"A Verse Before Dying" - AF-100 Western Short

How long is the final product? Also, you might be doing it anyway, but would it be possible for you to shoot some sample shots with the GH1 kit lens? Thanks for your efforts. I am sure is going to look excellent.

BTW. The cast looks great. I am glad for them too. This will be a great piece for their resume. Good luck to everybody involved. I am sure Jan Critteden and Panasonic are thrilled about this project.
 
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I think there is little doubt that this production will be the defining moment in launching the AF100.

A hearty thank-you to all involved!

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
Very interesting guys. I can't wait to see some of the AF100 footage. Love westerns as well. You all should check out this artist from Venice CA. Gabe Leonard. For some reason his site is down but do yourself a favor and google image his name.


I'm thinking about making a Western Themed Feature soon.

I do have one nitpick though. Your actors look too clean and fresh. I just saw the trailer for cowboys and aliens and those guys looked really nasty dirty. Thats what I want to see when I watch a western.

Good luck with the rest of the production. Can't wait to see more.
 

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They are probably running it... :)

Oh no we are not. I am loaning the cameras to Barry only because he is writing that book and experiences like this one can only make the book more valuable as it will have a voice of experience running through it.

Best,

Jan
 
Oh no we are not. I am loaning the cameras to Barry only because he is writing that book and experiences like this one can only make the book more valuable as it will have a voice of experience running through it.

Best,

Jan

Heh, nice.

Will you at least show it on some conferences? :)
 
I am loaning the cameras to Barry only because he is writing that book and experiences like this one can only make the book more valuable as it will have a voice of experience running through it.
It would be super cool if the book had a copy of the film and maybe even a chapter on the making of the film! I bet a lot of people would be digging that.
 
It would be super cool if the book had a copy of the film and maybe even a chapter on the making of the film! I bet a lot of people would be digging that.

I'll go one better. What a great concept for this book if it was written in the context of making a (this) short film. One could show examples of what does and does not work and why. Don't know if you had this in mind Barry but it would sure be interesting and informative. Also, it could be very multi-media interactive with an accompanying DVD. Hell, maybe it should be completely interactive. A book on DVD
 
They are probably running it... :)

Nope. I told Jan I wanted a camera because we wanted to put it through its paces, and she loaned me not one, but two. But that's it... I don't think Jan knows anything about the script or necessarily even that it was a Western. This project is entirely commissioned and financed by me (through Fiercely Independent Films Inc) and Stephen Mick's Proof Creative Inc.
 
It would be super cool if the book had a copy of the film and maybe even a chapter on the making of the film! I bet a lot of people would be digging that.

Not gonna make it in the book, that deadline is much too soon. But we will have lots of discussion on the making of it here. Lots and lots and lots of BTS are being shot.
 
Justin, who was shooting the BTS, has been all over the place, I'd be surprised if he didn't already have 7-8 hrs of raw material.
 
The "Howitzer" Nikon 50-300mm f4.5 AIS on the AF-100
This lens had an equivalent FOV of a 100-600mm lens on the camera:

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Timur was drooling on this bad boy.
 
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Just finished day 2. Massive exteriors day, with actors, gunshots, a horse, a herd of cattle (not that they were in the film, but they kind of surrounded my car when we were driving away from the location), a pink Finn, a Kessler crane, the debut of Mrs. Caffesse on the set, Hagrid the extra (who was summarily fired for wearing blue jeans), the first film footage being shot, the most awesome steadicam shot in the history of DVXUser steadicam films including an absolutely balletic leap by Mikko Wilson, a guest visit by Pharpsied, more goat droppings, truly astonishing cow patties, graves, the tiny little Lumix 20mm lens flying on the Steadicam and the crane, being used simultaneously with the preposterously massive Nikon 50-300 f/4.5 AIS lens from the '70's (Timur loves that lens to death!), and ... oh, yeah, some screamingly awesome footage.

Oh yeah, and it was all natural light. We never even got around to firing up the generator. All natural light, with scrims and mirror boards and silks and bounce.
 
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What I really like about this process of making this short is that it will show what this AF100 camera can deliver. No hype, just factual evidence.

IMO, this is the best way to introduce a camera because we will have results created by competent craftsmen using professionally accepted standards, not kids with a camera. In the end we should see what it can do; from dark shadows to blinding white high noon skies, from slow-mo to fast action. Hopefully there will even be a bit of hand held jitter to satisfy all the Saving Private Ryan cinematic fans. Will it be able to handle all of this and deliver professional results?

This project should cut short annoying debate and let the camera tell us what it can do. The camera will either deliver results we can bank our future on or it will not and we will look elsewhere. From what I see so far, I'm betting this AF100 model will be much bigger than the DVX100.... by a mile. :)
 
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