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Why buy?


gh2sound
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Know not a single filmmaker (and without ratifying their roles - (doing the dream jobs - Olympics, Victoria Secrets, Superbowl Oscars blah etc) that owns a single camera, or would ever buy one (other than tax reasons lol) Yes a dichotomy of why we're noodling here, but .... why buy? Intrigued. What are the benefits? Even Tax wise can't be good can it?

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Know not a single filmmaker (and without ratifying their roles - (doing the dream jobs - Olympics, Victoria Secrets, Superbowl Oscars blah etc) that owns a single camera, or would ever buy one (other than tax reasons lol) Yes a dichotomy of why we're noodling here, but .... why buy? Intrigued. What are the benefits? Even Tax wise can't be good can it?

There's a big difference between "real" cameras and the kind of stuff hobbyists and industrial shooters (like me!) use.  I shot 4 different projects this week, and two of them were last minute things, so renting on my level is not really viable.  I need something to go out the door with without much lead time.

Also, for the crap I do, I get paid less than it costs to provide craft services to a real shoot.  I need a camera that's cheap and easy.  That's my end of the pool.

BTW, I shot an actual Super Bowl spot once.  With a Canon XH-A1 no less.  Actually, it was a CBS media network promo, does that count?

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I think most people here are hobbyists. I have a lot of friends shooting for Vice, etc. C300 or Amira owner/ops and they do well working as wet hires at that level. On the higher end less so. If I can add $300/day to my rate by owning a C100 or $700/day to my rate by owning an Epic, I'll do that. But if I'm getting $50,000/day I don't care.

Still, Bay owns a 235 and probably an Epic or two. I think more creatives own cameras than you think, they just rent higher end ones for paid shoots! 

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I think most people here are hobbyists. I have a lot of friends shooting for Vice, etc. C300 or Amira owner/ops and they do well working as wet hires at that level. On the higher end less so. If I can add $300/day to my rate by owning a C100 or $700/day to my rate by owning an Epic, I'll do that. But if I'm getting $50,000/day I don't care.

Still, Bay owns a 235 and probably an Epic or two. I think more creatives own cameras than you think, they just rent higher end ones for paid shoots! 

Doesn't Peter Jackson own like 50 Reds. And James Cameron is close behind I think.

I guess there's a difference between them and true DP's though. But if I'm Richard Deakins or Bob Richardson and I want to shoot the flowers in my back yard, I have probably a couple dozen numbers I could dial and an Alexa will be there in like 15 minutes.

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No. Can't argue with the box office.

Actually, I always argue with box office, record sales, home improvement design, etc.  Creating materials and content for the largest collection of market requires a certain mundanity that allows for that broad appeal.

It's why comedy slapstick will never go away.  A 5 year old and a 95 year old can relate to it; Rich man or poor man.  It's not anything great, just silly.  Which is fine, but nothing that necessarily needs to be exalted and appreciated on a particularly impressive level.  On the other hand, you can't hand Faulkner to a 12 year old and expect him to have any profound self-reflection after reading through it.  You can't get most people to do that.  It's just beyond their grasp.  Thus, less accessible.  

Which book is more impressive and which has broader appeal:  http://tinyurl.com/ogmx44b or http://tinyurl.com/nc4n33d

Same concept goes for the cheap door you'd buy at a Home Depot or that new Taylor Swift album.

So, no, I don't readily agree that financial success is in any way a marker of creative success.  Not in this society.  The complete opposite.    

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I can see where you are coming from when it comes to the big guns. I find it a bit strange that people on reduser will take out huge loans for their cameras. Unless they have a steady stream of high end business. 

But something like a gh4, A7S, BMPCC, why not? They are cheap enough to get even for goofing off and practicing. 

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One-man-bands definitely need to own at least one camera. There are shoots that will be jus fine with a 5D, A7s, etc. There are some you would want higher end stuff and would be very difficult to pull off and sell as a one man band. Can always rent for those. It's truly based on your needs. 

Personally speaking, I own a T3i and use it for the odd personal project and stuff where people would pay me a small amount. If I am being paid a decent rate, I always rent either an A7s or three or a C100. 

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Just my opinion.

FWIW, I would love to hear you, or anyone, explain that opinion.  And I'm not being snarky or anything.  I would genuinely like to hear from someone that is earnestly impressed with his work and why it deserves any recognition beyond the superficial.  

It seems to me he's the directing equivalent of a guy that knows a lot of vocabulary but can't diagram a sentence...and he yells all his words with lots of exclamation points. 

So, yeah, not a fan, but I'll listen to reason.

As it stands, I will grant you that he's at a modern vanguard of deconstructing the expectation of cohesive film narrative.

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