Cinematographer Notes

I’ve updated Wordpress to the newer version and so I started over.  I’ll keep this blog open as an archive but all future posts will be at the new one.  You can go to my website and click on the link on the homepage for the blog and that will be the new url.  Everything still looks the same.   It’s just more secure and flash video can be uploaded easier.

I was in film school between the years of 95 and 2000 and I had a few classmates who had been union grips and A.C.’s for years who decided to come back to school to learn how to direct.  They’d worked on major features and were bringing in a lot of money but they did the same thing day after day after day and never got to be really involved in the actual “filmmaking” part of it. So they were in class with me, learning scriptwriting, directing, editing etc.   The best piece of advice I got from them was to just shoot.  I thought I was going to work in a rental house and learn all the gear and go from there.  Be a loader, then a 1st, etc.   They told me that was more or less a path to where they were and I really should just skip it and shoot.  Don’t crew, just shoot.   I remembered that but I was still really eager to get onto an actual set somehow.

As a Junior in film school, I signed up with a cinematography teachers crew for a feature as a 2nd A.C.  This was my first crew job.   I was still in school but was able to do the film.  On the feature I met a 1st A.C. who had done a lot of features including one of my favorite indie films of all time.   I told her I went to Purchase and she took a moment and confessed she’d been thinking of going back to film school.  I didn’t quite understand because I wanted to be where she was and she wanted to be where I was.  It didn’t make sense to me.

The film I signed up for shared office space near Union Square with Requiem for A Dream.  At that time though I hadn’t seen PI and had no idea who Aronofsky or Matthew Libatique was.  That’s probably a good thing.  I’d have jumped ship and pissed off my teacher.   The only other time I crewed was many years later after I’d shot 3 features.  I worked as a swing on Virgin starring Elizabeth Moss and Robin Penn.  I took the job because it was a feature shooting nearby in Nyack and I thought it might be good to watch another DP work and maybe pick up some tips.    This was also going to be my first time working with stars on set.

At that time, after my 3rd feature I began to replace a lot of my custom, homemade lights and gear with Arri fresnels and real grip equipment.   I’d been working with clip lights, bat strips and other things I learned how to make in film school.  They did the job and gave me great shots but I knew eventually I’d have to buy real equipment.  I mean, I couldn’t show up to a professional set with a lightbox made out of foam core, right?

That was my perspective at the time when I jumped on board Virgin.  I was surprised and bewildered when I was in the van and saw along with the baby 1k’s and parcans,  the very same sort of gear I’d made in film school.  The DP who had been a professional key grip for 15 years had included  a lot of his own custom lighting and electric that was very low budget and very clever.  We were lighting Robin Penn with a foam core box full of 213’s.    I immediately felt silly for being embarrased about my film school roots and set to work on figuring out how to improve on my designs and create lighting that was cheap but beautiful.  I eventually built a jib arm, dolly and assembled carts that have so far, proved really useful and very effective.

Most crew who see my toys are interested in the parts, designs and want it for themselves.  I’ve recently been on a set though with sophomores who’ve never worked with or seen this type of thing and who complained to production who also had never seen or worked with it.  This was an occasion where I began to doubt whether it was appropriate or not.  Something I haven’t questioned in a while.

What was said I’m not sure but there were other issues that arose that gave me pause to consider “dealing” with attitudes.  Sometimes you can’t get your regular crew on board but it’s even worse when the entire crew knows each other and you’re the only stranger.  Immediately there are doubts on the crew’s side that you have any clue what you’re doing.

On Virgin, I was young and full of energy and wanted to show what I knew to the DP and must have bothered him bonkers pitching and selling setups.  He declined always and I’d just smile and say okay.  I never forced it on him or threw a fit if he didn’t accept my suggestions.  I let him work.  After the film wrapped he told me “Don’t Crew.  Just shoot”   I did just that but I never really understood till now what he meant.  DP’s make the worst crew members.  We’re awful as crew.

I only crewed once more on a short film called Falling Down.  This was just for the cash.  I rented my lighting van to production and  signed up.   It was all night exteriors and it was another occasion where I wanted to watch another DP work.  This time around however, I didn’t sell, pitch or bother the DP at all.  I was determined to help him and my method was to be as unobtrusive as possible.  What I’d do is, if I was free and had nothing immediate to do, I’d look at the monitor and evaluate anything I thought was off or needed adjustment.  I would then quickly and quietly get that adjustment ready and then ask the DP to look at monitor.  He’d look over and I’d A/B the adjustment and he’d say “buy it” or no.  Most of the time, he bought it.  But we never exchanged words about any of it.  I never bothered him.  Nor did I change his lighting without his knowledge. I’d just get the change ready and then let him choose.   The key though, was to wait till he was done lighting.  I’d let him be finished with his setup and ready for a take before I’d A/B anything.

As a DP, I’m not much of a “shopper”.  I know exactly what I want and lately I’ve worked without an official “gaffer” to avoid having to discuss anything about setups.  I just want to call out the units and place them and all I need are hands to do it.  Unfortunately, when you ask nothing but manual labor from the positions of G&E there are very few people who will be satisfied doing that job unless they are a professional grip or electrician and they’re generally too expensive.  The crew I normally hire come on board at half their usual rate because they know me, trust me and they know that I’m quick and know exactly what I’m doing.   I took it for granted that just any crew would assume that.   How wrong I was.  I’ve learned a lesson though and that’s to discuss these matters with the crew before production begins.

I managed to align the camera to the mattebox baseplate.    When I was at B&H and no one could find anything that would help me center the camera without adding 3/4 of an inch of height,  I gave a call to Jan Crittenden over at Panasonic and asked if she had any ideas.  Panasonic usually deals with Vocas however and she said their baseplates are side to side adjustable.  Apparently Panasonic couldn’t center the tripod mount on the HPX because there’s a circuit board in the way.  B&Hemployees helped me look through every single part on all the baseplates on the website and no one had anything that was designed just for this purpose.  It seems a simple enough task but finally in the end, the fellow at B&H told me I should go to Home Depot and make it myself.

That’s when I got really frustrated and started to examine the Chrosziel baseplate. I own a Chrosziel 450-10 setup for the HVX200.  For it to work with the HPX I had to remove riser plates within the baseplate.  It’s not an obvious adjustment nor is it something I could do without going to home depot.  I had to replace the screws inside it with shorter ones.  It worked and with the addition of a bogen photo tripod slider plate, the height and centering is just right.  Now the camera and those 2 plates sit on the redrock dovetail but can come off and have the mattebox added right to it if I shoot without the adaptor.

So it’s pretty efficient.  I’ve also picked up a 2975Storm case and plucked it so that the camera rides fully built in the case.  This will save at least a half hour of camera setup time and free me up to do other things rather than hang around explaining to the 1st A.C. where everything is and how it fits together.

Friday’s shoot just got cancelled because of impending weather.  I had the day off but now I just got called to go scout for a different shoot.   We role for Until the End of the World on Saturday.  I’ll be sure to take some pics and give a full report.

I’ve built up the HPX170 with my Letus and checked it and the effective ASA seems to be around 320.  I’m going to rate it at 250 though and keep my usual workflow and just let everything be a bit healthier.  The focus bar is incredible.  Between that and the waveform monitor the camera is practically idiot proof. Not that I need that kind of support but it’s nice to know it’s there.

I’ve got a new short in October and possibly another new documentary coming up.  I’m liking the fact that I can potentially shoot documentary footage with the adaptor because it’s so much faster now.  It is a bit heavier than the Everio setup but lighter than an HVX.  The component connector out the back is a nice new touch and a better connection.

The trick now is figuring out the proper height and balance.  I’ve got several dovetails in place all stacked up and it’s kind of clunky.  I may go with a better riser system.  Zacuto makes nice attachments but they’re ludicrously priced.  I like the one that Cineveate came up with for the brevis.  It’s strong and very simple.  I may look into that.   There was one major design flaw with the HPX and that being the placement of the tripod screw mount underneath being off center from the lens.  I have no idea why they did this but it’s definitely created a headache with the alignment.   That and the top handle which is now 2 inches high from the top of the camera.  Maybe they expect me to be grabbing it wearing a hockey mit.  I don’t know.  No other explanation makes sense.  I wish I could remove it entirely but the menu functions are placed at the base of it.  On the other hand it offers a little protection if the camera fell upside down.

What’s ironic is that the new beefy HPX top handle is useless to me when the camera is attached to the adaptor because if I hold it by the camera handle, all the weight of the adaptor, lens mattebox and follow focus is pulling on the threads of the HPX.

What I’ve done is apply a wraparound handle attaching to the rods underneath that has a carry handle on the top similar to the PS technic only it’ s not attached to the adaptor or camera.  this should make it easier to carry during handheld shoots and between camera setups.

The most difficult aspect so far with this camera/adaptor business is mixing and matching accessories and getting everything to fit and function well.  Each company that manufactures gear for these applications has either no phone support, no sales office, no stock in any store you can walk into and everything is always on backorder.  In short, it’s extremely difficult to get the parts you need or get any help.  The only place that I trust is Abel Cinetech and it’s incredibly difficult to park anywhere near that place which makes it tough to bring your camera package in and have everything fitted for it.  ZGC in Jersey is a fantastic dealer but they have very little in stock and everything is high end.    I dream of someone out there one day opening a friendly storefront filled with everything from Chrosziel to Cavision and always stocked with everything you might need at a moments notice.  And of course, a huge parking lot.  And NOT located within the 5 boroughs.

Last night I attended the official cast and crew screening of Sneakers & Soul at the Visual Arts theater on w23rd.  I was stunned approaching the theater and seeing the crowd that had gathered.  In total they filled up about 280 seats.  I ended up in the far right back corner.  Not the best seat in the house but considering I had the very best seat on set behind the camera, I wasn’t too upset.

First, the opening credits, All I can say is WOW!  It was like it’s own movie.  All animated and very cool.  Completely sets the tone for the picture as does the song they chose.  In fact nearly all the music choices were flawless.  Personally, I felt the song that plays after the bridge scene was modulated a little too high.  Good song but it was just a little too loud and I wanted that moment to be a bit quieter.

The movie started and from the very first shot, I knew we were in good shape.  I hadn’t seen the HVX200 (w new achromat glass)/Letus  35mm adaptor Nikon combination in 1080i ever.  Drawing with Chalk and most things I’ve shot so far have all be 720p and while 720 has always looked good.  The camera does a fantastic job of upscaling to 1080.  I would certainly recommend to anyone that they shoot in 1080i 24pA mode.  If the cards and storage are not a problem.  It’s only interlaced untill you bring it into FCP and do the pulldown automatically.  Then it’s 24p 1080p.  But WOW.   Overall, it was super sharp.  There were only 2 wide shots that didn’t quite have the sharpness I wanted but in general it was fantastic.  I also had never seen footage from my Sigma 24-70 zoom lens and even that looked fantastic.  I have to say though that the best lenses were the Nikon 50 and 85mm.  Both of those blew me away with clarity and sharpness.  It really is true about the new achromat glass with the Letus. If you bought an original 1st generation, make sure you replace the glass with the new achromat as it’s significantly sharper.  I’ve seen plenty of 35mm adaptor films before but it’s never looked this good.

But now for my review of this film. This was the first time I was able to really get into the story and concentrate on what was happening.  Seeing it with an audience is totally different from watching it in the editing room and it’s really the only time I get to enjoy the films without thinking about my work on the film.  I was blown away by how natural the performances were, by how well written the dialogue was and how everything just flowed together with the editing.  Sneakers is fantastic for a film, but for a first film, it’s incredible.  If this is ignored by the major film festivals I will officially hang up my meter.  I had no idea it was going to be this good.  I mean, I had a great time on set and while we were shooting it was fun and all but it’s difficult to gauge a final product when you’re in the middle of production.  The film is touching and funny and quirky and offbeat but above all, it has soul.  It’s got a theme that the film itself embodies 100 percent.

Even though I of course read the scripts of the films I’m shooting, I often have no idea what we’re doing and where it’s going while we’re shooting.   My initial readings of the scripts are just to determine a lighting package and to see how many locations and how much time it will take to shoot.  I don’t read anything creatively till I see locations, headshots and talk extensively with the director.  This is so that when I do sit down to visualize the script, I’m imagining the directors vision of the script.  Not my own.

Sneakers is the 12th feature film I’ve shot.  The first few films I worked on as a DP, I used to walk onto set with a lot of ideas and notions in my head from my own interpretation of the script.  I found that my ideas and the way I visualized things didn’t always match with the reality of the locations.  Sometimes it was completely at odds with the directors vision.  I would then have a hard time letting go of my preconcieved notions of how the film should look.  I’d get confused about the setups and placement between what I wanted and what the director wanted and it lead to me not really being able to work organically and efficiently.

For my more recent features, I found that when I began to put aside the script and instead concentrate on the locations and the actors and really listen to the director, I was far better at using what was in front of me and around me.  My approach on Sneakers and Soul was to listen to Jon and take cues from him.  He had ideas for where the camera should go 90 percent of the time.  I’d watch a blocking rehearsal, walk around with a viewfinder and then we’d figure out our coverage from there.  But it was always Jon’s vision and the locations that would determine my approach with lenses and lighting.  This was also very similar to how Todd and I worked on Drawing With Chalk.   This is why, in my opinion these two films look as good as they do.   The other critical factor is that both of these films had budgets and schedules that respected the filmmaking process.  We averaged about 2-3 pages a day as opposed to 6-7 which is more typical for a no budget.  When you have four 6 day weeks, it’s far easier to make a real movie which is why so many no budget films, don’t look like actual movies.  They just schedule too much in too short a time span.

Above all though, I was working with very talented directors who had a cinematic vision, could communicate that well, and also understood what I was doing with the lighting and why.   I was trusted 100 percent.  I know that it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon and that both of these films were really amazing and unique experiences.  I’m just glad to have been a part of them.

I pulled the trigger on a new HPX-170 w E-series P2 cards from Panasonic.  They recently started a financing division and the price and deal was too good to say no.  I’ve recently had too many jobs that needed a camera and finding one was getting to be a hassle so this will hopefully make things easier all around.  The HPX is faster than the original HVX but it won’t change my lighting strategy that much.  It just means that in post there won’t be that much issue with denoising the image.  So I’m really excited about the new camera.  It’s lighter and smaller than the HVX and that’s also a big plus.  I’ll post some pics in a few days when it ships.

The red scarlett is up in the air and even the folks at RED have NO idea when it’s going to be ready or what the price will be.  I’m tired of the whole “wait and see” bullshit.  Add to the fact that the line for one will likely be long since Red one owners have first dibs.   I’m really happy with the past 2 features I shot and so I’m satisfied that the new HPX will look even better.  I’m also interested in moving into 2 camera shooting as a rule and finding 2 reds at a time will not be so easy.

It’s been a struggle this summer.  Usually the winters are bad.  The messed up economy has really put a dent in everyone’s schedules.  From what I hear lots of folks have been hit hard.  I’ve managed however to book 4 new short films for the month of August & September.  Unfortunately no features but I’m guessing it’ll be  a while before anyone has the dough to book me on a month long feature.  It might be that I’m the next director I shoot a feature for.  I hope so anyway as I’ve really enjoyed the past 3 short films I’ve made.

Up next is a short comedy called Honey for Suzanne Guacci, the director of Cycles and Hope & Possibility.  Also shooting a drama for Anthony Nero called Until the End of the World.    I’m shooting another serious dramatic short for  a local director Christian Vogeler whom I met through Westchester Filmmakers.  A meetup group here in Westchester.  I may possibly be shooting a short film called The Dress for another local Westchester production company if they’re able to secure funding.

In other news Sneakers & Soul has finished color correction, a sound mix and a score and is being prepped for our screening on the 29th.  I’m so psyched.  I sat in on the color correction phase with colorist Drew Ravini.  He was definitely a find.  I was a bit nervous about it but once we got to talking my mind was quickly put at ease.  We share a similar sensibility about natural lighting and a realistic look and Drews own experience as a DP contributed to his sensitivity to my input.  It was a very creative and relaxed working environment and Sneakers looks exactly as I wanted it to but better since Drew was able to compensate for all the shortcomings of the HVX camera’s limited dynamic and color range.  Jon Zelanak, the director was looking to bring more color and life to our originally muted look and I was up for it only very cautious.  To me, colorful HD can look be a candy colored trainwreck if it’s not handled with care and Drew helped us hit that balance very well.  I plan on recommending him to productions in the future.

In other news, Drawing With Chalk is opening the Idaho International Film Festival in September.  I am heading out there for the event.  It’s a pretty big festival and last years runner up for best picture was Let the Right One in.   I feel we’re in good company.  It’s being held at the Egyptian Theater in Boise which seats about 1200 people.   The screen is enormous.  I’ll be there a few days early to hand out postcards, put up posters and promote the film around Boise.  I want to help Todd pack the house if we can.  Being the opening night feature, I have a feeling it’ll be pretty full.

Just finished the DVD for On The Couch:

We all have to pay the rent and sometimes you get jobs that are more about that.  This was one occasion where the director was not afraid to go after a style that is a bit more interesting than your typical talking head industrial.  I am appreciative as it made the whole thing more fun.  I cut it together as a demo to showcase interview lighting.  Click on the pic for the demo but you should allow it to load completely (1 min)  otherwise it will play stuttered. I opted for a larger window but it slows down the load cause it’s 24fps.  The irony is that it looks like it’s at 12fps if you don’t let it load completely.    It’ll auto start unless you pause the player.

The past few weeks have been nothing but me turning down project after project because of bad rates.  As I predicted, it’s getting harder to book anything lately cause nobody has enough money to make their film safely and efficiently.  Everyone wants free crew, free gear and what’s worse is that they somehow feel entitled to this.  There is no glory or fame for the 1st A.C. or key grip and they have no reason to come on board a production other than the day rate.  Asking me to work with free crew is as good as asking me to do my job and the jobs of 3 other people as well as be an adjunct film professor on set while shooting the film.  Training and instructing everyone along the way.  The concept is hysterical to me and to those with experience but to newbies, they see nothing wrong with this scenario.   You’d have to look at it from an entirely different point of view and try to imagine assembling a crew of friends and family to build your dream house knowing that they have zero experience in construction.  It really is that ridiculous.

Anyway, I’ve finished shooting my third short this year, On The Couch and  I’m really happy with it.  Everyone turned out a great performance and the shoot went surprisingly smooth given it’s my second film where I have absolutely no crew.  I used mostly HMI’s, some flourescents and grip equipment cause it was cloudy and I needed more key in the porch than I could get from ambient.  Audio was tricky because of road noises but I definitely got what I needed and can always ADR if necessary.

It was another occasion where I felt I had to get specific tones for individual beats but I was surprised at what the actors came up with on their own.   I think I’m more of a “shopper” when it comes to directing.  I want people to show me stuff, give me options and I’ll pick from there.  I like to extract and let things emerge rather than imposing my own ideas onto the actors.   What also suprised me was how long this simple scene took.  We had 1.5 pages but I shot from 5 angles both medium and closeup and so it took about 6 hours total.  But within that time I was free to try things and develop the performances.  It’s a nice way to work.  Stress free but creative at the same time.  You don’t often get that combination in indie film.