My DP reel, shot with Brevis and SGpro

marco0782

marco0782

Well-known member
Feb 07 Reel (408p QuickTime H.264, 72 megabytes)

This is my latest reel made up of scattered moments from six shorts and one feature I shot in the past year. There are other films that didn't make it into the reel because they didn't feel right next to each other. I approached this as sort of a film and it began to develop a certain tone which I tried to keep consistent.

I shot all of this with my HVX, Brevis and SGpro and lenses by Pentax, Carl Zeiss and Nikon. Feel free to ask me specifics about any shot in particular.


Marco
 
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Some amazing shots you have there.

Could be a little to much to ask, but any chance you could list shot + which adapter used?
 
Here's the list. These are maximum apertures just to help you identify the lenses I used. I did stop down for some of the shots, particularly the beach shots which were all shot at f/16.

1-3: Brevis, Zeiss M42 20mm f/2.8
4: Brevis, Pentax M42 50mm f/1.4
5: Brevis, Pentax M42 85mm f/1.8
6: Brevis, Zeiss M42 35mm f/2.4
7: Brevis, Zeiss M42 35mm f/2.4
8-11: SGpro, Nikon 85mm f/1.4
12: SGpro, Nikon 50mm f/1.4
13-15: Brevis, Pentax M42 85mm f/1.8
16: SGpro, Nikon 35mm f/1.4
17-18: Brevis, Zeiss M42 35mm f/2.4
19: Brevis, Pentax M42 50mm f/1.4
20: Brevis, Pentax M42 85mm f/1.8
21: SGpro, Nikon 85mm f/1.4
22: SGpro, Nikon 35mm f/1.4
23 (Background): SGpro, Nikon 85mm f/1.4
 
some really great footage, i'm a total sucker for the incredibly sharp yet dreamic haze look. i think if anything ur very beginning footage don't match as well with the rest becease it's the "least" cinematic in some ways. but it really doesn't matter since you have it... well right at the beginning. solid reel dude.
 
Marco, I recall your frame grabs over the last year very well and always got a very cool vibe from them. This feeling extends directly to your moving footage...even the score you chose for this reel. If you were anywhere local, I'd hire you in a second.
 
really liked how you put together the shots with the blonde and the guy. My counting is somewhat bad, those were sgpro right?

davide
 
Marco:

Superb work! I really like your eye, sense of color and composition.

The only negative is that I feel that there are too many self-consciously arty hand held shots for my taste. To me, hand held is an effect almost and your reel uses it a bit too often. When I see too much hand held on a reel, it starts to look cheap, like, "can't you ever afford a dolly, jib or Steadicam to move your camera? Hand held for when the guy falls to the floor, I liked it. Handheld for the shots with the girl and guy? Would have looked better to use other non hand held shots from the project IMHO.

Just an opinion. But you have a very good eye, nice images, interesting music.

Dan
 
Very nice work. You've got some outstanding very pro looking images. You also have some images that are not your best. If this reel is to get you paying work, put your strongest and most professional stuff up front. Get rid of anything that hints of anything less. I saw enough footage where you could cut a show reel that could be shorter and better.

The most striking images I thought were the sunset shots. The most amateur where then ones that your started with. If you use hand held make sure it's the kind of hand held that ratchets up the drama and not make anyone think of the budget. I also thought some of the black and white was a cut above the rest as well.

Also, if you know of a good editor, you may want to consider having someone else cut it. There were moments (Close up on black woman and blond lady) that were awkwardly long or not cut on a reaction. A good editor could take your footage to another level. Even if you have to pay an editor, the decision would pay for itself on the first gig the reel gets you.

Eitherway, it's good to see footage from someone looking to make their own statement. Just find that balance between artistic and commercial.

Perhaps the toughest thing with a reel is getting footage that's both dramatically and technically outstanding. If the acting gets noticeably bad - cut away before the talent's lack of talent reveals itself. It may be technically brilliant but it's directors who view a reel - not DP's. I believe the tend to be wowed by images that have emotional power.

Good luck.

Tim Naylor DP

www.timnaylor.com
 
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The shot with the guy falling to the ground was done with the Brevis and this fantastic 85mm by Pentax. I held the lens in the air while I crawled on the ground trying to mimic what the character was doing. The shot of the hand that is isolated in the frame was done by cropping the rest of the image with the lens itself by moving it too far sideways. The shot of the two silhouettes kissing was also with the Brevis, but the closeup of the girl in the park was SGpro. I mix adapters in the same film sometimes.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm not really trying to get paid work right now since I'm focusing on directing and shooting my own short films. I just wanted to put this out there so people could see what my shooting is like and possibly meet people that have similar sensibilities and would be fun to work with.

I guess that's why I put the stadium footage at the beginning. I kind of knew that people would find it underwhelming compared to some of the other shots, and actually that footage originated in me and my friends just fooling around getting shots in the new UCF stadium before they kicked us out 20 minutes later. I really like the look of unsteady, fragile handheld shots but with very specific compositions. I can understand why they might look cheap but the shakiness is intentional. It's my Chris Doyle influence coming out, lol.

I held the shot of the black woman intentionally that long because I love it so much and felt that its power was in her long, mesmerizing stare.

I totally agree with all the comments though as far as putting together a reel that could land me a job and I think that as soon as that becomes my goal I would probably be best off handing the footage over to an editor that doesn't have the same sort of personal attachment to certain shots, i.e. I passed up a few dolly and jib shots in favor of shots that meant more to me.


Marco

P.S. Special thanks to Dennis and Wayne for all they've done to help me
 
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