Tips and Techniques

I am prepping for a  35mm shoot for next month. One of the beautiful things about this gig is that everything I have asked for in my equipment package has gotten the ok. Bizarre and very new for me. I’m used to haggling with a producer or being told “you can only get the doorway dolly”. Whatever, I’ve done some incredible films with a Metrocard, Mag light and a note from my Mom. But also important for us Indie film folks is to know what to ask for when the money does show up. Otherwise we look like idiots.

This is Cybel, reporting from the front lines. The resident Director of Photography. Before I discuss the Sony EX1 camera (a handheld flash memory HD camera that sells for $6500), let it be clear that I am a film girl. The day I die and my life flashes before my eyes, it better be shot with Anamorphic lenses and on Eastman Color Negative.

Having said that, I recently went to a film test screening at Duart. The very generous Andy Young of Duart did his own test, comparing the Sony EX1 to the Red Camera (both 4k & 2k) and outputted to film. He also shot some footage of his family with the camera “straight out of the box”. It was a relief to see unbiased camera tests not orchestrated and financed by a corporation, in this case Sony.

This is a site for true film geeks. Forget the film watch the titles is a repository of some of pretty interesting cinematic title designs. Playing on the front page as of this writing is a personal favorite of mine “The Good The Bad and The Ugly”.

Independent filmmakers looking to draw inspiration for their own projects may find this useful.

Also do a little research on Saul Bass and graphic design, but tread carefully if you plan to borrow heavily on his sensibility, as I believe Spike Lee caught some heat for his Clockers poster design which bore a striking resemblance to Anatomy of a Murder.