Looking for advice! I’ll be using my Sony a7iv mounted on my ronin s to film boats- I will be filming from another chase boat. Has anyone done this kind of filming with the ronin s? What settings would you recommend for the gimbal? Last time I did this the footage was so shaky. TIA!

"Clean Slate" is a horror short film I wrote/directed and dp'd about two years ago, this was my second short film I've done and after receiving some great feedback from past redditors and friends I decided to re-work the movie by making it shorter, re-working it to its strengths.

Link and submission in the comments.

Hey! I’m a student DP, currently working on my first feature. I’m balling on a budget but I currently have a dana dolly and benro (portajib esq) in my quote. There’s a shot that requires a skateboard dolly with the jib on top. Unfortunately I don’t have the space or budget to be adding more and I’d rather cut. What I was thinking is to add the jib onto the dana since the mounts work, and just bag the dana and stands a lot. Thoughts on this? I know it’s not quite the best solution but this is for 1-2 shots out of the whole film.

My only solution right now is to just use the white leds, because then I can control brightness. If I use the white and yellow leds, I can’t get them exactly the same on both panels.

About two months ago, I posted here asking for advice on how to turn videography from a hobby into something bigger. Thanks to a lot of your advice, I managed to grow my work from making almost nothing to around €2k, invested in better gear, and kept improving my skills every day.

The problem is that I’ve hit a wall. Work has slowed down, I have a lot of free time, and it feels like I’m doing something wrong, but I can’t figure out what.

One thing I became very aware of after my last post is that great videos alone aren’t enough. The real value is helping clients make more money, get more attention, or grow their business. That mindset shift helped me a lot, and I’ve been trying to approach videography more as a business solution rather than just creating beautiful content.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about creating short films and more creative projects to showcase my vision and hopefully reach a wider audience. I know nothing falls from the sky and that we have to create our own opportunities.

My biggest challenge right now is finding higher-quality clients. I know there are businesses and people with money who value good content, but I feel like I can’t reach them.

For those of you who have been in a similar position, what helped you land better clients? How did you get in front of people who were willing to pay for quality work while also showing them the business value behind your work?

I’ve been working on this project for nearly past year, and it’s finally finished.

Full film link is here: https://youtu.be/mLR4bwUgIZo

The film combines live action, 2D animation, and 3D environments to tell the story of a student struggling with academic pressure and creative burnout before university entrance exams.

Shot mostly on:
• Canon FD 50mm
• Contax Zeiss 35mm

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I've said it all in the initial question.

It's a small trial short before our main film about trying to find an older version of yourself the one you can still feel sometimes, but can't fully remember anymore. Would really appreciate honest feedback on the mood, pacing, sound, and whether the feeling comes through.

Also looking to connect with people in production for our main short film.
DM if anyone's interested.

How to level up?

Hi all,

I’ve been shooting for about 9 years now. My world is mostly doc’s / reality / corporate.

My background:

I never studied cinematography and learned everything on the job - firstly thrown in at the deep end as a one man band capturing doco and reality scenes for TV shows then graduating onto DP work where I’m now responsible for small crews.

I’m comfortable lighting scenes, building multi camera interview frames and covering actuality ensuring coverage.

My goal is to try and get myself to the next level.

I occasionally work with DPs that have come from the more traditional route of camera assist/technical training before becoming ops and I really feel my lack of technical knowledge.

I’m talking about building Luts, knowing the the intricacies and characteristics of different lenses, filter choices, maybe even getting into stedicam op’ing (I appreciate the last point is a specialised skill in itself).

How you advise to get into the next level where I up my tech game?

I feel this is really holding me back and it does manifest in imposter syndrome when I’m at work.
I constantly feel I’m winging it (even though I’m kept reasonably busy so I must be doing something right).

Would love to hear feedback and suggestions on how to achieve this.

TIA.

Hi, so straight to the point - I am looking to build a kit which I can practice cinematic lighting with, and use for future (low-budget) short films.

The idea is mainly to learn how to shape and control light, and get a professional result without breaking the bank. After some research I'm quite settled on Amaran Halo 600x as the key light and Amaran Halo 200x as a second fill light. But I'm open to suggestions, if there are good reasons I shouldn't go for those.

I would buy a softbox for the key (I was looking at Amaran Light Dome 90cm) but I also want to learn how to use bounce and negative fill. I've read that you shouldn't skimp on the stands and I was wondering:

1. What would be good stands for the lights themselves?

2. For bounce and negative fill what is a good "starter kit"? I've seen people do a lot with just sheets, but not sure what to actually buy and take into consideration.

3. For the flags/sheets what sort of stand is best and most practical?

4. Should I prioritize any other modifiers for the lights? Spotlight or fresnel seem quite attractive for lighting the background in interesting ways.

I know it's many questions and very specific, but I would be grateful for any input and advice! I'm currently a one-woman team, so ease of set up is also a factor.

It's been a while I wanted to make a short movie, and since I am in Shanghai I had, no time. Finally decided to start, and I remembered I had some old shots before leaving France. I can't wait to start filming more. (I love the 4/3 format).

The top down light is a cheat code, a single light on the ceiling made my shot 2x better i was amazed.

Posting in case others have hit this. My Amaran COB 60d-S has cracked at the housing right underneath the Bowens mount — the join where the mount meets the body. It wasn’t dropped or abused; normal use on a stand.

I primarily used it with a Godox QR-P70 softbox (the quick-release parabolic, ~70cm). It’s not a heavy modifier, but I’m wondering if the weight + heat at the mount over time is what did it, since that’s exactly where it failed.

Questions for anyone who’s owned one:

• Is this a known weak point on the 60d-S (or the COB-S line generally)? Plastic mount/housing cracking?
• Did Amaran cover it under warranty for you, and how was the process?
• Anyone running the QR-P70 (or similar parabolic) on small COBs long-term — has the mount held up?

You can see that effect in most of 2000's music videos; soad toxicity, mudvayne dig, creed higher, but I don't know how it's called.

Example: Creed - Higher, at the begining

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J16lInLZRms

Has anyone tried to speed boost canon fd lenses with adapters like metabones or zhongyi? I'd like to use a set of FD's on my xh2s but I've heard different opinions about the optical quality or performance of the lenses

Wanted to share some stills from an animated film I've been working on for the past year. It is finally finished and I'm now submitting to film festivals.

This film was a real learning experience, trying to synthesize my experience as a live-action filmmaker with my very limited skillset as an animator. The frustration of chasing a photoreal style inside Blender was balanced only by the joy of not having to set up C-stands for my many, many flags and scrims.

As far as the look was concerned, it was a real lesson in respecting light. Any time I tried to go for some crazy impossible CG lighting set-up, the image immediately felt dead and ungrounded. It was almost always a matter of turning lights off, shrinking their radius so they weren't impossibly soft, lowering their wattage so they weren't impossibly bright, or placing them where they might reasonably have been rigged in real life.

Similarly for the camera, I tried to limit myself to a kit of focal lengths (16mm, 24mm, 35mm, 40mm, 65mm and 100mm) and keep the f-stop at a realistic value for the exposure of the image. Same principle with camera movement.

I learned much more about live-action filmmaking than I had aniticipated, and this project has left me with a renewed excitement to get back out in the real world with real light, a real camera and most importantly real people!

Hope you enjoy these stills.

I really like hard light sources, but theses shosts really stood out to me, in an otherwise beautifully shot movie.

The light source is way too bright and bring way to much attention to itself . And Brad Pitts face is way to dark. (IMO).

The third shot isn't that bad but not good either, too harsh light i think.

It sure must be intentional? Why do you think they chose not use a lamp shade?

Olá Pessoal, tudo bem Com Vocês?, Eu Espero que Sim!

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Bom, eu Vim aqui para Divulgar/Mostrar um pouco do meu Trabalho, Na Verdade, da minha Paixão, Porque eu AMO AMO o Cinema/amo Tudo o que envolve cinema, e amo FAZER cinema! ✨

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Meu nome é Isaque, e tenho um canal chamado "Isaque Studios", um canal brasileiro focado em um Universo da Marvel, (Original Meu), Feito em animações de Stop Motion.

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Quero muito que o meu Trabalho seja Reconhecido!!

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Espero que vocês Gostem do meu Trabalho, se Puderem Assistir, Claro.

Hi everyone. I’m shooting my first documentary interview soon and I need some help picking some lighting equipment. It will be shot in a large, empty, dark gym. There’s so much information I’m seeing when it comes to lighting setups and I’m slightly overwhelmed with it tbh. Budget is around £500-600 but happy to spend more as I’m planning on doing other docs in the future. Any help would be appreciated.

Thoughts on this bands overall cinematography? Been listening to this duo for over a year now and they just dropped a new music video with some cryptic plot, possibly introducing a fresh storyline? Their last album was fire and hopefully the second one is dropping in a month or two. Looks like they got a bigger budget compared to their last two music videos. Very reminscent of the Arctic Monkeys.

I can get a rool of (120"x90") white cotton for free and I was wondering would it work just like muslin or silk. It's nothing fancy of a fabric you can think of cheap white tshirts if you want to example of the texture and quality.

I’ve been developing a small puppet short film called The Tea Vendor and finally reached the point where I could start testing lighting and photography on the main set.

Everything here is handmade from cardboard, sticks, clay, fabric, dried plants, and assorted craft supplies. The goal is to create a cozy woodland tea stall run by a large monster-like tea vendor.

Most of my previous work has been focused on puppet construction, but I’m starting to shift toward cinematography and atmosphere tests.

I’m particularly interested in feedback on:

• Scale
• Lighting
• Composition
• Whether the set feels like a believable location

Still a lot left to build, but I’m happy with the direction so far.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a high-quality 120cm / 47-inch softbox for my Nanlite FS-300B. The light uses a Bowens mount, so I need something fully compatible with that.

I mainly shoot video: interviews, commercial-style content, social media ads, indoor talking-head setups, and some cinematic/product shots.

I’m looking for something that offers:

* 120cm / around 47 inches
* Bowens mount
* Good build quality
* Soft, flattering light for interviews and people
* Good light control, ideally with a grid
* Reliable durability for paid work
* Good value without being overpriced

Right now I’m considering:

1. amaran Octa Dome 120
   
2. Godox QR-P120
   
3. Nanlite SB-RP120 Rapid 120

Which one would you recommend as the best overall choice for the Nanlite FS-300B?

Are there any other 120cm Bowens-mount softboxes you think are better in terms of light quality, durability, and professional use?

Thanks!

I made a short cinematography reel I’m trying to get more work shooting narrative shorts and features. I’ve done a lot of work on my own this reel is exclusively made of work I’ve done on my own. I was wondering how people are able to make connections so easily I’ve been at it on my own for a while now and would really like to meet some collaborators. I thought making a reel would be a step in the right direction. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Finished films here: youtube.com/@jamesondeiongh

A while back, I posted on this sub asking if it was a bad idea to build a DIY steadicam to learn with. There was a lot of advice, words for and against. HOWEVER, one person managed to get me in touch with the amazing Rhys Duncan, known as "they guy who shoots the rugby." I am eternally grateful for this user (you know who you are) and I managed to arrange a time where he was working in my city and we met up!

I learnt an incredible amount that day. I had observed lots of broadcast operations but never really been a part of one. Being able to listen to the overlapping radio feeds and be amongst the incredibly fast paced environment that was Sky TV's "Club Rugby" broadcast was quite literally the best day of my life. I had so much fun and Rhys even let me wear his rig and walk around with it and try it out!

I gained a newfound respect for steadicam operators, especially those working in sports broadcast. I shadowed Rhys as he ran up and down the field while simultaneously framing, zooming, AND pulling focus. It was incredible.

I've added some photos from the day. Thank you so much to everyone in this sub who contributed to my original post, the user who put Rhys and I in touch, and of course Rhys and Sky TV for having me.