Hey mate, if you're an engineer and you have love for film, just do it. The AF100 is not going to be over your head. It's a challenge and the advice here is solid. I'm in the exact same position or very similar - I don't have a Porsche! I did Screenwriting and took a few summer acting classes and cinematography 101 in Melnitz. If you can afford the AF100, get it and read Barry's book a bajillion times and read all the stickies and get the Lumix starter lens. dop16 is spot on with the GH advice - the GH footage would match with little effort should you decide to go AF100 later on.
What you should do is learn the basics that apply to the AF100 and any camera (f-stops, white balance, etc) and then learn the specific features of the AF100.
Here's what I did, I was going to apply to NFTS Beaconsfield to equip me with skills to shoot my feature. This after doing an MFA screenwriting at UCLA and thought why? Get a camera and shoot and learn. So I got the AF100 and a voigtlander 25mm, wrote a 58 page 17 episode web series as my personal "director school." Boom start.
As a writer, you have a HUGE advantage. Possibly you write character/plot-driven stories and want to tell a story rather than collate a compendium of beautiful "I'm so cool" shots. So really, Barry's book and a book or DVD on the basics should cover you. "Directing shot by shot" is a good book, "directing actors" is also good. There are tons of tutorials on youtube that cover the basic shots. Pretend you're back in the 1940s, shoot ten shorts (great advice) and learn. Will your story stand up without moving shots, without a zoom? Boom, do it, you don't need expensive toys to tell a good story. I just watched "his girl friday" purely dialogue-driven and not one fancy shot.
You'll definitely start with a DoP and a Sound person as key members of your crew. The basic shots you'll need are master shots, mediums and a few close shots for any important beats. Even a digital photography DVD will give you ideas of basic composition, aperture, f-stops, white balance, black balance, but your DP knows these like you know the catalyst, turning points and denouement so they not required but can help. Quick example: towards the end of the night on my shoot at my mobile video village, we were all tired and I realized the lighting wasn't right. What was wrong? Key and Fill were the same so it looked Soap Opera-ish, too well lit. I pointed it out and the DoP rectified it with a trusty old light-meter. It does help to know, but don't go overboard.
So, I'm in the same boat. I finish my webisode, I'll jump into the feature. I shot my first ever narrative episode mentioned above with just one lens - the voigtlander 25mm, that's all I could afford. We moved the sticks in close for mediums and close ups, moved it out for the master shots. And when I was editing, I learned a hell of a lot more, just looking at my rough cut with a critical eye, seeing where I missed a needed close up and a place I could have used less skin detail to hide the actor's unflattering wrinkles.
By the time I get to episode 17, I'll be battle tested. Shoot ten shorts, yes! Good advice. Tell you what, I'm a technophobe. I bought a DVX100 and only shot practice shots with it before selling it and moving to Hawaii to write a novel. I bought an HPX170 took it to Hawaii read Barry's book on the plane and got hired as a wedding videographer to fund my writing habit, so I got to know the HPX170 enough to be confident enough. So I did come into the AF100 with some basics, but you're not the idiot I was. Engineer!!! Just do it! Don't sell the Porsche though, I wouldn't.
You can buy the camera, it'll make your DoP cheaper or you can rent. I say buy and play around a lot, don't like it sell it and think of the rental cost you saved as you sell. My DoP doesn't have a camera and says for most gigs the filmmaker has his own. So on my shoot, I knew more about the AF100 and the voigtlander than he did but I hired him for his lights and knowing where to place the lights to create a certain mood. I say write shoot and edit one all by yourself, then do it again, it'll give you a better understanding of what you need to shoot so the dedicated editor you eventually hire is not stuck in the editing room. Shoot ten like someone said. You've got some good advice here, just don't be a wimpy idiot like I was.
It's good to know something about everything and then focus on your concentration. Before buying the AF100 I read this forum over and over and over, I take notes and save them into a text document that I call DVXUSER film school. Read everything, what you know, what you think you know and what you don't know. It won't make you Stanley Kubrick let alone a cinematographer, but you'll be an informed director. I feel your pain, mate. Cheers!
What you should do is learn the basics that apply to the AF100 and any camera (f-stops, white balance, etc) and then learn the specific features of the AF100.
Here's what I did, I was going to apply to NFTS Beaconsfield to equip me with skills to shoot my feature. This after doing an MFA screenwriting at UCLA and thought why? Get a camera and shoot and learn. So I got the AF100 and a voigtlander 25mm, wrote a 58 page 17 episode web series as my personal "director school." Boom start.
As a writer, you have a HUGE advantage. Possibly you write character/plot-driven stories and want to tell a story rather than collate a compendium of beautiful "I'm so cool" shots. So really, Barry's book and a book or DVD on the basics should cover you. "Directing shot by shot" is a good book, "directing actors" is also good. There are tons of tutorials on youtube that cover the basic shots. Pretend you're back in the 1940s, shoot ten shorts (great advice) and learn. Will your story stand up without moving shots, without a zoom? Boom, do it, you don't need expensive toys to tell a good story. I just watched "his girl friday" purely dialogue-driven and not one fancy shot.
You'll definitely start with a DoP and a Sound person as key members of your crew. The basic shots you'll need are master shots, mediums and a few close shots for any important beats. Even a digital photography DVD will give you ideas of basic composition, aperture, f-stops, white balance, black balance, but your DP knows these like you know the catalyst, turning points and denouement so they not required but can help. Quick example: towards the end of the night on my shoot at my mobile video village, we were all tired and I realized the lighting wasn't right. What was wrong? Key and Fill were the same so it looked Soap Opera-ish, too well lit. I pointed it out and the DoP rectified it with a trusty old light-meter. It does help to know, but don't go overboard.
So, I'm in the same boat. I finish my webisode, I'll jump into the feature. I shot my first ever narrative episode mentioned above with just one lens - the voigtlander 25mm, that's all I could afford. We moved the sticks in close for mediums and close ups, moved it out for the master shots. And when I was editing, I learned a hell of a lot more, just looking at my rough cut with a critical eye, seeing where I missed a needed close up and a place I could have used less skin detail to hide the actor's unflattering wrinkles.
By the time I get to episode 17, I'll be battle tested. Shoot ten shorts, yes! Good advice. Tell you what, I'm a technophobe. I bought a DVX100 and only shot practice shots with it before selling it and moving to Hawaii to write a novel. I bought an HPX170 took it to Hawaii read Barry's book on the plane and got hired as a wedding videographer to fund my writing habit, so I got to know the HPX170 enough to be confident enough. So I did come into the AF100 with some basics, but you're not the idiot I was. Engineer!!! Just do it! Don't sell the Porsche though, I wouldn't.
You can buy the camera, it'll make your DoP cheaper or you can rent. I say buy and play around a lot, don't like it sell it and think of the rental cost you saved as you sell. My DoP doesn't have a camera and says for most gigs the filmmaker has his own. So on my shoot, I knew more about the AF100 and the voigtlander than he did but I hired him for his lights and knowing where to place the lights to create a certain mood. I say write shoot and edit one all by yourself, then do it again, it'll give you a better understanding of what you need to shoot so the dedicated editor you eventually hire is not stuck in the editing room. Shoot ten like someone said. You've got some good advice here, just don't be a wimpy idiot like I was.
It's good to know something about everything and then focus on your concentration. Before buying the AF100 I read this forum over and over and over, I take notes and save them into a text document that I call DVXUSER film school. Read everything, what you know, what you think you know and what you don't know. It won't make you Stanley Kubrick let alone a cinematographer, but you'll be an informed director. I feel your pain, mate. Cheers!
