35mm adapter rant.....

cecil995

cecil995

Well-known member
Disclaimer :This is not aimed at any particular individual, just very general observations....

What can I do to get the film look? How do I get DOF (I don't even know what that means, but I see it alot on here)? I MUST have a 35mm adapter, which one is best....I must have one to make my stuff look like hollywood!

These are the questions that I am seeing more and more of in here, and frankly it's getting alittle old to me. I've seen this increase in the market of 35mm adapters, and now its to the point that it's a must buy to alot of folks that don't even know how to frame a shot properly. It's all about that shallow depth of field look. We have to have a shot of a person's face where one nose hair is in focus while the rest of the shot is blurred to crap.

I think that they have their uses, but its getting to the point now where people are obsessed over it like they are crack fiends. Personaly, I think the stock dvx lens is pretty darn good, and if you know how to use it right, you can get a more than acceptable shallow depth of field. I watch movies on dvd, and look, you can actually make out something that is in the background!

I understand that most of these redundant questions are newbies who pop up and think they can just make a movie. There are some great films and clip on here of people who know how to use them right, not just see how cool it is to do continuous rack focuses. I'm all for technical advice, but I look around and the forums for scriptwriting, directing, audio, and lighting are about half as occupied as the "getting the total film look" in the dvx forum.

And while I'm at it........there is a button up top called search.....it works wonders.

ok....
 
"Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here."

This memorable movie quote came to mind when I read your post.
 
You make a good point. People think that they can buy their way into good material.

The unsexy truth is: it takes a lot of hard work.

Nobody wants to face that fact. It is much easier to buy an adapter.

You could make the same argument about a lot of features (24p, HiDef, Tapeless Recording, Variable frame rates). People think "if I could just buy that thing!".

The truth is - if you are a good filmmaker, you could make a good film on a handycam. Any upgrade should only make your good film look better.
 
generally, speaking the work I see being done with 35mm adapters is very good. I think the claim that most are using it as a crutch or a band-aid is an exaggeration. most of the footy I've seen has been skillfully rendered. not all. but most. my $.02.

but truthfully, i don't watch much footage here, i usually go to the cinevate forums for that. so, i'd like to see a real world example what the OP described -- footage posted here where a narrow depth of field is being abused.
 
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Wow!!!!

Wow!!!!

cecil995 said:
Disclaimer :This is not aimed at any particular individual, just very general observations....

What can I do to get the film look? How do I get DOF (I don't even know what that means, but I see it alot on here)? I MUST have a 35mm adapter, which one is best....I must have one to make my stuff look like hollywood!

These are the questions that I am seeing more and more of in here, and frankly it's getting alittle old to me. I've seen this increase in the market of 35mm adapters, and now its to the point that it's a must buy to alot of folks that don't even know how to frame a shot properly. It's all about that shallow depth of field look. We have to have a shot of a person's face where one nose hair is in focus while the rest of the shot is blurred to crap.

I think that they have their uses, but its getting to the point now where people are obsessed over it like they are crack fiends. Personaly, I think the stock dvx lens is pretty darn good, and if you know how to use it right, you can get a more than acceptable shallow depth of field. I watch movies on dvd, and look, you can actually make out something that is in the background!

I understand that most of these redundant questions are newbies who pop up and think they can just make a movie. There are some great films and clip on here of people who know how to use them right, not just see how cool it is to do continuous rack focuses. I'm all for technical advice, but I look around and the forums for scriptwriting, directing, audio, and lighting are about half as occupied as the "getting the total film look" in the dvx forum.

And while I'm at it........there is a button up top called search.....it works wonders.

ok....
Click to expand...

I think your missing the big picture. How ever repetitive the questions are these are people thirsty for knowledge on the subject. This is one of the most informative forums available on many of these subjects. Comments like this just discourage people from seeking the answer to an initial question. A question that might open the door to a world full of other more appropriate questions. Yes they put the cart before the horse many times, but at least there on the road LOL. I sit and watch how Barry Green, Cool Lights, and many others very knowledgeable members answer the same questions over, and over again because I believe they understand that the thirst for knowledge is the first step for many people on there road to independent film making. I'm not speaking for them but I respect the patience they show to newbies, and they really know there sh_t.:smile:
 
Oynk said:
You make a good point. People think that they can buy their way into good material.

The unsexy truth is: it takes a lot of hard work.

Nobody wants to face that fact. It is much easier to buy an adapter.

You could make the same argument about a lot of features (24p, HiDef, Tapeless Recording, Variable frame rates). People think "if I could just buy that thing!".

The truth is - if you are a good filmmaker, you could make a good film on a handycam. Any upgrade should only make your good film look better.
Click to expand...

I agree. I was one of them, but knowing what I know now I see that I am still a work in progress. And even though it's far harder than I believed it would be I still love doing it. Lets be real if most of us knew how hard it really was in the beginning we probably never would have gotten this far due to being so discouraged.
Sometimes being naive helps. Ignorance can sometimes get U far enough down the road that when you finally realize how hard the quest is you look back and say, well I've come this far I might as well keep going. Even with no end in sight.
 
ifownlee41nite@mac.com said:
I agree. I was one of them, but knowing what I know now I see that I am still a work in progress. And even though it's far harder than I believed it would be I still love doing it. Lets be real if most of us knew how hard it really was in the beginning we probably never would have gotten this far due to being so discouraged.
Sometimes being naive helps. Ignorance can sometimes get U far enough down the road that when you finally realize how hard the quest is you look back and say, well I've come this far I might as well keep going. Even with no end in sight.
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm all for people becoming educated from coming here. Some of the talent that I see here is pretty incredible. However, It seems kind redundant when I come on here every day and I hit the new posts button, and its basically the same questions over and over. I applaud people such as Barry Green, who take time out of their busy schedule to help out the people trying to make a start in the business, but even they have to use the infamous "try the search function, it'll give you all the information you need" line all the time.

I was a newbie here at some point, and yes, I learned alot from reading posts here. However, I spent the time and looked around the site rather than flood the site with one small question after another.

generally, speaking the work I see being done with 35mm adapters is very good. I think the claim that most are using it as a crutch or a band-aid is an exaggeration. most of the footy I've seen has been skillfully rendered. not all. but most. my $.02.

but truthfully, i don't watch much footage here, i usually go to the cinevate forums for that. so, i'd like to see a real world example what the OP described -- footage posted here where a narrow depth of field is being abused.
Click to expand...

I agree with you here, and there have been a couple recent hvx/a1 music videos that use these adapters to create some impressive footage (but the adapter was obviously just a small part of that process).

With that said, I love my adapter to death and will use it if at all possible on every shoot I do as long as I can control the light to achieve a desired effect.
Click to expand...

yeah, your thread hit on many points that I was talking about.
 
I'm interested in 35mm adapters and I think there is not enough discussions about them!

And so what if people are abusing the shallow DOF look? People buy video cameras all the time and making lots of garbage with it. You don't hear others complaining about that. At least with 35mm DOF, it looks a whole lot prettier and different.
 
For people obsessed with a shallow DOF look...watch Terry Gilliam's films...or Citizen Kane...or Stanley Kubrick's early work...or a hundred other great films that employ deep focus to great effect. Shallow DOF is a useful tool, but it's not a substitute for good composition and lighting.
 
Using a 35mm adapter actually requires that you have some skill to begin with or all your shot will look like crap. It's not a pick up and go piece of equipment as I unfortunately learned a few weeks ago. Had an M2, follow focus, mattebox, the works and I couldn't even finish the shoot because I discovered too late that with an adapter every shot takes forever to frame, adjust focus, make sure I don't bump any settings etc. No joke, I stood there for literally ten minutes with the cast and crew trying to get proper focus on a piece of paper.

It's not a big problem at all. People shelling out thousands for adapters will soon discover that they'll actually have to develop the expertise to use it properly. If they can do a shot where only the nose hair is in focus properly, that's actually shows they have some ability.
 
I'm totally cool with people wasting their time trying to get shallow DOF instead of focuing on story. Yeah yeah, people will chime in and say what about visuals and blahblahblah. If your story sucks your film sucks. <<channeling spidey here>>
 
Well... that's kinda missing the point though... In big budget productions, or medium production, or small productions, there's generally a separation between technical filmmaking and creative filmmaking (meaning acting, directing, writing). Generally, a writer doesn't (and shouldn't) give a crap about a 35mm adapter. They're 2 completely separate things. True, if the story sucks but the visuals are great, then the film will suck. But if the story's great and the visuals suck, it still sucks (in my opinion). There's why there should be attention paid to all aspects, both creative (acting, directing, writing), visuals, and audio.
 
Isaac_Brody said:
I'm totally cool with people wasting their time trying to get shallow DOF instead of focuing on story. Yeah yeah, people will chime in and say what about visuals and blahblahblah. If your story sucks your film sucks. <<channeling spidey here>>
Click to expand...

Transformers.
 
I'm all about story and all that, I spend forever writing... but Transformers was pretty much a wake-up call for me. Michael Bay or not... it was a fun movie and apparently the rest of the world thinks so as well.

So does Isaac: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=991326&postcount=23

xD Just messin', but for real: Story sucks = film sucks no longer works for me. If your film sucks it just sucks, story or not.
 
Funny.... I was just thinking about posting a rant about people posting about the misuse of shallow depth of field and the importance of content over style.
:thumbsup:

(just kidding)
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Funny.... I was just thinking about posting a rant about people posting about the misuse of shallow depth of field and the importance of content over style.
:thumbsup:

(just kidding)
Click to expand...

well maybe i should just post a rant about people who comment on people who post rants about other people who post rants about......aww ****.....forget about it :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
cecil995 said:
well maybe i should just post a rant about people who comment on people who post rants about other people who post rants about......aww shi*.....forget about it :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
Click to expand...

Hahahahaa.
:thumbsup:

Lets not go down that road.
For the record, I agree with you for the most part - I can't tell you how it makes my skin crawl everytime I read "How do I get good depth of field?"

GOOD? What does that mean?
 
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