Does the Zoom F8 have higher pre-amplification than the FR2-LE?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

He means for a low budget production you need to be more involved to ensure things are being done right. When you’re competent and knowledge at all aspects of film making you can do this.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah sure, I can be more involved with the other departments. I try to watch everyone very carefully to make sure everything is being done well, but is there anything else I can do?

[Brian Drysdale]

Hire people who know what they're doing, if you don't the odds are you won't have a successful productions. How good a film will be is 80% decided before a single frame is shot.

[Paul R Johnson]

Watch to see if it's done well? Nothing is worse than somebody managing who is commenting on quality without the experience to do it better. At some point you will realise that you have to trust people to do their job. It goes back to the skills audit. If true are six technical slots that need filling, somebody needs to take control and fill them with the most able available. Your system seems to involve shuffling people around from a fixed list into holes nobody quite fills properly. The worst fit rather than the best.

Who are these other people on the team. What sort of others do you have to choose from? Do they have a very good director, camera, lighting, sound and other Tec department people on the list, or are they using keen but limited people in every department? Surely if there really is a proper budget, you cast the best actors, not those with defects, and the best camera operator, and then hire the most suitable kit. You pick the best sound person based on their skills, not the fac they have their own kit but are a bit rubbish? You're entire production company seems to be a group of mates not real film makers, who make a living from it? Like a amateur film society. They work like this. The guy with a nagra and elderly 415, not 6 always does sound, and the chosen cameraman is seriously considering investing in one of the new HD cameras now they've had time to settle down, but SD is fine for e moment. Their director worked for the Royal Shakespeare company in 1965 and knows 'actor' always has a capital A. The lighting designer has a shed full of kit built in 1958 that still does wonderful service. This is my view of what you are lumbered with.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, but it was aid that I have to be more involved to ensure things are being done right though.

Originally Posted by Pete Cofrancesco

He means for a low budget production you need to be more involved to ensure things are being done right. When you’re competent and knowledge at all aspects of film making you can do this.

Like for example, I was told that my gimbal footage was too shaky before, so next time I will want to watch that for sure, and get a better gimbal operator, but thought next time I should really pay attention. Or same goes with sound, when I hire a separate PSM, rather than doing it myself while directing.

[Paul R Johnson]

Do you actually spend any time on practicing? you get lots of negative comments, but I don't know about you, but when I cannot do something I should be able to do, or just do it badly - I'll spend hours practicing. From your posts - you seem to accept that you're not very good at something and then simply give that job away? If your gimbal work is a bit iffy - then fix it! You spent ages on booming and gave up. You had trouble setting gains on a Zoom, and despite the advice seemed to not go and try it? Why do you give up so easily?

[Josh Bass]

I dont think he gave up. He’s about to do sound on another film. And I dont think he was the gimbal operator on the stuff mentioned.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah i practice. Right now I'm recording post production sound effects for a project. As for gimbal work, i never used one for my projects and always had others do it while i direct and fill other duties. I thought it was better to have someone else do it.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

In fairness I’ve shared similar confusion but now have a better understanding of what’s going ie Ryan is bouncing around on various projects and many of these questions are from the standpoint of some sort of hybrid director with someone else doing the tasks.

I’ve always assumed when someone asks a question here, they are the ones trying do the activity. We pinball from color grading, pulling focus, gimbal, mic booming, wildlife filming, interviewing... It’s hard to keep track what’s going on and who’s doing what.

[Josh Bass]

He IS the one booming but I think all other queries are about jobs other folks are doing (maybe not the post stuff).

[Ryan Elder]

Originally Posted by Pete Cofrancesco

In fairness I’ve shared similar confusion but now have a better understanding of what’s going ie Ryan is bouncing around on various projects and many of these questions are from the standpoint of some sort of hybrid director with someone else doing the tasks.

I’ve always assumed when someone asks a question here, they are the ones trying do the activity. We pinball from color grading, pulling focus, gimbal, mic booming, wildlife filming, interviewing... It’s hard to keep track what’s going on and who’s doing what.

Most of the questions I asked were for my own activities, accept for the nature video I asked questions about before, and this current project I was offered with these filmmakers that I have worked with before. But I'm pretty sure all the rest of the questions were for my own activities.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Pete Cofrancesco

I don't think Ryan realizes it but he pretty much embodies the film school mentality. Lots of theory and classical movie study that leaves students ill prepared for the real world. This in turn leads to the sort of questions we all do our best to answer without losing our minds.

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Oh but isn't it good to study movies and how they were done as well though? I feel like somethings, not everything, but some things, I like more from watching movies I like, compared to what we learn in class to an extent. Or I guess I just felt the class had a very standard way of making the movie, where as I want to go outside the box and explore other options of what can be done, and what not.

I’m glad to report that there are some programs like ours at Portland Community College that emphasize hands-on skills development. And ours isn’t the only one in the Pacific Northwest, or even in the Portland area. Film studies is great, and it helps. But, it doesn’t substitute for working on productions in different roles on different teams with different gear week in and week out for a couple years in school, receiving feedback on projects, and honing one’s skills. How do you do that in an unstructured “indie” filmmaking community?

It pains me that Ryan and others are having to put together the hands-on part of their education without the benefit of the coaching and feedback that’s possible in school. It’s hard for me to navigate these threads where “somebody told me this” or “somebody told me that”, I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to navigate the inconsistent and frequently incorrect feedback he’s sharing on these threads. Ugh.

[Paul R Johnson]

I agree entirely - one of the things you learn as you progress is the ability to 'weigh' the accuracy of advice given to you. In person, when working with people new to me, I always appear to remain receptive when advice is being given and then something clicks, enabling me to welcome and take info on board, or smile pleasantly and reject it. Rarely do people fall between these two states. It doesn't mean you ever accept without question, or worse, spend money - but data collection skills are very important. Advice, even if well meant, that is bad needs identifying quickly and that person tagged as dubious, but often, nice. Listen carefully, then judge. Ryan finds this difficult as he gets such a range of advice, some plain crazy stuff, given by idiots. I suspect that like many people who are green, three bits of advice saying one thing and one saying something else results in taking the three identical suggestions - which could be totally wrong if all three got it from the same source. Filtering advice is difficult in person, and online in a forum even harder, because we don't know each other and have no idea how good that person is.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh well that's why I asked some questions on here, to get other feedback to compare, which I really appreciate, unless I am going about it the wrong way?