I came across the ad below at a indie web site. I like what this
guy is doing for living. But, the question I have is, can I get continuous projects if I have something like this. How hard or how easy is it to get projects right now. If anybody is in the same business, how do you guys get the projects. How do you approach producers? And if you don't mind, how much do you earn a year?


>>Rent Me - DP w/ DV Filming Package

>Available for Hire: Cinematographer with DV equipment for film >projects. Package includes DP, JVC DV-500 Professional Digital >Video Camera (14-bit DSP, 750 effective lines of resolution, mini->DV format), ND filters, Polarizing filter, Bogen Manfrotto fluid >head tripod, shotgun microphone with 12/foot boom, one >wireless lavelier mic (16-bit, 48kHz 2-channel XLR input >recording), 1500 Watt 3-point lighting set-up (w/ ND filters, >diffusion filters and color correction filters), Minolta light meter, 5->inch LCD color monitor. $250 for 10-hour day, or $950 for five 10->hour days. Contact Me at xxx-xxx-xxxx and look at website at >www.

$250 for a 10 hour day?

That's cheap!

It sounds like he/she is just starting off and trying to gain experience and a reel.


Pricing your video services really depends on what part of the country you're in. Most of the people I know here in Houston charge between $85 to $150 an hour for one camera Op/DP and camera.

As far as the steadiness of this work, that too depends where you are located. If you're in LA or New York you should be able to find jobs easier. It sounds like the ad above is strictly for film work, you will probably find more work in corporate video and event type stuff.

<<<-- Originally posted by Fstop_Elvis : $250 for a 10 hour day?


Pricing your video services really depends on what part of the country you're in. Most of the people I know here in Houston charge between $85 to $150 an hour for one camera Op/DP and camera.
-->>>

Elvis is right. My rate is $175.00 per hour plus trip charge, with a one hour minimum.

I don't know where this guy is from but that rate is far less than the going rate in the Washington area. My still photo day rate is $500 and video/film work bills at $200 a hour plus expenses (and both are considered bargain rates in this part of the country).

Check this out. filmed with the Canon xl1, we want to break into TV Style comercials for the internet. This was the first time we tried to go full screen so its a bit rough and we lost our location just before the shoot so the set is just a digital creation. We filmed against a white wall.

File size is 4mb and it lasts 60 seconds so even the slowest cable or dsl wont have a long wait, let me know what you think

http://www.mantaproductions.com/fullscreen

cheers

Jp.

This was really interesting and I loved the music.

I had to watch it twice to understand the wadded up piece of paper motif. Maybe it's all a little too much to take in at once. Shows great promise.

Hi Peter,

Yes its true. This was more an exercise on demonstrating the technique than a good story telling comercial. We tried to throw in as many ways to mix up the video and vector elements as possible and keep bit rates down.

The next one we will be much simpler and clearer.

thanks

jp

<<<-- Originally posted by whiterabbit : Check this out. filmed with the Canon xl1, we want to break into TV Style comercials for the internet. This was the first time we tried to go full screen so its a bit rough and we lost our location just before the shoot so the set is just a digital creation. We filmed against a white wall.
-->>>

Man I love the use of video in Flash. Is that a hard thing to achieve? I recently upgraded to MX and have not tried this yet. Also, I liked your use of the digital set. I felt that it really worked well with your presentation.

Nicely done production and I also liked the music.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your feedback.

Using video in Flash as simulated video ( sequence of images) is not hard but there are a few glitches you gotta watch out for. I learned a few new tricks with this production so hopefully I can do a better job on the next one.

I don't know about MX, some people have said good things about it others bad, we have not messed with it yet. This is Flash 4 we are using.

Lots of thanks on the digital set but I will never do that again, had to cut out all those frames by hand, my wrist is as big as watermelon :)

If anybody knows who recorded that music let us know. We found it on an old tape and would like to contact them. They might not even be around anymore.

<<<-- Originally posted by whiterabbit : Hi Paul,

Lots of thanks on the digital set but I will never do that again, had to cut out all those frames by hand, my wrist is as big as watermelon :)
-->>>

Did you use KnockOut by Procreate? That is a great app for eliminating unwanted backgrounds. Discreet also makes a tool for working with "blue screen" type of images. I forget the name but I am sure somebody might recall what it is.

No I dont have any software for this type of thing except keying out with Aftereffects. I did not use a green screen because I was more worried about spill over in the little room I had to film in so I ended up cutting out the frames by hand (masking). I guess it was close to 1000 frames.

So now you see why I will never film again without a real set... though I dont mind enhancing the background and foreground with digital components... just no more cutting out the background.

Holy cow a 1000 frames?! How long did that process take you?

:}

I think it took a couple of weeks working nights. On some areas I was able to key the background out. This would have been a 3 day project otherwise.

This isn't really an announcement but its on the topic...

I am buying an XM2 soon and i want to make a short film as a way of 'breaking it in'. I'm looking for scripts of short films that have been made, so that I can watch the existing version to get an idea of where to start.

I would be really grateful if anyone could let me know of any websites with such scripts on them.

cheers

Hagopm@dog.com

You might have better luck finding a feature film script you like and just film a scene or two from it.

Try these...

http://www.script-o-rama.com/oldindex.shtml

http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm

http://www.joblo.com/moviescripts.htm

http://www.moviescripts.de/


It might be difficult to locate a specific short film script.

If you do come across such a site let me know. I wouldn't mind taking a look at the 1994 "Bottle Rocket" short screenplay by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson. Also, there is a short film I really love titled "Stalker Guilt."

Regards

It is better to write your own, that way you can write abou the stuff you have to work with.
It is just a practice film afterall.

I alternately loved and hated Chelsea Walls,
now on dvd. Absolutely beautiful, innovative cinematography- shot on Sony Pd100 w/Magic Bullet - an adapted stage play- gets painfully talky in parts- but a must see for the acting and cinematography.

Team up with writer who is starting out.

thanks for the info elvis. The script-o-rama site is great, I downloaded quite a few from there, including what looks like an unmade Kevin Smith film (Superman lives)

I've taken part in a few productions that have been written by inexperienced directors, and they are often a a bit one sided. I think doing a scene or two from a feature film is a good idea, and would probably give the most professional result

I rented this movie last night. Sure enough the XL1 is are all over the place. It makes me cringe when I see that dude hit the pavement and the camera disentigrate!! Well worth the rental price for that. Frame....by.....frame....

I think there is even a GL1 whose Mini DV chamber the cop somehow manages to hide a gun in at the end. I'd like to know how...

Hi all,

I've posted some of the pictures and (hopefully once i get my ftp to work properly) some video clips of the the thunderstorm i filmed a week or so ago.

Let me know what you think. I'll be posting some more as time goes by.

Regards

Nick


http://www.nglenister.fsnet.co.uk

The Discovery Channel is heavily promoting a new fall program called "Surprise By Design". This is a home improvement type program. I spoke with one of the shooters and he told me that it is becoming very common that principle shots are done with Betacam and B-roll is done with DV, at least on these types of programs. From what I could see, there is a LOT of DV! Every know and then you can catch a reflection here and there.

A good scene to do might be the full version of the cabride from "Pulp Fiction" (which can be seen on the VHS or DVD). It plays like a short film in and of itself and the script is really easy to find.

-Shawn

not a bad idea, but if I'm going to attempt my version of something that has already been shot, I'd prefer to do something a bit less mainstream, otherwise everyone who watches mine will compare it to the feature film version

I also want to do something more original. I write experimental breakbeat, and alot of my music gets pretty damn weird while still being a pleaseant experience. I'd like to do a film that works in similar ways, possibly disorienting and confusing the audience before returning them to a solid story.

I don't really know what I'm talking about - I've never studied film or anything - I'm about to start my second year of a degree media course so have a bit of experience working with cameras but nothing this open-ended and creative. I've read a few feature scripts since I first posted but nothing has jumped out of the screen at me yet...

Some great self-contained short format scripts are the ones written for the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits series. Not only were these great stories with real kickers of endings (usually), they were written for a television medium that roughly corresponds to the state of DV now. That is: constrained by low budget but with no shortage of technique or talent. A good many of those stories take place on a single sound stage or in readily available outside locations.

You might also want to take a look at Robert Rodriguez's short film Bedhead (on the desperado DVD). It's got kind of a strangeness to it and, being Robert Rodriguez, it's definitely got the no-budget, high-ingenuity thing going on. He is, as someone else on this board proclaimed him, The Patron Saint of DV.

-Shawn

nice ideas guys, I'll definitely check em out. Thanks for the advice.

You may be interested in this Board of Equalization document concerning sales tax. There are a lot of instances when you don't have to charge sales tax.

In California, the State Board of Equalization, in Regulation 1529 spells out the tax code fairly clearly to we videographers.

A 'Qualified Motion Picture (includes video) is not taxable. This includes training, corporate and other works. All to the point at which you deliver the master. Copies are taxable.

Partial quote from SBE web site

"(1) QUALIFIED MOTION PICTURE. A “qualified motion picture” is any motion picture or portion thereof, whether finished or not, which is produced, adapted, or altered for exploitation in, on, or through any medium or by any device for any purpose, including, but not limited to, any entertainment, commercial, advertising, promotional, industrial, or educational purpose."

Weddings are specifically stated to be taxable.

"(B) Qualified motion picture does not include motion pictures produced for private noncommercial use, such as motion pictures of weddings or graduations to be used as family mementos, accident reconstruction videotapes to be used for legal analysis, or student films to be used for class projects."

See http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/reg1529.pdf for the referece.

I learned this when I cut a contract with University of California at San Francisco.

If all theaters had digital projection also, would it still be best to transfer to film or does the quality look better when transfered to film no matter what?

Confused! Please help!

If all theaters had projection systems...I would imagine costly 35mm blowups would be a thing of the past. Instead movies shot on Mini DV would be transferred to HD for screening.

From what I've seen...video views best on VIDEO.

Transferring DV to film isn't going to make it look better, or even make it "look like film".

In many cases transfer will make a DV flick look worse, well, depending on who you hire to do the transfer.

The only reason to blowup to film would be for theatrical screenings.

My two cents...

Could someone spell that out in layman's language? What exactly isn't taxable? The initial production costs up to the creation of the master?

It's going to be a long, long time before "all theaters" transition to digital projection. This is happening very sloooowly. Rest assured, movies are going to be shown to audiences through 35mm motion picture projectors for quite awhile yet. Hope this helps,

I recently viewed two different films, both shot in digital. One, ADANARJUAT, THE FAST RUNNER, was sgot in digital and presented on celluloid. The image quality was excellent! A trailer for the movie is available on the web. The second, Tony Hillerman's SKINWALKERS was shot in digital and presented in digital. The image quality was horrible, with blockiness, checkerboard patterns in the sky, blown out highlights and jittery motion. I'm not sure why this digital movie looked so amateurish. Fortunately, the storyline carried the day.

I submit that a videographer used to filming on celluloid needs to be retrained to shoot in digital, but, that's a different topic..

Mikey,

I believe the city of New York may have something similar. I worked on several documentaries that filmed in NY in the late 90's and we had some kind of exemption for some taxes. It was my department, so to speak, so I can't give you any details. But it may be worth looking into. If your doing more guerilla style productions it may not be worth it. The producers paid thousands in permit fees. If you don't have the permits I'd bet you can't get the tax breaks.

Jeff

In California, it means that your client doesn't pay taxes on anything in the production, including the master tape.

This does not include items that may be purchased for the production including props or equipment by the client or as a pass-through billing from me to them. If I buy a new camera for the production, I pay taxes on it but the client ony does so by paying my fees.

If you shoot the production on the clien't property and don't use public land, the only thing one needs is a business license and perhaps a Board of Equalization number (for collecting taxes from those who have to pay)

Another tax break in California was and still may be that any equipment purchased for a Post Production business can be State Sales Tax exempt (for the state's 5% portion of the tax). All one had to do was furnish an executed copy of the exemption certificate to the supplier.

I don't know if this exemption is still in force.

Another tax break in California was and still may be that any equipment purchased for a Post Production business can be State Sales Tax exempt (for the state's 5% portion of the tax). All one had to do was furnish an executed copy of the exemption certificate to the supplier.

I don't know if this exemption is still in force.

I certainly enjoyed purchasing my last editing suite without paying the 5%.

in laymans terms i think it means you do NOT add taxes to your clients bill for the master tapes , production tapes , sound tapes, labor

if i remember correctly taxes are ADDED for the end product ( ie: they ask for 10 copies of finished tape) so if you charged 2500 to shoot a wedding . in that 2500 it incudes 10 copies of finished video ( you should specify how much much you sell copies for - 19.95 ) .. you only charge client tax on the 10 copies (199.50)

Just finished production of "Anti-Horror" and are now going into post. Please come by and visit us and check for updates. We are trying to figure out how to stream the demos, so please feel free to give advice or ask questions in the form of email.
www.trilliumpictures.com

I am very happy with the results of the xl1s. We made Anti to be a STV release and shot accordingly. So much thanks to Mr Hurd and this site. I have spent many a long night shifting through tech advice of how to achieve the film look and its has paid off.
Thanks again Mr Hurd
Don B

Cool.
What's STV?

STV= straight to video

DON B

I really like your site . I downloaded the "trailer" for the Anti- Horror. It looks very interesting. I like the song alot! Prepare yourself for...yourself... very interesting.

My question for you is that based on the advice you received from these boards, what would you say is the best thing you did in order to achieve the film look with the Canon XL? I am highly interested in your answer because your movie looks very crisp.
The picture quality is great.

Thanks Tom,
However, I must tell you that the stream on my page was shot a long time ago, some of the first stuff I have shot with the xl1 (2nd tape as a matter of fact).
It is almost impossible to tell the true quality an xl1s can achieve by viewing its product as a stream.
I must say it is very strange that all the mainstream dv movies I have seen look like crap. It must have something to do with the blowup to film, but most all of the stuff I have seen was on cable or video. I do not understand the grain, bad lighting, and crackhead colors some of these dv dp's are putting out. Call me paranoid...but sometimes I feel the dv revolution is under attack by the empire.
As for how I achieved the film look on Anti, I used everything I learned from dv community at different times. I used many techniques for many different situations. I hate to sound so vague but that is the truth. I am busy with editing right now and have not the time to break it all down......but trust me ...it has all been said and said again here in these pages....there are some cutting edge folks creeping around here.
Don

As we're moving into actually planning a timeline for shooting Tin can Shinny, I'd like to find a template or listing (production schedule) of all the components, seen and not seen, that go into planning, shooting and finishing a film.

Other than the very obvious of legal, script, shhoting script, storyboards, equipment, location planning, etc., can anyone direct me to a "master list" of the non-production related concerns?

I kind of equate this to building a house starting with buying a lot, finalizing a floorplan, aquiring building permits, garbage services, temporary power, etc. all the "non-bricks and mortar" expenses and jobs that add to the expense.

Thanks for any help.

Wayde Gardner
Right Field Films

www.rightfieldfilms.com

hi Don-

I tried to watch your streaming video/trailer but it was turning into an experiment in frustration. I'll try back later. I might have hit when you guys were most busy. I wanted to write a quick on note on a few things that you and others may or may not know about. What you call STV...

I refer to features that are released for direct to video distribution as video premieres, as per the main publication covering this 2 billion dollar industry. I work for this publication. It's called, ironically enough, Video Premieres. It's an initiative of the leading (20+ year old) publication called Video Business. Video Premieres was created to raise the bar for this type of product. Almost all major studios release regular Video Premiere titles and DVD extras fall into this description as well, for Video Premieres. There's even an award show that goes on that recognizes the best of the best. Check out the website and then I would strongly recommend getting a subscription. You can find it online at http://www.videopremiereawards.com.

I'm producing a couple shorts and then a feature, called Shiner (www.take-a-hit.com) and these are all slated for this market. Since I produce pretty risky content (our website is www.nebunule.com) the home video market is a viable and democratic venue to get your stuff out. For those out there who don't know where to start, I would recommend starting with the highly popular Independents issue of our sister publication, Variety (www.variety.com), and start doing your homework of who is out there and what they are interested in. Some studios are not intersted in digital video fare, others are very agressivly picking up urban fare and others gay & lesbian fare. I encourage filmmakers to reach out through these venues and work smart.

Also, one more note, if you haven't become a member of IFP (in your local chapters) then you are making movies the hard way. You can find out more on this amazing and worthwhile organization at http://www.ifp.org.

Good luck to everyone best wishes to Chris, for making this available to us. Take care everyone and good night.

Christian Calson
Nebunule Films

If you love the movie or are interested in the brains and brawn behind it, then you might want to get a copy of 'shooting to kill' by the producers of the film (christine). you can check out Killer Films at www.killerfilms.com. Her list of films is amazing. If you have ever said, 'they don't produce good independent films in the us...', then you have not see a killer film producing in a while. She's been around a while and has a lot of information that is more than useful to the novice and professional, through her book. good luck and take care.

christian calson
nebunule films
nebunule.com

I just wanted to let everyone know, that last night on the Howard Stern show, two men were having a golf challenge.
One of the men(Stuttering John) hit his golf ball directly into one of the cameras. Stuttering John was mad and said, "I had a great shot but my stupid ball hit the E! camera." They then showed the camera that was hit with the golf ball up close and it was a Canon XLS! So it appears that the Canon XLS is used by the E! network crew to atleast film some of the Howard Stern show. I thought I'd pass it along because that's really cool to know that this camera is being used with prominent TV shows.

I've been noticing them on other TV shows as well.
Just recently on TNN's Oblivious for one. A few XL1's on a documentary about BASE juming.

master list? It sounds like you are unsure if you're covering all your bases in pre-production, right? I went to your site and saw you guys have a producer, so I would leave managing that stuff to him. There are a ton of books on dv production. A lot of them come with software and some with access to websites that have really good templates and articles. If you're not members of IFP then you'll wish you were in a year or so. Also, I would start reading the trades if you intend to sell or talk to people who would buy your film if you're making it to sell. If you want software Movie Magic makes the most popular budgeting and scheduling software. There are some ez budget templates circulating out there, if god forbid you haven't done a budget yet. I'd start with a script or thorough outline first, then a budget, then clean the budget, then reclean th budget, then move forward with casting and shooting. Otherwise you might end up watching an unfinished very expensive movie. I don't think I've answered your question, but let me know.

christian calson
nebunule films

We do have quite a bit covered and our Producer John Darrouzet is an organizing machine. As the Writer/Director and organizer of this crew, I want to make sure we've got all our bases covered. I think I owe it to a number of people who are investing a lot of thier own time and resources.

Budget! We don' need no stinking budget!

...and as our DP (Brad Herbert) is fond of saying, "We have an infinite budget of zero."

We are, however, keeping track of our time and daily expenses for our own purpose.

It appears we'll be using the Movie Magic SW to organize and execute the various stages of the shoot. I'm trying to head off any surprises as we have so many facets to the film. (large cast including kids, multiple locations, period piece, etc.)

**"Also, I would start reading the trades if you intend to sell or talk to people who would buy your film if you're making it to sell."**

You mean people would actually PAY me to do this?! :)

Read the reviews on the Full Frontal movie. True, the Xl-1 will not match the quality of film, but high def will. I was at a film fetival and the owner of Du Art in New York, a transfer house, said he couldn't tell the difference between high def and film. He showed us 2 clips and I couldn't tell the difference either. The fact of the matter what ever you use, just do what you can afford, people care about the story first. Hollwood doesn't like digital because no longer are they the king and queen. By the way the owner of Du-Art in New York worked with CBS back in the fifties when they were still using film for the evening news. How's that for doing things the hard way, DIGITAL WILL RULE!!!!!!!!