First thread ever. Help me!

[Fists]

Chon with deep empathy to your experience at Concordia, I salute you. Now not being a white male but still loving the ladies, I know where youre coming from when you say that they are looking for that artsy fartsy garbage, I heard my share of stories. But that being so, I am still willing to head in that direction. Getting a full education can be done with 5$ spent on a library card and a passion for knowledge, but trust me I'm not going there to learn something I can learn alone. Sometimes in life it's not about what you learn, but who you learn to meet. Since education is fairly cheap here in Canada and I do have the funds, really what do I have to lose. But thanks for the heads up man, really appreciate it .

Now for the handful of advice given, Ill agree with some and disagree with others. I do believe in buying once and buying right. Now I have a good friend of mine who is a director of photography and a good one at that. With years of experience on his belt he is willing to take of his own time and spend it with me " holding my hand" till I can be my own , so if thats worth something we can rethink our whole plan on buying cheap gear just to get the learning curve. For anyone else it would be great advice to say keep your cash till you know what you're doing. But I am a safe player, but tend to think big. Pardon my ego. So this being said, hope you guys can show me the way and give me distinct advice on material I will find to my pleasing and I am sure you are going to agree when I say you can have the best gear and shoot pure trash as you can have the most basic gear and shoot gold. But lets get the best of both worlds .

 

[ThisHideousReplica]

Hmm, I hear you about wanting to buy right, buy once... but is that possible at the present moment? That is, is there ANY camera you can buy right now that you can be assured you will be happy using in a professional context 2-4 years from now when you graduate? It may be possible--AF-100?? It seems you're interested in being a director, the storytelling aspects of filmmaking, and for you cinematography is a means to an end. In which case it does make sense to get the gear right now which will stay out of your way the most, while yielding evocative, emotionally resonant images--GH2?? Personally, I think your greatest resource is your DP buddy being there to impart knowledge. The best way to maximize that would be to get whatever camera your buddy suggests/is most familiar with. That way, you guys can concentrate more on the fundamentals like lighting, composition, continuity, movement, storytelling, acting, rather than wrestling some camera. Anyway, just my two cents. Best of luck!!

 

[chon]

Consider Vancouver Film School. Concordia doesn't want talent, it scares them. And sometimes, paying for your education is a good thing. It's a great motivator. Also, there's a lot more film produced in Vancouver than Montreal.

As for the gear, it depends how much you want to spend and what you want to shoot. A GH2, extra battery, SD cards, a few legacy lenses, a monopod with a ball head and a bag would be a good start (~1500$). Good sound gear on the other hand can be expensive, you should hire the guy with the gear for your first shoot (craigslist, kijiji).

Shooting Movies On Very Tight Budget:
http://www.gh1-hack.info/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.ShootingMoviesWithHackOnVeryTightBudget

 

[analog_addict]

Do not get a DSLR as your first camera, it isn't anything like shooting any other type of video/film equipment. Get a good quality 1/3 or 2/3 camera (Sony EX series?), a top quality tripod and some decent sound gear. Then if you really enjoy it you could get a DSLR as a 2nd camera.

I'm not saying DSLRs aren't any good but I just do not think they would make a good first camera and with it you aren't learning the basics of video camera operation. i.e. fully manual control.

I am unsure however if you really want to become a DP or are more geard towards becoming a director.

 

[longcipher]

As a film school graduate, I would urge you not to go.

I would assist your DOP friend. Work for him for free for 4-6 months, then buy some gear and shoot some other peoples' short films for cheap or free to cut your teeth.

You'll learn more in 8 months than you would in 4 years. And you'll have a reel.

 

[deltoidjohn]

I'm not saying DSLRs aren't any good but I just do not think they would make a good first camera and with it you aren't learning the basics of video camera operation. i.e. fully manual control.

I don't understand what you mean by this? In what way are you not learning fully manual control with a DSLR? Manual control is the only way to use HDSLR's so you have to learn to control them properly and "learn the basics of video camera operation."

 

[robmneilson]

As a film school graduate, I would urge you not to go.

I would assist your DOP friend. Work for him for free for 4-6 months, then buy some gear and shoot some other peoples' short films for cheap or free to cut your teeth.

You'll learn more in 8 months than you would in 4 years. And you'll have a reel.

I would second this, assuming you already have a college degree. I learned great stuff in film school...but it was all from doing it on my own, or shooting for other people. In class education was maybe 10% of that...that being said I met some great people who I still work with.

But if I would have to do it again I would have saved the tuition and just got on set instead.

 

[pulpfiction007]

I don't understand what you mean by this? In what way are you not learning fully manual control with a DSLR? Manual control is the only way to use HDSLR's so you have to learn to control them properly and "learn the basics of video camera operation."

I think what analog addict was saying is that you don't learn the video camera platform and how the manual controls work on those across many different brands - When to use the ND's/zebras, setting your shutter, using the aperture ring, etc. It might be good to know both basic DSLR and dedicated camera operations these days.

 

[Lee Saxon]

Hmm, I hear you about wanting to buy right, buy once... but is that possible at the present moment? That is, is there ANY camera you can buy right now that you can be assured you will be happy using in a professional context 2-4 years from now

Agreed I don't think that's possible, nor will it be until digital matures significantly (it will get there eventually: 15 years ago I wanted a new computer twice a year, my current one has lasted 5).

I was talking more about fearing the learning curve (or cost of entry) and buying something overly simplistic with limited flexibility that would be quickly outgrown.

 

[chon]

As a film school graduate, I would urge you not to go.

I would assist your DOP friend. Work for him for free for 4-6 months, then buy some gear and shoot some other peoples' short films for cheap or free to cut your teeth.

You'll learn more in 8 months than you would in 4 years. And you'll have a reel.

My conclusion exactly. Fists, this is one of those "I wish someone told me that then". Ponder the advice.

 

[wgzn]

My conclusion exactly. Fists, this is one of those "I wish someone told me that then". Ponder the advice.

add another vote for this!
if you have talent you'l figure it out quickly.
if you dont. you'll learn sooner.

it's all about storytelling.

 

[analog_addict]

I think what analog addict was saying is that you don't learn the video camera platform and how the manual controls work on those across many different brands - When to use the ND's/zebras, setting your shutter, using the aperture ring, etc. It might be good to know both basic DSLR and dedicated camera operations these days.

Yep that's what I meant. You are much more likely to be working on a 'video camera' shoot than a DSLR shoot although it would be useful to have a good understanding of both.

I just think industry standard video camera and then DSLR is the logical learning route for someone getting started. You know, start with something you don't need to install a hack to get audio levels and zebras.

 

[Wilbur Eddings]

As a film school graduate, I would urge you not to go.

I would assist your DOP friend. Work for him for free for 4-6 months, then buy some gear and shoot some other peoples' short films for cheap or free to cut your teeth.

You'll learn more in 8 months than you would in 4 years. And you'll have a reel.

+1

Inservice training first, then do the NYFA Crash courses (or something similar) to learn some technical stuff.

If you have a kick ass - make **** happen - attitude on set, you won't be a free understudy for long!

I had a guy volunteer as a production assistant on a 40 day job. His very next break was as a 2nd AD then 2 jobs later he was a 1st AD.

My worst experiences as an independent producer have been in hiring 'educated' staff.
The guys with experience from the bottom up (some 'educated' some not) are by far my favorites to work with!

 

[Fists]

Wow film school is really that bad huh? The reason im going to apply, like I said, is for meeting the right people where we could develop a good professional relationship. Where we are all starting from the bottom and work out to the top in sync. Maybe the actual education we are going to be getting will be better gotten out of books , but isnt the whole dynamic of being surrounded by people who are interested in the same thing you are make the learning process much more smoother, I mean over here its going to cost me on average 4 grand a year to go to university. Is it really that much waste of time??? I mean obviously I will be shooting a lot in my own time with my own head on my shoulders but adding self learning with school doesn't really sound like a bad thing. But you guys obviously got more experience, I really want to know what makes these schools so overlooked.


Oh and btw as for my first camera I was thinking of getting the new Sony fs 100 that will shorty come out , and as for lens kits, getting a one of the zeiss c.2 prime lense, any advice on the first lense kit I should get, learning to use this gear will be a breeze with the help I will be getting. And thanks guys for the valuable advice. God bless

 

[pulpfiction007]

Wow film school is really that bad huh? The reason im going to apply, like I said, is for meeting the right people where we could develop a good professional relationship. Where we are all starting from the bottom and work out to the top in sync. Maybe the actual education we are going to be getting will be better gotten out of books , but isnt the whole dynamic of being surrounded by people who are interested in the same thing you are make the learning process much more smoother, I mean over here its going to cost me on average 4 grand a year to go to university. Is it really that much waste of time??? I mean obviously I will be shooting a lot in my own time with my own head on my shoulders but adding self learning with school doesn't really sound like a bad thing. But you guys obviously got more experience, I really want to know what makes these schools so overlooked.


Oh and btw as for my first camera I was thinking of getting the new Sony fs 100 that will shorty come out , and as for lens kits, getting a one of the zeiss c.2 prime lense, any advice on the first lense kit I should get, learning to use this gear will be a breeze with the help I will be getting. And thanks guys for the valuable advice. God bless

I think the FS100 is a fine choice as would be the AF100 - You get the large sensor/shallow dof but you're also getting proper video shooting features. Just remember that the FS100 will need lots of ND filtering with it's very sensitive imager, and ND's do not come on the camera. The best thing to do with lenses is- lots of research! You can get great cheap lenses if you're willing to look around....depending on what types of adapters will be available for the FS100.