New Reel comment please

Artyom Zakharenko · January 8, 2013

Updated my reel recently, comments are welcome

Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OpbJefT5Ab4#!

Matthew W. Phillips · January 8, 2013

Artyom, I feel the need to rant for a minute but dont take this personally.

Every reel I see anymore is exactly the same as the one before it. And this one falls right in line. They are these DSLR shot, blown out skylines, heavy browns but otherwise desaturated, slow mo, and too much center framing. It seems practically EVERY reel I have watched in the last 2 months (and I watch many) has these attributes. Isn't anyone original anymore? Good Lord, when I watched the short "Coward" that Stephen Murphy shot, it was like a breath of fresh air. Beautiful colors, perfect framing, fluid movement, lush greens...so unlike most of what's out there. When did ugly become the new beautiful?

Back to you, Artyom. Your reel has all the bad I previously mentioned. But it also has good camera movement and decent framing when you have more than one subject. Please add some creativity to your reel so you don't look like just another one of 999,999,999 other "cinematographers" who post reels.

Rant over.

Artyom Zakharenko · January 9, 2013

Hi Matt,

First of all, thanks for your comment. Though you make it sound as if every DP has absolute freedom when it comes to making choices. Sure i could throw a pink filter in front of my lens, frame everything off frame etc. but would i serve the story doing that, or would it be just a way to be original? I can't come up to the director and say, hey i know you want this scene to look dark, but you know what lets make the whole frame 18% grey. Now, when you have a story that is asking for fairytale colors and mysterious fluid camera movements, then yes, i agree you can approach the project in an unusual way, because there is no reference/standard to a fairytale, its a blanco page and you can fill in everything the way you want it. Or, you have to be the director, dp, producer, writer and truck driver on your own project, like the guy from 'The Wheat and the Chaff', so you can do anything you like without limitations and let your creativity go wild. In the work i show in my reel, choices were made based on the director's wishes and story. Ofcourse there is a lot of me in it, but still within the director's frame/vision.

As for the blown out skylines (that i couldnt find by the way), how many stops over, is blown out for you? Again, i believe this is a choice you make at that particular moment, i dont think there should be a formula for sky exposure. Sure, you could close your diafragma a bit more, but that will also effect the rest of your image, so you have to find the right balance between high and lowlights, and this is what i thought was right at that moment for that scene.

You also seem to hate DSLR footage, which is okay because i don't like the footage that comes out of these types of cameras neither. The truth is, there is no DLSR footage in this reel except the forest scene. Though your comment makes it sound like it's a bad thing to use DSLR's. Ofcourse i'd love to shoot on film, or on higher end cameras with better pixels and higher dynamic range, but sometimes you just have to work with the available budget, sour fact.

Please do not see this as an attack, i just found some of the points you made unreasonable...

You can expect more creative work from a well established DP, since well established DP's have more years of experience, more projects they've shot, more opportunities to test things that have never been tested before. I also believe every DP has to know the basics of the craft first, before playing with light or color out of the box.

Matthew W. Phillips · January 9, 2013

Please do not see this as an attack, i just found some of the points you made unreasonable...

And please do not see this as a "counter-attack" but I really think you should re-think putting your work up for critique because you dont really seem to want criticism. Do you want me to say "oh that is so great! Its the best thing Ive ever seen!" or do you want me to be honest?

No, your work is not industry standard. I suggest you look at the short on this board right now that Stephen Murphy worked on called "Coward." Its work that you should strive for and if you really think your footage is in the same league, you have a ton to learn.

And no where does he blow out highlights but still preseves great exposure on his subjects and its pretty much ALL outdoor work.

Edit: Working with warlord directors is no excuse for a bad reel. If you have to, go shoot your own "mock" scenes that demonstrate your true skills and creativity. I'd rather look at that, as a director wanting to hire a DP, than look at a reel that downplays the DPs talent because of poor directorial decisions and someone who cant let his DP do his job.

Artyom Zakharenko · January 11, 2013

Okay, I'm waiting for Ashton Kutcher to walk into my room any moment and tell me i'm punk'd..

Dear Matt, you seem not to understand the difference between a showreel and an actual movie. After your second comment it also appears you can't tell the difference between a DP's task and a hobby photographer. It's good that you're in love with 'Coward', yes it is a beautifully shot film, no protest. If you read my previous post carefully, you won't find any sentence in which i claim to be a brilliant cameraman or that i think my work is in the higher league, you kinda made that up... By the way, are you Stephen's agent by any chance? The way you let us know how fed up you are with all the other 999,999,999 reels - i almost heard you saying: ''Your work is bad, because you're not Stephen''

Matthew W. Phillips · January 11, 2013

I only used Stephen as an example because his work was at hand on here. It's not a personal attack on you as I dont know you.

First off, why do people even put reels up here for critique if they dont want opinions? That's all any of this is anyway...an opinion. Someone else may love your work. If you think I'm crazy then that is your choice and good luck to you regardless. But as it stands, I'm the only one who has responded so I think the fact that I watched your reel and have commented with detailed feedback now three times shows that at least I am trying, in my own way, to help.

Honestly, if you were local to me, I'd love to have you come work on a project with me, talk over ideas, BS over film related stuff. I'm not a jerky person and I love to talk about this stuff and solicit different ideas. But I was of the opinion that getting critiqued is like voluntarily putting yourself on the chopping block with the full awareness that someone could tear you to shreds. I've done it myself on here before and other forums and it hurts sometimes but that's why we do it...to learn, get different perspectives, etc. And I never said your work was "bad." If you were bad, i wouldnt bother to reply at all. I only replied because you seem to have some skills but they can be developed further. Hell, even David Mullen claims he is always learning but I sure as hell dont know who could be the one to teach him...Caleb Deschanel perhaps?