Rich Rosen
Forum Replies Created
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did now
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“And all you can do is curse yourself…”
Don’t want to admidt how many I’ve said “DAMN IT.”
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One more thing I must say re: DIY. In the past shooters were very rarely editors. Now that’s all changed with “home” editing software. I implore anyone gettting into this business to edit what they shoot. I now shoot to edit and it’s made a world of difference. Any of the programs work. I like Premiere much better than Avid, but Avid is still what the people think makes you a pro so if you’re starting out get Avid Xpress. Final Cut is also accepted for the Mac. Adobe needs to do a much better job of marketing for perception.
I am now going through 90 hours of tape I’ve shot so far for a show I’ll be pitching. What an education watching that much of my own stuff. Besides all the camera techniques in harsh settings I’m learning I’m also learning to shut up and let my subjects speak. I guess I fear that if I don’t keep the conversation going they will say nothing. WRONG. People tend to be uncomfortable with long silences so they’ll keep digging deeper just to break the silence. I’m becoming a much better filmmaker by editing everything myself.
Can I light a big feature….no. For that you need to spend a few years or more working for the people who do it, but for docs/reality, corporates, commercials up to a certain size no problem. You can learn it all yourself for about $20,000 in gear. That’s camera, lighting, sound, post. Go for it. You’ll end up a much more valuable commodity. Of course I’m talking technically. It ain’t gonna lead to Citizen Kane. For that all you need is a pad and pencil.
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What I really wanted to say is go to Home Depot and do it that way. I know the Home Depot solution has been discussed a thousand times and yes I would rather have twenty grand in lights, but for the life of me I can’t see any difference on screen whether a worklight is inside a softbox or a Mole. I have designed and built my own speedrings for work lights, bought 6 Photogenic frezzis on ebay for next to nothing, made flags out of black poster board, scrims out of kitchen stuff, sandbags out of hiking water holders and on and on and on…
Yes, if I were shooting a BMW commercial in the desert I don’t think my kit would cut it, but again, anyone with a consumer or prosumer DV cam (the majority of people here) ain’t shooting no high end stuff anyway so why not learn it all? I’ve always learned much more from my mistakes than anything else. I’ve watched big time DP’s for days on Hollywood soundstages and didn’t learn a tenth of what I learned screwing up in the real world doing it myself.
Old pros always say hire and rent because that’s the way it had to be in years past. Hire a gaffer. A sound guy. Rent the lights. Pay a DP. That’s the SAFE way. I say buy what you can afford in every department. Learn how to maximize your gear and learn it all. Teach some non-pros how to use the stuff. By the time you can produce a professional product with your own innovation you’ll be so much more ready for the big iron. I know camera. I know lighting. I know sound. I know color correction.
When I was hired to direct a big three camera infomercial it was a pure breeze and delight working with the crew because I had done EVERYTHING they were doing. The cameras just came back from the Superbowl, the grip truck was as big as my house, but ya know something….at its core it was really all the same stuff that was sitting in my garage.
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“Normally I wouldn’t say anything to a post like this”.
A post like what? Not doing it the old school way?
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I don’t know guys. I always went for putting the money into my own gear rather than renting or hiring. Yes, this has led to many mistakes, but none (well maybe one) where I wouldn’t get a second job.
What it has done is given me hands on in every dept. from lights to sound to post. Five years later (doing it all myself) my skill level is to the point that when I get real shoots with real money they seem like a cakewalk.
Most guys who get jobs with DV cams are getting low end jobs where a few mistakes aren’t even noticed by clients.
So I would say get a simple Lowel kit and gels (a softbox is a must too). Practice (and practice and practice) at home and go for it.
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well I sorta limited the hot spots by turning down the AE shift on the VX-2000 and went FULL AUTO. I know the pro objections, but at a glaring racetrack it made the exposure adjustments much smoother than I could have. Think I’ll stick with it for most of the run and gun.
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can’t control a thing at a nascar race track. if you think exposure is hard try sound. thanks.
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I usually get the correct exposure a second or two (or more) into the shot. When things are moving fast it’s hard to be dead on at the very beginning. I hate to continue with less than the optimal exposure, but I know going up or down a stop or two a few seconds in can make it hell in post.
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understood. guess I’ve pushed this one to it’e limits.