Liam

Cute Baby Girl Liam    !!!

Any connection you make will be valuable.

I just filmed a short for a great director.  I had no idea he used to make movies as a director in L.A. and had taken a break to raise his sons by owning a restaurant, where my wife happened to work. We met, chatted, he saw one of my shorts and loved my camera work. I fell into a great working relationship, hopefully shooting a feature with him next year.

Don't scoff at what you see on display there. If you see someone's else's work that you enjoy chat with them, you never know what might come from it.

I made my last doc for basically free.  Just my wife and I doing everything.  Paid for flights to and from Japan, that was pretty much it.
As for the current film festival circuit:  They're a legacy thing.  Back in the day festivals had clout simply because they were a bigger deal.  Now-a-days they exist to prop up the purveyors on the things and, maybe, actual filmmakers every now-and-again. 
BTW, I'm a film festival producer for our local shin-dig here in SoCal, and I also helped (years ago) to launch one of the current premiere film fests in the mid-south, such as it is.
Ultimately, fests are like everything else these days.  Everybody's doing it since digital made it easy.  It's not a problem to get into some sort of a film festival.  However, it's not easy getting into a good one.  I just got back with my film from a rather lousy fest, that had no serious networking, horrible screenings, poor attendance...yet it was a lot of fun.  My wife and I even gleaned a great nugget of financial info from one of the panels that was wildly invaluable, so you never know... We have our last one in Toronto coming up, and it's gonna be the most "legit" festival we got into.  Still, that might be a lesser experience than our goofy no-budget fest we just attended.
We enjoyed our time at the goofy fest.  We made some new friends.  If you can do that, that's the main thing.  Just be gracious, try to get on the same wavelength as the interesting people you'll meet, and you'll be fine.  At the middle rung and lower rung of festivals, these things are just glorified parties -- if you're lucky!  (Some aren't even that) That's the best you can hope from it.  Having fun and meeting some good folks.
There's really only two or three festivals where industry stuff actually happens and films get "launched."  Because of that, there's only industry films represented.  Unless you're a creative wunderkind that made something uniquely awesome (and entertainingly so) you're probably not going to get into any serious festivals on your own. 
Actually, in spite of making something awesome and new, that actually would probably get you rejected from most film festivals.  The reality is that most selection committees are community regular-joe/jane types.  They're not savvy about film.  If subject matter floats in front of their eyes that they can relate to, they'll ignore all the shortcomings of the flick and give it a big old bear hug, filmmaking craft be damned.  Arguably, this happens with "savvy" festivals as well.
Three actors and three crew.  Make something with that situation.  Learn how to be smart with your time and talent.  It WILL pay off; creatively and professionally.

If the film industry is anything like the rest of the world (which it has to be), it's all about knowing and meeting the right people.
Maybe you will have to move, or find a way to get closer to people who can help you achieve your dreams. Unfortunetly it's super rare that you will just be "discovered" in whatever thing you are into and make it work from that. All we hear about is the 0.05% of people in life who do make that happen somehow so it gives us unrealistic aspirations I think.
I'm not saying don't try, I'm just saying you need to be realistic and do what you can outside of being a great director to reach the point you want to be at some day.
 

Mini DV can look awesome these days - as an aesthetic choice for an appropriate subject.
I was recently digging through some old rushes from my Pd-170 and VX-1000, and it actually dawned on me that the 4x3 footage looked 'fresh' in a strange kind of way.
I'm surprised hipster kids have not used them more for tone-poem video projects. Think the secret would be to use these older cameras on full-auto settings, to get the crappiest image possible - then to completely embrace that.
It's very cheap now to buy an old hi-8 / minidv/ s-vhs camera for a suitable project (and a cheap capture card to ingest into computer). No overlays, post treatment will get higher quality footage degraded in quite the same way...it all looks fake. 
I'd say if you want a good looking low-fi video look...shoot it on low-fi video. 
Some of my favourite music videos and documentaries were shot on DV....back in the day when creativity and originality still existed.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Small sensor camcorders can look great. So can point and shoot cameras. The canon s100 is a sweet little camera with a very generic look. With AF and AE Lock, you really can control your footage more so than you would think. 

last new topic for the day, I promise.
Sometimes I’m just a sucker for a small sensor and oversharpening... I think Shameless (UK) looks amazing (no idea what it’s filmed on). Same with It’s Always Sunny (dvx100). Any suggestions for cameras with this charm? Just out of curiosity? Possibly some mini-dv... Or are there other flavors of charming digital you want to make me or anyone aware of? Maybe just workflow tips - digital noise overlays, low DR curves, etc? If anyone else even shares the opinion that crappy digital can be sexy

Thank you!
I honestly cant remember, its been quite a while, but it wasnt too hard, Ill try have a look and try to get something for you
Im currently testing some new settings, heres a few examples, these are all separate projects, so they all have a slightly dif. look.








These are all videoframes, and not pictures, as soon as im done testing these settings, ill share with you guys!
Im considering creating a specific lutpackage that could be sold at a very affordable price, what do you guys think?

Yeah, dynamic range isn't really the point of this "log". It's nice to grade, and from what I've seen it's nice for applying luts, but maybe you need to adjust a little bit as well. I don't have much experience with luts. There was some talk here about how a custom picture profile from eos utility can't really increase dynamic range. Not sure how it works. Guess it doesn't go straight from the raw data to the picture profile. Yeah, definitely over expose with slog, but with it's higher DR, that's easier. With eoshd clog, it just makes sense to sometimes allow for some noise instead of making clipping worse than imaginable

Switched from using Gamma DR to Gamma C.
Here is a screenshot from some footage I'm working on now.

Gamma C, -1 Saturation, -10 Sharpness, -3 Contrast, +10 MB level.  Graded with IWLTDAP Seona LUT @ 45%.  Used 15% Gorilla Grain, Fine.
 

Ok couldn't help but post my grade too... I'm not trying to start a competition and certainly open to criticism myself but some of the grades posted of this so far might not be showing it in the best light (except the grade from @Geoff CB which is gorgeous - I'm not that good!).

As a GH4 user this was just a dream to grade in Premiere Pro CC with Lumetri colour, I loaded a LUT called  AlexaV3_K1S1_LogC2Video_DCIP3_EE and then did some simple tweaking to highlights, shadows, contrast, saturation and minor adjustment to curves. I really pushed the saturation which might be too much for some peoples liking and usually mine too but it helped to naturally warm up the image a bit with some of the more subtle warmth in the skin tones that was otherwise hidden.

After grading GH4 footage for years this is going to ruin me forever! I might be upgrading to a Terra instead o a GH5! (though having both as some have mentioned would be quite complimentary for different uses). The background wall is naturally quite purple so if I were to go further I would be trying to reduce that as it gives the overall picture and foreground a magenta feel by association even though it's not.

Didn't this guy claim that the A6300 does not overheat the second day of its release? Grain of salt needed.

Normal gamma, and mostly Ricadro's settings. Enjoy :
 

Just wanted to share my anamorphic experiences on the forum in one topic for simplicity.
For now I have been using :
- 50D (MLRAW in 1280 x 1058 for 1.2:1 aspect ratio)
- ISCO UltraStar (gold one with 1.5m minimum focus) w/ RafCamera Clamp
- Helios 44-2 58/2 - Practika 135/2.8 (Industar-9 and Mir-1B are coming soon)
Next items to buy IMO are : 
- New clamps (front and rear) as I don't like the tiny tiny screws that come with the RAF adapter and would like my clamps to be tool-less
- SLR Magic rangefinder for rack-focusing ability
Workflow is the following (whilst I don't find a more efficient way) :
- MLVFS -> AfterEffects (CameraRaw & VisionLog) -> Premiere (dynamic link) & Lumetri -> DNxHD 4:4:4 10bit Export
 
 As I have no front clamp (yet), everything is shot without ND filter. Which is not a problem atm as I love the super16 look you get in sunny days
The second video was the first time I really got to shoot at night, I have to say I enjoyed it a lot
A few shots are misaligned and I saw it on the computer :s The screen of the 50D is just too tiny shooting 1.2:1 with in camera desqueeze to notice it whilst shooting)
If you have advices, please do not hesitate to tell me, I'd love to hear them

First 10 NXL adapter, before the matt black anodizing
 

@fuzzynormal I can't imagine someone not liking Hertfeldt! It's Such a Beautiful Day is the best film I've seen in a long long time.
 
@kaylee I've definitely been doing some copying. Free hand, things can get messy  And yeah, I've kind of just been sitting on scripts that I like for a long time. Even if I can't do animation, it's worth a few years trying, in case it could open the door to like.. everything I've ever wanted. A few years ago was maybe the first time I realized (duh) that animation could be the medium for any story and not have to dictate that it's childlike or zany or have monsters. Tokyo Godfathers was such a low key and fantastic film. I'm so into animation right now

Don Hertzfeldt is probably my favorite animation director currently, his film World of Tomorrow was my favorite film of last year. 
I saw "The Animation Show" in theaters when I was younger, during "Rejected" in the theater was the first time I laughed until I couldn't breath.
Cannot wait to see what the guy does next.

On the topic of animation, I always say WALL-E is an underrated masterpiece. 

wow i love animation what a fun topic!!
so awesome this is some of my favorite stuff ever – btw im discussing all of this in a purely visual sense rn
just gorgeous 2d design what a genius
ive drawn a lot, and thought about drawing a lot more, but i just dont have the talent of these illustrators in any way shape or form – im good at copying. whenever i look at animators sketchbooks im just like wtf. they amaze me
99% of the drawing i do is based on photographic imagery that i create, not unlike whats going on below. classic disney animation is some of the most lyrical, beautiful work of its kind to me, just delightful
so, since youre already a cinematographer, you could make that work for you in all kinds of ways. and im not saying start drawing like those disney dudes... i certainly cant... you can abstract photo derived imagery almost to oblivion as an animator with powerful results that retain the gestalt of what youve shot
then again
something completely different
i was gonna make an analogy about dons work with the simplicity of the simpsons and then i was like OH SNAP MY FAVORITE COUCH GAG (simpsons intro)
this is disturbing and beautiful
STILL LOVE U HOMAR
"When simplicity goes head to head with complexity, simplicity will win every time"

^ example
the more iconic your work, the weirder you can get. i mean this is a dog and a cat..... a dog and a cat

im working on my own take on animation... its coming along but unfortunately ive failed at inventing a technique thats easy lol
anyway animation +/-
+ beloved by people of all ages, transcends race and culture
+ can be done by one person
+ easy to be unique
- hard
- time consuming
and as always, the age old saying "if its not on the page its not on the stage" holds true – write something you love first! thatll get you through the long nights slaving over a hot computer ?
also...
this was way ahead of its time
 

Some of my colleagues watched Hertzfeldt's stuff and just didn't get it.  Personally, I love it.  The way he can animate little nuances into his work is impressive.  I really like his writing too, but the way he crafts it into motion pictures is the most enjoyable part.

Been really into Satoshi Kon and Don Hertzfeldt lately.
Seemed like an interesting way to go, if it's doable, since I have so little help. Looks way more possible than I expected, having never even drawn much before.
Looking at Blender 2d animation and Plastic Animation Paper.
Didn't know if anyone here had experience animating, with tips for someone new, or thoughts on it opposed to live action, or could just share some of their favorite animated films. Anything really.
Happy filming!

I'm an animator. It's not really something you can just drop into. Takes a lot of time to learn and a lot of patience and dedication to get right.
I recommend getting the book "Animator's Survival Kit" which goes through all the core principles of it, with plenty of illustrated examples. It's probably a great read even for those just interested in animation but not necessarily wanting to get into it.
If you have a drawing tablet I recommend using Pencil 2D animation software http://www.pencil2d.org/ or if you have an ipad or android tablet get a stylus and the Rough Animator app. If you don't have either then I'd recommend getting one.
I would stay away from massively complicated programs like Blender if you're just starting out. 
If you do get serious about animation, I'd recommend taking classes at ianimate or animschool rather than going to physical place of education.

If you're buying it mainly for video, I'd think a rebel or eos-m could be all you'd need. Maybe by the 80d you start to see actual improvements in video for detail and artefacts, maybe dynamic range. But that might be all imagined, and all you gain is digital sharpening. Haven't seen enough comparisons to know. The 5diii is probably best for moire, low light, and if you want full frame (though even then, you can speedboost an eos-m). A d5500 or d750 might be smarter all around though. Eoshd's clog has helped sustain my first camera purchase, on the cheap cheap side, but I don't know about investing into canon for it, unless you're also getting dual pixel auto focus or sexy 1dxii image quality at 4k60p

There we go! that thinking trumps all weird concern everyone has about a "dead system" imo. It's only a problem if you upgrade all the time. This thing could last you 10+ years, and definitely make your $1500 worth it. 

Just want to show you my solution to use faderND filter as polarising filter at the same time (cost: £8.95).
It is very simple, but surprisingly hard to find such informations in the net.
 
If you have faderND filter, it is (always?) made from 2 polarising filters. Like mine:

When you use it, the problem is, that you rotate front polarizer and stop it on random angle, so you have no control over which polarization you accept (most importantly - which polarisation you completely cut off). So it is not only useless as Polariser, but sometimes it can cut off the reflections which shouldn't be cut.
 
The solution is simple - buy a rotating spacer ring like mine (here put on a 43-52 step up ring for 52mm FaderND):

I bought mine here (they have really cheap Europe shipping) - http://srb-photographic.co.uk/rotating-spacer-rings-1126-c.asp
If you use step-up ring - put the spacer ring after step-up ring (if you put it before, you can introduce a lot of vignetting).
 
How to use it?:
Screw Rotating spacer ring and than your FaderND. When you set up all parameters, first rotate FaderND to proper ND level (you have to hold spacer ring not to rotate, because it is rotating much lighter (in my case)), and then rotate whole filter with your new spacer ring to adjust first polarizer angle (spacer ring rotates really light, so it is impossible [in my case] to change ND level by accident).
To make it even simpler, I made a test (LCD monitor is polarised so it is very helpfull) and marked a vertical and horizontal position of front polarizer with lacquer dot (if it's on top, I know that it's close to vertical/horizontal polarization):

It is really very fast and simple to use. Don't throw your money on additional polarizer (and don't add additional glass in front of your expensive lens) you have it already, but you wasn't using it.
 
NOTE: Spacer ring adds some space before filter, so can make some vignetting if the filter is not big enough for your focal length.

are you saying Ed's video was promoting hating Trump? that's ridiculous. the video only promotes love, and the hashtag reads to me more like "Trump hates, and we have risen above him". the high road rarely involves violence. and Trump definitely hates.
not that we should talk any more about politics ever.
beautiful work, Ed! I thought I'd heard that camera has 13 stops?