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Everything posted by fuzzynormal
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Based on what I see on Vimeo and in comment sections the answer is "random hand held street scenes with a music bed"
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Here's a broader question that a really-good-but-not-absolutely-perfect-camera, especially like the NX1, brings to my mind often: Would these perceived limitations seriously affect one's ability to create compelling motion picture storytelling? At what point do we say, "man, that image is good. I can go make a movie with that." In other words, I understand the desire to reach for the elusive last % of IQ, but if you feel a camera satisfies 95% of your needs, but you'd REALLY like to get to 97%, do you NOT do something because you can't have it? After all, this is the low-budget ideal of film making here on this site. Since that's the model the cameras talked about here are always going to be behind the curve compared to upper echelon equipment. Is it a chicken/egg sort of thing? I feel if one has a great idea for a film, they'll go get a camera that makes it happen. Do some feel they need a great camera to realize their film ideas?
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Short Film I shot in Cuba - La Noche Buena on old old Red One MX
fuzzynormal replied to Ed_David's topic in Cameras
Yeah, I'm hyperbolic. Sorry bout that. I mean I intellectually get why it makes sense for a lot of folks. It certainly depends on what they're trying to do. I just don't run in that arena of higher levels of production. And I've never met a camera I've been unable to effectively utilize because of bad colors. Well, that's not true. I've used some pretty wonky JVC cameras. As for the RED1, there's still a reason it appeals to dudes like Mr. Davis and why they use 'em to make cool stories... But man is it slow! -
Short Film I shot in Cuba - La Noche Buena on old old Red One MX
fuzzynormal replied to Ed_David's topic in Cameras
I'm still a bit flummoxed why highly accurate skin tone is such a priority for some people. Personally I view color as a variable that can and should be exaggerated. To each their own I guess. -
Short Film I shot in Cuba - La Noche Buena on old old Red One MX
fuzzynormal replied to Ed_David's topic in Cameras
I still have a bunch of footage from 10 years ago that I shot when I was there. Glad you were able to get in under the wire, as it were. -
Kind of depends on the level in which you work. The more pro things get the more i's and t's demand attention. I've been asked for it when renting studio space, but that's about the only time I've ever run into being actively requested to show proof of having it. BTW, if you own property it's pretty simple and cheap to get General Liability attached as part of your home owner's coverage.
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I think maybe you need a more active imagination. This capability has existed for years now.
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It is amazing how wonderful the chemical process handles this. I'm sure in a handful of years we'll all be arguing which camera's new fangled quantum organic flux capacitor digital sensor handles highlights in a way superior to film, but at the moment silver halide crystals still kick butt. Now, is it WORTH the extra hassle and expense for creamier highlight roll off...? Debatable.
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No doubt. But like any obstructions, actual ones are harder to overcome than the virtual ones. You always have that safety net of knowing you can ignore a self-imposed constraint. If you're on a diet, you tend not to put a box of doughnuts on your dining room table after all. Discipline to not to break the easily avoided virtual obstruction is great --if you can control that discipline! Most of us would reach for the doughnut when things get difficult. Then again, if there's no way to avoid an obstruction you're forced unconditionally to figure out a way around it. For sure I'm getting esoteric now! Philosophical reductionist navel gazing. But I do believe all this digital production is a double edged sword. Weirdly, the ease of digital production can potentially diminish the quality of a film. If for no other reason than it requires less production effort to attain similar IQ and less concentration/skill from the crew. (normally - most of the time - that's freakin' awesome, actually; more for less) Surely making things harder to do would seem counter intuitive, but depending on one's creative desires... well, it just might not be. I haven't shot a production on film for at least 3 years, but my colleague and I are doing s16 for a new documentary with various mixed media. Why? For all of the reasons listed in this thread.
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Zero benefit of film? Not sure I buy that. Just the way moving images are captured of film is unique and worthwhile for certain things. And let's be honest, you can't beat highlight roll off in film. Light is captured in an analog process. Just the flawed nature of that particular process is important. Tiny flicks of particulate on the image, the imperceptible shift of the film spooling through the gate. Even when minimized as much as technically possible it does matters and is quantifiable. After all, we ourselves experience light in a flawed biologically analog way, don't we? Oh man, I feel like a Silver Lake hipster demanding that vinyl is superior to digital! I should be having this conversation while wearing an ironic beard and waiting in line for a $15 coffee at Inteligentsia. Anyway... Analog film does look awesome, and not even in a conscious way. Even for an ignorant viewer I believe this quality appeals on a fundamental, subconscious, and basic level. I don't think I'm being terribly esoteric when I say it's a "gut level" reaction to the images. I mean, I still shoot film stills for a reason. And it's not because it's practical. So this isn't a great analogy, but it's sort of akin to walking into a room full of tungsten light and one lit by fluorescence. There's a comfort level from experiencing light from a familiar source. Tungsten filaments burn very similar to carbon. Fluorescent illumination by exciting chemical compounds that include magnesium and calcium? Hmm, not so much. Ultimately, is shooting on film a huge factor when it comes to IQ? Honestly, I agree with the owner of this website, I personally would't put it up there on the priority list, but I shoot in the no/low budget range of motion picture production. For those artists that are attempting to capture some of film's particular quality, are looking to elevate their storytelling by every means possible, and money isn't really a limiting factor, why not? Indeed, exploit that opportunity. I wouldn't bother doing it, but I understand why someone would make the effort to do so. And, as mentioned in earlier posts, the work flow of film shooting creates a different on set atmosphere. This environment might be a good decision for certain productions.
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which radio microphone lavaliers for movie production?
fuzzynormal replied to Dan Wake's topic in Cameras
The EW100 kit is good, but hardly indestructible. I've gone through 2 of the lav mics over the years. They are sensitive to damage and if you're really beating on them don't expect them to survive. That said, the transmitter and receiver have been fine. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
Granted, it's pretty much "no-budget," aside from the sweat equity of everyone involved. I suppose if all of us got paid a fair rate for the hours we're going to put into it, then it would probably cost out over 10K. But, it'll be a short film made by a handful of low-end industry people on their own time and dime. It's not our first time trying this nonsense. The cool thing is, these days, as long as you got talented people committed to such a thing, it doesn't have to have a real budget to look like it might have. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
It's actually a GM1, and I have shot a short film on it using a A110 25mm lens. I was pleased with the results. Still, I'd like to experiment with something new and different. The idea of shooting with an iPhone interests me because of the challenge. But I do like the suggestion of a low-light camera such as the A7s. And, as a wild card, maybe do the whole thing hand-held with an Olympus camera... Not sure, but I'll make up my mind soon. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
"Boum chicka waa waa" But no. Nothing sexy about it, really. Just working with colleagues on our free time to realize a short script we wrote. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
Oh yeah; always do. I'm more concerned about that than the camera...as you can probably deduce from my posts. I like to shoot primes though. Two would be fine. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
BTW, the price of the camera doesn't fit into the budget of the film. If/when I buy this camera for this particular use it's going to be used for many other things as well. My main thing outside of this potential short is making documentaries, so that's a factor. For me, I do appreciate the suggestion of the Sony A7s; might be the best bet so I can exploit light in more flexible ways. Doing shots with practical lights on a low-budget film would be a very pragmatic choice, I think. Also, the idea of shooting handheld with Oly's 5-axis system is exciting. The Digital Bolex is also a player in all this. Of course, no wrong or right answers here. I've never been enamored with super pristine images, so that affects my choices too and opens up many more possibilities. Ultimately, I'm of the opinion that if you're a good collaborative creative filmmaker, you can make something decent with whatever gear; the camera matters, but not in such of a big way as some tend to think. It's just a delivery system to tell the story. The mailman is part of the process getting a new hardcover novel to the reader, but he's not the author, know what I mean? Well, maybe in that metaphor a camera is the copy editor...fact checker? I dunno, fill in the blanks. -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
1. Me. Maybe an iPhone simply because it's quirky and because I actually like limitations of equipment; forces one to be creative. 2. $10. No. All of it. 3. Romance -
What's The Best Camera For Shooting A Low Budget Movie?
fuzzynormal replied to fuzzynormal's topic in Cameras
Yeah, I'm thinking of doing another short soon. Because of the subject and story, shooting on a "lo-fi" camera might be a good idea. I'm more interested in the emotion of the images rather than the technical achievement of them. That's fine for some stuff, but not really what I'm aiming for on my next go-round. Although, the thought of being able to be production flexible with a low light camera seems very practical. Shooting available with a discriminating eye could be fun. -
Personally, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, but welcome anyone else's outlook on their ideal. Also, this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3824458/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec
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Just know that lenses have a focal length measurement (millimeters) and it doesn't matter what camera you try to attach it to, that number is what it is. the distance between the center of a lens or curved mirror and its focus.No reputable lens manufacturer is going to put inaccurate "equivalency" numbers on their lenses. They're going to put down the number that represent the actual physical measurements. The no reason to do it any other way It's kinda odd how any notion otherwise got stuck in your brain, but I know for someone starting all this imaging stuff and jargon, it can be discombobulating. FWIW, I've been shooting motion images and still for decades with cameras of all "sensor" sizes. 8mm up to 4x5. This FOV stuff is so second nature to me now that I just kinda visualize the FOV in my head based on the glass-mm/camera-format-size and carry on.
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Not sure what the confusion is. mm's is mm's. What camera you put a 24mm on matters for FOV, but mm is a measurement. millimeter. People that use s35 sensors/filmstock don't have a different metric system than someone shooting with a full frame, 4x5" film, or a m43 sensor. Forget the cameras anyway. That's actually irrelevant. You're talking about a lens. On your glass it's the distance from the point where light rays converge to the point where they form a sharp image onto the focal plane. 50mm is 1 millimeters plus 49 other millimeters. If you're arguing otherwise you've been misinformed. The idea that film shooters have special math that is unique for them is ... well, not right. This issue really gets convoluted because folks new to all this stuff (and even some pro's apparently) tend to overthink it and conflate various camera terminology. But if you just consider the lens, ultimately it's pretty simple. Which is why, if I was shooting a low budget action film with an ASP-C sensor, I'd tend towards the 40mm lens, as it would be a nice "standard" FOV. Not too wide, not too tight. But nothing wrong with a lens with a bit longer FOV either, you just adapt to what you got and go. I wouldn't burn time worrying about 10mm. I'd worry more about other aspects of film making. Actor and camera blocking, sets, design, stunts, lighting, acting, EDITING. Holy crap, that's the stuff that matters more. Try not to get wrapped up in gear-centric-fetishism on the low end of film making. If all that other stuff is half-assed I don't care what FOV you have, whatever film you're trying to make is going to suck. Make the most of what you have and be creative around your limitations.
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The new Canon 5Ds 50MP full frame DSLR and video (rolling coverage)
fuzzynormal replied to Andrew Reid's topic in Cameras
I've used a similar feature on the LUMIX cameras. Not terribly impressed. Screws up the image too much. Anything in motion has an obvious effect to it. Your mileage may vary. -
The new Canon 5Ds 50MP full frame DSLR and video (rolling coverage)
fuzzynormal replied to Andrew Reid's topic in Cameras
"These are not the cameras for video you're looking for." "These are not the cameras for video we're looking for."