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What gel to use?
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[Rick Wise] “I’d add to that list: working with smart gaffers and grips who know much more than you do.”
I’ll second what Rick says. You can learn so much by osmosis just from hanging around people who really know what they are doing.
I’ve told this story before, but it’s very true… I learned more useful and practical knowledge in the first four hours on a real movie set than I did in four years of film school. And that, sadly, is NOT an exaggeration.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Well, now, Todd, I don’t know about your school. I’ll have to stand up for the film school where I teach. I do get emails from former students telling me that I prepared them well, so that on the set they were able to really help from the first day. I’d add also that all that learning takes on new meaning when you get out there and have to perform or else. A lot of things that may have been somewhat abstract ideas (like the inverse square law) suddenly become real on the set.
I do think one can learn well by apprenticing without any school training. But if you can afford it, 3-4 years of film school will give you a huge leg up provided you pick the right school. Among the many benefits: networking with fellow students whose work you admire. Those bonds can go a long way when you are out there struggling to make a living at what you love to do.
The bottom line is, not matter which route(s) you pick, it will take both talent and hard, hard work to succeed in this business/art form. If you get some good luck too, so much the better, but that will never replace the first two.
Rick Wise
Cinematographer
San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.RickWiseDP.com -
At the risk of veering this further off-topic, I will respond to Rick that I believe the best results come when you couple the “book-learnin'” from formal courses with “practicum” work as an intern or volunteer. The hands-on experience helps set the lecture material in place and create a true understanding of what the hardware can do if you use proper technique. And it helps an autodidact in the field if he or she learns to recognize key examples of work by past masters. It creates a kind of shorthand, making it easier to communicate what is wanted on the set, if you all speak the same filmic or stage language.
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[Rick Wise] ” I’ll have to stand up for the film school where I teach. “
And rightly so, Rick… it all depends on where you go. I’m not hatin’ on film school by ANY stretch… just hatin’ on my school. I know many people who say their collegiate film experience was excellent. Mine, sadly, was pitiful.
I don’t think I had even one instructor or professor (and again, I’m not exaggerating) that had set foot on a film location, a soundstage, or even in a television station in the previous 20 years. Probably 30. In some cases, maybe 40. They brought zero practical knowledge to the table… and weren’t any better at teaching out of a book, either. Heck, there was more than one instance where I wound up getting called up to teach a class myself because I already knew more about it than the so-called instructor. I know that sounds pompous (and yeah, it is), but it’s true.
In hindsight, I would have (or should have) killed to go to USC or NYU or any one of a half dozen other schools with legitimate and respectable film programs. But I was an ignorant kid who didn’t know any better.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I’m glad you caught that, Rick. I guess I just wasn’t paying attention when I looked at the chart. Sorry for taking things in the wrong direction.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
A rep from Kino told me that they are a bit pink but that this improves after x number of hours of use.
Do you think this is true? I had called them when I noticed the different temp compared to our fresnels (all studio temp).
Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Camcorders: Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV30/40, Sony Z7U, VX2000, PD170; FCP 6 certified; write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.
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Yes they are pink …. no they don’t improve to a perfect match for tungsten.
DS
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