The DSLR Cinematography Guide

The advent of the DSLR camera has got the filmmaking world spinning.
Though a tremendous enabler of those with little budgets and big dreams, the DSLR as a film camera, as with many recent equipment innovations, comes with a number of drawbacks to be ironed out in the production pipeline before throwing oneself onto the set and hoping for the best. The reality is these camera’s were not built to shoot video, but have proven to be wonderfully adept at delivering brilliant images for a lot less cash outlay than a more traditional approach would demand.
Getting over the hurdles inherent with DSLR’s can be overwhelming, but with an informative guide to lead the way thru the techno-jungle, things get back in hand readily. Ryan Koo of No Film School.com has assembled jut such a thing with his DSLR Cinematography Guide. Ryan’s guide is an obvious labor-of-love, well researched, written for the lay person, and jam-packed with info. The DSLR Cinematography Guide covers much of what can be expected in shooting with a DSLR camera set-up. If you’re in the least interested in dropping into the DSLR filmmaking pond, Koo’s guide is your pair of arm-floaties.
Go. Get.
A big fan of digital cinematography, Director Robert Rodriguez is shooting music video and feature length projects with DSLR’s, proving a long-format production pipeline is quickly coming into its own as an efficient, streamlined production system.
In addition to Koo’s DSLR Cinematography Guide, Check out DoP Philip Bloom’s fantastic site, HERE. Bloom plumbs the depths of all things DSLR, with generous offerings of video, tutorials, equipment reviews, updates and behind-the-scenes reflections covering his broad experience shooting with these cameras.
Have a look over at No Film School.com, and download a copy of the DSLR Cinematography Guide. It’ll soon be a must-have in your arsenal of production literature. While your looking around, check out the amazing trailer for 36 Stairs, a short produced by a couple of Industrial Light and magic folks, shot on the Canon 5D. Very Cool Indeed. Cheers, M.
J.J.Abrams talks Story & his ‘Mystery Box’
JJ Abrams has enlightened me once again. Speaking at TED, Mr. Abrams introduced the crowd to his Mystery Box; it’s a real one, a magic shop item he scooped as a kid in New York decades ago. Funny thing is, he’s never opened it. And he has no plans to- ever.
What the box represents to JJ Abrams is worth so much more to him than what actually might be inside. This hope, this potential for something really, really cool, something fantastical, is what drives his chat at Ted. JJ introduces his idea of Story as a bunch of Mystery Boxes, stories as boxes filled with infinite possibilities.
According to JJ Abrams, mystery represents something important for storytelling; the catalyst of potential and hope. The promise of something fantastic. Mystery. Box.
Television, film, gaming; it’s all based on story and in that, the mystery of story; the withholding of information to create an engaging and compelling experience. Leading the audience, let them see what they think they are getting vs. what they’re really getting. What the story is really about, vs. what it looks like from the outset.
Pretty inspirational and compelling, even – take a few minutes to have a look.
What else should one expect from TED?
Cheers, M.
“The Pacific”- Writer/ Exec. Producer interview
I wish I had this sort of resource at my fingertips in film school, many moons ago. OMG.
Now, one of my fav industry sites to visit regularly is MakingOf.com, the brainchild of actress Natalie Portman and producer Christine Aylward to provide a behind-the scenes look at the creation of entertainment, from the inside looking out. The site is one of the first (and one of the only places I’ve found) with this much behind-the-scenes content, both originally produced and studio produced, including more than 300 exclusive interviews with established and emerging filmmakers, trailers, clips, photos, et al. Much of this stuff is to be found exclusively on Making Of.com before the films are released! The fruit of leveraging industry connections for the benefit of many. How cool is that?
Of late, MakingOf.com is playing host to a series of behind-the-scenes interviews with the writers & producers behind HBO’s epic 10-part, $200 million World War II series “The Pacific“. First off is screenwriter/ co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna, one of the main writers of another Spielberg/ Hanks war epic, “Band of Brothers“.
Here’s a bit from MakingOf.com website:
“The Pacific” tracks the intertwined real life story of three U.S. Marines across the vast canvas of the Pacific Theater during World War II. In part one of our exclusive interview, McKenna describes his high profile collaborators as being “extremely emotionally invested in the story.” The time the Marines spent in the Pacific Theater was long and more intense and emotional than one could imagine. Spielberg wanted the seven year production to be a personal, intense journey as well. He told his collaborators “No blinking – I want to see the moral cost of the war on my characters.”
Head over to MakingOf.com for the series- not to be missed. While you’re there, be sure to wander around in the archives; it’s film school, online. Brilliant stuff and a wonderful resource for the soon-to-be filmmaker and experienced pro alike.
Cheers, M.
Dear Hollywood, buckle your seatbelts!

WIRED.com had a great article on the changes movie studios will be facing with the advent of technological change and storytelling…. they called it a ‘Minifesto for a New Age’.
With the iPod came the advent of portable viewing, listening, gaming and communications devices as part of our daily lives… and a whole new way of consuming our media outside traditional channels. Music, television, games, movies, fashion- pop culture is now consumed much the same way we devour popcorn and candy, conveniently packaged bite-size bits built for easy munching at maximum frequency & speed. Pop Culture as ‘snack culture’.
Peter Gruber, CEO and chair of Mandalay Entertainment Group and host of AMC’s Sunday Morning Shootout has an interesting perspective to share; “They say movies are dead. Movies aren’t dead. People are seeing more movies than ever before – they’re just seeing them in new and different ways. It’s not written in the Bible, “A movie shall be two hours.” Somebody made that up to sell theater tickets.
With technology, the very definition of a story has changed. It used to mean an actor and a script. Now a story is a 15 second, no-dialog clip of somebody running across the street. An artist used to be the person who could get the studio to finance, manufacture, and distribute a story. Today an artist is somebody sitting in Des Moines in front of his computer – and his audience isn’t a million folks at once, but one person a million times over. I now look to GoFish and YouTube to get ideas, to see what’s going on. They show me not only what people are posting, but also what people like. It’s a much better metric than a Nielsen rating system.
We are all scrambling to construct a new model to profit from these bits and pieces, but there’s so much out there, it’s like trying to harness a tornado and getting spat out the top. I definitely don’t have the answer yet. I don’t even understand all the questions. But if people are thinking this is the end of Hollywood, they’re wrong. This is a whole new beginning. “
NYC’s Film & Finance Folks Mix It Up
NYCFF Film & Finance Industry Mixer is a great excuse to stay out late and mix it up with like-minded filmmakers and financiers, keen to work together in producing independent and feature films for theatrical distribution. Here’s the skinny from the site:
WHERE NYC’s FILM & FINANCE INDUSTRIES COLLIDE…
NYCFF Film and Finance Industry Mixer is a member community of individuals in both the film and finance industries interested in working together to produce independent & feature films for theatrical distribution. Film Directors, Producers, and Investors are welcome to join.
This monthly event is to help Entrepreneurs, attorneys, bankers, investment managers, entertainment lawyers, venture capitalists and above the line film professionals (producers, directors, casting directors, etc.) connect on film and television projects.
Join us from 6:30-9:30PM for an evening of drinks, film conversation and business card exchange.
NEXT EVENT DATE: Weds., Match 31st from 6:30-9:30pm
Where: GStaad, 43 West 26th Street (near 6th Ave), NY, NY
Cost: $10 p/person
If you’re in the city and you get to the event, I’d love to get your take- send me a note, lt me know what you thought.
Cheers, Luge
IFP Script to Screen Conference: 3/20-21, NYC

Back after a five year haitus, The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, is throwing down the
2010 Script to Screen Conference this weekend in the Big Apple. Why is this good news?
Here’s the skinny: The Script to Screen Conference explores new opportunities in cross-platform avenues for filmmakers and content creators, connecting writers and directors with heavy hitter decision-makers in film, television and new media. Lots of industry access and advice to be had by all via workshops, panels and case studies. Networking is the word of the day as producers, casting directors and other industry big wigs float around, offering lots of chat time with industry-aspiring attendees. Get your elevator pitches honed for a workout! 
The weekend promises to be jam packed with industry panels galore, including Pitching, Development, Directing and Screenwriting. For more info, including schedules, panelist bio’s, et al, stop by the site HERE. It’s only $150 bucks, so do yourself a favor and Be There.
Cheers, Luge
An IMAX film made in a Basement
OUTSIDE IN is a film composed entirely of still images garnered from NASA’s immense archive of space exploration still photographs. Hundreds of thousands of them.
Keeping the budget within some semblance of feasibility (to complete the film on his own, without studio help), Van Vuuren is exploiting recent advances in desktop computer tech (and years of experimentation) in wrangling a vast array of amazing imagery into his full-motion film. Much like an animated epic, whereas every frame is a still image in and of itself, these are all disparate stills shot by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft merrily snapping away as it whirled to Saturn. For Van Vuuren, these multitudes of photo’s are the buildings blocks of his photo-motion collages created with Photoshop and After Effects.
The film, using innovative visual techniques to create full motion, Outside In is being created on home-built computers by filmmaker Stephen Van Vuuren in his basement studio. Amazingly, the finished film will be screened at 4K resolution, in IMAX quality, on massive screens with concert-quality surround sound systems. Accompanied by a synchronized light show, folks ready to have their minds blown will be witness to the awe-inspiring demonstration in planetariums, museums and in limited-release IMAX venues.
Check out the website HERE- there’s lots of opportunity to help get this Labor of Love project to completion. There’s even an opportunity to be a “Virtual Extra” in the film!
Excelsior!
Luge
Spike Jonze, animation whiz-bangs Clyde Henry & NFB pay homage to Maurice Sendak with “Higglety Pigglety Pop!”
The folks at Clyde Henry Productions and the NFB are onto something very cool once again with Maurice Sendak’s Higglety Pigglety Pop!, a 23 and a half minute short featuring the voices of Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker and Spike Jonze. The short film is included on the Blu- Ray release of Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are, released March 2nd. Here’s some info from the press release;
“The film, a collaboration between the National Film Board of Canada and Warner Home Video, will be included on the Blu-Ray release of Where The Wild Things Are, which hits stores on March 2nd. The 23 and a half minute short film was created by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, the Oscar-nominated team behind the short Madame Tutli-Putli.
The Story: Once Jennie had everything. She had two bowls to eat from, two pillows, and for cold weather, a red wool sweater. She even had a master who loved her. But Jennie didn’t care. In the middle of the night she packed everything she had in a black leather bag with gold buckles and looked out of her favorite window for the last time… Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life follows Jennie’s surreal, suspenseful and unexpectedly moving journey to gain new experiences and realize her dream of becoming the star of the World Mother Goose Theatre.
Since 1997 Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski have formed the artistic partnership called Clyde Henry Productions. The pair have created award-winning films, ads, illustrations, comics, and music videos. Their first professional film, Madame Tutli-Putli, produced by Marcy Page for the National Film Board of Canada, received international acclaim – over 50 awards to date, among them the Best Short Film and Rail d’or prizes at the Cannes International Film Festival and an Academy Award Nomination in 2007.”
Great interview with the fellows from Clyde Henry can be found at Animation World Network, HERE.
Enjoy!
Celtx Studio rocks indy film production
CeltX will Make Your Day.
Celtx is an awesome multi-media tool for the filmmaker. media production person looking for a great tool with lots to offer , on the cheap. I don’t mean mass- produced, “Made in Ch__a” cheap, but inexpensive, considering the armload of Awesome Celtx delivers, and with much aplomb.
Once I got Celtx onboard my machines, I was thoroughly impressed with the user-friendly interface, enabling me to conjure properly formatted scripts from the ether like the next wannabe writer/ director. That was an empowering moment. From there, things have only

gotten better, and here’s why; Celtx has expanded into a full-on production package (Celtx Studio), helping artists to produce all types of media; film, video, documentary, theatre, machinima, comics, advertising, video games, music video, radio, podcasts, and videocasts. Whatever way you choose to tell your story, Celtx Studio can help.
Here’s some info from the site:
“You can use Celtx for the entire production process – write scripts, storyboard scenes and sequences, sketch setups, develop characters, breakdown & tag elements, schedule productions, and prepare and circulate informative reports for cast and crew.
Celtx is designed to help your entire production team work together on a single, easy to share project file – eliminating the confusion of multiple project files, and the need for ‘paper and binder’. Together, Celtx and Celtx Studios give you the most complete media pre-production system available.
The free Celtx desktop software delivers the most fluid writing experience. You can always keep your fingers moving as fast as your thoughts and your creative flow is never interrupted. Low-cost Celtx Studios complete your system with an advanced tool set for collaboration, workflow management, and project storage. Celtx puts a choice of fully integrated development tools right at your fingertips, giving you total flexibility to determine how your story takes shape.”
How cool is that? I love this package! Pricing for 5 or more users in a ‘studio’ starts at a paltry $4.99 /month. That’s $1.00 per month/ per user for the full monty!
Here is an insightful interview with Celtx founder Mark Kennedy (courtesy of Filmmaker.com). Head on over to the Celtx site for a bevvy of great videos pertaining to the Celtx Studio, and some heavy hitters using Celtx in production.
Excelsior!
-M
Plasticene in Advertising & Art: A Showcase

Being Saturday and having a little time on my hands, I thought I’d shoot this along…
maybe it’ll inspire some creativity!
I got started in the animation biz working at a small, very fun East Coast studio that specialized in clay animation. We did alot of interesting stuff with plasticene clay, always with a keen eye to design considerations. Cool thing was plasticene opened doors to accomplish almost anything you could think of- metamorphosis, melting, replacement animation, fluid stop motion, crazy expressions, dimensional ‘squash & stretch’, 3D relief on glass… the possibilities seemed endless. The base material, colored plasticene, was readily available at any art supply store, easy to manipulate, could be mixed with wax for special effects, and was used widely (and still is) internationally by such animation giants as Will Vinton Studio (‘member the California Raisins?), Aardman Animation (Wallace & Gromit), Broadcast Arts in New York (Pee Wee’s Playhouse), and of course, Olive Jar Animation in Boston. Fun, colorful, and anyone could get their hands on it (and still can) to give it a try. I loved it.
In that, I stumbled across a wonderful article highlighting Plasticene in all manner of art, advertising, poster design and of course, animation over at Smashing Magazine.
Check out this very cool gallery of pics and video- wonderful examples of the possibilities of Plasticene. Swing by to check out the showcase and find some inspiration!
Cheers, Luge
Masters of Visual Effects Vids – Online & FREE!
Several years back, Matt Silverman, Creative Director of Bonfire Labs, took it upon himself to enlist some of the best vfx, motion graphics artists and animation pros industry-wide to build visual effects training videos that were timeless, concept-based and above all, software-agnostic.
The original videos were released on VHS (I’m feeling that-) and have since gone the way of the dinosaur, as such. That being the case, Matt (being a generous guy), has since begun digitizing those hallowed VHS tapes, henceforth loading them online for the benefit of we mere mortals. Now how cool is that? Below is the first of the bunch from Series 2 (which covers compositing, keying, tracking, paint and rotoscoping). Ponder the goodness, won’t you-
These things are just plain brilliant, and if you’re like me, you see a good thing when it’s handed to you. Grab these while you can. The Batch of ‘em are stashed HERE.
Cheers! M.
Getting Alice into Wonderland’s Virtual World

I’m looking forward to seeing Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland. Not for the obvious reasons, such as the coolness that a 3D Stereoscopic Wonderland promises or even the sense of awe spurred by Burton’s aesthetic craziness.
I’m really into the what’s going on behind the curtain.
Looking around a little, I dug up some very cool green screen technology that, while not cutting-edge-new. ), it’s still pretty neat; a portable, suit-case sized pre-visualization system that accurately merges live-action fore-ground elements to computer generated, virtual background elements in real time. It’s been getting a workout on several high-profile television series (‘V’, the recently exhumed ‘Knight Rider’) and of course, ‘Alice In Wonderland’. Inventor and MIT alum Eliot Mack, the guy responsible for bringing this thing into the world, has developed a system that allows directors and cinematographer’s to view accurate renditions of how a final shot will look in high-definition, as opposed to actors in front of a wall of green screen or a pre-comp rough assembly. He calls it PREVIZION, and it’s got a huge amount of promise, albeit a rather hefty price tag to boot (for now). Here’s the skinny, below.

To fully appreciate the system’s benefit on set, consider the typical visual effects process (in layman’s terms, for brevity). A shot is recorded in front of green screen, digitized and uploaded to the VFX pipeline. VFX Artists key out the green screen background, then identify camera tracking and calibration points. Depending on the complexity, this can take days for a single shot. Next, VFX artists drop in background elements (skies, previously recorded live action footage, etc) and composite these elements together into a unified shot, taking anywhere from hours to weeks. Utilizing camera-mounted sensors, Previzion keeps tabs on what the camera is doing; where the camera is oriented, which direction it’s shooting, and what it’s focused on. Accurate tracking data is thus generated on set, and ready for introduction into the VFX pipeline. On set, the merged image is viewed on a high-definition monitor, enabling the director to adjust actor’s positions and make changes in lighting to further enhance realism in the shot (making the live action on the set look like it belongs in the virtual world of the background).

When the camera pans, tilts, or zooms in or out, the background imagery adjusts to match the camera view. This goes for focus shift as well. Seeing is truly believing. Have a look at the system in action HERE.
It’ll be interesting to see how long this technology takes to work it’s way into the lower budget brackets, providing a cost effective alternative for indy filmmakers, much like stereoscopic technology has over the last few years. Personally, I can’t wait- I’m working out the wrinkles in my green screen this weekend.
Previzion is sold thru Lightcraft Technology
Production Savvy Apps for iPhone
I’ve been using pCam on my Palm Pilot V for the last 12 years or so as an on-set tool. I love it. The thing has been amazing, but in the last few months, I’ve been looking seriously into replacing my stalwart Palm for an iPhone or even an iPod Touch. Why? Couple of reasons; I can get my hands on an iPod Touch for under $200, and software. There is a plethora of fantastic apps available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, many of which are under $30, making the iPhone or iPod Touch a near-indispensable, inexpensive tool for on-set folks; Directors, VFX Supervisors, Producers, Camera crew, AD’s, Gaffers, etc.
Below, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most interesting (and in that, I mean useful as well as very cool) apps to be had for the iPhone/ iPod Touch. These are inexpensive enough to warrant grabbing a handful, so do yourself a favor and hit the links to check this stuff out. I’m sure you’ll be amazed. First off is Chemical Wedding’s ARTEMIS Director’s DIgital Viewscope.
The folks at Chemical Wedding have done a fantastic job with this one.
Artemis is a digital Directors Viewfinder that works with the iPhone in the same way as a traditional directors viewfinder, though more accurately and conveniently. Here’s how Artemis works; Once you’ve selected a camera format, aspect ratio and lens, the app utilizes the iPhone’s built-in camera to simulate the lens views you can expect when you’re ready to shoot. You can either evaluate all the lenses, or hit zoom and the camera will present the equivalent view of your chosen lens. Artemis is a digital directors viewfinder for the iPhone. 
If there ever was a ‘never-leave-the-house-without-it’ application for on-set, it would be David Eubank’s pCam , a motion picture calculator for VFX Supervisors, Directors of Photography, Camera Assistants, Gaffers, Grips, Editors, Production Designers, Art Directors, Film and Photography Students. Created by the same fellow who’d created the original (and widely used) version for the Palm Pilot, this cool new version has been updated with a intuitive graphical interface for the iPhone.
With pCam, you can calculate depth of field, field of view, focus splits, hyperfocal distance, exposure compensation, color correction filters, diopter shift, time lapse, running time, macro, underwater focus distance, HMI safe speeds and shutter, illumination beam intensity and light coverage. For the truly hopeful, it’s even got a built-in Siemen’s Star focus chart. Now how cool is that. Hey Dave- Thanking You.
Movie Slate is a digital slate, clapperboard, shot log and shot notepad designed for film, television and documentaries. Movie Slate provides an easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time later when you capture and edit the footage on your computer.
Sound good so far? Wait, there’s more;
this app can log data from multiple productions, export data as Final Cut Pro XML files, and has an interface for changing data on the fly! It’s totally customizable using stick designs colors and fonts. Save text, voice notes and photo’s for each take/ shot, and rate the audio and video quality of each take/ shot. You can set markers within a shot to keep track of specific events, and here’s a kicker; Movie Slate allows wireless sync of running time code on multiple iPhones running the app with Bluetooth. Very. Cool.
Action Log Pro is a film and television logging tool designed for location shoots or in the studio with up to 25 recording devices. At the touch of a button the logging system keeps track of all reel names and time codes for each recorded piece of action. Comment entry is quick and easy- just construct clip names using predefined lists and the built-in keyboard. Project clips can be emailed as ALE and XML files to post production and editorial departments for immediate digitizing. For those who like to edit with printed logs in hand, HTML formatted log sheets, sorted by reel name, can be forwarded too, although Action Log Pro’s seamless connectivity to both Avid and Final Cut Pro makes paper logs a thing of the past.
Hitchcock Mobile Storyboarding composer is a mobile storyboard and pre-visualization tool designed for Directors, DP’s, Producers, Writers, Animators and anyone who wants to be able to visualize their story while on the go. Create a storyboard, convert to a PDF, then send your pre-viz brilliance along to client and crew alike via email, all while racing across town in a cab. Check out the Vimeo demo clip of this app in action on the website, here.
There’s little available on a desktop that can compete with Hitchcock’s speed and ease of use, let alone the sub-$20 price tag. That’s less than a Moleskin notebook! Couple of hitches left for the wish list; drawings need to be imported for inclusion (from another app), and completed slide shows can’t be exported. Despite these minor setbacks, it’s brilliant for film and commercial work. Since you’ve already got an iPhone (you do, don’t you?), this little app is a great addition to the digital tool set.
Over the years I’ve had my share of fumbling about for my cache of lighting gel swatch books, only to find various swatches torn out for use…by someone else. Ugh. Thankfully, those days are over courtesy of Wybron’s Gel Swatch Library. This handy application has over 1,000 Lee, Apollo, Rosco and GAM gel colors, ready when you are for digital delivery. Added convenience is had via several alternatives to find the colors your looking for; scroll through gels by manufacturer or search by name. Should you need vital gel data, it’s all there with CMY/ RGB percentages and Spectral Distribution curves listed for each color. Nice.
Need to know what an ARRI 10K Fresnel lamp at 25’ will deliver in beam spread and foot-candles? Look no further than PocketLD by Michael Zinman. This baby will give you what you’re looking for in a hurry, rain or shine. PocketLD is a photometric database and calculator hosting a vast collection of the most popular lighting instruments for film and stage. Truly a Gaffer’s best friend and a wonderfully handy reference, on set and in post for the VFX / CG lighting folks.
FiRe is a honest-to-goodness, professional recorder developed for audio pros by audio pros. Created specifically as a field recorder for the iPhone, this isn’t your run of the mill pocket memo recorder! FiRe supports full stereo recording, displays accurate audio waveform in real time, supports markers, and allows instant downloading of files in multiple formats. This thing is an indy filmmakers dream come true.
Last but not least, this little app will be making it into several of my Assistant Director buddies Christmas stockings next year.
MyWeather Mobile is a feature rich weather application with animated looping radar and satellite, 36-hour temperature, precipitation and wind speed/direction graphs (USA only), 7-day forecasts, over 10,000 U.S. cities and now thousands of international cities. You can also rotate the phone horizontally to view FULL-SCREEN radar animation and 36-hour trend graphs (USA only). Sever weather push notifications definitely put this app on the top of the pile of paid weather apps. If you happen to be between gigs and landscaping, My Weather Mobilewill keep you out of the rain.
Here Comes the Sun…
The Helios Sun Calculator from Chemical Wedding sports a gorgeous graphic interface that predicts the path of the sun from dusk to dawn, on any given day, in any given place. Helios is essential to anyone who needs to plan a day around the constantly changing character of sunlight. Cinematographers, Stills Photographers, First Assistant Directors, Gaffers, Grips, Location Managers, Production Designers and Producers will already be aware of the value of this information. 
Helios has an internal database of over 30,000 locations around the world, providing longitude, latitude, time zone and daylight savings information. You can even save favorite locations and add the current location from GPS data (where a signal is available). Core functionality is not reliant on cell phone reception. Likewise Helios will work on the iPod Touch though you have to select a nearest location from the database or manually enter the GPS coordinates. Ten minutes with Helios, and you’ll be wondering how you got along without it.
I’ll post more of these as I find them, and have a chance to mess around a bit with the one’s most promising. Enjoy!









