mercer

Thanks Tim, I appreciate it.

I'm out of "Likes" for the day, so consider this reply as me liking your comment. Honestly, I used to have fun shooting video. I just got the shot the scene required and I moved on. Now I am so worried about this technical element and that technical element that every creative element I used to prioritize I am now, instead, resting on my laurels. I only recently started enjoying it again when I got my D5500. I think I went into it not expecting much and I was pleasantly surprised with what I ended up with. To address your comment though, I had the FS or FX something... It was the model under the LX5 and I loved the video out of it. The b&w footage was beautiful, that step zoom function was great and you could take it anywhere and shoot a scene or get b-roll. Does the LX7 have 24p? Would love to see that... I love old Corman movies. Is it online anywhere?

Yeah, but at the time, the Brothers Duplass were using the best Mini DV they could get. And I think that's the lesson, use the best you can get, but use it to its strengths. Hell, you could probably go get a DVX100 for less than 500 bucks and shoot an awesome movie with it... You may even be revered for doing so. Look how much street cred Ed gets for doing his hipster video tests. To add, I personally wouldn't mess with mini DV tape now because it literally takes forever to ingest into the computer, but there are definitely some other options that would give a similar look, using SD cards. Just look for a cam with 3 CCDs instead of a CMOS sensor, I'm contemplating buying a point and shoot and making a short with one just to take all of the technical headaches away... I will probably call it Point & Shoot as well. Lol. But I'm serious. I may look to one of the old Panasonic P&S cameras like the LX7... That little camera made some cool ass video in the mjpeg codec.

Well I wasn't exactly comparing making a 3 minute short to an 80 minute movie. Today, the definition of feature length is pretty liberal. People are making no budget movies that come in under an hour and calling them features. They are uploading them to Amazon and are making a little money. Also, I should have said preproduction work, which is, IMO, the brunt of it with one man band, no budget, shorts and features. If you make a 10 minute short with 3-5 actors and 3-5 locations, even though there is less to film, a lot of the preproduction work would be done if you were to just make an hour feature with 3-5 actors and 3-5 locations.

On a tripod with small movements it looks okay. That is dialed down neutral profile video sooc, so it could do with a little adjusting, but I shot this before I had FCPX and before I ever thought about correction/grading. Thanks @Liam for posting this. I was just talking with my friend about shooting with old camcorders and point and shoots and small sensor cameras and how liberating it was because, even though the imagery looked good, it kinda didn't too and that was part of the charm... It became about the story and quickly getting the shots without worrying about the technical element of cinematography so much. I used to love using old Kern D-mount lenses on my Q7... Instant vintage look.

The funny thing is... That video looks really good. I've always felt some of the small sensor point and shoots have some kind of unquantifiable soul to their IQ. For your first video, you should be proud of that. I had a Q7 for a little while last year. It was my first test of using D-mount and c-mount lenses in the digital world. Unfortunately, there are some issues with Pentax video, namely rolling shutter that seems to affect the entire frame and not just vertical straight lines on trees or buildings, but the Q cameras are a bunch of fun.

Yeah, the only real world example I saw was from @Mattias Burling and even though I have never shot with a FF camera, I know it would be very difficult to replicate that photo with a smaller sensor, under the same circumstances. I've even noticed it between m4/3 and aps-c... With the lenses I own. And right now, for me... That was more relevant. But I appreciate the answers, I've learned a little bit.

Obviously when I wrote "you" I meant you in general, not you specifically... I know you're a veteran at all this. I'm a writer/director that spent the last year + trying to be an okay camera operator with the right tool. Now I just want to simplify everything and make movies. Hopefully people will like them and I get one into SXSW, but most likely I may make my money back by creative marketing through Amazon, but the lesson will be invaluable.

I think festivals are worth entering as long as your honest about your film. There's no reason to give Sundance a couple hundred bucks unless you know you have something really special... And even then you probably shouldn't. Short films are probably the smartest approach to jumpstart a career, but even shorts take a shit load of work and when done, for just a little more work and a little more money, you could have made a feature that at least has some monetary value on Amazon or through self distribution.

Place an ad in Craigslist... There are always young actors that will work for free and usually some talented ones. Post some ads at a local college or local theatre. Your local library, or a county library probably have meeting rooms you can reserve for free... Hold auditions there. In your ad make sure you include non union/no pay, offer them a free copy of the movie and clips for their reel. You will get offers from union actors telling you how great they are and you should hire them... Either ignore the offer or politely refuse their services.

Ask yourself some questions and give yourself some honest answers. 1. Do you have access to $10,000 to make a feature? 2. Can the script you wrote be made for $10,000? Because in all honesty there is absolutely no reason why 2 feature films couldn't be made for $10,000 if you accept the limitations of the budget and work within those limitations. Hell, a feature could be made for $500 if you have access to things for free.

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.

Yeah, ML on the eos-m is kinda cool. I could never find an effective way to remove the pink dots, so raw on it was unbelievably frustrating. The 3x crop mode was cool for my c-mount lenses, but I noticed very little benefit with the 3x bitrate, so I found ML to be too limiting to make a real difference.

The m10 has peaking... Probably the best focus peaking I have ever used and it has a tilt screen. I actually have an m1 too but it's seen better days.

Love the 28mm. Yeah I have made the rounds with cameras. I'm good for a while now though. Between the XC10 and the Nikon, I am really happy. How do you like the GX85?

Haha... Now I'm obsessed with Nikon but I still love the XC10. So you shot that screengrab? IT LOOKS AMAZING!!! Seriously, I hope you are writing a screenplay, because you need to shoot a narrative if you're getting that image from a G6!!!

Another lazy Sunday messing with some footage, so I thought I'd share a couple more screengrabs shot with the 28mm f2...

Yeah I'm sure it's just that the sale was over. Or it was supply and demand. They sold a bunch more at that lower price, so the demand was higher... Raise the price. Econ 101.

From the video, it seemed like it was all done in camera. I think the concept is that the different "film stocks" work like jpegs would for stills. Not a whole lot of latitude for post work, but they look good in camera... Like having film convert minus the grain built into the XT-2... But I am no expert with Fuji cameras.

I didn't even know the D750 had a crop mode, but I will look into it more, thanks!

That's such a cool picture of Gunpowder... Fun fact as well. Honestly, your D750 videos are one of the reasons I am considering upgrading to the 750 and the full frame look. As I said... Really nice work.

Looks pretty good to me. When Reid-Log came out, I was considering investing in a Canon DSLR to go along with my XC10 and I wanted to see how his profile would match with actual C-Log, I came across a dirt cheap eos-m10, so I bought it for the tests and I really like his profile. Since then, I decided to go another route with a Nikon DSLR and use the XC10 as a sole S16 capturing system for run and gun, but even though I've decided to go the Nikon DSLR route, I am going to keep the eos-m10 just to use as a pocket cam with Reid's profile.

I'm not very versed with anamorphic, but I was wondering if a Yashica Scope or VM Anamorphic would be a good lightweight pairing with the XC10?

I'd rather stay within the the S35 realm, but with everything Canikon and their damn product segmentation, you are always sacrificing one thing for another. For instance with the 5500 I don't get any exposure aids but the crop is consistent in 24p and 60p. With the D7200, I'd get the exposure aids, but an inconsistent crop between 24p and 60p. So, if I went with the D7200 I would definitely keep the D5500, but the cost of the two cameras are nearing the cost of a D750... So just considering options. The downside of the D750 is that I am really used to how the 1.5x crop will affect my FOV. And since I like to stay between the 35mm FOV and 75mm FOV, my cherished 28mm f2 may become a little obsolete. Anyway, just trying to learn the benefits of full frame versus aps-c and if they're negligible in the overall scheme of things. Thanks for everyone's input... I've already learned a lot!

Well that settles it then, moderator please delete this post or close it for further comments... ? But seriously, yeah there should be a D760 announced, but I assume it will be $2000 plus for body only... The 750 can be had refurbished for less that $1500.