Dear AF100 Family... Need your help !!! God will bless you for helping out

ksadani

ksadani

Active member
Hey Guys ...

I have been not actively following the changes in indie cinena since the last 2 years (as life came in the way) but now need to fasttrack my knowledge

I have got a go ahead from a financer who is willing to produce 2 short films (praise the lord!!) and probably a feature later on .. but got a deadline to provide my wish list in terms of equipment purchase by Friday .... I have been reading up on all the material I can but need your feedback to go ahead or make changes where you think it is neccesary...

Equipment Budget = $21,000

- Camera - AF 100 = $4800 - BH Photo
- Flashpoint Replacement Battery for Panasonic VW-VBG6 = 78$ ( with shipping)
- Filters - Polarizers / ND .. Where do i buy them from .. looking at screw on filters ...
- Follow focus - Do I purchase a manual one of will Bebob Foxi work ?? = $500
- Lens Hood - Cavision - $40
- Small HD 5.6 Monitor w/ mount w/ holder -$ 1200
- Sachtler 0472 FSB-6 Aluminum Tripod System - $1500
- Quick Release plate for sachtler - $150 ( Where do i buy this from ?? )
- Attache dolly for Tripod - $300
- Stabilizer - Spiderbrace - $80
- Stabilizer - Varizoom Zero gravity Rig - $ 1700 ( Can anyone suggest anything better and cheaper ??)
- Panasonic 16GB (*4) SDHC Card - $399
- NLE - FCP 7 (Got that!!)
Mac Pro - Quad 2.8 with 8GB RAM - $3200 ( dvshop.ca)
One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor/8GB RAM/
1TB hard drive/18x double-layer SuperDrive /ATI Radeon HD 5770 w/1GB Video RAM

Lenses( Need Help!!)
I am going to have a lot of moving steadicam shots on the streets / few wide angle / lot of closeups.. Advise what lenses I can purchase. I am working on Short narrative..

- Canon 50mm 1.4f lens - $ 350
- Canon 28mm 2.8f lens - $ 350
- Canon 50mm 1.8f lens - $ 150
- 4/3 Lense adapter - $ 45

- Lighting.. Getting a Dp with equipments .. $3,000

Ok till now.. I am at about at 18K ... . however if you do know any sites providing signficantly better deals than the above prices .. please lemme know .. still got 3k to burn...

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NEED HELP !!!
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Sound
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Ok guys i am lost in the sound department .. I am mostly gonna ADR most the dialogue as my friend does have studio setup who can help me out on the cheap but I would also like to capture live sound for reference and possibly to avoid ADR wherever possible .. what would you reccommend

Lavs ?? Boom ? sound recorder ? Headset ?

P.S. - do you know any push dolly system I can purchase on the cheap ... Rowecine seem to have stop producing their units ..

Thanks in Advance.

K
 
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Out of curiosity, would rental be a better option if this is just for 2 short films (not knowing the shoot schedule), or is the idea to build up a gear package for future projects.
 
I hate to say this, but it sounds like your in over your head. Have you done any pre-production work on your 2 short films?
I guess I have to ask, what is your real goal here? To own a bunch of new video gear, or to have your 2 shorts produced?

All the Best!

Dave
 
Hey Guys ...

I do know I do seem to be all over the place right now but we intend to also make a festure length some time next year which is why I am looking to purchase the equipment..

I had though of rental but most of the equipment is not available here leaving probably the lenses and Post production is extremely expensive .. the general cost of production work is highpensive as the production houses are scarce (and it is small city !!) ..
 
Is the entire budget 21k, or is that the gear budget? Who's covering catering, craft services, permits, crew, actors, location costs, ect...???

If this 21k is for gear ONLY, and you plan on doing more films in the future, then yeah, buy some gear if it's feasable.

Are you hiring crew that own their own gear (gaffers, grip, boom op) Because, you cant shoot a film without lighting, and necessary tools to control it.)

Whats this film for?? That would help emmensely in figuring out the best case scenario.
 
Hey Maran...

21K is for the Equipement only .. al other costs are being seperately taken care off ... It is 27 minute short film whihc is based on a story of an Indian immigrant who works in the middle east as a labourer ...

The second movie is hospital drama based on the last 25 minutes of a dying man ..
 
Having worked in the Middle East, i'd say you should really consider hiring an experienced lighting designer. Just because Dubai is sunny doesn't mean your lighting is taken care of! That extreme sun is going to cause all kinds of problems with filming, you'll need reflectors, flags, and good lighting for night time shots. I love the idea about a film about the laborer, could be excellent. Good luck!
 
Things to remember:

AF100 has a 2X crop factor. Your 50mm Canon lenses will effectively turn into "100mm Canon lenses". If doing Steadicam work, that is way too tight. You'll want 50mm equivilant at the tightest, or a wide angle 24-36mm ideally. So that means to get any of those equivalent focal lengths, you need a lens that is either 24mm or 12-18 respectively.

For extra batteries: The Adorama Flashpoint VBG6 for $29 is a good, compatible AF100 battery. It even reads battery remaining times in the LCD/EVF which some other third party batteries don't do.

AF100 availability: Please note the initial batch of AF100's has shipped and there is currently a shortage on when the next round of cameras will come in from Panasonic.

64GB SDXC Card: As stated here, heavily, it is highly recommended to only use Panasonic or SanDisk. So you're on a good track with that. HOWEVER, you should NOT use a single card that large. Especially for a scripted narrative. Buy a lot of smaller 8 or even 4 GB cards. (An 8 GB card will shoot 45 minutes in highest quality video mode with uncompressed audio.) If you have an error on that single card, or an issue, or a damaged contact, YOUR ENTIRE PROJECT IS GONE. EVERY scene, setup, take, shoot, and day's work. Keep all your shooting spread across smaller cards. Especially since you aren't doing a 2 hour event shoot where keeping it on a single card is a requirement. I would buy lots of 4GB cards.

Sound: Mostly lavs if you can hide it in the clothing. Booms otherwise. ADR'ing an entire project seems extreme to me but appears to be your approach.
 
I would honestly just pair with a talented DP that has his own year. You won't have to cost for the gear hanging over your head. Are you a Cinematographer yourself? Are you going to shoot these projects? It may be shorter to fly someone in and put them up with their gear.

A lot of people forget, it's not all about GEAR. It's about developing collaborative artistic relationships! It may be a better idea to fly in a dedicated DP so you can concentrate on all the rest of the details as the Producer/Director.
 
So basicly you have three films to do. Yeah, forget renting, just buy the gear.

If it were me, I would get an XF305 and a P&S, or another really good dof adapter. mount it on a nice rail system, with a good follow focus and mattebox. Then I would get some lenses, tripod, mic, and a lighting kit. budget spent.

The new Canon is amazing in low light with the ability to up the gain signifigantly without noise. I like the dof adapter look more so than the super sharp dslr look. To me it looks more film like.

I do like the Af100, But it looks so videoish at times. It's to clean for my taste. Although a few promist filters may help in knocking down some of that sharpness.

Good luck with your projects man, keep us posted. I love seeing nice footage from Dubai. gorgous place!!!
 
doccutter said:
Having worked in the Middle East, i'd say you should really consider hiring an experienced lighting designer. Just because Dubai is sunny doesn't mean your lighting is taken care of! That extreme sun is going to cause all kinds of problems with filming, you'll need reflectors, flags, and good lighting for night time shots. I love the idea about a film about the laborer, could be excellent. Good luck!
Click to expand...


Hmm.. you're right .. I am getting a DP ... thanks doccutter..
 
Jon Furtado said:
I would honestly just pair with a talented DP that has his own year. You won't have to cost for the gear hanging over your head. Are you a Cinematographer yourself? Are you going to shoot these projects? It may be shorter to fly someone in and put them up with their gear.

A lot of people forget, it's not all about GEAR. It's about developing collaborative artistic relationships! It may be a better idea to fly in a dedicated DP so you can concentrate on all the rest of the details as the Producer/Director.
Click to expand...

Yea.. doccuter was saying the same .. I am trying to arrange a guy now .. Thanks Jon ..
 
pannyfreak said:
Things to remember:

AF100 has a 2X crop factor. Your 50mm Canon lenses will effectively turn into "100mm Canon lenses". If doing Steadicam work, that is way too tight. You'll want 50mm equivilant at the tightest, or a wide angle 24-36mm ideally. So that means to get any of those equivalent focal lengths, you need a lens that is either 24mm or 12-18 respectively.

For extra batteries: The Adorama Flashpoint VBG6 for $29 is a good, compatible AF100 battery.

AF100 availability: Please note the initial batch of AF100's has shipped and there is currently a shortage on when the next round of cameras will come in from Panasonic.

64GB SDXC Card: As stated here, heavily, it is highly recommended to only use Panasonic or SanDisk. Especially since you aren't doing a 2 hour event shoot where keeping it on a single card is a requirement. I would buy lots of 4GB cards.

.
Click to expand...


Hey Panny freak.. Thank you for your support ,,,

1) Could advise any specific lenses ( asin which you have used that I could check out ..

2) done .. updated my list .. thanks for the info ..

3) spoke with my local panny dealer and he advised he should be receiving 5 pieces by end Feb .. Hope to get my hands on the first batch (finger's crossed!!)

4) Yea.. Make's sens .. I am going 4 16 gb card instead .. howeverI am able SDHC cards .. would that make a difference ??
 
maranfilms said:
If it were me, I would get an XF305 and a P&S, or another really good dof adapter. mount it on a nice rail system, with a good follow focus and mattebox. Then I would get some lenses, tripod, mic, and a lighting kit. budget spent.

The new Canon is amazing in low light with the ability to up the gain signifigantly without noise. I like the dof adapter look more so than the super sharp dslr look. To me it looks more film like.
Click to expand...

I can't say I agree. I would not wish ground glass adapters upon my worst enemy. Of course any individual's aesthetic tastes are quite up to them and I can respect that.

However, these days, I am fairly confident that if I needed the look of a 35mm adapter with a master prime on it, I could find an especially ugly 50-year-old lens with plenty of edge softness and CA, smear some Vaseline on it and put it on a AF100/7D/5D/GH2. If I really needed to feel like I was working with a ground glass lens adapter on a 1/3" camera, I could just put a ND1.2 on for night interiors, tape 15lbs of weights to random parts of the camera, and shim the lens mount unevenly.
 
nyvz said:
I can't say I agree. I would not wish ground glass adapters upon my worst enemy. Of course any individual's aesthetic tastes are quite up to them and I can respect that.

However, these days, I am fairly confident that if I needed the look of a 35mm adapter with a master prime on it, I could find an especially ugly 50-year-old lens with plenty of edge softness and CA, smear some Vaseline on it and put it on a AF100/7D/5D/GH2. If I really needed to feel like I was working with a ground glass lens adapter on a 1/3" camera, I could just put a ND1.2 on for night interiors, tape 15lbs of weights to random parts of the camera, and shim the lens mount unevenly.
Click to expand...

I see, you must have used a Jag35. Im talking about a real35 mm adapter.
 
ksadani said:
Yea.. doccuter was saying the same .. I am trying to arrange a guy now .. Thanks Jon ..
Click to expand...

There are some amazingly tallented DP's on this forum. Heck, let me know your budget and I can shoot it with my AF100 and Zeiss Standard Speed Prime set!
 
maranfilms said:
I see, you must have used a Jag35. Im talking about a real35 mm adapter.
Click to expand...

Most of my experience is with Redrock and Pro35. I suppose I havent used Movietube or G35, which may have slightly better image rendering but also some of their own pitfalls in addition to most of the usuals.
 
Jon Furtado said:
There are some amazingly tallented DP's on this forum. Heck, let me know your budget and I can shoot it with my AF100 and Zeiss Standard Speed Prime set!
Click to expand...

Sure Jon... Although lemme advise that I based in Dubai which is in the Middle East .. but I will definetely let you know what I could do for you once I get Budget agreed upon with my financer...
 
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