Feature film with 7D?

Well, I'm just a man among my contemporaries.

In the blog age I've found that if I don't publicly take credit for my accomplishments then someone else will.

Fact: I shot the worlds first feature on the 5DII as well, but Internet hype would widely lead you to believe that Andrew Disney actually did. Nevermind that they had only finished a trailer by the time I had completely wrapped principal photography. As far as I can tell neither of our movies have been distributed yet, so who cares?

In conclusion, it may sound like a douchebag thing to say, but if Phil Bloom or Vincent Laforet came on here saying the same thing people would be clamoring all over themselves singing their praises.

It seems like if I want to get any sort of support from
Canon or any other manufacturer to beta test their products then I have to strive to get attention. Tim Smith has basically ignored my feedback on Canon's products and to me that just seems to be part of Canon's lackluster attitude towards people pushing boundaries with their products.

While people are fretting over whether it's possible or a good idea, I'm out there shooting and promoting these cams as one possible way to get the job
done beautifully. People are just starting to accept the 5DII and by the time the 24p firmware comes out it will already be way obsolete. That's a cold hard fact. Camera technology is now entering a sort of moore's law upgrade cycle. I'm only hopeful for what the near future may hold.

hey I just wanted to say I just saw you mentioned in an article in "Indie Slate" magazine. they did say you surprised a speaker at some event by stating you had already finished a feature with the 5d (before the firmware upgrade). they also showed some behind the scenes shots from one of your shoots. the link didn't seem to work though- was it thelousianaconnection.com? I can't remember the name exactly- congrats on that though.
 
I don't have any experience with it for a feature, but I shot a 10 minute short with it and as long as you get your monitoring options worked out, and you have a dedicated sound guy with his own recording equipment, I think it's the way to go. After shooting one thing with it, I'll never shoot on the HVX again.

Watch out saying stuff like this - I said the same type of stuff in another thread and got :kali:
 
hey I just wanted to say I just saw you mentioned in an article in "Indie Slate" magazine. they did say you surprised a speaker at some event by stating you had already finished a feature with the 5d (before the firmware upgrade). they also showed some behind the scenes shots from one of your shoots. the link didn't seem to work though- was it thelousianaconnection.com? I can't remember the name exactly- congrats on that though.

Oh Cool!

That movie was called The Louisiana Conversation.

www.thelouisianaconversation.com

That was in the dark ages of the 5d aka BF (before firmware) when you'd have to point your iphone into the screen or light a grey card if you wanted to lock the camera to a consistent ISO and shutter speed. I was (and still am) using Zeiss Contax lenses primarily because of their excellent optics and mechanics and the fact that they have an iris ring on the lens (like it should be!)

I'll be very excited to see some footage from that movie as we shot it almost one year ago now, and I guess they are still seeking distribution and probably putting some finishing touches on it in post. Of course, I find it hard to take anyone seriously if they have a link on the website that says Donate to fund completion of an indie film. I mean seriously? Let's see, I could donate to a children's educational fund, or an indie vampire film. Maybe I'll choose vampire film today.

That being said, I think it will be an interesting, and possibly cult following film when it is released...definitely a niche market.

Thanks for the heads up on the magazine publishing! It sure would be cool if they sent me a magazine *cough-cough*
 
a fixed level? can you explain more?

Sure, there are two main modes of brightness adjustment on the 7D.

1.Auto, which has three levels

2.Manual, which has seven levels., which I refer to in my post.

Now, I can't say definitively since I didn't use any calibration tool on the 7D LCD - but to MY eye the manual level at 3 or 4 appears to approximate my calibrated macbook pro lcd.
 
Sure, there are two main modes of brightness adjustment on the 7D.

1.Auto, which has three levels

2.Manual, which has seven levels., which I refer to in my post.

Now, I can't say definitively since I didn't use any calibration tool on the 7D LCD - but to MY eye the manual level at 3 or 4 appears to approximate my calibrated macbook pro lcd.

Ah, thanks!!
 
Dan, kudos for being the first!

Any chance you can post a trailer or some sample footage from the film? What is the title?

Found an older post with a link:

http://www.theaspectratio.net/WinterNightsLog8.htm

Cool footage, was there a general profile setting that you preferred or did you change things up depending on the location and lighting?
 
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Thanks Man!

I haven't seen any other trailer other than what's up on youtube, I think the director is going for the festival circuit.

I'm fairly pleased (which is a pretty big compliment from me) with the results after seeing much of the movie projected...

Settings wise, I can recommend the use of any canon preset with your contrast dialed all the way to the left, white balance, saturation and sharpness to taste.

I can't stress this enough - the camera adds heavy contrast on its own, and it seems to do some weird things with sharpening.

Find yourself a diffusion that works for your needs. Diffusion helps defeat the aliasing and moire caused by an unoptimized (for 1920x1080) Low Pass Filter.

I'm probably going to do some kind of article soon...

Thanks again!

Dan
 
In the blog age I've found that if I don't publicly take credit for my accomplishments then someone else will.

Indeed. Show us a youtube or vimeo clip of your 7D film and we'll be able to take your advice seriously. Phil Bloom may get respect, but that's because people have seen his work. As they say, 'the proof is in the pudding'.
 
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. Nevermind that they had only finished a trailer by the time I had completely wrapped principal photography. As far as I can tell neither of our movies have been distributed yet, so who cares?

Dan I would have thought distribution or at least a festival screening would be a qualification for making a claim like this.

To the OP, I too am wondering why you would choose a DSLR if you intend to make a film that is of the so called *found footage* genre.

jb
 
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