Sorry, friends, just a proud father showing off a little here!

I'm in the middle of shooting a promo piece using my XL2 coupled with a rented Mini 35 adaptor and a set of Nikon primes. My gaffer took these pics while we were shooting with a couple of the longer lenses and I just had to share them! I can't imagine going back to the humble stock lens now (but sadly I will have to - that kit ain't cheap).

Pictured is Alvaro, my cameraman/DoP on the current project (he also owns the Mini 35 and cine lenses). I'm the fat guy in the black sweat-top. If you ever get a chance to work on a project with an experienced DoP I highly recommend it. It has raised my game tenfold. Quite how I got away with things in the past I will never know!

Cheers,

Ian . . .

Sweet.

Thanks for sharing. The setup looks great.

-Jon

Wow. Cool pics. Must be nice to have $$ to rent stuff. :) I agree with having a DP...the one I worked with made my stuff look like crap. HA!

Thanks for sharing, Ian.

Jonathan

Thanks gents,

I just wish I was given the budget for this on every project!

My DoP, Alvaro, was an absolute star - but I did work my way through over 200 applicants for the job before I decided on him. I wanted someone who was format agnostic - ie someone who had wider knowledge than just video. His showreel is superb and contained three or four clips that captured exactly what I was looking for in this piece. I also wanted someone who had worked with film cameras (he owns one) for the experience with cine lenses. But I feel for ya - if you get a duffer you're in trouble!

Cheers,

Ian . . .

Looks like a lot of fun! But how have you got the finder clipped on there... the mic mount is pointing straight up :)

Ha! It's a miracle! Told you this guy was special ;-)

Geesh Ian,

Why'd you have ta' give me lens envy for!?!

Best,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

It's easy Jeff, the viewfinder is hooked on the lens adapter.

Luc

Exactly, Luc.

Jeff A : My wife has just reminded me that it isn't the size . . . etc., etc. Sigh . . .

And I had to convince my wife to buy the 3x wide angle lens :)

Sorry; just thought I'd add to the XL2 craziness...

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Exactly, Luc.

Jeff A : My wife has just reminded me that it isn't the size . . . etc., etc. Sigh . . .

Sometimes, all they really ask for is a 'cannon' that 'shoots'.....er, Canon...sorry...that was probably uncalled for.

j/k

-Jon

Wow, nice looking rig! Love to see some stills.

Curious what you found most enlightening (pun intended) while working with an experienced DOP. Knowledge of lenses, lighting, camera angles, stabilizers?.. or was it just a combination of everything?

Hi Greg,

For a good few years now I have been 'winging it' when it comes to getting lighting right on corporate shoots. I've done OK though, and I'm very happy with much of the work I've done - more to the point my clients like it and I've built up a reputation I'm proud of, with a great client list (Virgin Atlantic, T-Mobile, Sprint, and a load of names UK people will know like New Look, The Co-Op and Debenhams).

BUT, typically I have worked with just a two person crew (me = director/camera; my business partner = lighting/sound). We are completely self-taught (I'm an obsessive reader) with a lot of guidance from the good people here at DVi thrown in!

The long and short is that I have never been totally happy with our lighting or sound. We just got away with it rather than doing it right first time. I have wasted hundreds of hours in post trying to put right problems and then explaining it to a client as 'a creative choice'! It was clear we needed to raise our game.

So I decided that on the next big project I would hire an experienced crew with a view to watching every move they made and asking a thousand questions. I explained this up front to the hundreds of people that applied for the jobs and eventually chose a team who I felt had the right skills and the patience required to put up with me looking over their shoulders for a week (without giving it away to the client that I wasn't the brilliant director they thought they had hired!).

So that was the rationale - and what I came away with was a tenfold increase in my understanding of lighting scenes and the care a good DoP will take to get things just right. Also I benefitted hugely from his lens knowledge. In terms of camera angles, framing etc, I am quite confident in my own ability in these areas so I called the shots. I did, of course, take on board any suggestions he had and I tried not to be too rigid with my pre-conceptions of what a shot would look like.

All of this hands-on knowledge augmented and beautifully complemented the masses of written material I've studied from in the past. The only downside is that I always want to work with a DoP now (but can't afford to!).

Same situation with audio - for years I have done what many of us probably have done at one time or another - used a music bed to mask aircon and other noises! My audio was acceptable but not outstanding - a combination of limited equipment and lack of skill. Our experienced sound recordist pretty much gave a running commentary on what he was doing at any time and why and, again, that gave us a wealth of knowledge to add to our basic understanding.

I can't recommend it too highly - it's well worth the investment and it's like having your own personal tutor team on hand. Plus your project will (hopefully) look even better.

I haven't finished principal photography with this crew yet - we have further days next week and then in early April, with the project due for delivery in June, but the client has just commissioned me to make a teaser for their website so I'll post a link to that when it's ready.

Cheers!

Ian . . .

Thanks Ian,

I found that "enlightening" indeed! I'm just a hobbyist but even so I run into situations where I wonder what a "pro" would do.

-Greg

www.film-it.net/client/montessori_trailer_v202-1.wmv

For anyone interested in how the project is shaping up, this link should take you to a low res version of the teaser that is going up on the client's website next week.

It has a few examples of where those cine lenses and the Mini 35 can deliver a shot in ways the stock lens can't easily achieve.

Actually it isn't this version that's being posted on their site as I have to do some work on the audio, which is harsh in places. Also, the background music is just a placeholder courtesy of Cinescore. Not sure if I'll be using that or a piece that's being composed for the full video. Anyway, this gives you an idea.

Critique and suggestions welcomed.

Ian . . .

Nice flow through the whole trailer. And depth of field looked great. Only complaint is that it's dark but maybe that's just my monitor + VLC setup? But some gain would be welcomed.

One question regarding the setup; how much light stop does that setup use?

Regards.
David


www.film-it.net/client/montessori_trailer_v202-1.wmv

For anyone interested in how the project is shaping up, this link should take you to a low res version of the teaser that is going up on the client's website next week.

It has a few examples of where those cine lenses and the Mini 35 can deliver a shot in ways the stock lens can't easily achieve.

Actually it isn't this version that's being posted on their site as I have to do some work on the audio, which is harsh in places. Also, the background music is just a placeholder courtesy of Cinescore. Not sure if I'll be using that or a piece that's being composed for the full video. Anyway, this gives you an idea.

Critique and suggestions welcomed.

Ian . . .

Thanks David,

Yes, on reflection it's dark on the computer screen. Looks nice and bright on a production monitor and on a TV but as this trailer is destined for the web only I will need to work on the levels. Glad you pointed it out, thanks.

Re the setup, I guess I should ask the DoP that question. I'm afraid he left for Switzerland today but will be back in a week.

Cheers,

Ian . . .

Thanks,

one other question; could you post some screen shots from the film?
I'm interested to see how well the Mini35 renders the detail.

Best.
David

http://www.film-it.net/client/montessori_trailer_v203-1.wmv

Hopefully this is a little brighter. I played wih the levels a little. Keep in mind the actual project is to be delivered on DVD so I'm not really looking to spend too much time tweaking the web trailer.

Re stills, sure, be glad to. Are you interested in seeing them as they come out the camera or after they've been through post? May not get around to it this weekend but would be happy to post some up soon.

Ian . . .

http://www.film-it.net/client/montessori_trailer_v203-1.wmv

Hopefully this is a little brighter. I played wih the levels a little. Keep in mind the actual project is to be delivered on DVD so I'm not really looking to spend too much time tweaking the web trailer.

Re stills, sure, be glad to. Are you interested in seeing them as they come out the camera or after they've been through post? May not get around to it this weekend but would be happy to post some up soon.

Ian . . .

New one looked good. But I can't really tell the difference from each shot, but it's very nice looking.

Regarding the screen shots, I would appreciate raw from cam, so one can play with it in post. I'm very thankful for your work.

David

A pleasure Dvid, and thank you for your comments. As I say, when I get a spare moment I will put up some stills. This is SD video, hope that's OK.

Very best,

Ian . . .

Real good job Ian! Actually, I was curious how your project was going along. And it's been answered quite beautifully!

I agree with David that the pacing and flow to the trailer was well executed. On first viewing, I had thought that the background music didn't quite fit. (You mentioned you may not keep that score anyway.) I thought it was a bit somber (but certainly felt introspective which I liked). On second viewing, I guess I didn't mind the BG music that much. Hmmm...

I'm also interested in the settings used by your DOP; very much liked the look of it, from the depth of field, slow easy cam moves, and various angles.

I'm very interested in putting an adapter to our XL2 (maybe the Letus, if I can save up for one!) to achieve some of the things you're doing.

Best,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com

Thanks Jeff, most kind. When Alvaro (the DoP) returns from his trip I'll ask him to comment on his choice of settings etc.

Some of the camera moves were added in post, specifically some of the very slow, very slight crawls in. I firmly believe that when you only have a minute or so to tell your story you need to get a lot of the emotion across with camera moves, as you don't have time to do that with words alone. Because of the nature of the shoot (ie very much observational rather than staged) we didn't have the luxury of being able to set the dolly up each time.

My favourite was the overhead shot of the table. I bought an indie level jib specially for that shot! Interestingly, it was the only shot of the entire project that did not use the cine lenses (because they were too heavy for the jib!!).

I also am in two minds about the music bed. It is indeed somewhat sombre (but I think it's the best piece offered in Cinescore). I may shake it up a little by playing with the settings in Cinescore. It certainly won't be the music used in the finished piece (where I will be using music sparingly) but whether we change it for the trailer is a decision I may leave to the client.

Thanks again for your kind comments.

Cheers!

Ian . . .

David, here's a selection of jpg stills from the Sony Vegas timeline at Best setting but with no effects. They are all shots used in the trailer and you can see that some are better than others! Hope they're of use.

Ian . . .

Thank you Ian, they are lovely, that DJ kid looks gorgeous.

And there are very easy to work with in post. Very nice, I know now if I should save up for a adapter.

Best,
David

Any time, David.

Of course if you can't afford to buy an adaptor you could do what I did - hire a DoP/Cameraman who owns one!

Cheers,

Ian . . .

Nice grabs Ian. Saw the second version as well, and this one seemed to "pop" out more. (As David said, maybe the brightness helped?) But I did watch the first version from my wife's laptop screen which is a bit toned down for her purposes; and I watched the second one on my 22" screen, which is a bit brighter.

Now, I don't know whether to save up for a 35mm adapter (like a Letus) or save up for the 16x manual lens?

Any of you kind folks who've had experience with both? Any preference, pros and cons?

Best,

--JA
www.madjavaproductions.com