Reputation from IronFilm - Page 456

IronFilm reacted to Jimbo in Wedding videography advice November 29, 2016

Hi Jimmy,
I've been shooting weddings for 5 years so hopefully I can help out a little.
I shoot with 2 x GH4s and a mixture of fast glass (adapted and native). The GH4s do a great job and I love the small size (as I'm very sensitive to being unobtrusive). However, I would suggest, as others have, that the C100 MkII is the dream camera for weddings and events if you can afford it. I've been very close to pushing the button a number of times but I'd have to switch my lenses and get a larger Glidecam and I'm not willing to take the financial hit at present.
The C100 nails lowlight, skintones, internal NDs, small file size and great audio, pretty much all the key elements to the technical side of weddings. But... I've seen people craft beautiful weddings films with pretty much every camera we discuss on these forums. You're A7sII is no slouch for this kind of work, although record times, reliability, battery life stopped me going down that route and sticking with the trusty GH4s which have never let me down. If there is a particular camera you just love shooting with, then you can make the technical limitations work.
Regarding size of C100, I wouldn't worry too much about that, even in the UK. It's not too big, and I think what's most important is the way you approach the filming. Some people won't like being filmed whatever camera you use, but an apology, smile and some self-deprecating humour will usually win over even the most vehemently shy/grumpy guests. Most people are fine.
I would suggest the other key area of investment is sound, especially decent lapel mics . Mic the groom for the ceremony (vicar/registrar too if they don't mind) and mic speaker for speeches individually if possible, or get them to hold a mic, or take a feed from the venue's PA system (if you are working at one specific hall then you should get this down pretty quickly!) I think killer audio from the ceremony and speeches is one of the areas that can boost your films to the next level, and the sound bytes can drive your highlights films too.
A few tips off the top of my head:
- Attend church/hall rehearsals where possible, good to ingratiate yourself with vicars (some have had bad experiences with photogs/video guys) and good to suss out all your angles ahead of time, and meet the close family and friends. Getting them onside can make the days so much easier.
- It's invaluable for ceremony, speeches and first dance to have a wide "safety" angle set up to cut too
- Editing is a real bitch when it comes to weddings, if you're like me you are going to feel that intensity to film EVERYTHING but every shot you take is going to have a knock-on effect with your editing pipeline. My footage is better when I shoot less and observe more; waiting, looking, for special angles and moments. Of course, sometimes you've just got to grab what you can given the day's timings.
- Don't overcomplicate your gear. I personally find it very easy to get bogged down into lens decisions, shall I go Glidecam now, shall I get the tripod out? Ultimately, I've found my best footage comes from when I'm stuck with a single lens (usually a prime) and I'm handheld or monopod and I'm just enjoying the filming.
Weddings isn't my dream work either, but wow is it a good place to learn fast, and work with footage that involves beauty, emotion and story... all key ingredients to narrative films. If you can handle weddings you can handle just about any filming environment too. Not to put you off, you'll be fine, but you have to get creative and think fast and plan ahead to get good shots in an environment you don't have control over.
If I can help any further with specific questions, feel free to message me or what not.

IronFilm reacted to Geoff CB in Wedding videography advice November 29, 2016

If your doing that many weddings C100 Mark 2 or FS5. I would lean towards the Canon. Light files, great image, great low light. That camera was meant to shoot weddings. FS5 has that fantastic auto ND filter and you can use a speedbooster though.

Do not ever shoot without internal ND on weddings, dealing with external ND's are a pain in the ass when you have to move from indoor to outdoor quickly.

IronFilm reacted to Geoff CB in Film School November 29, 2016

tupp is 100 percent correct.

Had an older friend I invited to shoot BTS stills, he had said he had been on sets before. It must not have been many.

He walked right up to the director in the middle of shooting and asked what the scene was about. He was kicked off set, I will never even mention his name to the director again. I don't talk to him anymore either, it was an important shoot day and he cost us time and my reputation took a hit.

Don't screw around, don't talk to the director, do your job. Or you will never work on that crew, or any of the crews that those people work on, ever again.

On film school: I echo what others have said, go to make connections for the future. Do not expect to walk out of film school and be directing features right out of the gate.

IronFilm reacted to tupp in Film School November 29, 2016

As others have stated, attending film school can help in networking and in quickly learning basic filmmaking concepts. The importance of the networking advantage cannot be overstated.

However, if you just started film school and if you want to get set experience by working on a third-tier level (electrician, grip, set dresser, 3rd AD, etc.) on a medium/large set, it would be wise not to let anyone know that you are a film student. Film students are notoriously lazy, presumptuous set workers, and most department heads would sooner hire an enthusiastic novice right off of the street, rather than having to contend with a "privileged" film school attendee.

If you are a film student and find yourself working on set at a third-tier level, make sure that you do your specific, minor job to the best of your ability, and do not try to always be around the camera, director, DP, jib, etc. Always go through channels -- avoid talking directly to the director, DP and producer. Also, do not criticize any decisions made by the director, DP, producers nor any department heads.

If you aspire to be a director, DP or senior editor (like most film students), there is something to be said for limiting your third-tier set experience, as dealing with the details of such jobs will take you away from focusing on the fundamentals of telling a story through moving pictures. Same thing goes for frequenting forums such as this one -- if you want to direct or edit, avoid spending a lot of time learning about camera feature minutiae -- don't laboriously concern yourself with trifles such as rolling shutter, IBIS, DR, CRI, etc. As a director, your main focus should be getting a performance out of the actors and effectively telling a story on film (digital).

IronFilm got a reaction from Jimbo in Wedding videography advice November 29, 2016

You already have three really really great cameras, don't waste money and mental energy on bothering with anything else for low budget wedding shoots.
Just use it!

IronFilm got a reaction from Kisaha in Wedding videography advice November 28, 2016

You already have three really really great cameras, don't waste money and mental energy on bothering with anything else for low budget wedding shoots.
Just use it!

IronFilm reacted to Arikhan in How to save the consumer camera: DON'T! November 28, 2016

@jonpais
Yeah...BUT when Samsung presented the NX1 with h.265, self proclaimed experts blamed this (talking about "downsides of the NX1"), though it was revolutionary at that time. The truth is, there are only TWO possibilities to handle footage: compressed and non compressed footage (RAW). For people aiming to work with compressed footage, there must be efficient codecs on the market. And the h.265 is doubtless an efficient codec and (from current point of view and technical knowledge) probably one of the best possibilities to handle compressed, high quality images in 4K and above. Not perfect, but at the moment a very efficient (IQ <-> compression rate) possibility...
So far the theory...But many camera manufacturers refuse the implementation of h.265 in their devices, and offer consumers low end or shitty codecs for their cameras...
Sometimes I think, buyers WANT to be kidded...One funny example: There is no Panasonic "professional" camcorder up to 3.000 Euro offering by far the same image quality as the 550 Euro GX85 - an affordable consumer hybrid camera...Guys, that's an unacceptable joke. And it only works because buyers ("professional users") just accept overpriced devices and kidding wish-wash argumentation...Best review and the only client side argument manunfacturers understand, is NOT BUYING their devices (in this case, the camcorders)...

IronFilm got a reaction from Arikhan in How to save the consumer camera: DON'T! November 27, 2016

Remember most of us won't be filming in 4K for 4K deliveries, but there is benefits for 4K capture for a 1080 delivery (you can crop / zoom / pan around).

IronFilm reacted to Timotheus in 4k shootout: G7 vs 5D4 November 27, 2016

:-)
Max Yuryev did a comparison between camera's that differ a factor 8 in price, but for sure don't differ as much when it comes to 4k quality/useability
Now I'm extra excited to go find a deal on the G80 haha