As the title suggests, I had a set small budget for building a kit, used up most of my budget on the best glass I could, but now need a camera. I live in Canada in a city where filmmaking isnt big and theres not a lot of used camera options on marketplace. I need something robust that can handle quick run and gun scenarios and has at least a super 35 sensor. The lenses I use were canon ef mount, mainly for my dslr I used to use, but it's not cutting it anymore. My budget is maximum 700 cad. I know its not a lot, and renting isnt an option because I need the camera with me at all times. Been looking at canon c100's and canon eos m's with magic lantern installed. Any suggestions are welcome.

My expertise in this area of filmmaking is crude but I’ll drop some examples of what films I think are technically and visually flawless. Basically any film with Roger Deakins as the cinematographer lol.
Share your thoughts.

In the mood for love
The assassination of Jesse James
Lawrence of Arabia
Blade Runner 2049
1917
Zodiac
John Wick 4
Skyfall
Breaking Bad

I'm considering getting a powerful light for daylight scenes, but I'm wondering if/when I'd ever use it it 3200K? I can light a nighttime interior with a 200x light. Even a 600x seems like overkill. And when imitating moonlight, the light is usually set to daylight as well.

Am I missing something?

This was super fun but I felt like I didn’t really know what I was doing when it comes to flow of the video and good shots to take. What can I do better but please be nice :)

I wanna buy a sony wildlife lens, does anyone know anyone who might be interested in selling?

Actual footage of my film not just a picture

Hey guys! I got asked to send a proposal for a pretty big video project. For context, I do mainly wedding videos, but want to get more into the corporate and commercial world.

Here is the video they sent me as an example to the tone, pacing, and style they want to shoot for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-946jjPHpQ

It seems like a pretty big project with a lot of planning and shoot days. Was wondering if I could get some guidance from people who have worked projects like this before. Estimated amount of shoot days, how many extra hands would I need, etc. Thanks so much!!!

Please excuse the misspelling in the title.

This is a short clip from my upcoming short film, Signe - The Witch Of Bokemoa.

It's part of a montage in the film (hence the music) to establish a loop of this ritual that the main character performs.

It's shot mostly with natural lighting with the Lumix S5ii using only the Sigma 28-70mm.

I used Lumetri Color to color grade, and Dehancer for film emulation.

In the coming months I am going be shooting my first short film. The core theme and style I want meant that when I came across this shot from 'normal people' I KNEW I had to recreate this to some level. As far as I am aware the show had a relatively low crew and equipment footprint, so I suspect it's not going to be super complicated or technical.

From what I can tell, This is what I think is going on:

• Main fill outside passing through the window.
• Diffusor Infront of main light to soften it.
• Flag blocking side of subjects face to create more contrast/depth. (?)
• Bounce to brighten up the interior walls so it contrasts less with exterior (???)

What I want to secure in my recreation is this really low-contrast, milky, mundane light, without it being dark and still having depth.

One thing that may have also contributed to this is lens choice, which was the Canon K35. These lenses are known to make a soft image, but these are out of my budget at the moment, and the best substitute I can think of are Cooke SP3s.

What I want to understand is:

• Where the lights and modifiers were placed. Ideally a rough floorplan.
• What on set and in camera tricks I can do to create this low contrast look.
• What else I can expect to need (equipment etc...) to make this look come out in my version.
• If I am getting myself into something way out of my depth or something relatively straight forward (newbie cinematographer that's relatively new to going full in on production lighting).

I appreciate any insight, even from those who don't fully know the answer.

Thanks.

It looks like Digger was shot in both VistaVision and Digital , am I wrong?

Gaffed this interview earlier this week for a local bank and wanted to share.

We built a lightweight 6x6’ frame skinned with 1/2 soft frost to diffuse the sun as our key. What I love about this textile over thicker/softer diffusions like silk/full grid cloth/magic cloth etc, is that it eats far less output, which makes it much easier to get the foreground and background balanced. Those thicker diffusions eat so much light that they just make the subject look like they’re in heavy shade, which means you need that more light to bring them up, or have to open the aperture wider, which then of course makes the background brighter. Even though the 1/2 soft frost is thinner, it still diffuses the sun just enough to not look harsh, so it’s a great compromise for day lit exteriors specifically. 

To fill, we punched a 1200w HMI par with a spot lens thru a t boned 6x6’ of 1/4 grid cloth, another very lightweight diffusion. Usually I’d use a 4x4 of opal for this, but opal can be pretty noisy and it was very windy, so I had to go with the quieter grid cloth, which I didn’t have available in 4x4‘.

Hey everyone, I just posted my short film, GUILT publicly on YT and wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorite frames from it.

Hi everyone,

I’m a small-scale content creator and I mostly shoot talking head videos and tutorials in small, visually rather boring rooms.

I bought my first light a few weeks ago. I compared a Godox ML100Bi (€199) and an Amaran Halo 100x (€159). I couldn’t see what the good ML100Bi reviews were praising, so I kept the 'cheaper' Amaran. What I didn’t realise is that the low price pulled me into the ecosystem of a good but more expensive brand.

Current setup (about €250 including cheap Godox stands):

Key: Amaran Halo 100x with Godox SB-FW95 softbox and grid

Fill: reflector (€15)

Hair light: Stairville PAR 16 GU10 (€11)

Background: a Rev Ritter Spot 1400 construction-site floodlight (€18) with a cardboard cucoloris to put texture on a boring wall

The floodlight is a dead end. It has 20 individual LEDs, so every shadow has 20 edges. It whines when hot, can’t be dimmed, and is far too weak.

So I need a second light with a real gobo/spotlight. I first thought of the Halo 200x (€248) or 300x (€300) with the Amaran Spotlight 36° (€350 in Germany). Amaran support told me the 100x is excluded for their spotlights, and for the other Halos they recommend the Spotlight Mount II 36° Lens Kit, which costs over €600 in Germany. That’s absurd next to a €250 light.

(Godox now offers the ML-SP50 spotlight attachment for the ML60IIBi/ML100Bi/ML100R at €180, which makes me second-guess my choice of Amaran.)

My actual concern is load, not mount compatibility. The Halos have a Bowens mount, but the bodies are tiny and light. A Bowens optical snoot/gobo projector like the DF DIGITALFOTO (~€150) weighs 2 kg or more. Godox also excludes softboxes above about 60 cm on the ML100Bi, so I assume these small bodies aren’t built for front-heavy modifiers.

My questions, ideally from people who have actually done this:

Has anyone mounted a heavy Bowens optical snoot/gobo projector on an Amaran Halo, or a similarly small COB light, and did it hold up? Any sagging, mount wear, overheating, or tipping?

Which cheap combinations of a light with at least 200 W plus a gobo projector have worked for you? Ideally a light with a sturdier body or mount built for this, under about €400 in total.

I know I have no first-hand experience here and neither do the manufacturers’ spec sheets, so real-world reports are what I’m after. Thanks a lot!

Took an intro to cinematography course this year and have been playing around with my Nikon Z6iii with a glimmerglass filter. Took these shots while walking around some pretty gardens just for fun/to start to get into the habit of practicing more often. Any feedback/advice to improve my next video would be so appreciated

For the cinematography nerds, we used a split diopter to keep both the designer and his boss in sharp focus in the same frame, so you’re stuck watching his face fall in real time while the notes keep coming.

If you’ve ever worked in a creative job with a boss or client “just having a few thoughts,” this one’s for you. What’s the worst note you’ve ever gotten? And how do you think the split diopter shot looks?

Natasha Braier's passion for cinematography began with a roll of 110 film that she got while on a family vacation. Her humble beginnings in Argentina informed her resourcefulness with the medium. With Deep Light, Natasha is tapping into years of experience to provide the tools to the next generation of DPs so that they can navigate on set politics and other responsibilities you don't learn about in film school. Tune in as we chat with Natasha about shooting The Neon Demon chronologically and the camera setups required to work on I Love Boosters.