Tim Sewell

Same! The color really brought us into a different/alternate universe!

Actually unreservedly loved it. I'm finding that I'm gradually getting further and further away from preferring verite/realistic looks and getting into the wilder end of things!

I watched this yesterday and it inspired me to watch the first film (only 5 years late!). It's unusual to see Waqas quite so excited about something but it was an excellent view into the art, rather than the technique, in top-end colour grading.

There are *some* advantages to being both crew and talent myself! Obviously this is a passion/learning project, though, so reshoots aren't a problem, except for getting the time to do them.
In terms of movement - I'm not missing it too much. There is one point in one shot where a subtle push-in would really help to sell the moment. I can do it in post, but that it won't have the (very mild) parallax that a 'real' push-in would give me.

I've never acted myself, but I used to be heavily involved doing backstage work for amateur drama groups (lighting, sound, scenery building etc.) so I've seen a lot of amateur acting go both well and badly.
I think acting to an inanimate camera is probably quite difficult - the interaction and extra adrenalin provided by an audience often really helps. I've been at dress rehearsals where at the end you think 'Oh dear...it's miles off being ready', but the first night performance with an audience is 200% better.
People seeing the performance/movie for the first time don't know the script or the movements, so as long as you stay 'in character' when things go wrong you can often ad-lib your way out of mistakes. But dropping out of character immediately says 'I've messed up'. I've worked on shows where sizeable chunks of the script have been skipped by an actor but the cast have held it together and got away with it.
Remind yourself you're doing it for fun (I assume), so relax - it'll come out better if you're not worrying about every detail while you're performing.
 
 

Firstly, it's awesome that you're actually shooting something!  and the fact that you're on-screen is next level above that even, so in my books you're already successful 🙂 
I'm not sure what you're shooting, and therefore what making it good / interesting really means in your context, but here's a few random thoughts..
I normally screw things up the first (few/many) times I do something, so just chalk it up to a practice shoot and keep going If you're able to get a technically competent capture then you can really change the look in post, so I'd suggest just covering the fundamentals The success or failure of a film depends 97% on what is in the frame (with the remaining 2% being sound, and 1% image) so that's where your attention should be going Is there a way you can separate the various tasks in your mind while you're shooting?  For example, maybe you put in a full battery, an empty memory card, and then completely forget the camera exists and just roll as you do 20 takes of the scene from that angle, focusing on your performance and emotional aspects while you're doing this? If there are small errors in continuity or performance there is always the option to just include them and make it a more stylised final film.  For example, if things cut funny or jump around a bit etc, and you lean into it in the edit, then the impression might be that the character might not quite be in control of all their faculties, or might be drunk or on drugs, etc.  Obviously I have no idea what the context is, so this might not fit your vision, but it might give you options where previously you didn't see a way forward or just couldn't get excited about the material If you haven't storyboarded or done detailed planning, one thing you could do is to pre-shoot the whole thing without lighting or performances etc, and then just edit it together in the NLE, and treat that as a moving storyboard.  This would have the advantage of being able to anticipate any issues with any camera angles, and also to get a feel for the pacing and even things like if you decide to cut an angle or part of the film then you can skip filming it altogether. Best of luck and keep us updated - we are definitely interested in hearing how you get on!

So an update, if anyone's interested. I shot the first scene, which was made up of 5 distinct shots. They came out OK. They were... competent, but only that. The lighting was good - nice contrast, nice colours, well-motivated, but that's all.
Can you tell I'm dissatisfied?
I was so focussed on getting everything 'right' that I didn't pay enough attention to getting it good or interesting.
So I'm going to reshoot and one of the things I'm going to do is lean in to the limitations I have - first among which is that I'm doing this almost completely alone. I am both crew and talent! The biggest limitation caused by that is that camera movement while I'm on screen is not going to happen, which means that to create interest I need to make my angles and composition more interesting.
Also, the lighting as I did it the other night looked, basically, like a commercial, not a movie, so now I'm happy with my ability to get decent levels etc, I'm going to really try to push the envelope with ratios and temperatures and try to have some fun with it.
Once I've reshot I may post both versions for comment before I continue with the remaining scenes (it's going to take a while to complete the whole project given that I work full-time and my main set is our kitchen, which is in near-constant use as my 3 children attempt to bankrupt me purely through food costs!).

So an update, if anyone's interested. I shot the first scene, which was made up of 5 distinct shots. They came out OK. They were... competent, but only that. The lighting was good - nice contrast, nice colours, well-motivated, but that's all.
Can you tell I'm dissatisfied?
I was so focussed on getting everything 'right' that I didn't pay enough attention to getting it good or interesting.
So I'm going to reshoot and one of the things I'm going to do is lean in to the limitations I have - first among which is that I'm doing this almost completely alone. I am both crew and talent! The biggest limitation caused by that is that camera movement while I'm on screen is not going to happen, which means that to create interest I need to make my angles and composition more interesting.
Also, the lighting as I did it the other night looked, basically, like a commercial, not a movie, so now I'm happy with my ability to get decent levels etc, I'm going to really try to push the envelope with ratios and temperatures and try to have some fun with it.
Once I've reshot I may post both versions for comment before I continue with the remaining scenes (it's going to take a while to complete the whole project given that I work full-time and my main set is our kitchen, which is in near-constant use as my 3 children attempt to bankrupt me purely through food costs!).

It's great that you can reshoot!
I'd also say that if the composition/angles and/or lighting are boring, moving the camera is just a crutch anyway.  Fincher's stuff usually looks great/cinematic and he rarely moves the camera.  That said, moving the camera can be a great addition to good composition and lighting.
Anyway, it sounds like you're off to a solid start!  Looking forward to seeing some wip scenes or screen grabs!
 

So an update, if anyone's interested. I shot the first scene, which was made up of 5 distinct shots. They came out OK. They were... competent, but only that. The lighting was good - nice contrast, nice colours, well-motivated, but that's all.
Can you tell I'm dissatisfied?
I was so focussed on getting everything 'right' that I didn't pay enough attention to getting it good or interesting.
So I'm going to reshoot and one of the things I'm going to do is lean in to the limitations I have - first among which is that I'm doing this almost completely alone. I am both crew and talent! The biggest limitation caused by that is that camera movement while I'm on screen is not going to happen, which means that to create interest I need to make my angles and composition more interesting.
Also, the lighting as I did it the other night looked, basically, like a commercial, not a movie, so now I'm happy with my ability to get decent levels etc, I'm going to really try to push the envelope with ratios and temperatures and try to have some fun with it.
Once I've reshot I may post both versions for comment before I continue with the remaining scenes (it's going to take a while to complete the whole project given that I work full-time and my main set is our kitchen, which is in near-constant use as my 3 children attempt to bankrupt me purely through food costs!).

I've had some great bits of luck recently by using search terms that reflect what a person who didn't know what they had would use as a listing title - 'camera light' and so on... then sorting by Ending Soonest.

I've had some great bits of luck recently by using search terms that reflect what a person who didn't know what they had would use as a listing title - 'camera light' and so on... then sorting by Ending Soonest.

I've owned many cameras (too many) and i think I've only ever bought 2 from new. Thing is, there are so few moving parts on cameras these days that there's not a huge amount that can go wrong in normal use. That said, unless an eBay or similar deal is just too good to pass up, you are safer doing it through a dealer, as @ac6000cw says.

Reasonably well thanks - will write it up soon!

Reasonably well thanks - will write it up soon!

Reasonably well thanks - will write it up soon!

My intention is to document this journey here and I’m doing it for the entirely selfish reason of keeping myself on it!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

Awesome! Have fun and good luck! I am also making a short film tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to hearing about how well your shoot went!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

Script and partial shortlist written. Ready for action tomorrow night when wife is out, so hopefully no interruptions!

PS... order placed with cvp so we'll see how it works out!