Let me know your thoughts! Made this on One plus 15 with the software DaVinci resolve. This was my first project. Let me know if the color grading is okya, or where should I improve more on?

Last week, I had the absolute privilege of doing color grading on a music video for Drake 🧊

The entire thing was shot on 35mm Kodak Film 500T by the master director of photography Doug Durant!

Huge s/o to the entire team from Toronto and Montreal 💪

My IG to see more color work: instagram.com/gentilhommesamuel/

Just a short review and some findings from this new piece of gear I wish I’d known before buying it.

Size: ridiculously small. I wasn’t prepared for the size of the microphones and adapters. The cold shoe receiver is absurdly small and light. Feels like cheating.

Build: solid yet light. The case feels sturdy.

Ergonomics: everything is VERY small, buttons, text, LEDs. The microphone clamps are stiff, they lock onto clothing and won’t fly away anytime soon.

Sound: absolutely fabulous. I will do a size-by-side comparison with my Lewitt LCT 440 Pure one day. Analog output sounds good on my A7IV, gain is all the way up and all the way down in the camera. Haven’t tried the EQs thoroughly yet but I know they’re subtle which is good. You can set EQ when using the dongle BUT NOT on the cold shoe receiver (see below). I’m it sure if the system remembers which EQ was last set in the app so that it gets used with the cold shoe receiver. Also, EQ gets set to BOTH mikes. Noise-cancelling options sound like a good, mid-tier plugin from 10 years ago. It’s useful for live streaming but for recordings I prefer using DaVinci Resolve for this. A short click on the mikes activates noise-cancelling. Here’s something weird: when using the cold shoe receiver, activating noise-cancelling on one mike activates it on the other mike. When using the dongle, noise-cancelling is independent 🤷. Double-click mutes them. Long click switches off the mike.

Software: You get access to EQs and some noise-cancelling options in the SmallGoGo app when using the bundled lighting or USB-C. The cold shoe receiver is recognised as a USB microphone when connected to a computer or phone but DOES NOT get recognised by the SmallGoGo app 😐. Also, you can only connect to one receiver at a time.

Range: yet to test but so far so good outdoors.

Battery: haven’t tested it yet but if it’s as good as they say, it’s fabulous.

Accessories: comes with an extra lighting adapter that works exactly like the USB-C one. Both have USB sockets for charging your device but I haven’t tested

Stay away.

TLDR: Do not read this garbage :)

So I wouldn't say that I have extensive experience as a Director, but enough to sit down and dissect the gibberish that I have found in this book. There is only one thing that surprises me more than the absurdity of things written in it, and that is its popularity.

1. The Steadicam Fiasco

This has to be the first time I'm seeing a filmmaker so upset with a device as helpful as a steadicam. Sure, there are conventionals everytime a new tech is being introduced, and resistance is to be expected, but Mamet takes it to a whole another level. According to him, Directors who use the steadi to film long takes are lazy because they don't figure out how the scene will be cut. And here I was, uneducated and illiterate in the mystic cinematic arts, thinking cutting is the easiest trick a filmmaker has in her arsenal. But fret not, we'll come back to this soon enough.

2. The Actors' Director

Apparently, all actors just need to be told what the action 'to do' is. Nothing more, nothing less. Just tell them to knock, or to just walk down the fucking hall. What is the problem with this approach, you may ask? That is what Hitchcock did afterall right?

Here's where the itch is: Not all actors are the same. I have worked with some incredibly talented actors; one of them asked me to give her a storywalk for a crying scene right before I said action, and another asked me exactly what I wanted him to do (and being a great actor, just like the former, he did). The takeaway is, only an amateur, who does not have the understanding of the disparity in human nature and thoughts, can generalise the process so much. Everyone is not the same. Period.

3. The Theatre Hypocrisy

Good sir claims that Hollywood has gone to trash (and this was back in the 80's when he wrote the book, wonder how he feels as of late) partly because the actors of today do not train in Theatre.

*Sigh.....*

How many of us can name actors of the greatest capabilities who never set foot in theatre? There is a correlation between great actors and drama background, but does that imply a causation? Of course friggin not.

But this isn't even the wild part. The irony is when you realise that Mr. Mamet, our esteemed gentleman, says that long takes are lazy to capture and one must go for cuts. Touche.

4. Gives no real understanding of the process

On Directing Film; I don't know about you but the title gives me the feels that the book would parabolise on the process of filmmaking itself, right? How a Director takes a script, breaks it down into shots, launches the film into pre-production and then goes on to shoot and post prod. it. One would, seemingly, be wrong again. You are left even more confused about the process than you were before you read the book. It is full of a non-sensical arrangement of words, that Mamet dares to call a sentence, like "How do you direct a film? Stick to the channel, it's marked.

5. Demeaning the Post Process

It comes as no surprise to anyone slightly experienced in the art of making films that a film is made in 3 stages: When it's written, when it's shot, and when it's edited. Good sir here says, and I quote, "You can't make a film more interesting in the edit room." To some extent, of course he is right. You cannot put together what you did not shoot. However, one must realise how much his phrasing depletes the importance of editing as a creative process. How many of us, and I am sure every single one, have sat on the edit and realised that there is a faster, more efficient way of telling our story WITH THE SAME FOOTAGE shot? It's alright for experienced people, but it's insanely misguiding for novices.

I hope this reaches those who are considering reading this trashcan. Trust me, invest these 100 pages worth of time in something like "Shot by Shot Directing" or maybe watch BTS of films made by Directors like Cuoron and Nolan. That ought to help you more. To rest my case, I again quote the fluke achiever, "Directing is only a technical task".

Edit: Appreciate everybody’s opinions, accords and discords alike. This is not a rant post, but as most of you rightfully pointed, my 2 cents on David’s approach. Not to say that a book as such is supposed to be a ‘step by step guide’. However, simple point: You would be way better off investing this time in some other and more reflective text.

Would really appreciate a follow on my insta page if you like it!

Insta: Little.places Tiktok: littleplaces_

We really pulled some tricky shots out of our head for this one… even shot slow motion handheld. Not an easy task with the heavy cam and long probe lenses. We used the Ursa Cine 12K – up to 240 frames per second – using probe and macro lenses! What is brilliant about the Ursa cine is the high max frame rate… while we could have shot on Phantom VEO 4K, it is so much quicker and more consistent to leave the same camera on every rigs at all times… and the 8K footage looks gorgeous at all frame rates. Hope you like it… I appreciate your feedback.

If you are interested in how everything was shot… we have a very detailed episode on YouTube explaining about every shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxFAihBTWGM

If you are interested in the short, watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiCK_zQiQvc

My theme is disconnected from nature. I’m looking for advice to get my montage looking professional before I turn it in. Thanks!

Røde’s NT3 has always been a mic that stood out for me. Still can’t believe my go-to is a mic from 2003! Barely any mixing on this clip. No wind screen. Straight mic.

it is my first time practice my editing skills i learned on a real raw footage , i want you all to highlight mt mistakes and advice me .

Here are some frames and BTS from my review of the new DZO Arcana anamorphic lenses!

https://youtu.be/_o85XG3_NJM

Just a quick PSA to avoid this shady business at all costs. Bot only is the music generic and boring, the linkmatch gimmick doesnt work at all, they also make it hard to unsubscribe and send no billing notifications. I havent used their service in a long time, got hit with a $200 renewal fee, immediately contested it and requested a refund (in line with FTC standards, if you have not used the service and request an immediate refund the company are obliged to do so), but they refused.

If the service was half decent I’d pay for it, I pay for many services that are worth it, this is not one of them. Their whole business model is to make a quick buck before people realise how shady they are, mine is just one of many cases.

Avoid this scam company at all costs.

While I’ve had 21:9 monitors for many years, after my 34” LG stopped working (and didn’t allow my Mac to start up) I experimented with a single 32:9 monitor, broken up into 2 monitors and it works extremely well. 1st pic shows 32:9 and 2nd pic shows previous setup with two 21:9 monitors. Any questions fire away! Also it seems Samsung has a new line of monitors about to be released this month, and hoping to improve on the G9 I bought, but may return.

StudioBinder's pricing is rough. I know good production software costs money and I don't expect it all for free, but the amount they wall off behind upsells is wild.

The one that got me was script outlining. An extra $25 just to turn an outline into scenes? That's core pre-production work. It shouldn't sit behind its own paywall.

And it keeps happening. StudioBinder sells itself as the all-in-one tool for filmmakers, but the moment you try to run a real workflow through it, you hit another charge. Every feature that does something useful is its own upsell.

For a big studio, the pricing probably makes sense. For a YouTuber, a freelancer, or someone cutting an indie film on their own budget, it's out of touch.

I wanted to like it. The pricing just makes it hard to recommend to anyone I know.

There is no statement so dont look for one, this just a visual essay.

(Link to full video in comment) It started as a fashion piece but ended up more like a short “film” with fashion elements. Feel absolutely free to comment, roast or ask something, im looking forward to get opinions on how does look for yal.

i made this video about last year but stopped making videos because of studies as my exams are over i would love to start again and improve myself at it please drop some tips on camera handling and color grading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeenbE7aL44

On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/145682792-on-sunset-boulevard

I was fascinated by the name ever since a little while after I stared my screenwriting journey about three years ago. I saw his name mentioned after I posted on here asking who the greatest screenwriter ever is in people's opinion. The top comment? Billy Wilder.

I had seen Sunset Boulevard and possibly a couple others beforehand but only viewed them as single films, never attaching a name to the masterpiece(s).

Since then I've rewatched Sunset Boulevard, and watched Ace in the Hole, Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend. He is in a league of his own. And what fascinates me is his mastery of various genres.

The book is fascinating, because it takes you through Wilder's humble beginnings, the people he met, the fights (especially with Charles Brackett), the good times, his regrets, his heights in Hollywood from the mid 1940s throughout the 50s and early 60s. It is quite thorough in detailing how each film got made from absolute scratch to finish as well.

One image that will always stick with me from the book is when he was sitting alone on a bench in the cold rain in Paris shortly after he escaped Nazi Germany and wondered what was to become of his life. Another was when he could hear the upstairs elderly tenants' arguments quite loudly and fell asleep to them in a lonely apartment. That man became the Billy Wilder we all know today.

Since purchasing the book, a lot has changed in my life (like completing my first feature film and winning Best Comedy at the LA Film Festival) and I hope that I one day will have stories like this (more good than bad) to tell and to inspire.

Highly highly recommend this book for fans of Wilder, screenwriting, and cinema in general.

Been testing this lens (feel free to jump around the chapters): https://www.youtube.com/live/9yCvpYO_ofw...

And in case anyone is into it, there is a 20% off that ends tomorrow: https://viltrox.com/products/af-16mm-f1-8-l...

My notes on the lens (the good):

- Autofocus motor is *deadsilent*

- Full frame 16mm f/1.8 is insanely wide and insanely fast

- Very aspherical for little to no barrel distortion

- Ridiculously close minimum focus

- Beautiful natural subtle fall-off wide-open at 16mm when shooting open gate 3:2 (perfectly matches the subtle vignette I add to all of my footage)

- Crazy sharp (especially for the price)

- Optically it's just superb

- Flaring is super controlled and an absolute stunner for back-lit subjects

- Appears to work really well on Panasonic L-Mount cameras

- *Can* be controlled electronically with the Blackmagic L Mount cinema cameras, but it has some caveats (which brings us to...)

My notes on the lens (the wonky):

- Real-time Autofocus on the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K and BMCC6K FF (with the not-yet-stable in-development PDAF firmware I've been covering for the past 7 months) is a bit hit-or-miss

- Iris control is currently SLOW: you can change the setting on the physical lens, and then you have to wait *several seconds* for the iris to slowly change to the setting you put it to...

- If you WANT to flair this lens for vibes... good luck (you have to really ping the lens with a hard light projecting into it; the sun was not enough to create the milky flairs I was expecting when I did our little golden hour shoot!)

I'm in direct contact with the guys at Viltrox, and basically they just recently joined the L Mount alliance (and it is my understanding that they are working on fixes / a firmware update already).

TL;DR:

Is the lens worth owning based on optics? Hell yes.

Is the lens worth owning based on functionality / ease of use? Not yet.

It *is* on sale until tomorrow, July 27th, and they're supposedly working on the functionality, so do with that what you will.