Raafi Rivero

Congratulations!!! The trailer looks great. I'm in NJ, but down south near Philly. Good luck with it. 

Hi folks, I wanted to let the EOSHD community know that my first feature is screening as part of the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York in two weeks. Some of you may live in the city so I’d love to meet you there, or at least let you know it’s happening. While I had been familiar with the site earlier, I became a regular EOSHD reader in the months immediately after we wrapped production. I also started reading Reduser, BMCuser, and DVXuser at that same time, but a year later this is the only of those that I check every day. I think there’s a great mix here of people looking to improve their grasp of technique, and those looking to improve their ideas about creativity itself. That’s why I’ve read and commented so consistently. 
On a technical/gearhead note, we shot principally on the RED Camera, but used the Canon C500 (+Odyssey recorder) for night exteriors, and had some b-roll and pickups shot on the GH4. One scene was even shot on an iPhone, but it was supposed to look like it. Here’s an article in No Film School about the film from a couple weeks ago.
In any case, the New York premiere of my first feature is a big moment in my life and filmmaking career and I’d love to share it with whatever members of this community are able to attend.
Here’s a link to the screening info and the trailer is below. Thanks!
 

Hi folks, I wanted to let the EOSHD community know that my first feature is screening as part of the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York in two weeks. Some of you may live in the city so I’d love to meet you there, or at least let you know it’s happening. While I had been familiar with the site earlier, I became a regular EOSHD reader in the months immediately after we wrapped production. I also started reading Reduser, BMCuser, and DVXuser at that same time, but a year later this is the only of those that I check every day. I think there’s a great mix here of people looking to improve their grasp of technique, and those looking to improve their ideas about creativity itself. That’s why I’ve read and commented so consistently. 
On a technical/gearhead note, we shot principally on the RED Camera, but used the Canon C500 (+Odyssey recorder) for night exteriors, and had some b-roll and pickups shot on the GH4. One scene was even shot on an iPhone, but it was supposed to look like it. Here’s an article in No Film School about the film from a couple weeks ago.
In any case, the New York premiere of my first feature is a big moment in my life and filmmaking career and I’d love to share it with whatever members of this community are able to attend.
Here’s a link to the screening info and the trailer is below. Thanks!
 

Played around a second. Nice footage might be worth a look if they ever release the camera

Longer focus throws tend to benefit cine-style shooting where an AC is pulling focus. They also help making micro adjustments on a wide aperture when shooting handheld where the distance between actor and camera is dynamic. Longer focus throws aren't as great for a single operator if you're pulling focus from, say, infinity to something in the foreground. I've had a hard time doing pulls like that without jostling the camera as a solo operator.
On the other hand, shorter throws like those on still, and autofocus lenses are difficult in other ways. It's almost impossible to stop pulling right at the actors eye - you almost always pull slightly past where you want to go and have to make a quick adjustment or two. Or in a handheld situation where the distance to subject is dynamic it is very difficult to maintain focus.
180º seems to be a kind of goldilocks solution, designed for the most-likely midsize productions that are coming up a weight class to cine-style lenses, but aren't crewed up like film or tv productions. Also, manufacturing-wise, my guess is that it is easier internally to re-gear mechanically using the same internals from 90-180º, than to go to 270 or 300º. We'll see how it works in practice.

When I bought my 5D mkii six years ago, it was for video. But at some point I realized, "you know, this is a pretty good still camera, too." [doh]. So I started shooting a lot more stills. I had always shot stills as a hobby, or "to train my eye" for film shoots, or on location scouts. Suddenly stills became much more present. I've now been hired many times as a still photographer in addition to continuing work in film. The bulk of my work, effort, and marketing goes into the film side of things, but I really enjoy shooting still now, too. Here are some shots from a recent trip to Morocco. Shooting stills has also made me a more confident cinematographer, too.

When I bought my 5D mkii six years ago, it was for video. But at some point I realized, "you know, this is a pretty good still camera, too." [doh]. So I started shooting a lot more stills. I had always shot stills as a hobby, or "to train my eye" for film shoots, or on location scouts. Suddenly stills became much more present. I've now been hired many times as a still photographer in addition to continuing work in film. The bulk of my work, effort, and marketing goes into the film side of things, but I really enjoy shooting still now, too. Here are some shots from a recent trip to Morocco. Shooting stills has also made me a more confident cinematographer, too.

Neither RED nor ARRI make their own sensors. They have them outsourced and made to their specifications. Just like BM do with their 4.6k sensor. 
BM make their own circuit boards.  They don't outsource them.  Then make them from scratch.  They make the physical bodies themselves.  They rely on commodity items for the chips and screens but they manufacture more than most other companies in house.  They have an active policy of not outsourcing.  
You're just guessing or making things up when pass mis-informed opinion as fact.   Maybe think about qualifying your guesses next time so those reading will understand that you're guessing or making something up.
How does anyone know what the margins are for Blackmagic ? A company that don't tend to outsource but do tend to keep as much as they can in-house.  Just like the first post that posited that few would sell when thousands have already been sold. It's just guessing at best, and most are way off.
They're doing fine.  Compare them to AJA and the Cion.  Similar sized company to BM, they made a camera based on the same sensor package, but one that was considered to be the much better camera.  Look how well that went for them.  Why is it that Cion failed ? Everyone who was a "pro" breathed a sigh of relief that a "real" camera would be made and yet...
Axiom ? That was going to show everyone how an open source market/ ML style approach would make a camera right ? Show those Blackmagic clowns how to do a camera OS.  Look how grindingly slow that's been going because Canon didn't do all the heavy lifting on the sensor front end.
or DB ? Why did they fail ? Again, they have an apparently loyal following and unique features.
Again it failed. 
Panavison have failed at least twice to launch a new camera to replace the Genesis.
Dalsa, who everyone forgets made the first 4K cinema camera have gone out of making cameras.  
Aaton went bust trying to make a digital cinema camera.
Ikonoscope went bust using the same DB sensor.
You armchair quarterbacks are all posting guesses but you actually have no idea what it actually takes to make a camera from scratch.  I sure don't but I know that after seeing Blackmagic do it up close for the last few years it's way more complex and intricate than I ever imagined. I know that when I ask about a feature or aspect that I like or don't like of the engineering team they've spent a long time already thinking about it or trying to get past the hurdle. 
Making and developing cameras is a very expensive game and there's no way it would be some kind of loss leader.  It's just way too expensive.
At least they're still in the game and offering choices.  They continue to innovate, and I think if you look at their first efforts, compared to now, they obviously listen to what their customers want even if it doesn't appear to be so.  
They have certainly hit some pretty big bumps in the road too but they are still here and trying to compete with the big boys, something a lot of others have failed to do.
I find the "qc" issue hasn't hit me.  I guess I'm lucky or maybe I don't expect to have my camera working or repairable after dropping it but in years of using all the BM cameras I have on commercial and paying jobs, I've not run into most of the problems that are cited as being their weakness. I mean honestly the camera doesn't overheat and yet it's constantly written as a problem on review sites or in the mythology.  
In the early days of RED they had to educate their users about how to get the most from their cameras and how to shoot RAW.  
I think BM need to do the same thing because you still get people who have no idea about a RAW workflow stumbling into using RAW for the first time after having only shot 8bit 4:2:0 previously.  
This community more than "pros" is where BM cameras do the most for filmmakers.  Which other big box company gives you ProRes or even 10bit ?
JB
 
 
 

Over at BMCuser, someone posted that they dropped their Mini 4.6k, it landed on the handle & cracked the casing, causing damage to the mother board inside - BM wouldn't repair it! However, it does produce lovely images, if used by someone who knows what they're doing...
I personally think that they'll keep going, but will revert to smaller packages (box like cams) - if they can figure out how to heat sink in a smaller package (the same user took his Mini apart & the majority of the camera is dedicated to the heat sink module). You've got to remember that BM cameras are budget cameras & they will have to cut corners in quality/build to keep the prices competative & low.
You've got to admit that the images coming from these cameras can be awesome & I hope that they struggle through, just like RED did at the beginning. I believe that in another 10yrs time, we'll be talking about BM cameras in the same breath as RED & maybe ARRI.
The biggest problem that they have at the moment is lack of user knowledge & this is due to the low price of some of their cameras - for every great user, there are at least 10 numpties whose lack of filming knowledge gets exposed as soon as they pick one up. They are not DSLRs & shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence, let alone compared to them.
If you don't get this, then DO NOT buy one, because you're probably the type of person that hasn't the time or patience to learn how to use them.
Just look at all the [stupid BS] hate aimed at the Pocket camera: poor battery life, bad screen etc... 45mins time limit for battery & SD card whilst filming PR. The screen is by a country mile not the worst i've ever used & I seem to manage very well nailing focus - I wear glasses, which adds an extra dimension of difficulty to the whole thing. 
And these same people talk about wanting to replicate a filmic image, just imagine them using a film camera that has a max filming time of 12mins - people with no skill or patience to learn will complain about anything if you let them, it's how they cover up for their short comings. It's a crying shame, but it's their loss........

Is it me, or is the motion cadence on that demo reel absolutely horrible?

422 10 bits en interne et raw en externe avec atomos ??????

I also had an excellent experience with Rode's customer support a couple years back. The elastic broke on my Videomic pro and I needed a replacement. I emailed the company to see if they sold the part and instead they just shipped me a baggie with several replacements (that were more robust than the orignals), for free. I'll definitely continue buying their products - and already have.

Hi EOSHD community,
I've been a daily reader and pretty regular commenter here over the past year, and wanted to share some exciting news. My first feature film will premiere at the LA Film Festival in two weeks! It's been a labor of love and a lot of work to get it to this point, so I'd love for any of you in the area to come out to the screening and to meet IRL. Here's a link for tickets, and the trailer's below. Also of note to readers is the many formats we used to shoot the film. Partly out of necessity, and at times for aesthetic reasons we ended up shooting on at least 5 different cameras and formats: Canon C500 4k Raw, RED, C500 HD, full-frame Canon DSLR, Panasonic GH4, and even iPhone
 Let me know if you can make it!
 
 

Resolve is interesting, but from what I've read, we're a release or two away from it being your main editor. 
I'm in the same boat - STILL cutting in FCP7 and using AE for much of the stuff a modern NLE does natively. I finally have some time to upgrade hardware & software, I'l probably start with FCPX and see what I think. 

Here's Reid's new video: 
 
 
It's funny, though, because prior to DSLRs all we wanted was HD video with interchangeable lenses. Now we want 10-bit 4k at 120fps in the same package. I'm not complaining, I want it, too. It's just that the lower end of the market will always have the leftovers from the higher end. Kinefinity TERRA for the win.

Here's Reid's new video: 
 
 
It's funny, though, because prior to DSLRs all we wanted was HD video with interchangeable lenses. Now we want 10-bit 4k at 120fps in the same package. I'm not complaining, I want it, too. It's just that the lower end of the market will always have the leftovers from the higher end. Kinefinity TERRA for the win.

Here's Reid's new video: 
 
 
It's funny, though, because prior to DSLRs all we wanted was HD video with interchangeable lenses. Now we want 10-bit 4k at 120fps in the same package. I'm not complaining, I want it, too. It's just that the lower end of the market will always have the leftovers from the higher end. Kinefinity TERRA for the win.

Even accepting your point, I could get a Kinemini 4K package AND a used 1DC for the same price as this Leica and a Ninja Assassin.

Dug up an old thread to share some screen shots from a 4.6K video I just shot for photographer Daniel Kelleghan. Full video should be up Monday. I'm so blown away everytime I use the camera. The color and DR is just insane.
Shot in ProRes UHD with the Sigma 18-35.
 

With a client I make sure to specify in the contract how many rounds of notes there will be. Two is typical, some may ask for three. And for lower-budget projects we'll get it in writing that there will only be one round. It helps to make sure that when the client is giving you notes they actually have something to say, or that there's someone on the client side responsible for making sure that everyone who's supposed to weigh in does weigh in, and that person collates the notes more effectively. It is also good leverage to have it specified in a contract so that, for instance, each additional round of notes costs X, or each day of work on additional rounds costs X amount. Without having that break, some clients will go overboard asking for "little" changes again and again. You want to make sure that with notes they're really serious or their willing to pay to go over. It doesn't have to feel draconian. Sometimes a gentle reminder in the process can help prod the client to be focused, "we only have one more round of notes specified in the contract, so please make sure everyone has seen or weighed in." Specifying the number of rounds of notes also helps you bid, budget, and schedule jobs more effectively.
With feedback on creative projects it is crucial to cultivate a group of people and/or collaborators whose taste you trust. Online, you never know what some bozo is going to say, especially if they have no connection to you or the project. Online feedback tends to be more negative, and people rarely balance positive feedback with negative as people who know you will tend to do. That said, you also don't want to only share the work with friends who will only tell you good things. That kind of echo chamber can be equally limiting.
You should have specific points in the process where you're looking for feedback. After a polished first draft of a script, say, after a few more drafts. After a rough cut, etc. Sometimes, especially with personal projects, you're not always at a stage when feedback is necessary or useful. Be sure that you're confident that you're not wasting your (or the other person's) time when soliciting feedback. Like, you really just wanted someone to tell you that it's awesome and weren't really looking for notes. Sometime's it's even helpful to have a questionnaire: what did you think of this character? is the turkey joke working? what did you think of the end?, etc. so that you're targeting the feedback to areas of the project you're worried about or looking to improve.
Again, I think the key is to cultivate a group of people with differing viewpoints, whose taste (and work) you trust to give feedback. It might not always be the same group for each project. Or for whatever stage you are in the project. But getting the right kind of feedback, at the right points in the process is essential to honing your ideas.

Ursa Mini on left. Cannot wait to see some footage out of these things.

Agreed. Their cameras don't try to do too much. (And I was there for the Tom Antos Kinemax test posted earlier in the thread). On the Kinemax the menus were very straightforward, responsive. The color science gives a nice flat image that's ready for grading. No wonky "Sony colors", no BS. There were some issues with that camera, though, as Tom pointed out in the video.
I believe the team at Kine are working overtime on the engineering side to add features and solve issues. But the biggest question mark before I pay that much cash (admittedly much less than similarly-spec'ed cameras) is whether the box is production ready? Does it work in the cold and in the snow? In the Rain? In blistering heat? How reliable is it? That's the $5000 question that separates the Terra and, say, a used Sony F5, or Epic Dragon. If it were priced to compete with the Ursa Mini 4.6k I'd be ready to buy, but in that FS7 range the reputation of the company, and resale value does carry a little more weight. That said, the Terra looks very promising. I want one. Or, at least, to test one.

Agreed. Their cameras don't try to do too much. (And I was there for the Tom Antos Kinemax test posted earlier in the thread). On the Kinemax the menus were very straightforward, responsive. The color science gives a nice flat image that's ready for grading. No wonky "Sony colors", no BS. There were some issues with that camera, though, as Tom pointed out in the video.
I believe the team at Kine are working overtime on the engineering side to add features and solve issues. But the biggest question mark before I pay that much cash (admittedly much less than similarly-spec'ed cameras) is whether the box is production ready? Does it work in the cold and in the snow? In the Rain? In blistering heat? How reliable is it? That's the $5000 question that separates the Terra and, say, a used Sony F5, or Epic Dragon. If it were priced to compete with the Ursa Mini 4.6k I'd be ready to buy, but in that FS7 range the reputation of the company, and resale value does carry a little more weight. That said, the Terra looks very promising. I want one. Or, at least, to test one.

Your motivation for making films, especially independent films, can't be solely about profit. Your passion to tell stories must be at the core of why you do this work. Otherwise go be a dentist. People will always be willing to have their teeth fixed. Willing to pay for art? Not so much.
As far as making a living as a filmmaker there are several options downstream from big budget Hollywood director. Those options become less and less appealing by the time you get to something like "Briss videographer", but they exist.
As far as cutting through the clutter and achieving mainstream, critical, and financial success? Those projects are rare birds indeed. It's why filmmakers idolize people like Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Steven Soderbergh. Because they did it.  As JCS said earlier in the thread, you simply have to make an exceptional film. 
I can remember seeing Christopher Nolan's Memento in a theater. No big stars, just a phenomenally interesting concept executed at the highest level. The trajectory from there to Inception was not guaranteed, but the promise was certainly there from the beginning. Keep working. Get better. Find your level. I'm pulling for you.

Your motivation for making films, especially independent films, can't be solely about profit. Your passion to tell stories must be at the core of why you do this work. Otherwise go be a dentist. People will always be willing to have their teeth fixed. Willing to pay for art? Not so much.
As far as making a living as a filmmaker there are several options downstream from big budget Hollywood director. Those options become less and less appealing by the time you get to something like "Briss videographer", but they exist.
As far as cutting through the clutter and achieving mainstream, critical, and financial success? Those projects are rare birds indeed. It's why filmmakers idolize people like Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Steven Soderbergh. Because they did it.  As JCS said earlier in the thread, you simply have to make an exceptional film. 
I can remember seeing Christopher Nolan's Memento in a theater. No big stars, just a phenomenally interesting concept executed at the highest level. The trajectory from there to Inception was not guaranteed, but the promise was certainly there from the beginning. Keep working. Get better. Find your level. I'm pulling for you.