Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
By Thomas McKenney At a recent lighting seminar in Hollywood co-hosted by American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the Digital Cinema Society (DCS), Michael Goi, ASC Vice President, opens his presentation stating, “There is no such thing as bad lighting.” Lighting is a tool, or collection of tools, that serves the story. Where to begin? … …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Saro Varjabedian A DP’s main function is to coordinate all the elements necessary to capture an image that aesthetically supports the story. These elements include location/set design, blocking, lighting, camera placement, crew and time. Each element offers numerous variables making the coordination of them during the shoot that much more difficult. Therefore, to effectively… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
#FlashbackFriday #FBF Do you remember our exclusive interview with Bing Rao? Interview conducted by Larry Jaffee New York-based Chinese cinematographer Bing Rao enjoys a unique firsthand vantage point in seeing how China’s film industry has transformed economically and technologically during the past 15 years, influenced by Hollywood while remaining true to its insular culture…. …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
Q&A with Lance Lundstrom TV/Film/Video production professional with over 20 years of international production experience; owner/creator of RigWheels LLC. What’s new at RigWheels? Can you tell us about your newest kits? Lance Lundstrom: We have a lot of new products this year but the headliner is the Cloud Mount Slingshot vibration isolator. This is… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
Notice how well my Cannon Vixia HF G20 handles this rave scene in a dark club. By Sherri Sheridan How can you plan your film ideas around what HD does best to show us something new? HD frees up the camera both in maneuverability, cost and resolution. 35mm film cameras are huge cumbersome machines that… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
Capture Intimate Moments for Your Project and Story By Bart Weiss Shooting a film with an iPhone is nothing new. Indeed, when the iPhone was invented Steve Jobs had stills and movies in mind. But there is a difference between audio video recording home movies where you are just mindlessly capturing what is in… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
By John Klein For most filmmakers, low budgets and minimalist storytelling are a way of life. Limitation breeds creativity, wearing multiple hats, and so on. With rare exception, though, I’m typically afforded at least one or two crew members on the camera and lighting side to make things go more smoothly and to enhance the… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
“Full Frame is affordable, available and exciting to use.” By Snehal Patel Full Frame Cinema camera systems like the Alexa LF, Sony Venice, RED Monstro, Canon C700 FF and others have ushered in a new flavor of digital cinematography that makes use of larger silicone sensors and cinema lenses with increased projection sizes. Slotted in-between… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
Get the help of an app for capturing professional video footage on your cellphone or mobile device. By Bart Weiss There are still people dissing shooting video on mobile devices. I recently had a discussion on Facebook. While there are lots of bad, really bad, video being shot with mobile devices, sometimes the best camera… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
Includes a short list of things for the cinematographers to carry in their kit. By Thomas Ackerman, ASC Driving Interstate 40 to North Carolina in August of 2008 was a stupefying experience, 2,528 miles of tedium as I rarely left the main road. Without the distraction of touristy side trips, there was more than… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
8 Things Drones Can Do for Your Film and 17 Beginner Drone Tips By Sherri Sheridan Every film can now benefit from having some cool drone POV footage. Those really expensive, breathtaking establishing opening shots in feature films that used to be shot using helicopters can now be included in your low budget student… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
By John Klein Odds are, as an indie filmmaker, the resolution of your image will be one of the first decisions you make. Whether it’s determined by your budget, the equipment you have access to, a creative or pragmatic choice based on the project, or by the final distribution platform, it’s a decision that affects… …
