Cinematography

Hmmm... very interesting to compare Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah to an Alexa35.

Perhaps the line in the lyrics :

"There's a blaze of light in every word

It doesn't matter which you heard

The holy or the broken hallelujah"

On a personal level they are different, Hallelujah is a written and performed work of art while the Alexa35 is just a tool for making art.

I've worked with Leonard, haven't worked with the Alexa35.

Arthur Charpentier but what era of Russian cinema are you talking about?

Geoff Hall, I mean the modern period of cinema, the last ten years.

of course you are right that training and knowledge are important for a director and a screenwriter. but my opinion is that a person who knows psychology has more creative possibility than a person who has watched all the classic films.

Arthur Charpentier ah, I see. For me, I’d like to think that there’s a balance to be had between psychological and cinematic knowledge. And I say that as one who has read Jung and some of the Jungians and Imaginal Psychology, as well as FBI reports on serial killers and the psychological imbalance they have.

So I’m not anti-psychology, because I think, well, with Seeing Rachel, I researched deeply to find I psychological way of telling the story without sensationalising the ‘action’ (sex trafficking) and tragedy - there is more terror the story for it.

I’m off now for a while, so thanks for having this conversation. G

Geoff Hall, and thank you very much for the conversation!

I actually think that someone who loves film enough to want to do it for a vocation should watch as many and as varied films as possible. That doesn't mean they need to use existing films as influence for their work. they should use themselves as influence for their work and their world. but writers read, filmmakers should appreciate film.

I posted about Dall E Mini several months ago. Since then, OpenAI dropped their invitation only policy for DALL E. It's open to all. The results are far better on Dall E 2 than Mini. One receives 50 free credits and is able to buy more. It's very inexpensive - 350 credits for $45. One credit per description (prompt).

The learning curve is very low. All you need do is type a prompt. The attached is Digital Art style. For one like OP, the style is changed to pencil sketch. Basic Photoshop skills help. My Profile pix was made On Dall E.

https://labs.openai.com/

Ok thanks! Anyone else using other tools, like Shotdeck or Storyboard Pro?

Would love to learn about the basic pro/con of storyboarding with the classic tools, if you had a moment to answer 3-5 questions: https://forms.gle/Hg8g83LQymGPU7iA7

I signed up for Shotdeck to try it out, Russell Palmer. I plan to use it in the future for photos (download the photos and use them in pitch decks).

I use storyboard pro which is common in the industry but some artists use photoshop or even board on paper. If you want to try storyboard pro I would recommend investing in a cintiq. They’re expensive but are needed for creating smooth drawings.

Great thanks Jeremy! We built a tool if you'd like to try our free Beta trial, sign up here: www.simplyboard.ai

Hi, Jeremy! Welcome to the community :) I am the Education Marketing Coordinator here at Stage 32! I would love to recommend some webinars/ classes/ labs to you as well. Feel free to email me at edu@stage32.com

I love this post. I hope someone in my network can help you out with your questions. We had a great webinar taught by the director of SHREK 2 that showed his storyboards and his pitch on how it all came together, hope that helps! https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Master-Your-Pitch-Storyboard-Storytelling-for-Animation-Stage-32-Masters-of-Craft

Geoff Hall thanks!

No, my main work comes from producing short / feature films for other people on a micro level. The network stuff is fun, but not regular enough (few times year). I've also done two documentaries for PBS (one regional, one state wide)

Congrats on KILLER CASES Stephen!

Stephen Folker Congratulations, Stephen!

Congrats Stephen Folker, what an accomplishment!

Stephen Folker Stephen, please email me about this 'micro level' work. This year I'll be looking for a US Producer for "Breathe". I'm interested to hear more. Thanks.

Give this a go - hopefully the link holds, works: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mobilefilmakers

Thank you - worked perfectly.

A camera is a tool. It's the person using it. Example, a great screenwriter can use a notebook and pencil, typewriter or Final Draft. It won't matter. One is just a bit easier / more efficient.

All boils down to lighting + composition.

Hi Kate Merywyn Hawkes!

I guess that an iphone even though the images from them are really great lately wouldn't exactly be my first choice for shooting a film you can do it and probably do it really well if you consider a couple of things.

One would be the wide angle lens, although I don't know iphones specifically I think I saw that you can actually use different lenses, but in either case I would use an app to shoot like filmic pro which will give you a lot of control and if you shoot to a good codec you can probably get a really nice and usable image for color grading.

Most important thing will definitely be lighting and getting the right shot, regardless of camera.

Although phones typically capture fairly good audio you have the same problem accurse if you capture sound on camera, the onboard mic is usually too far away from the subject to get good and usable audio and might pickup too much sounding sounds to be useful.

The solution is very simple get another phone and hid it near the subject talking in the scene and use it as sound recorder and then just sync the audio in post, which will give you a lot better control over the audio.

I've shot stuff with phones before in a similar fashion and it's a great way to start but I quickly started using DSLRs and even got fed up with all the compression problems with those before fairly quickly buying an affordable small cinema camera and separate audio recorder which are both fairly affordable these days and get rid of most of the problems associated with DSLRs and phones and what not.

But if you have nothing else phones are the best alternative simply because the're everywhere.

Good luck with your film and have a great time shooting and then editing. :)

Thank you everyone!

This was the opening sequence I was talking about. The resolution is sadly poor, so don't put it on full screen!

https://youtu.be/GzPr3R3DNoo

Geoff Hall that scene completely illustrates your point. The rest of the picture is definitely to be seen on a big screen. Still amazing and a testament to what could be accomplished a long time ago. That particular motorcycle fetched the highest price for a motorcycle when it last traded hands in 2014. Not sure if that record still stands but it is certainly revered because of the movie far more than the life of the rider. Since some things just don’t change, the crash was and is still the subject of a plethora of conspiracy theories.

On the practical side, and low budget side - you could use China balls, these are the paper lanterns (come in different sizes), and use diffused bulbs (aka: soft light bulbs) - you can plug them in and use them off camera to help boost the light in the room, or on the talent. In post production most editing programs allow you to fix exposure and use power masks to re-light parts of your shots.

Hey Jack! Congrats on the film. It was fun to watch. It's hard to do a film on a type budget. I would say the biggest thing I am seeing here that could help would be to have some direction on the lighting to give it some shape. The Flex fill is a great tool to use on a tiny budget. If you had a couple of those you could use one to reflect more light onto the subject from one side and then use another one on the other side for some negative fill. That combo would help with the lighting. Lindberg's suggestion to use a China Ball is a great idea. Those are cheap to get as well.

Jack Murphy First off, congratulations on making your short. Good on ya for actually doing it and now wanting to learn and get better.

Scenes where you are trying to maintain a dark feel to enhance mystery, threats, danger, or an unknown all play well with lots of dark areas and deep shadows. The overarching problem I see in your piece is that the dark shadowed feel of the opening shot was not maintained through the picture. There are a number of places where, I’m guessing because of the actual light in the cafe and that coming through the window, you ended up with quite fully illuminated shots. The shot of the 2 men by the fireplace is an example. The fully lit walls and actors have almost no deeply shadowed areas. It is a jarring cut back to a more shadowed shot, almost looking like it is not in the same location. That area seems to be lit by both the interior lights of the cafe and light coming in through the window. I can see what you are fighting particularly without a lot of equipment.

With the idea that you want a lot of deep shadows and dark areas remember that you can take light out of a scene as well as put it in. Partly blocking some of the light coming in the window would be a start. Some dark plastic garbage bags and a little tape could solve that. Unscrewing some wall lights or using aluminum foil around the bulbs to allow light out only where you want it would work well. If you don’t have lighting fixtures, improvise. A table lamp with no shade and a bright LED bulb in it will give off a reasonable amount of light and then using aluminum foil, since it doesn’t burn, to direct the light to where you wish it to be is very workable. When lighting faces for these types of shots keep the actors key lights on the opposite side of the 180˚ line so that the side of the actors face toward camera is in shadow. You can use a white reflector to fill the shadow to bring out the amount of detail in the face you feel is appropriate. The reflector can easily be made with sheets of white printer paper taped to a piece of cardboard leaning against something or being held by someone. This would keep your actors lit in a fashion consistent with the look and feel you want and with a darker background with fewer bright areas (you need some) the scenes will look much better when cut together.

Maintaining consistency in the look of your picture is kinda critical.

Great first job.

You don't need high end gear to achieve a desirable look. Just get creative with what you have. Few tips for your next project. Your images would benefit with some depth. Isolate your subjects from the backgrounds with wide apertures. Watch your focus. And break things up. In other words, lots of talking head shots get boring to watch after a while.

Best wishes on your next project! :)

Thanks for the shout-out and the article, Shellie Schmals! :D I started reading the article, but I stopped because I saw a spoiler. I think it's a minor spoiler, so it's ok. :) I'll read the article after I watch "Pinocchio." It'll probably be this week. Thanks again!

Thanks, Amanda Toney! I sent Max a request.

Maurice Vaughan - Yikes!! I didn't notice the spoiler! Enjoy the movie :)

It's ok, Shellie Schmals. Thanks.

Thanks, Shellie.

Geoff Hall - such a good film!

For Cinematography????

Andrew Sobkovich yes, go ahead.

And also, do you have a showreel?

Florian Hoffmeister has everyone buzzing around town here. I still haven't seen TAR yet, can't wait to check it out.

In Tár pay close attention to the Scene where she is teaching in a Conducting class at Julliard that starts about 25 minutes or so.. An 11 minute TechnoCrane tour-de-force that is a singular standout in the picture.

Big man Spike .... I like that movie too ... with Clive Owen I worked on another movie ... the director was Tony Gilroy ... Duplicity.

That's cool you worked with Clive Owen, Manuele Bonafede! Sounds like you work on set a lot.

Not anymore but I worked for many years as a young man ... all positive experiences .. too bad that I still didn't have the passion of the writer .. it was a hobby more than anything else! :)

What a great share, and it clearly had a profound impact on you. We have several Stage 32 educators who work with Spike (his composer and his PR team) and they have nothing but excellent things to say about working with him and his love and support of fellow artists.

Amanda :) I confirm :)

Hi Sachin Kumar Pal - you paint a great picture of what it looks like to collaborate! Are you working on any new projects?