this is just for refference) https://vimeo.com/246951335 (we are in Lithuania, EU) Or maybe someone has this stock just laying around and wants to get rid of it? Anyway Thanks for your attention, Nojus nojusdra.com
  6. Hi guys , first let me apologise for my first few posts probably to want to take more away from this wonderful community than i can give. I really would appreciate some help with understanding a few things about how and who i approach to get into this industry. I am a Final year Fine Art student at Central St Martins Art College , London. I have enjoyed my degree in art don't get me wrong its been helpful and I have learned a lot, but I also have discovered along the way that what really gets me going is Cinema, films and really more than anything Cinematography , the lighting the movement the creation of an atmosphere and mood, this amazing world i cannot describe how desperately i want to be part of that. My conundrum, How do i become part of it? I have no direct contacts into the film industry as CSM doesn't run any film course. I also dont have a relevant degree (film ba or whatever its fine art). I have worked in the course making photographs which later developed into this passion and i know work almost exclusively with motion picture work shooting editing lighting and colouring myself , as i have tried to read watch absorb and learn as much as i can on my own. and now i want to try to take the first step up into the industry i see i have two options so far both of which im going to try and see how it works out. Option 1 : try to get onto a Cinematography Masters at NFTS etc but honestly i don't know if i am anywhere near good enough yet having no training other than my own attempts to self teach. Option 2: try and become a camera trainee ... im really comfortable with being at the bottom of the pile doing whatever those above me ask me to do , menial tasks , whatever i dont care i get its part of the process and honestly i would sell a kidney just to get there because what i honestly want is to learn from people who know what their doing to slog my guts out to absorb every minute bit of knowledge and begin this journey learning this amazing craft... but how??? who do i approach to get a role as this? do you need formal training before that i essentially lack ? do you approach production companys ? or do you approach crews? where do you find these crews? any feedback from people who are in the industry especially those who have worked their way up the ranks and can shed light on the process would be appreciated so much by me. also just so im not winging for advice and not contributing anything heres a few shots from my art films . thanks so much
  7. 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display Is this a good move? The base model is about $2300 and while I am doing full HD now, I plan to upgrade to 4K at some point. It's not for a job, but I want a powerful processor and if I can use the cloud and/or a seagate external HD for storage, Perhaps this will do nicely? 3.4GHz quad-core Intel i5 and an AMD Radeon Pro 570 with 4GB video memory. Comes with 8GB of RAM as standard, upgradeable to 32GB. Comes with 1TB hard drive on the base model; up to 2TB Fusion Drive on the high-end model. Thanks! dk
  8. Hey guys, I'm planning a "matrix-style" fight scene for a production soon in Dallas, TX. The type of fights where you punch the guy and he goes flying across the room. Lots of aerial tricks etc. I know I'm going to need a wire harness for this to hoist up the actor while doing the stunts, but I've never used one before. I plan to hire a vfx guy for wire removal in post. I've got a few questions: 1. How do I go about finding a wire harness to rent for the production? I don't have a producer yet on the project, but I'm starting preliminary preparation and I'm just curious on alot of things because I've never dealt with this before. 2. What is needed from the location/space to phsyically pull this off? I assume the ceiling needs to have heavy beams that the rig can attach to to support the weight? I've seen it attached to condors/cranes on movie sets, but I doubt we will have the budget to get one of those. 3. Just incase, what's the rate to rent a small crane for something like that? Just a ballpark would be fine, I'm new to all of this. 4. Any tips or things I should look out for when using this rig for the first time? 5. I assume I need to hire some type of technician to ensure the rig is being used properly and safely? 6. Anyone recommend a producer in Dallas Texas that can help me pull this off?
  9. Hello everyone, First time poster here, and I am shooting a promotional video for a martial arts competition coming up where my entire crew has 0 experience with gripping (family and friends). It will be my first time also using bigger lights, and I also have 0 set experience. I want to be most prepared when approaching this, since I'm dropping my own money to rent equipment, and I'm asking a lot of favors. I need your help going over my whole thought process to see if there are any big errors. My budget is under 500 dollars so please keep that in mind. Basically, I'm trying to get the look in the 3 reference stills. The content of the video is a fight scene very similar to the wushu stills. My interpretation of how I can get this look: It looks like they used hard a hard backlight with bounce from the floor and a bead board to get the frontal fill, then hazing the room to get the shaft of light. The room: I have attached a picture of the location below. I have access to a 40x60 foot room, with 20 foot ceilings. The included photo has a rubber mat but when I am shooting it will have a shiny wooden floor. The ceilings are white and the walls are half wooden and half white. The Light: I added a diagram so it will be clearer. I am thinking of using one or two ARRI Fresnel 650w, since it will be in my price range. I am not sure if it will have enough output to get what I want. Also, I want to rig it as high as possible, almost like a top light, but not sure how I can get it there. There will also be candles placed in the cabinet on the back wall, and I want to make sure it will show up with the exposure set to the Fresnel. Light Modifiers: To control it, I was thinking of going full spot and using the barn doors to get it off the background and the ceiling. I am going to put black bedsheets on 2 c-stands, one on each side of the talent. I am also going to use a bounce light into the talent’s faces so they are not completely silhouettes. For Haze, I’m planning on using Atmosphere areosol, Demonstration of the product Camera and Lenses: I am going to rent a sony A7sii (never used it) since I have heard good things about its low-light capabilities, and also rent a 24-70 mm sony lens, since it feels safer and less likely to screw me over than a prime. Questions: My main questions, from most important to least important, since I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Will my method of controlling light work? If not, what are some low-budget alternatives? Is the 650 watt Fresnel enough output for what I want? How can I get my light as high as possible? Can I get this lighting setup done in 1 hour by myself or with an inexperienced crew? Should I use a different camera within my budget? Should I rent a sony a7sii that I have never used before, or use my Rebel t4i that I know in and out? Should I use primes instead of a zoom? I know I will need one wide shot and the rest will be waist up and some closeup inserts of the hands and faces. Opinion on Atmosphere Aerosol? Should I rent a machine instead? I would also like help with the rigging and electrical components of how I can make this work, but I know this is the wrong section to post for that. Thanks, I hope I wasn't too annoying. Basically, I want to recreate this look
  10. Hello everyone! I'm back on this Forum with another question! Hopefully some of you will be able to help me out, it'll possibly seem like a very simple thing to do but I have no idea how to! I'm about to shoot a trailer next month and I got shots that takes place at night, a character is standing a few feet away from a long fire line, and I'd like the entire scene to be lit by the fire light, the thing is, I doubt the actual fire will be enough to lit the character as much as I'd like to, he'll be a bit too far from the fire. Any idea of how I could simulate the light of flames? Thanks a lot in advance guys! This would save my a** ! A very nice day to all of you day! :)
  11. This came off a Nikon from the late 50s. Can't figure out. Anyone know? Any guesses?
  12. I just got a Nikon 8.5 -25 with a strange mount. I have looked everywhere but can't identify it. Any help would be awesome thanks.
  13. New member here. I have been given an old Hanimex Super 8 Zoom projector, but cannot understand how the film is actually supposed to be projected, the spools are not in the right place for the film to pass between the light and the lens... Please see the photos below... Also, if anyone spots anything else I've done wrong, please let me know! (I know the film is loose in most of the shots, I just put it there for show)
  14. Hey there! I'm sorry if this is too many questions at once, but I figured it would be better to just lay my initial questions all out at once instead of peppering them throughout the thread over time. I graduated from college this May with an English degree and a minor in Communications, and I want to go to film school as a graduate student. In order to do this, I need a short film (I'd really like to go to USC). However, my university didn't/doesn't exactly have a cutting-edge film program, so I'm a little flustered. Here's a bit of background about my short film project. It concerns a young woman going to a bar in the early hours of her 21st birthday (it's like 12:08 AM) and ordering her first-ever drink. It's going to be shot without dialog--it will be all body language and sound effects, like a Pixar short, if that makes sense. I want the look of the film to be "objective" (I know that's not a real thing in film) except for a couple of wide-angle shots and a deep focus shot which pulls back over the bar to establish that she's in a bar (if there's a way to do this without deep focus, let me know). I'd also like to do something like this shot from The Music Man (https://youtu.be/CC33O52pGUg?t=2m43s). I don't know how they did it, but I suppose you can cheat it in post if you're a good/patient enough rotoscoper. Anyway, I was looking into what kind of camera I should use to film this project. I've saved up a bit of money and I want to get the best camera possible for the job without requiring me to learn a textbook-worth of information or have tons of hands-on time with the camera before I use it. Since I'll be filming in a real bar (sadly, I haven't saved up enough money to build one from scratch on a soundstage) at night, there will be low light and the possibility of competing color temperatures (since I can't exactly tear out any lights). I'd also prefer to go for as filmic a look as possible. I would shoot the project on film if I could, but I super-don't know enough about film to do that. For this reason, I was looking at either the RED camera or the ARRI Alexa XT. After reading about the RED, I came away with the impression that it was a very particular camera that had kind of a steep learning curve, and that the ARRI Alexa XT would be much easier to shoot with, although I don't know if it's easy enough. My experience has mainly been with that one miniDV Canon SD prosumer camera that everyone had. I also would like to shoot Open Gate ARRIRAW for the project to maximize the pixel count for upscaling to 4K. Since I live near Atlanta, I'm looking at renting from here: http://pce-atlanta.com/. Here is their list of cameras and lenses (PDF): http://www.pce-atlanta.com/pdf/Camera%20Catalog_4_8_2013.pdf. I'm going to be renting the camera and lenses for a weekend. So my first question is: how feasible is this? Especially as I've never used the Alexa before and I'm not an experienced color corrector. Can you just drop ARRIRAW footage into the free version of Da Vinci Resolve or Adobe SpeedGrade and get good results just by messing with a few presets, or is it going to be a month of tedious work? Because I don't have the time to devote every day to it, especially as I'll also be doing foley work. My second question is this: ARRIRAW is flat footage, correct? So how do you know how the colors are going to look when using the monitor? My third question is: how much is that Codex docking station that plugs into the USB 3.0 connection on a MacBook Pro? I've been unable to get a straight answer from their website. And do I need to buy a software license to transfer the ARRIRAW files to a hard drive using it? My fourth question is this: what kinds of lenses should I use? I was thinking of just getting a zoom lens, since that would be cheaper, but would I be able to pull off that deep-focus shot with it? And ARRI's website tells me that shooting in Open Gate ARRIRAW can be a problem because a lot of lenses don't fully cover the sensor area. Do any of the lenses on that list qualify? I'd rather not abandon the Open Gate part of my plan, but I'd sooner abandon it than abandon the Alexa XT (although if I weren't shooting in Open Gate ARRIRAW I guess I could switch to an Alexa with the XT module), so if I have to, I will. My fifth question is: do I need to get a new tripod? I mainly have the kind which you can use for still camera work or for that relatively light Canon prosumer camera I mentioned. Is the Alexa XT a heavy camera? My sixth question is: lighting. I don't understand it. I have a lot of questions about it. I'm considering just using the available light for this reason. For instance, I understand the three-point lighting method (or I think I do, anyway) and I understand how it's easy to do in close-up, but what happens when you cut to a long shot from a different angle, exposing where the lighting rigs would be? My seventh question is: how do I keep it from looking like TV? Let me elaborate on that. I initially thought that aspect ratio played a part in making TV look like TV, but Better Call Saul looks like a movie to me, and Witness for the Prosecution, mistakenly presented in 16:9, looked like a movie as well--not like TV. So my theory is that it has something to do with coverage and composition (and maybe editing and lighting, too). I want my short film to look like a film. What are some common pitfalls I should avoid if I don't want my film to be mundane? I think that's it for now. If you guys could do me a favor and keep checking this thread, I'm sure I'll have more questions. Thank you so much for your time. Also, please let me know if in the future I should make separate topics for questions with separate subject matter. I just didn't want to clutter up your forums.
  15. I shot a short roll of Kodak 500T (16mm). Upon finishing I noticed, much to my dismay, that the ISO on my light meter was set to 50. So, the fast film's exposure index is rated at 500T and I overexposed by how many stops? Can either push or pull (pull, right?) processing save this spool? The negative is probably pretty dense too, right? I saw a latitude test where film was overexposed by 5+ stops and it looked nice. Hoping there's a way to remedy this problem.
  16. Hi, I'm a photography student and I recently bought a Canon 1014E. I mainly shoot 35mm photos (I can work a film camera easy for stills) but I wanted to get into film making so I decided to start out with Super 8 because I assumed it would be pretty easy because of the role it used to play in home video making. I guess I was wrong! I've read the manual online a ton of times but all its done is confuse the hell out of me. I'm up to speed with the majority of the camera's functions but some of them still baffle me so I would appreciate some help! Being a student I have hardly any money so there's not a lot of room for error. This photo came from a previous post (so please ignore the arrows)!! I have 2 main queries regarding operating the camera and I expect that they'll sound incredibly stupid to someone with experience but I am COMPLETELY new at super 8 so I have no idea - Please forgive me! here is a link to the manual for reference - http://www.manualslib.com/products/Canon-Autozoom-Electronic-1014-3015685.html 1. The film i have is Vision 3 50d but the camera's automatic system does not recognise this. This problem has been answered here: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=61842 however I am not sure about what it means to over exposing by a 3rd of a stop. In more basic terms, how can I shoot on my 50D so that is not over exposed? 2. When I look in the viewfinder and the camera is in full automatic mode there is a meter with an aperture scale at the top., and red at both ends. Is this the light meter (ie when the needle is over to the right it is over exposed, left under exposed etc?)? Or does this simply show me what the auto aperture is for a correct exposure, meaning that even when it is far to the right but not in the red it is still a mid range, correct exposure? I usually shoot with a Canon AE-1 within my photography and its meter is very different, hence why i'm confused. 3. I feel so silly even asking this question (it pains me so hard as a photographer) but in auto mode in cloudy daylight the needle on the meter inside the viewfinder is ALWAYS in the red as far as possible on the right side of the spectrum. How can I change the exposure without making everything too technical? I understand that the switch with the dot, 2 and 4 next to the FPS have something to do with exposure however the manual conveyed this section in a way that was very confusing to me. How do I correct the exposure? If anybody could help i'd be so grateful! I've been waiting to get my hands on this for ages so i'm eager to get shooting ASAP. Thank you so much!
  17. So I am trying to look into Renting equipment for 14 Days for an Indie Film. The issue is we only have about 6K to spend for a FULL Camera Kit and Lenses. Mind you I have a good tripod, but obviously need all the working parts. Im really contemplating a Canon C300 MKII for 4K C-Log, with either a Zeiss CP2 Kit (which is much cheaper, under budget it seems) or a Set of Cooke S4 Primes which puts us right on target, maybe a hair expensive. I'm a stickler for quality and this film is really in need of that "David Fincher" Style usually locked off on a tripod, so no need for handheld rigs, but needs to have a very "anamorphic" look and almost like 35mm Film Stock! Im not a Cinematography Pro, I just really need something that does well in low light, doesnt need to be like an A7s, but that NAILS Color and the overall feel of things. Hope someone has some ideas! Thanks!
  18. Hello Recently purchased a Kodak Instamatic M22 off ebay for £10 with some new film, the listing stated it was not tested but i took a chance anyway. So it came and didn't work, turns out the batteries had corroded so i cleaned it out and popped in some new AA's, pressed the exposure and sure enough the motor buzzed away like a bee. However having opened up the catridge slot i could see that even though the motor was working the film cartridge turner thingy wasn't moving, after a browse online i found out these things have weak gears that break so i got out the screwdriver and took it apart, all the gears are in great condition so i don't know what could be causing this to not work. Any help much appreciated, thanks
  19. Hey this is my first post here so let me know if I'm screwing up out the gate. I've been shooting shorts with a DSLR and some cine lenses for about 3 years now. For 2 of those years, I've had a pair of LED lights made by Bescor in my arsenal, here's a link to them for the stats/info: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/819592-REG/Bescor_LED_95DK2_LED_95DK2_Dual_LED_Light.html Obviously, I don't know my way around lamp statistics, applications, etc. and wanted to post what I don't like about these and hopefully get some advice from you guys on what specifically needs to be better. The 2 main gripes I have with these LED lights are a lack of brightness, and an odd shadow casting that appears jagged, similar to the shadow in this picture Every time people ask stuff like this the first reply seems to be "well what do you want to do?" and my answer for that would be either run and gun documentary/videography OR a slower workflow for something like an indoor short film shoot. If you guys have any easy guides to LED light stats, lists of brands to love/avoid, or any specific recommendations for under $1000, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for replies.
  20. Hello, My names Trevor, I've been getting super into film over the past few years and am by no means an expert in the slightest. I got my first camera a few months ago (Nikon D3300), and I know all about settings, set-up, etc, I run on manual. Anyway I've been doing more and more test videos in different situations and no matter where I am no matter how low the ISO is, the shot always seems to have a TON of noise and be very dark. I put a sample shot below. Camera: Nikon D3300 Lens: Kit 18-55mm Settings: 800 ISO f. 3.5 Any help/advice is extremely appreciated! (Don't know if it's me or the camera but I feel really held back by the quality I'm getting.) Yes I know its very out of focus, wasn't bothering with focusing.
  21. Hello Everyone, I am a T.A. in a cinematography class at Arizona State and I convinced my teacher to do a workshop with a 16mm camera. Being how new our Film School is we have no film cameras, only digital, so we are renting an SRIII to show the class and possibly shoot some stuff. My professor and I wanted to show everyone what it's like to shoot on film and how careful you have to be with exposure, how to use light meters, etc., and implementing these structures for when you shoot on digital. Rather than the typical status quo of students just blindly shooting and guessing on exposure. I was reaching out to the cinematography community for help, if anyone has any short ends or exposed super 16 film we could use to help the students with (show how to load the magazines, etc.) that would be amazing. Kind of a long shot to ask on here but I thought it wouldn't hurt. Thanks, Danner Gardner
  22. I'm creating a Super 8 booklet for novice filmmakers. The idea is to explain what Super 8 is, showcase what it can do, and to cover all the basic steps, so that someone with no knowledge could come out with an understanding of how to film using Super 8. Also, since its been awhile since I've shot on Super 8, this is a way for me to get back into Super 8. Its for a college project, but I'm going to release it online as a free PDF afterwards, and hopefully it can be a help to anyone who wants to learn about Super 8. What I really need are stills and photos (of Super 8 cameras, film cartridges, etc.) for the manual, and I'm wondering if any of you would have material you wouldn't mind being used. I really want to showcase what Super 8 can do, so I want to have some stills/screenshots. Anyone who helps would get full attribution in the manual, plus a small byline or paragraph where you could plug a project, website or service. And...if you have any feedback or thoughts about this manual, I'd love to here your thoughts on it!
  23. Hello, everyone, The title pretty much sums my issue up— I purchased this light off ebay but have no idea how to power the source with its 5 pin xlr power cord. thanks!
  24. Hi, So in Davinci Resolve we have used one long continuous take that we have cut up in various places and into multiple shots. When I apply a LUT to one of the shots, it applies it to all of the shots as the camera was rolling the whole time and it is all coming from the same file. I just want to apply a LUT to one of the shots and not have it apply to all of them, how do I do this? Hope that makes sense thanks
  25. Hi Guys, Just picked up this Milliken for $30 figured I give it a shot. Had some questions about the wiring. It has this cable coming out of the front and a Hi Lo Off switch on the back. Haven't seen any of them with this and was wondering if this camera has had any rewiring. Also what they are for. I assume that the cable might be for power if it has been rewired. Thought I check with you guys first before I did anything with it. Thanks Cody
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