Liam

3 hours ago, sanveer said:

This is what turned up:


 

Sorry, Sanveer, took it down since then since I started sending to festivals. I could PM you the new private link if you'd like

21 minutes ago, mercer said:

I'm using Color Finale in FCPX, color wheels to balance the color, and curves... Master curve for exposure... Usually a slight s curve and then I will tweak the RGB curves a little as well. 

Cool, just curious. Haven't used color wheels much, but a little unsure about them.. Been browsing all the free nle's lately, seeing what I can get away with. weirdly I really like those simple blue-yellow "temperature" and magenta-green "tint" sliders for color when I can get em.

I kinda freaking love my t3i with prolost and a nikkor lens. Even its lack of detail.. I ended up adding a blur to several shots in a short I did recently. And used the digital zoom at one point. I forgot kendy's picture profile is available! Have to check that out. Good luck, Matt!

What color tools are you using, @mercer?

3 hours ago, AaronChicago said:

I'm surprised with trends in popularity that a startup company hasn't launched a 3rd option over PC/Mac, and Android/iOS. I know there is Linux and Blackberry etc, but I mean a full hardware/software company. I'm guessing that is what Xiaomi is trying to do hardware wise? It must be hard as hell to write operating systems.

For the really simple stuff, chromebooks are awesome. Kinda funny how even Windows couldn't compete at all with their phones.

Yeah, i was gonna say I'd heard bad things about cinestyle. Thought I'd give it try anyway, but it was barely any flatter than just dialing it flat in camera. Would probably only use it with a lut that was made for it

5 minutes ago, mercer said:

It's cool, I ain't madatcha. 

That took me a second.. thought Madatcha might have been a wrestler. Googled it and everything

1 minute ago, mercer said:

Wait, I call foul, you were much nicer to Kaylee after her notes. I guess I gotta quote Monday Night Raw next time... Dang. 

ohhhhh! come on. we all love each other :* 

that was excellent to read, Kaylee! thank you for taking the time!

I hope I don't seem like I'm defending myself on these points.. I do that sometimes. Not helpful, haha

27 minutes ago, kaylee said:

it struck me that the voices of the principles are a bit too simila

great note, I was a little worried about that.. I played both parts (clearly) and dropped the pitch of the guy in plaid just a little. thought it might have been enough, but I'll take another run through to see if I can make it better.. was really worried about doing that in a cartoony way haha

30 minutes ago, kaylee said:

the score

hmm.. I was originally going to have the first guy be leaving a party in the adjacent room, to go to the bathroom (by adding muffled murmurs), to imply the second guy was sitting off by himself, later joined by the first guy, which might better explain his weird music choices? if that partially addresses that? I wish I could do that.. seems a little more difficult than playing two parts (playing a room full of people), but maybe I should make it more understandable drinking music, if I don't have that element. that makes sense, i'll keep browsing. wanted it to be subtle music that wouldn't make it seem like they were ignoring it by not tapping their fingers to it, and not like emo - could almost be funny, but probably just painful.. music is tough

The grain, I hope was just because of the compression. I've been experimenting a ton today with export settings etc. I decided no grain for vimeo upload, since it's too long and the file will be too big for my basic account. But I might be convinced to buy a month of Plus for one of those huge file uploads after upscaling to 4k. seems it would work pretty perfectly.

I keep getting that note about adding some meaning, haha. I kinda just can't see it.. I'm really trying. probably the whole point right now is how stupid the conversation is, ha. and the end kind of does justify that in a way I hope? making like the lack of payoff a payoff? I got one note saying even though it should mean something, they liked the ending.. it's tough to compromise like that. I'd have to really see it. and that would be difficult to get right.. a film with a twist ending or almost a "punchline" like that, has potential to be really corny.. just would have to have a real grasp on the change first. I have kind of this element in another film i'm writing (what they're talking about), but unsaid, internalized the whole time, so there you actually see it. But yeah, I'll keep thinking. more tempted right now to maybe just call this one done and use what I learned on my next film

1 hour ago, kaylee said:

Youve already made something that I'd like to see more of, and if this is indeed your first short (!!!), id say youre off to a great start

That is the best thing I've ever read, I love you!

let me know if you have any more thoughts after watching again, or of course more responses to the above

5 hours ago, kaylee said:

this video is private? im signed in to youtube what am i missing here

Sorry, Kaylee, should work now!

Just kidding, you can be mean. Looking for some feedback before festivals possibly

https://youtu.be/6nOFjWfFDc4

lol, is this topic basically "... SO ANYWAYYY..."? love it. kind of necessary at the moment..

shot my short film recently with the t3i.. still kind of impressed by it. I liked my simple lighting setup a lot. probably the saving factor of the film, since the camera alone isn't exactly stellar. (haven't gotten much feedback yet, but have been digesting. I'll probably just post my film here in like the next couple of days). when I was able to overexpose, the image was really clean. when I needed to underexposed, the grain covered the artifacts and noise really well. probably have to buy a month of vimeo plus in order for that to matter in the export though

not camera news, but.. been looking a little at Portable Apps.. the prospect of being completely portable with Blender and Audacity is.. interesting. just working at the library.. probably not actually on my radar, haha.. I'm just a little obsessed with finding the absolute cheapest option that's still good enough, for... everything in my life. the possibilities for someone with no money in filmmaking are continually pretty awesome. thinking of putting together a more legitimate lighting kit diy for like $50

sorry to stray away from the topic of "anything"  

first one probably the a6300? very sony-like to tend toward bluer under the same conditions

is 2.. the micro?

yeah, can we not speculate anymore? Mayybe actual investigation (even then being cautious what you share and who you accuse), more responses from Ebrahim's account would be nice, but we're getting nowhere, and it's possible we'll regret saying some of these things.. was not bad to start this topic though of course. Don't want a million others to try to buy that item. I wish there was a thread sooner

Can't you report the stolen footage on vimeo?

Any more tips on how to avoid being scammed would be great. I'm pretty nervous about that now..

I have about a thousand dollars in the whole world, but I could contribute to helping repay the victims, cuz that's really shitty. And because Ebrahim, if hacked, is definitely NOT responsible to repay them. Even if he wasn't hacked, you're shouting at thin air now.

This thread is sad for many reasons

43 minutes ago, Kurtisso said:

Loving this discussion going on! I am very grateful to hear different perspectives especially if they meander too!

Off topic here but speaking of writer/director combo, I'm blown away at Richard Linklater's process for "Boyhood". To have a general structure of the story written for the 12 years, but then to pretty much produce a short episode each year and to have had pretty much full cooperation from cast and crew over the 12 years, pretty astounding stuff! They couldn't sign a 12-year contract either, as anything over 7 was illegal. He must have made an amazing pitch to IFC, getting them to commit to that process.

Oh yeah, the making of that was crazy. Waking Life is by far my favorite of his though. Or just him in an interview.. he's so spacey and philosophical, i love it

1 hour ago, mercer said:

We have talked briefly about this stuff before and it wasn't my intention to call you out on anything. I just wanted the OP to have multiple sides to the debate. You are correct, nothing is keeping you from writing a script without following the "rules" and breaking these rules would have zero effect on the quality of the script... But like it or not, there are rules for the way a professional screenplay is formatted. There is craft and tools to help a writer tell a compelling story. And there are writers that break those rules and still manage to write a great script.

For instance, Shane Black wrote Lethal Weapon and broke nearly every "rule" of how a screenplay should read. He used asides and crazy description, almost in an editorial fashion and, at the time, it was the highest selling screenplay ever. So there are always exceptions to the rules.

But there is a reason why most colleges who have a film department graduate their students with a degree in communications. Stories and movies are communicative in nature and honestly I don't see the point in breaking the rules you abhor just to break the rules? Learning the craft of screenwriting and storytelling is actually about communicating your ideas to the viewer. The creativity is inside the ideas and the craft helps you explain those ideas to a viewer.

Again, I am not calling you out, I just enjoy the debate. Obviously, write the script you want to write, and how you want to write it. I'll be happy to read it and interject my ideas into it... ?, but more importantly I want to see this short of yours because in the end, the script is meaningless and the finished film is all that matters... That's why screenwriters are usually banned from the set. Of course, there's an old Hollywood story where a producer tells his director that the screenplay is the most important part of a movie... "Just don't tell the screenwriter I said that."

Wasn't trying to actually argue with you either. Just a different taste thing or what have you. All good, good discussion. Yeah my favorite filmmakers always write and direct haha. My short film is really close.. which I didn't expect so quickly. having some people give feedback. Eoshd is its next stop. Admittedly it's a little boring right now maybe, but that's kind of part of the joke, so we'll see! Haha

17 minutes ago, mercer said:

I don't know... I wouldn't confuse the screenwriting process with the filmmaking process... In some ways they're symbiotic... Without a script there is no movie... Without a movie... A screenplay is just words on paper written in an illogical format. From the first word written on the first page, which isn't supposed to be numbered as page one, even though every subsequent page is supposed to be numbered, to the raising stakes in the beginning of act 2, to the midpoint turn that leads you to the emotional climax and resolution should be crafted in a way to evoke the most emotional response from the viewer. Knowing how to construct set ups and pay offs and that subplots should strengthen your theme and that often your resolution can be a circular event that mirrors your first scene are all valuable tools of the craft. Even a 3 page treatment is telling a story with narrative beats. 

I think my point was that people shouldn't confuse tools with rules. 

I just felt that was a little bit of a new topic, and the "answer" was less specific to screenwriting. one of them does a 3 page treatment; another scripts meticulously, even hundreds of scenes that get thrown out, and then opens it up entirely in filming; there's my whatever way, which may not work perfectly, but feels right for now. that style is just difficult, and those strategies could help cater to the story.

the story is definitely a separate thing, but personally I would never use story structure as a tool. And you are allowed to. my films will still have raising stakes and conclusions and inciting incidents and climaxes. or maybe they kind of won't, and it will be interesting in that way. as if to make my point, not numbering page one is totally irrelevant. it could be helpful to learn story structure, but "don't number page one!" seems to be taking it a little too far. some guy just came up with that, just like the rest of this

1 hour ago, Kurtisso said:

I came across this interesting concept (I really wish I could credit this to where I found it) where you write a script with the intention that everything gets ad-libbed, but you use very evocative language to guide the spontaneity thus getting very natural performances but getting your direction without having to overbearingly direct.

 

In the future here on EOSHD, I'd like to encourage more discussion on non-gear related things, is that something that you guys and gals would be interested in too? 

John Cassavetes, Joe Swanberg, Derek Cianfrance, and Jay and Mark Duplass are some of the big ones to use that style where it's basically entirely ad-libbed.  Shadows by Ray Carney gives a pretty great look into Cassavetes' style (and the film it's directly about is on hulu). that film was born out of actual improv, then some scenes scripted later, then Cassavetes just screwed with the actors.. didn't give one of the actors the script until the last minute so that she would stumble over her words, insulted another off camera to get him to yell in the scene, etc. a difficult style to perfect, but very cool - and if you can do it right, great performances out of total amateurs! It's beautiful. Joe Swanberg has talked about how he doesn't use a script at all, just like a three page treatment. Mark Duplass has given some tips on that style too (multi-camera, film chronologically, don't over rehearse, don't do takes over and over if you can help it, improvise a scene before beginning shooting which happens just before your first scene). though Cianfrance and Swanberg use one camera usually, and Cianfrance can do a hundred takes sometimes. most of that isn't to do with the scripting, but yeah, hope that helps. I can post more if you'd like (interviews etc), but I feel this post is getting long  . I just recently wrote a script I want to be mostly ad-libbed.. I kind of just wrote everything around the dialogue, still in script format. it became about 15 pages, but I think it would end up maybe 50 minutes.. less of a science with that route

i love this type of discussion. I think the "shooting" subforum was technically intended for posts like these as well as sharing your work, but it wouldn't have much discussion there, being a little buried, i think. I say post as much of this as you want, people can select which topics they want to participate in, no biggy

This might not be the advice you want, but I really like the theory of not learning how to tell a story at all. Learn what others do, sure, like watch as many films as you can, behind the scenes type stuff all day, but mostly just do whatever you want, and then you've got something original. You make it "wrong", and it could be the best thing ever. A lot of great filmmakers have basically given that advice - Robert Rodriguez, Orson Welles - anyway, just a thought. I know a lot of filmmakers know the rules too, so it's not gospel. I'd still suggest a book if I could think of one, sorry, but good luck!

Lucabutera, you're doing a full post on this speedbooster? I can wait, but I do have a lot of questions . That's so cool

53 minutes ago, tupp said:

Actually, if the X1D lacks a digital shutter function, it would probably preclude using/adapting many other medium format lenses for still shooting.  So, you might be on to something.

Think in the announcement they said it has all their previous glass available to use in it, so I think they have it sorted, but that would indeed be a pity

34 minutes ago, tupp said:

I didn't know that this digital model used leaf shutters (inside the lens), but the film Hasselblads (and some other medium format brands) used leaf shutters.  One thing that was cool with some of the lenses for the 500C was that the shutter ring on the lens was adjacent to the aperture ring, so that once you set your exposure, turning both rings together would maintain the same exposure while changing to another desired shutter speed or aperture.

 

 

Why?

Sorry, just jumped the gun I think, haha, uninformed. Thought the shutter would just take up space and make it matter less that there's a short flange.

Did we already know the shutter was inside the lens..?? That's kind of a buzzkill. Sorry if i just missed that discussion point somewhere... first I'm hearing /:

The origi a7s is still very detailed 1080p, equally nice crop mode for s35, and slog for less of an investment than a c100. If you enjoy the image from sonys, which not everyone does, they really do offer a lot. You lose 4k and ibis from it's big brothers, but that's about it. it's a little better in some ways even. (Did the a6000 get an slog upgrade, or did I dream that? Still pretty nice image from that) Maybe ls300, but that's pushing the price range as well.. maybe a better fit than the c100 though. Nx1 with Andrew's log lut is really nice, but maybe a little videoy sometimes like the gh4. Gh4 vlog kiiinda needs an external recorder (but Andrew log lutted that cam as well ). Of blackmagic cams, probably you'd prefer the bmcc for resolution and battery and real s35 size sensor when speedboosted, but it's a bit of a brick (with an amazing image).

Are you sticking with your current lenses? For lens compatibility I have like no idea what would be second best... (after c100)

Yeah, another set of eyes or taking a decent sized break from it if possible would be helpful

2 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

Yup. All manufacturer test vids suck. The vids they used to premiere the gh4 were terrible ! This fuji vid in 4K looks amazing, sharp without being oversharp with great highlight roll off and skintones @Liam

Good to hear. I honestly just can't tell because of the content haha. Though all my screens to view it are pretty crappy at the moment too