The closer we come to NAB...

Tent cities? Where are those towns?
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My God! That is exactly my point. We have to come back to this world. Please,google "tent cities in the usa" for some reality check.

if it's money i was after i would buy a bus ticket then flip burgers for a few hours. how's that for return on investment? i mean painting your bedroom walls white once in a while doesn't make you rembrandt. ;-)
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I don't know in your neck of the woods but back where I live if you are a professional you need to invest in the equipment you use to make money for a living. In my case photography and videography. I buy a piece of equipment because is an investment to make money with. It is not a toy to play with. If I invest a hard earned $1500.00 in a camera is because I am going to work hard with it and make the money back and then some. Back here is called earning a living and I thank God everyday I get to do it with what I knew since I was 6 years old I wanted to do, wonderful image making.
 
John Caballero said:
back where I live if you are a professional you need to invest in the equipment you use to make money for a living
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in the world of narrative filmmaking it's rare to own equipment. you get paid if you're good, that's it, somebody else pays for the gear. some people got into this because we want to make movies, we would never consider a career as professional videographers. if our artistic talent doesn't take us far enough we'd rather flip burgers, if that point wasn't clear in my previous post. by the way i used to live in new york and it's exactly the same there, where exactly do you live and what specific professionals are you referring to?

/matt
 
Well everything is about to change and that goes for all of us whether we're doing creative or commercial work. We all need affordable tools now more than ever if we wanna avoid moving into a tent city. I have a geodesic dome to retreat to which is the luxury tent city model.
 
squig said:
Well everything is about to change and that goes for all of us whether we're doing creative or commercial work
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yeah as the prices go down it's no longer an investment, you can get a piece of filmmaking equipment just for fun, even in a professisonal context. i've shot most of the stuff i've made on arri film cameras but i would never dream of buying one, but i own two d90's, an hv20 and a couple of super 8 cameras. not because they are the best investment, but because i can easily afford them. (they have all paid for themselves, but that wasn't the purpose)

/matt
 
yes, i use a diy adapter based on "daniel's" design. i've made a short with it. i love the look and i love the form factor, especially with the top handle i got mounted, but it's very difficult to use in low light.

/matt
 
mattsand said:
in the world of narrative filmmaking it's rare to own equipment. you get paid if you're good, that's it, somebody else pays for the gear. some people got into this because we want to make movies, we would never consider a career as professional videographers. if our artistic talent doesn't take us far enough we'd rather flip burgers, if that point wasn't clear in my previous post. by the way i used to live in new york and it's exactly the same there, where exactly do you live and what specific professionals are you referring to?

/matt
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The world of narrative filmmaking is small and unfair. People get paid even if they´re only mediocre, good people don´t get jobs couse they don´t have the right contacts and or don´t play "the game" well enough.
Filmmaking is mostly about money, not talent.
And I´m not complaining about all the crappy movies being made each year, no, I´m complaining about crappy movies being made by talented people!
So buying a HVX and a 416 and just being able to shoot sth, without a big production, opens a lot of oportunities.

The cheaper good equipmemnt is becoming available, the easier you can exploit your own talents.
Go flip burgers for months, I´d rather shoot one wedding and pay off a D90 at once...
 
Spartacus said:
Go flip burgers for months, I´d rather shoot one wedding and pay off a D90 at once...
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well, since i get paid to shoot and direct narrative films i don't do either. i've flipped burgers, rented out videos, changed diapers, built web pages, wrote copy, and so on before though, while i haven't shot a single wedding except for two rolls of super 8 during my own, and only one corporate event ten years ago. to become a successful filmmaker, yes it's a lot about contacts but if you think it doesn't take great talent as a prerequisite you're mistaken, you need to see the world in my opinion. there seems to be quite a few films coming out now that are about wedding photographers for some reasons, but mostly they are about other things. what i'm saying is that you learn a lot flipping burgers too, in my opinion most likely more.

oh, and regardless of what the world of narrative filmmaking is or isn't, people in it rarely own much gear unless they are gaffers, which is the point i was trying to make.

/matt
 
Everybody I know doing business in photography and video own their own equipment. This forum is all about that, now having the wonderful opportunity of owning an HVX 200, HPX 170, Canon or Sony an expresing themselves thru projects they could only dream of a few years ago. This is not a place to talk about shooting 16 or 35, this is a hangout were we talk about the great and affordable tools we now have within reach and what we can do with them. And it is also great that many will have the chance to make their investment back with a few wedding gigs.
 
John Caballero said:
Everybody I know doing business in photography and video own their own equipment
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and everybody i know don't. i know your world exist, why do you think mine doesn't?
This is not a place to talk about shooting 16 or 35
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no, it's a place to talk about the d90, a camera that seems to attract both the 16/35/red crowd as well as the videographers. just as the original dvx did. many films have been shot on the dvx100 by people who didn't own the camera and never made a dime on wedding photography, go figure.

/matt
 
But it is so cool to own your own equipment, really. It is like family. It becomes an extension of your creativity. Part of your inner circle, your world. That is why Red One owners are so happy and emotionally attached to their cameras. They even give them names. I am sure Scarlet owners will do the same. Owners of Panasonic, Canon, Sony or others feel as passionate about their gear. You start a survey in this site and I am sure 99% will say they own the equipment they use everyday. I myself love my HVX 200 and my D90, (for stills of course). And if the GH1 is good enough or the D400 materializes and is worth it, that I'll get. Oh, and of course I am eagerly waiting for the Scarlet, what a pretty girl!
 
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John Caballero said:
But it is so cool to own your own equipment, really. It is like family. It becomes an extension of your creativity. Part of your inner circle, your world. That is why Red One owners are so happy and emotionally attached to their cameras. They even give them names. I am sure Scarlet owners will do the same. Owners of Panasonic, Canon, Sony or others feel as passionate about their gear. You start a survey in this site and I am sure 99% will say they own the equipment they use everyday. I myself love my HVX 200 and my D90, (for stills of course). And if the GH1 is good enough or the D400 materializes and is worth it, that I'll get. Oh, and of course I am eagerly waiting for the Scarlet, what a pretty girl!
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Yeah but you'd have to be a millionaire to own a panavision camera rig with a nice full selection of cine lenses.
 
BandanaDan said:
Yeah but you'd have to be a millionaire to own a panavision camera rig with a nice full selection of cine lenses.
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It's obvious you've never used Panavision gear. Rent only, no buy.... Well no that's wrong. I have viewfinder eye pads, some hats and a few t-shirts from Panavsion. Those are for sale from Panavision. ;-/
 
John Caballero said:
But it is so cool to own your own equipment
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which is exactly what i stated as a more important reason than getting a return on your investment, and the reason i and many others own cheap but fun gadgets even though our pay check is generated through renting gear.

/matt
 
Sure, but many others make money with their own equipment without having to rent it. Unless is a Panavision, Genesis or other rent only stuff, why not buy it if you are gonna make money with it. My equipment is an integral part of my business. It is part of my creativity package..
 
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BandanaDan said:
Yeah but you'd have to be a millionaire to own a panavision camera rig with a nice full selection of cine lenses.
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Where things are at now, for us indie filmmakers, is it really required to shoot with film on a Panavision or an Arri to make a good film? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to win a hundred million in the lottery and be able to use whatever camera I wanted.

I think it has reached the point where even if you have a big budget the question arises, "is film the way to go over digital?". Look at Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button. Both digitally shot films were nominated for Best Picture and one even won the Oscar.
 
i just don't see many "professionals" dropping money on a gh1 or d90 as an investment for their business giving the quality on both camera's. just seems silly...more like a commodity than anything else. i don't make money making commercials or shooting pictures, but rather own the gear to produce my own work because I don't have a lot of contacts and so forth. i make my money elsewhere. like selling drugs to little children. easy money, easyyyyyy money.
 
PappasArts said:
It's obvious you've never used Panavision gear. Rent only, no buy.... Well no that's wrong. I have viewfinder eye pads, some hats and a few t-shirts from Panavsion. Those are for sale from Panavision. ;-/
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Well my point was that you'd have to be filthy rich and abit silly to own stuff used in bigger productions [ie: big films and news tv] Not just panavision, but also the top of the range cine-alta Sony stuff etc that Lucas and Rodriguez are fond of, and also the list of broadcast lenses used in news reports etc.

Therefore in most cases, being 'professional' doesn't mean owning any equipment at all.
 
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