Compilation Reel from my short film (DVX-100B + 35mm adapter)

R

Roy42

Active member
Hey everybody, these are some clips from my 30 minute short film "Coda" that I shot back in February in Hudson, NY for a sophomore independent film project. Kind of a hard movie to describe. Shot on the DVX-100B with a Redrock M2 adapter.

http://www.derekvangorder.com/coda.html
(webpage with quicktime file, 35 MB)

As I'm just starting to do video work professionally, I want to know what you guys think of my cinematography. We had some problems with focus since we didn't have the money for a good field monitor (which I now know is absolutely ESSENTIAL on set if you're using a 35mm adapter; sad but true, cheaper monitors just don't have the resolution to check focus for those things). Overall, though, I am happy with how it came out.
 
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Some really good cinematography. Didn't quite understand what the story was but it seemed interesting. I really like the shot from the rafters when the guy walks into the room, great lighting. What lenses did you use?
 
Roy42 said:
Hey everybody, this is from my 30 minute short film "Coda" that I shot back in February in Hudson, NY for a sophomore independent film project. Kind of a hard movie to describe. Shot on the DVX-100B with a Redrock M2 adapter.

http://www.derekvangorder.com/coda.html
(webpage with quicktime file, 35 MB)

As I'm just starting to do video work professionally, I want to know what you guys think of my cinematography. We had some problems with focus since we didn't have the money for a good field monitor (which I now know is absolutely ESSENTIAL on set if you're using a 35mm adapter; sad but true, cheaper monitors just don't have the resolution to check focus for those things). Overall, though, I am happy with how it came out.

P.S. Truth be told, the actor credited as "Paco Francesco" is actually Frank Serpico, the one-and-only. Happened to be in Hudson. He's a great guy.
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That is some beautiful footage my friend! Kudos!!
 
Thanks!

connorfilm said:
What lenses did you use?
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They were actually really old Nikon lenses that I borrowed from my Dad (he's a still photographer). 20mm, 35mm, 50mm, 105mm, and others. Beautiful lenses, but I think some were a little out-of-whack. The shot from the rafters was the 20.
 
Dude awesome, it looks great. I did not notice the focus problem you mentioned . Beside the m2 what other adapter 's would you recommend ?
 
Yeah it's really smooth and nice winter fotage.
There are som really nice locations you have there also.
 
triplej96 said:
Did you have any kind of dolly? Love the footage some of the best dvx stuff I've seen.
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Thank you! We didn't really have any money to get a dolly, but while shooting in one of the abandoned factories we discovered this really old rolling platform, probably used for moving heavy machinery. The platform was just four or five pieces of wood, but the wheels were metal, and very heavy. It was noisy as hell and looked way too rickety to work at all, but lo and behold, on a smooth surface and with the widest lens we had, it came out pretty well!

And so, we ended up with two dolly shots in the movie ^_^

I'm actually glad we didn't have any more than that, in my opinion dolly shots are way too overused in most films these days-- if you don't save them for the important scenes, they loose their effect.
 
kidco said:
Dude awesome, it looks great. I did not notice the focus problem you mentioned . Beside the m2 what other adapter 's would you recommend ?
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Thank you!

I haven't used any other yet, but I am considering getting the Cinevate Brevis. M2 is good, but the truth is it's very bulky, it loses a horrendous amount of light, and there are a couple of design issues that bother me (for example, to change the battery you have to take the whole unit off the rails in order to get at the case, which is really inconvenient during a shoot).

The focus issues are not so visible on this small version, but if played on a TV screen or projector certain shots-- like the shot of the boarded-up house from outside-- are clearly too soft. It was just too difficult to tell while shooting if the focus was right or not; on a small monitor there's too wide a margin of error, so I wound up with some nasty surprises in the editing room).
 
Roy42 said:
Thank you! We didn't really have any money to get a dolly, but while shooting in one of the abandoned factories we discovered this really old rolling platform, probably used for moving heavy machinery. The platform was just four or five pieces of wood, but the wheels were metal, and very heavy. It was noisy as hell and looked way too rickety to work at all, but lo and behold, on a smooth surface and with the widest lens we had, it came out pretty well!

And so, we ended up with two dolly shots in the movie ^_^

I'm actually glad we didn't have any more than that, in my opinion dolly shots are way too overused in most films these days-- if you don't save them for the important scenes, they loose their effect.
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Sounds pretty sweet man. What kind of lenses do you have in your arsenal?
 
mackfilm said:
the shot of the rafters was good. where did you shoot this?
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All over Hudson, NY. The shot you mention was taken in the "pocketbook factory," which has all been emptied out and is mostly used to just store junk these days. There are a lot of old abandoned factories just sitting around in that city, we even shot in a half-burnt-down opera house that is being renovated soon. The community there is very arts-minded, and I found most people were really helpful. The central part of town is all very nice. Great place to shoot a film.
 
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