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OT but part of the debate I think
“My Name is Steve and I’m an FCPX user”
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48 Replies
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Congrats to Walter Biscardi for the positive call-out!
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The “golden rules” list at the end is priceless.
I am also annoyed at how a shallow depth of field in EVERY SHOT is now considered the latest badge of cinematic street cred in amateur circles. When was the last time you saw a major feature that had nothing but shot after shot with a shallow depth of field? Does that mean Citizen Kane isn’t truly “cinematic” because it has shots with extremely deep depth of field?
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I agree, very silly.
I just had a shoot that involved many city landmarks in the background of the talent and a young production person asked me if I wanted to use a DOF adapter.
I told him the whole point is to SEE the great images in the background.
He then agreed.
You just have to get people to THINK about what they are doing so they don’t just follow blindly.
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True it’s annoying, but it’s also unsurprising. After all, digital film making has been available to the masses for low cost since the late 80s, early 90s, but only recently has there been a relatively low-cost option for shallow DOF. This has led to the inevitable over-doing of the technique.
It’ll shake out in a couple of years. Until then, RACK that focus!
Andy
https://www.timesavertutorials.com
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I think it’s a tool like everything else.
I’ll tell you where shallow DOF saves our asses, although we aren’t filmmakers and don’t claim to be.
Many times, our clients will setup rooms to do interviews. We arrive on location and the room is a piece of sh*t and looks horrible. We can now throw the whole background out of focus, add some subtle light back there, and it becomes pleasing with some bokeh, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. But this is very deliberate, helps the overall look of our work, and we use it as a tool, not a mandate.
I do agree, it is way over used, and a lot of programs look the same because of it. It’s almost a gimmick at this point.
I know I have posted this before, but this video tickles me:
Jeremy
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The master of deep focus, to my mind, was Sergio Leone. How many times would he show us a stunning, perfectly in focus, scenic vista only to have a grizzled face in close up invade the frame? Or a great shot of a gunfighter in the distance standing ready to do battle while a gunbelt and hand over the gunbutt is in sharp relief in the foreground.
Unfortunately, video seems to flatten the frame of such shots and never seems to have the 3D-like depth of film. It is getting better, but still not quite there. With the shallow depth of field I think video looks more film-like…and that is why it is being over used, IMHO.
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As for me, I can’t wait until the new Passive-Agressive 2.0 rig comes out. Man, I’m gonna look GOOD on the set!
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
[Marvin Holdman] “As for me, I can’t wait until the new Passive-Agressive 2.0 rig comes out. Man, I’m gonna look GOOD on the set!”
Made me laugh! Thanks.
I enjoyed reading the OP too. But I’m stuck thinking that while he’s absolutely correct on one level – there’s another level in play that’s changing things even MORE than the problem of the faux professional he addresses here.
It’s the rapidly changing nature of the entire game.
Once upon a time I was a young creative in RADIO. I honed those skills to a fine edge and essentially salivated when I got my paws on my first 4 track Otari in a radio station that could ping-pong and build complex mixes.
Then a funny thing happened when I transitioned into Video. Those audio skills were only PARTIALLY useful. In the world of pictures AND audio, the audio that was my passion didn’t solve my problems the way it had before. When you could SEE the character speaking, you could understand them perfectly well in the context of a mumbled phrase that valued the on-screen EMOTION over the precision of each syllable.
The game I was playing had changed. And I had to notice and appreciate that.
Here we go again. If you’re goal is making a Hollywood Movie, yes, you need to learn a WHOLE LOT of craft if you’re going to do a good job. And the problem of the inexperienced NOOB with delusions of grandeur is very real.
But while you’re trying to get one of the 2,000 rarified slots at the top of that Hollywood pyrimid – or even one of the 20,000 “noted professionals” slots at the level down from that, or the 200,000 slots down at the “working craftsman” level – over on the web, in corporate suites, and on the screens of millions of iPads there are other games being played. And out there, there are probably 20 MILLION opportunities to craft a reputation and a decent life.
The real disaster, IMO is propagating the idea that the ONLY game that makes sense to play is the shiny one being shown at the Movies or on Network TV in an era where new communications patterns and new income streams are cropping up literally every day.
IMO the big problem isn’t helping the new kids see the real trees in this forest. It’s allowing ourselves the freedom to ask if we’re even IN the right forest at all.
Just thinking out loud here.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Reading this Blog I can hear the fear in between the lines of someone that is afraid losing project and jobs to a uprising generation that might be more talented with less technical knowledge which is learnable.
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[Thomas Frank] “Reading this Blog I can hear the fear in between the lines of someone that is afraid losing project and jobs to a uprising generation that might be more talented with less technical knowledge which is learnable.
“Really, that’s what you get? Feed that delusion, pal.
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