Cinematography

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last checked in on this series, and that pause feels appropriate.

We’re deep in post on The Shape of Kindness now. The rough cut is done. The story is there. At this stage, I'm focusing on quieter work: refining shots, identifying visual effects needs, refining transitions, and preparing the film for its next steps. I’ve also been designing the title and end credits, considering how the film opens and how it concludes.

What’s different this time isn’t the workload. I’ve edited plenty of projects before. What’s different is the mindset.

In the past, post-production meant I carried everything all the way to the finish line myself. If something felt off, I fixed it. If it broke, I owned it. That kind of control can feel safe, especially if you’ve had chaotic or unsupported set experiences in the past.

This time, the job is less about fixing and more about preparing.

I’m cleaning the cut, so color and sound can do their best work. I’m identifying visual effects needs early so they don’t become a panic later. I’m thinking about score not as wallpaper, but as the emotional glue that will carry certain moments. Each step is about setting the next collaborator up to succeed, not proving I can do it all myself.

That shift has been uncomfortable at times. There’s a strange vulnerability in handing off something you care about, especially after you’ve lived with it through writing, prep, and production. But it’s also where the work starts to breathe.

Letting go doesn’t end when the cameras wrap. It continues in post. It shows up in how you prep files, how you communicate intent, and how much trust you extend to the artists who come after you.

The lesson I’m sitting with this week is simple: collaboration doesn’t mean you stop caring. It means you care enough to make room for other people to elevate the work.

Next up is music, and with it another layer of shared authorship. For now, I’m embracing this quieter phase and the growth it’s asking of me.

If you’ve ever struggled with releasing control in post, I’d love to hear how you navigated it.

Hi everyone!

I’m Andre — a creator with a deep passion for the 90s and early 00s filmmaking workflow. I love everything about that era: the texture, the discipline, the imperfect beauty, the entire hands-on process.

I’m currently looking to connect and network with people who still own, use, or have access to 35mm film cameras and 90s/00s lenses, especially anyone experienced with that old-school workflow.

I’m working on a low budget, but I’m absolutely willing to work hard, assist, learn, and put in the time to be part of projects that use these materials. My long-term goal is to collaborate with a filmmaker who’s creating a project using real film and vintage lenses.

I also plan to shoot a music video on 35mm film combined with a 2000s-era camera lens, and then scan the project to 1080×720 to keep that authentic early-2000s look.

So my questions to the community:

– Who here still works with 35mm and vintage 90s/00s lenses?

– Do you know anyone who still uses that workflow?

– And would anyone be open to networking or collaborating?

Thanks so much — I’d love to connect with anyone who’s keeping that era alive.

Andre

Legendary LA film stage lighting and motion picture lighting manufacturing company Mole Richardson seems to be going out of business here with a final auction announced recently.

For those not in the know, Mole Richardson has a thrilling history, and pretty much invented the motion picture lighting business. It was founded by the innovative Italian immigrant Peter Mole in 1927, who began selling incandescent tungsten lighting to the film industry, which allowed a more natural lighting than the previous arc lights. The new lights were also silent, an advantage for the new sound films.

Mole-Richardson invented the Fresnel Solar Spot unit in 1935, adapting the fresnel lighthouse lens for use in motion pictures. During World War II, Mole-Richardson concentrated their efforts on developing searchlights for battleships, tanks and artillery units to aid the Allied Forces' battle in Europe and the Pacific. In 1945, Peter Mole was invited to light the first United Nations conference held in San Francisco.

Mole-Richardson was considered by many to be the staple of motion picture and television lighting in the movie industry today, setting the standard for tungsten Fresnel fixtures, and their lighting won four Academy Awards. For a long time, they operated out of a beautiful art deco building on La Brea Ave. in Los Angeles as well.

Apparently the word is that a shift away from in house manufacturing made parts scarce, repairs expensive, and prices rose to unsustainable levels, especially considering the myriad of cheaper alternatives being manufactured overseas.

(https://www.aagauction.com/world-famous-motion-picture-lighting-equipmen...)

Adolpho Veloso the cinematographer of Clint Bentley's Netflix film 'Train Dreams' breaks down capturing the world of loggers at the turn of the century. Shooting almost entirely in natural light throughout Washington state, the camera team captured breathtaking imagery in a 3:2 aspect ratio on the Alexa 35.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0kXVd8vGeQ)

Hi Everyone,

Can I ask for some advice?

What's a good (and reasonably priced) camera for photography and filming?

I see a lot of people using the Sony A7 IV, but it's already quite expensive. For my minor in "Creation and Design," where we teach both photography and film, I'm looking for a couple of affordable cameras that are useful for both.

Do you have any experiences/preferences?

What’s the single most common lighting mistake you see in indie work that instantly gives it away? Not the obvious “it’s underexposed” stuff. The subtle sins. The ones that make you mutter, “They didn’t mean to do that, and now I can’t unsee it.”

Happy Tuesday, cine-friends. Sharing a quick highlight from a new Stage 32 blog because it’s a big moment for the community.

Stage 32 was recently featured in a Forbes article about the Stage 32 Certification Program, with Forbes framing it as a glimpse of where “film school and career education” are headed. The blog explains why this matters: Stage 32’s training is built and taught by working industry professionals, it’s designed to prepare individuals for real-world production jobs (not theory), and certified members are added to a global database that film commissions and production teams can use to find crew. The post also shares some concrete examples of programs being rolled out in multiple regions, as production is expanding faster than the available trained workforce.

Blog post: https://www.stage32.com/blog/forbes-spotlights-stage-32-certification-4310

If you’re curious about how Certification works, what departments it covers (production management, AD, production accounting, script supervising, locations, post, legal, and more), or how it could support your career or your local film community, this one’s worth a read.

If you’ve done any of the Certification courses, I’d love to hear your experience. Did it actually help you feel more “set-ready,” or open any doors for you?

Happy Sunday, everyone. Sharing this week’s Coffee & Content because it’s a good one, especially if you need a creative recharge.

RB spotlights an incredible Vanity Fair deep-dive where James Cameron breaks down every film he’s ever made — from The Terminator to Avatar: The Way of Water. What makes it so powerful isn’t just the behind-the-scenes stories, but how honest Cameron is about where he started: broke, fired, living off coupons, and deciding he had to create something only he could make.

His entire career is rooted in one idea: take people on a journey, no matter your budget or resources. Curiosity, problem-solving, and reinvention were his real tools.

RB also ties this into pitching — and the advice is worth repeating:

Start by being human.

Before your logline, take two seconds to connect with the person across from you. Show you did your homework. Executives notice, and almost no one does it.

Then get clear about:

• the format

• the genre

• and why the story matters to you

Clarity + personal connection = a pitch that stands out.

Cameron built a career by taking leaps long before he had the means. So the question RB ends with is a great one:

What leap are you ready to take next — even if you’re not totally comfortable yet?

A new script? A cold email? A pitch? Starting a short? Joining a collaborator you’ve been circling for months?

Drop it below. You never know who you might inspire.

This was fun to make and animate - and creating a consistent world and characters in a story with AI is more possible than ever, right from your own laptop. But you still have to know how to call each shot, camera angle, and all the pacing to move the story along. That still takes humans, for now.

Happy Holidays to all!