MY RANT!!!!

J.R. Hudson

J.R. Hudson

Spirit Animal
Sigh...

I have the DVX now. I love it. Love.

What I don't have is:

VEGAS
FIREWIRE
TRIPOD

Not yet anyway. It's on "the list". You know, the list where my wife goes "I thought this was only going to cost $3400.00."

I've been reading American Cinematographer for years. Mostly because I have always been the film junkie. And although I have some experience working on films, it was never within the camera (ya know, grip work).

As much as I read the mag, it never made much sense without having practical hands on experience. But now, it is suddenly becoming clear.

I'm reading some old issues on SE7EN and PRIVATE RYAN and THE THIN RED LINE and it's making sense.

Their talking ND's, IRIS, SHUTTER SPEED, etc. Then I realize:

I need lights. I need toys and equipment. HMI's, SOFTGLO's, KINO's, BOUNCE CARDS, etc.

All of these really amazing looking films have one thing in common: KICK ARSE LIGHTING.

I want lights. Which means I need C-Stands. Which means I need flags, which means, I need, I need, I need.

Why is it soooooooooooooo freakin expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????

Okay. I'm done ranting now.
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

Never mind the flags.. your gonna also need frames, gels, apple boxes, Fluke tester, cookie cutters, AC, sand bags, grids, a genny :P silk, bounce, 4x4's, 2x2's, arms, base plates.. etc.. etc..

Moral is..

rent rent rent.. make friends with your local rental house and they may let you play with thier stuff for free for an hour or two. Just throw them some paid rate when you get jobs, or recommend them to others willing to spend. Most rental places are very nice to operators and DP's and AC's as they know that's who tells the producers where to get the gack.

If you try and buy everything, man your gonna hafta sell the home and the cars, and then your in trouble as once you have everything you start wanting a bigger and bigger studio to shoot it. Then you want a compound.. then you want a lot.. a few acres... you know what I am talking about.. it never ends :)
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

lol.. btw.. my wife said the same thing. The day after the camera came I all of a sudden needed a glidecam ... and the next week I realized I needed a microphone.. etc. etc.

Good thing is once you start getting jobs you can charge rental for what you got and you can say " I told you so" hee hee.
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

i join jarred here, becoming a one-man production house is totally not what you need john. i think that having your own equipment as a DP is relatively new concept that started when video quality got higher on cheaper gear like ours. the fact that you have a camera now in your hands is something to start with, a chance to DO something instead of dreaming of it.
i say go and shoot your (first?) very small but genius film with almost nothing but a camera, microphone and two lights.  
a good idea for a story is anyway something one can not buy in B&H, and this is where MY (director / script writer) wife is getting into the picture  :D
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

You're right.

If need be, I can always rent. I do have a small story in mind. I have several stories I have been working on in MM2000.

But, I am thinking of condensing one purely for a short.
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

Yes... you can also allocate a small portion of your monthly budget to buy 1 light etc. Might help kill that little urge :)
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

That's kind of where I'm stressed. I want the time to practice lighting and not be pressed for time come 'rental'.

However, another way around this is:

Enroll at the local college for some lame ass film type class and use thier equipment! :)
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

same problem.. your gonna pay at least 500 bucks for a lame film class.. which could buy you a half ass light kit to start learning lighting.

Oh boy.. now we are getting him going again....
 
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John,

Local cable companies (aka community access channels) are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers. You get an opportunity to work with cams, lights, mics, editing systems for zero dollars.

The bonus is you get an opportunity to have your work broadcast, meet like-minded (well, some) people and practise your craft.

Monk
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

[quote author=Zoomforce link=board=Offtopic;num=1067971741;start=0#9 date=11/05/03 at 17:49:21]same problem.. your gonna pay at least 500 bucks for a lame film class.. which could buy you a half ass light kit to start learning lighting.

Oh boy.. now we are getting him going again.... [/quote]

Exactly. The last thing I need is some lame ass film class. I'm itching top make a film. Agghhh!!!!!! I'm going to write a short and get it going. Something to get my feet wet.
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

Madcow,

Well I went and downloaded Blade 2.2 from the website.. at least it said the demo.. and the damn thing wont let me run it as a demo, it's trying to make me buy it.

Am I doing something wrong?
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

Owning vs. renting. The big dilemma. I'm sort of in the middle. I like owning because it gives me flexibility, but it also gives my credit cards and bank account a hit. What I have done is slowly built up gear. I search out deals and have put together about 10k of lights. I also own a Arri 16MM SR package (now that was a hit in the old wallet.)

Ebay is a great source.

If you have a local camera store that carries used gear, that's an option. I picked up a Mole 2K Junior and 2 1K Babies for $50 a piece at a camera store in Ohio. The 2K came with a heavy duty roller stand. Now they weren't in new condition, but hey, light comes out the front of them and that's all I need.

Production houses occassionally clear out older gear. Wooden Nickel, a grip/camera house in North Hollywood always selling used stuff. http://www.woodennickellighting.com/

I was at Birns & Sawyer in Hollywood and they were selling Tweenies, 650 watt fresnels, for $100 a pop. They had other lights, but I can't remember the whole list.

My advice is pick a few things you really need. I recommend a good shotgun mic, a small lit kit(3 or 4 units with stands) and a couple of c-stands. Build it up over time. HMI's, jobs and dollies you can rent. (Or you can build. I built my own dolly for about $100)

Good luck.

Scott
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

I'd like to do this (eventually)

I currently need as we speak:

FIREWIRE (Friday)
FIREWIRE CARD (Friday)
VEGAS (Birthday)
TRIPOD (XMAS if I'm lucky!)

These are the things that jump out at me. I plan on building my own dolly (Skateboard wheel style)

As far as lights go, I'll be keeping my eyes open for exactly the kind you mentioned.
 
Re: MY RANT!!!!

LOL

What, are you getting a commission? I'm kidding. ;D

Yes, actually; I am curious. I recently downloaded the VEGAS demo and before I make the actual decision, I'll check out BLADE.

There's a catch. I do not have any hands on NLE experience. Although I am an extremely quick study. I have heard so many good things about VEGAS, I really do not know what I want, what I need, what will work for me. So, I'll be comparing the two (due to the native 24p action) and make a decision based on what works for me.

I figure if I get VEGAS I have tech support in Jared. :)
 
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I just built a pretty nice little dolly using the plans from AngelDog's book.
I'll post some pics of it soon.
Came out really well!
 
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hey dvxpimp.. let me know when you get those pics. Very interested how it turned out.
 
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