Malcolm Matusky
Forum Replies Created
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Search E-bay for “arca clamp” and then “arca plate” you will find an enormous selection of expensive to inexpensive equipment. I have had an original arca swiss ball head and clamp for over 20 years, amazing build quality, still going strong; very expensive and now there are many less expensive products conforming to the same size plates so you can mix and match any manufacturer as long as it’s an “arca” standard.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
I bought the 7D, 1.6x crop sensor and have been using the canon 17~55 f2.8 IS and the Tokina 11~16 f2.8; has been a great combination for me, I went with the non L lens because I wanted the IS for hand holding and am happy with my decision. Next lens 70~200 f4.0 IS. I have a few old nikon fast primes, pain to use them as the meter does not function properly. For my work, they have not been necessary.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
NEC MultiSync P221W-BK 22″ Widescreen LCD Computer Display: saw this at B&H for $459, I’m thinking of adding a second monitor, current Viewsonic is fine for desktop, but it’s 72% of RGB, would this NEC at 96% of RGB be an “upgrade” for use as my “preview” monitor for picture in VP9?
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
Thank you for the posts, I’m thinking of upgrading from VP9, and till the “bugs” are worked out, I’ll wait a bit longer!
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
I looked at digital tape,media is cheap per TB, ut the drives are very expensive $1500+ I have used tape since 1″ SMPTE-C, never going back!
As far as drives, I back up in pairs to a USB-3 removable dock. At the moment I have a couple of pairs of 1TB drives and use them to dump data off the raid, or restore if needed. This is cost effective for my needs, a larger facility may do better with a large tape back up system and network the drive so it can be shared over multiple workstations.
I only have one edit suite so that is too expensive for me. Project sizes can be reduced by linking camera original to your edit files and dumping the intermediaries, assuming this is your work-flow. I have not needed to do this yet, but it would free up a lot of drive space.
In any event, the pair of drives (1tb= $150`200) goes on the estimate when bidding the job, and another drive as well if that is how I’m delivering to the client!
M
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
I went through the same process a while back, decided on the 7D because of the ability to keep things in focus and the only IS standard zoom was available in EF-S mount. A friend recently bough the 60D, if I was purchasing now I would probably go with the 60D and more lenses! Get a good rig or make one yourself. The 60D can take decent sound if you want to get a pre-amp, nice choice, though the 7D seems to be orphaned by Canon as far as useful upgrades are concerned! Like manual gain control!!! anyone listening at Canon!!!
The 5D is a great camera, you will want an AC with a followfocus working with you for any complicated shots. VistaVision sized sensor, great limited depth of field with fast primes. If this is not what you are interested in get a 1.6x crop camera, or a 2x crop camera with the Panasonic GH2 offerings.
I’m using the zoom H4 & pluraleyes; works well, only forgot to turn on the damn recorder a couple of times so far.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
Storage is never a “problem” it is an expected part of the process. Budget a drive purchase for each major project and get a drive dock to dump data off your raid as needed.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
If the “agent” want’s to be a producer, let him. There cannot be two “producers” of a film, no matter what is in the credits. Spell out all the responsibilities of a producer and then watch him backpedal.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
So what is the answer to piracy? I’m not in a position to have any of my productions posted on “the pirate bay” and distributed for free, free does not cover my production costs.
Visual and audio “watermarks” do not disable piracy, they just show where the material was stolen from. Do any of the pay per view sites have a workable solution to this issue?
It seems from reading many “posts” on the subject that there is no way to keep a file encrypted and watchable at the same time for the consumer. I recently read that less than 0.05% of people pay voluntarily for material they watched on a pirate site, and that may be a generous estimate. There is no business model that can function with a 0.05% revenue structure and 99.05% free viewing.
I am not speaking to Hollywood blockbusters that recoup most of their money over a very short period of time, I am concerned with special interest video that needs years to sell enough copies to justify the production expense. Piracy is a big issue for this type of film, and was in the days of VHS cassettes because that’s how my films were put into insolvency by “fans” that just wanted to “share” with their friends; I have not made a special interest film since because the “business” model is always negative with rampant piracy.
Has anyone found a workable solution?
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com -
Anyone who has been around for a while has been burned by this process. The only time I would consider going through a RFP process is if I had absolutely nothing else on my desk, and I mean nothing! There are companies/producers out there who can make a living doing this, probably a good one, but they have to have the personnel on staff to handle all the “BS” this process entails, I don’t, and many very creative and capable people don’t either, because they are in this “business” to do great creative work that is inspiring, not just punching a clock, making a buck.
Cable companies make commercials too, they just happen to suck, but they are cheap! And if cheap is the most important thing, that’s not my business. (what cable companies don’t give away is airtime, they charge a lot for that, while screwing independent producers)
“they have the money budgeted, so they have to spend it” I absolutely love this, no wonder the government is “going bankrupt” with a fiscal mentality like this we really are screwed in this country.
This has been a great thread, very informative, from the client and producer side.
Malcolm
http://www.malcolmproductions.com