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I think I've made every mistake in the book...


Edwin Feliu

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With my Bolex H16. The first film was overexposed; the next was ruined because the lens was not in the taking position; this last film had a sort of hood obstructing the image, which I imagine is due to the lens not being seated properly. I take comfort in the thought that others have gone through the same things. In fact, I like the challenge, and hopefully the next will be the one. My hunch is that I need to spend more time getting to know the Bolex. Any opinions are welcome.

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Thanks, guys. I made one more mistake recently: I dropped it. The film cover opened and a lens hood was bent. I was mortified, but remembered reading here that one could drop a Bolex and carry on merrily--something like that. I'll find out soon if that's the case when I get the film from the lab. I shoot Super 8 and Standard 8, and love all these formats. But shooting with the Bolex seems more challenging, and despite these setbacks, I'm determined to make good films with it. What has helped me lately is sticking to one lens: that has simplified things somewhat.

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Oh, well. It's cheaper than film school.

 

P

 

Yes, you can make a ton more mistakes than paying for film school.

 

Most of us make lots of mistakes. It took my 4-1/2 years with multiple camera systems before I got infrared flash worked out.

 

Busker Times Square - Selection from Pointers project - IR / invisible flash photo taken in the dark (Candid)

 

世界のリーダー赤外線フラッシュと円形魚眼レンズ写真

post-72141-0-78428400-1544403234_thumb.jpg

Edited by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
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Yes, you can make a ton more mistakes than paying for film school.

 

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Film school actually allows you the opportunity to commit more mistakes. It doesn’t have a magic potion to eliminate them. But as I’ve said before, learning filmmaking in film school is secondary to its primary mission. It’s there to instill a specific mindset of work ethics, discipline, responsibility, networking and learning the business of filmmaking. One doesn’t necessarily get that when self taught.

 

G

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This is how we learn. :)

 

So next time pay more attention to exposure. Make sure you're using your meter properly...look for YouTube videos if you're not familiar with it. As far as seating the film correctly, loading takes practice. Plus you'll get to know the particular "purrr" of your camera and will know when something doesn't sound right.

 

Bottom line is keep trying and learning from each try. Eventually you'll nail it and it will all make sense and you'll be like, "wow. this is really cool."

 

I've never shot with a Bolex so I can't give you any specifics but plenty of folks on this forum will be able to.

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Will, kind words. I'm so excited about Bolex that I ordered three more lenses and am looking for another camera of a different make, despite not having one good film to show for my efforts. 16mm is a whole different animal altogether. By seating the lens, I meant not fully lining it up with the shutter. Maybe it's a common mistake for beginners.

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Will, I always have a light meter with me, but I made a rookie mistake: I forgot to factor in the shutter speed. Somehow, I thought that using 500 speed film meant I had a 500 shutter speed, whereas it seems to be more like 60. I have trouble figuring out that blunder, but somehow think it's related to shooting my Rolleicord.

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I did some shooting last year on a Bolex S16 and made a mistake, but it was one that turned out okay. I kept stuffing my Sekonic meter into my jeans pocket and didn't realise that the film speed dial actually turns very easily. So by the end of the afternoon's shoot I realised I'd been overexposing the 50D by a stop or more. But the way it came out, after a bit of digital correction, my musician friend whom I shot the film for actually liked the overexposed look. Says it gives the short film an ethereal, slightly other-worldly look, like in a dream. Will try and post somewhere here when he gets the soundtrack done. Now the meter goes into a pouch on my belt or on a lanyard. No more tight jeans pockets. Filming with older wind up cameras with manual exposure etc can be stressful because the actor or actors are often used to point and shoot cameras and don't understand that the cinematographer actually has to think and prepare and take a lot of care. I always found a huge difference between shooting Super 8 and 16mm.

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Jon, I shot a few 8mm films that were very overexposed. However, I, too, found this worked to my advantage because the images that were correctly exposed drifted in and out dreamily. One of these films was jumpy because of a gate problem, but that, too, worked to my advantage because it made the footage edgy. I edited both movies into a single film that I liked. BTW I would love to see what you shot. Would you email it to edwincito@yahoo.com?

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