Red Pro Primes

Shot a short at the end of June for director Vincent Cross. Fun little project and visually it was real nice to get out of NYC and shoot outside of the city. We shot at a motel in NJ but the inside of it looked like something out of a road motel in 1950 middle america. I forgot the name of the movie but a film with Ellien Page and Cilian Murphy was shot at this same location a year or two back.

We shot with the RED MX and used the Red Pro Primes. I had heard mixed reviews about the glass but I will have to say I am very impressed with the look esp when combined with shooting 4.5K which is what we used. They all open to a T1.9 and are extremely sharp, now some people have gripes with that but in my personal taste I like a sharp lens.

Lighting in the motel was a bit of a challenge esp with the package we had. Basically the 1.2k HMI Fresnel was my best friend and I always had 2 4x4's on standby to fill in here or there. I wish we had a 575 HMI for me to play with inside as a light for highlights. Instead I had to make the poor mans HMI a 1k with full CTB.

F3 Feature

Worked as first assistant on a feature film with the Sony F3 for five days back in late June. This was my second time working with the camera. We had the F3 pretty much in a cinema mode with 19mm rods, studio FF, MB-18, a set of Cooke Primes, and a kipro mini recorder. Production wanted to record to the highest resolution possible and out of the box the camera can only record 4:2:0 8 bit to SXS cards. With the kipro you are able to record 10bit 4:2:2 to compact flash cards. During the time I was on the new S-Log hadn't been released yet.

The F3 is a awesome camera. Super user friendly, if you've used the Ex-1 the F3 is pretty much the same except with a 35mm sensor, PL mount and a high sensitivity. After the Alexa its probably the best low light camera on the market and maybe even the best when S-Log comes out and boosts the native sensitivity to around 1000-1600. Plus a cooke lens on the F3 or any camera for that matter makes a very pretty image.

The kipro was a pain. It reminded me a lot like the RED in terms of problems that you can run into with it. First it gets really hot which leads it to overheat and drop frames. Second its takes a long time for it to boot up, prob about 45 seconds - 1 minute but when compared to the F3 which powers up in 5 seconds this is a big difference. Also when formatting it takes a while for the card to be completely formatted. Other problems were quirky idiosyncrasies with the interface. For instance if you have the option "custom take on" for naming clips it will overwrite existing files. Luckily we figured this out on our test and before shooting. Also there were times when the kipro would only record for 5 seconds of a take. When we checked the SXS card the whole take was there but not on the kipro. Another problem was if we played back through the F3 it could overwrite a file on the kipro so we always had to playback from the kipro. Needless to say I was not a fan of the system.

Apathy

I got some updates but just haven't had the time to type them up yet. A real quick one though the video I shot for the rap artist Apathy in CT back in Feb came out yesterday. Getting a lot of coverage which is awesome not to mention Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park gave it a shout out on his twitter along with B-Real of Cypress Hill. Here is the video which made it onto XXL.com's video bangers.

http://www.xxlmag.com/bangers/2011/06/apathy-check-to-check-video/

Twitchfilm :)

I have been going on twitchfilm since I stared film school, they always cover the awesome crazy movies that are coming out that you wouldn't get information on anywhere else. Its pretty cool that they posted a trailer for a great short film I shot last summer.

http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/05/check-out-the-trailer-for-the-time-bending-short-frankie.php

Def looking forward to seeing the finished product of the movie it is a really awesome little piece.

Haven't Updated In Awhile

Been real busy on Criminal Intent and haven't really updated this thing. Mr. Dream video I shot did very well and got on rollingstone, mtvhive, and the fader.com. First time a music video of mine has gotten on some of the bigger sites now the next goal is to get a video to play on one of the mtvs.

Shot a short film this weekend with director John Lopez. Story and visual style was greatly influenced by the work of Darren Aranofsky. Shot on the RED MX and really put the camera to test. It was a two day shoot one day in a apartment and one day on the R subway line. Mostly natural light and had the camera rated anywhere from 800-2000 ISO. Have to say I was very impressed that I could light a scene at times with 150 watt practical as key and another 100 watt practical just giving a little extra to the frame. With that said my bulbs blew but for the subject matter it worked and with the new REDGAMMA2 I am able to get some more info out of my lamp shades.

Right now I just am hoping to get a film project soon, last time I worked with celluloid was on a spec commercial in November as a loader. I just want to shoot something, digital is getting better but its still not film.

Mr. Dream Trash Hit

Haven't updated in awhile. Mr. Dream's music video Trash Hit premiered on rollingstone.com and mtvhive.com

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/rolling-stone-video-blog/video-mr-dream-turn-garbage-into-art-in-trash-hit-20110419

Video is a interesting piece we were going for something high quality but not pretty if that makes sense. Shot on the RED MX with a 15mm nikon. Anthony Sylvester did a great job with directing on this one.

PMW-F3 Test

This Saturday I firsted on a test/short film with the new Sony PMW-F3. It was a two camera test the other body being the Sony SRW9000 PL which is a cross between being a digital cinema camera and ENG.

The PMW-F3 is a beauty. I am a sony guy and have always loved there gear, the only problem has been Sony can look too video. Thats kind of a idiot statement since it is video and not film but digital cameras from companies like Panasonic and RED tend to look a little more filmic in terms of how there sensors produce images. I love the EX-1 but with the work I have done with it has always been with a 35mm Adaptor.

Well now we can bypass the adaptor since the F3 is a super 35mm sensor that can take PL mounted lens and also still lens (I think adaptors are coming out in the future to allow for Nikon, Canon, etc). On this shoot we were working with a set of old Arri Variable primes and the 3 sony lens kit (35mm, 50mm and 85mm) that comes with the F3 if you buy the more expensive package.

The menu system is exactly the same as the EX-1 for the most part, takes SxS cards, shoots 1920x1080 and slow motion still has to be done at 720p. Changes are of course the sensor and ability to attach cinema lens. Also the camera is like most of the new digital cameras coming on very good at low light levels. We didn't do any night stuff but the DP was telling me he tested at 6400 and was amazed by how clean it was at that level. As of now the camera has been said to be rated natively at a 800.

For this shoot we had a pretty ridiculous rig that was a pain in the ass. We were going to a nano flash in order to record to 4:2:2 and at 220 mbs with that we had to set up this crazy zacuto rig with the arri variable prime (which is basically a zoom lens) it was almost like setting up a 12-120 zoom on a 35mm camera system. Actually a 35mm camera system in that set up is much more friendly than what we had with the PMW. Without a external recorder it records at 35mbs (RED's highest is 42) 4:2:0 and 8 bit. But with a new sony recorder coming out you will be able to record in Log, 10 bit and 4:2:2.

We also got to use those new lens that sony include with the more expensive F3 package. They are really nice. There big barrel, light, and open to a 2 almost like a Cooke (though not as nice of glass of course). It was a pretty fun shoot and nice to get to know the camera a bit I'd love to get a day with it to test out its ISO's more and possible shoot with a very high quality piece of glass.

Def. a camera I hope to shoot with.

RED MX & Law and Order CI

Finished a real fun video for the rock group Mr. Dream this weekend. Really great song and a great conceptual video from Anthony Sylvester. Also this marked my first time using the MX sensor on the RED. It took a few shoots to finally get to use it but it def makes the RED a beast.

Everyone has seen the tests and know that the MX has improved noise and DR. Though a lot of people recommend shooting at a 800 ISO which is pretty high for a bright day exterior and did leave me a little worried about IR pollution because of stacking ND's (and I didn't know if we would be able to get a Hot Mirror Filter or IRND combo).

I shot at a 640 ISO and either had a HM filter with a .9 or a HM combo + 1.2 since both days were sunny. Inside I shot at a 800 ISO and switched to 1,000 for some high speed scenes. At 1,000 the sensor is incredibly clean. Latitude is also greatly improved, I could see right off the bat that more information could be captured in the highlights as well as the shadows. Is it comparable to film? I still would say no, but the MX is def in the top 2 of digital cinema cameras in my opinion.

Thanks to my great crew for helping out.

Last Friday I camera PA'd on Law and Order Criminal Intent. Its fun to get on union shoots as a camera pa. You get to learn and experience what it is like to work on a union crew for a big job and you make union contacts. Its def helpful with preparing for the union test. CI shoots with the Alexa but its Panavised. I haven't been a a Panavision shoot so it was really cool to finally get on one and see how there gear works. This was my second time on a job with the Alexa and it is a amazing f'ing camera.

Waffle In SXSW

Waffle a short horror film I shot directed by Rafael De Leon has be accepted into this years SXSW film festival in Austin Texas. Over 3,000 films were submitted and only 150 were chosen to play. Congrats to the whole crew who worked on the project.

February Happenings

Just wrapped day 1 on a music video for Tierney Boisvert directed by John Lopez. Great song with a nice story element treatment. We shot it in black and white noir style with the 7D and as set of Compact Primes (28mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm). I loved the CP2s, the big barrel, good markings and the ease for the assistant to pull focus is just such a nice luxury as opposed to using still photo lens that are not made for cinema use. Really glad how the footage came out looking for today. Tomorrow were just picking up some broll shots as 95% of the video is done.

Thanks to my first Chris Cafaro and my gaffer Matt Pecca.

This past Saturday I directed and DP'd a music video for one of my favorite hip hop artists Apathy. I've been working on doing something for him since I was a sophomore at SVA and after 2 and half years of keeping in touch we finally got to work with each other on a project. The track is amazing, one of the best hip hop songs I have heard in a long time. We shot with 2 7d's Anthony Sylvester was on B camera getting some awesome slow motion footage and I was on A camera getting the performance and story elements of the video. Was a pleasure to work with Apathy super nice guy and very professional. Thanks to everyone who helped out on that - Ap, Ben, Open Mic, Janina, and Tony Sly. The video so far is coming out awesome and hope to have it done by the end of the month.

AF100

Shot a small comedy sketch today for Landline Tv. The job was on the new panasonic AF100.

My thoughts - panasonic really has fallen behind. the HVX200 was a huge camera in the digital age. it allowed a small budget to capture 720p quality video at a affordable price plus with the use of a 35mm adaptor you could get a pretty image. Now with the canon dslrs, RED, and the PMW F3 I don't know where this camera stands. Bigger budgets will be F3, RED MX or ALEXA (if celluloid is not chosen) though I don't think the AF100 was looking at this market as the F3 which is the cheapest will be around 12k (without a lens). Where it competes is with the DSLR market. And truthfully it doesn't look as good as footage from 1, 5 or 7D.

For starters it is 4/3 cropped, the 7D cropping has always bothered me well the 4/3 is worse. Example to get the same field of view as a 50mm lens on 35mm film you need a 35mm lens on the AF100. ABEL has a great calculator that compares all the formats. AF100 doesn't look much different than HVX images a old school REDROCK or Letus 35mm adaptor looks more filmic.

Now I will say we shot in 720p and the glass was a Olympus zoom so I was not working in the highest resolution or with the best glass. I would like to try a nice Nikon prime at 1080.

The plus to the camera is focus! You can actually get decent focus a issue many of us have been burned on with the dslrs. Another plus is workflow, with having to transcode through mpeg streamclip for dslrs or REDCine for RED I forgot about the beauty of log and transfer. RED can log and transfer now too but the image is imported very contrasty compared to doing a prores export through REDCine. In terms of latitude its in the middle. I shot with a 400ISO which was pretty noiseless and had decent highlight/shadow information for a prosumer camera. Is it much better than a dslr, No.

It seems like I am bashing this camera. It was perfect for the job today and gave me a nice image. But is it the death of the DSLR? No. Just wish some film could come my way. I am getting tired of having to rely on waveforms and histograms all the time. I just want to be able to read my key light and go. No digital camera yet that I've worked with comes close to the organic feeling of film. The closest has been the Alexa and thats because of the DR it has.

Storm

So this past weekend I shot my girlfriends short film "Storm." She is a advertising major and was picked for this special scholarship class called the Project Class. Its taught by Bob Giraldi who directed Michael Jackson "Beat It" and over 2,000 commercials. He has helped me with work as I have camera pa'd on a commercial of his over the summer and meant a lot of good contacts.

We shot on the RED and it was a stressful shoot. All locations were paid for and locked but the first day the super lost his mind and kicked us out only to 15mins later let us back in and shoot. But the real killer was a scene on a roof looking into another apartment. We had rented out a place across the street and a stunt man was brought in to make the actress look like she was hung.

Were about ready to roll and we get kicked off the roof. That is the most important scene of the movie and we are rescheduling that. Prob going be doing a 1D type deal with some 1x1's so we move fast and don't look like a huge production.

Thanks to my great crew Dave, Chris, Matt, Foti, Julian, Flash, Spencer and Sewarb.

Melt

Finished up a industrial today for the "MeltMethod." Basically its a exercise program that works in a way like yoga. Shoot consisted of just some simple product shots + testimonials and coverage of two melt sessions that happened during the day.

Luckily the space we shot in had an array of lekos and par cans rigged from a grid above controlled by a dimmer board. So all I had to do was have the technician upstairs just dim it to the level I wanted. This was a nice surprise as I was not able to scout the location and was worried I'd be dealing with CFL's or just basic fluorescent tubes.