"November" at DVinfo.net

Ken Tanaka · January 21st, 2004, 01:08 AM

Just a bit of trivia here. The film "November", now showing at Sundance and due to be released this year, was shot with a DVX100. The Sundance summary of the film is here. I just finished reviewing an instructional DVD (on the DVX100) that's partly presented by Nancy Schreiber, the film's cinematographer.

Sorry if this is old news to anyone but I did not see another reference to this.

J. Clayton Stansberry · January 21st, 2004, 11:14 AM

Ken,

Is there any other reference other than the DVD you are talking about? I would love to read a little more about her setup, thoughts, etc. What is this DVD? Thanks...

Clay

Ken Tanaka · January 21st, 2004, 03:52 PM

Clay,
At this writing the Sundance link represents represents as much info on the film as I could find.

The DVD I mentioned does not feature details on the film, per se. Ms. Schreiber refers to her work on the film with the DVX100 during her portion of the presentation. She is very enthusiastic about the camera and credits it as being a key factor in their ability to produce the film for only $150,000.

I certainly do not mean to be mysterious obout this DVD. But since it may not have been actually released by the producer yet I'm reluctant to discuss it right now. My review of it will be available here (on the main part of the DVInfo.net site) hopefully very soon.

Stas Tagios · January 21st, 2004, 09:05 PM

The DVD is available for sale here: http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/acsstore.cgi

Retails for $49.95.

John Hudson · January 21st, 2004, 09:18 PM

I am really looking forward to NOVEMBER for sake of our lil DVX.

Matthew de Jongh · January 23rd, 2004, 08:00 PM

i have the dvd, save the money, it had VERY LITTLE useful info re: settings.

basically, she used f6 with detail set to -7 and black ped to -7 and i think that was pretty much it.

there was a guy who did a very minimal runthrough of the options in the camera, but did little or no explanation/suggestions.

i was pretty disappointed in the dvd and felt silly for having bought it.

matthew

John Hudson · January 23rd, 2004, 08:12 PM

That seems to be the general concensus.

Ken Tanaka · January 23rd, 2004, 09:57 PM

Well, since the cat's out of the bag, my upcoming review here goes into a bit more detail to come to the same conclusion. As police might say at an accident scene, "Move along, nothing to see here."

John Hudson · January 23rd, 2004, 10:58 PM

:)

Vlad Manning · January 24th, 2004, 04:38 PM

I'd be more curious to hear the cinematographers comments on why she chose this camera for the project instead of something w/more res. Renting even a 2/3" camera for their month's shoot wouldn't have changed their $150K budget by more than a percent or 2.

And more importantly, how did she rate its performance after having shot the feature?

Hopefully her opinions weren't shaded by perks from the manufacturer, either.

Michael Struthers · January 24th, 2004, 07:22 PM

Was it a good movie??? THAT'S the question...is it black and white? That covers up a lot of digital sins....

....courtney's fee probably took up more that the film budget (bet it was "off" the books..

Stephen van Vuuren · January 24th, 2004, 11:43 PM

Vlad:

A big thig about the DVX is it's size for a true 24p cams. All other 24p cams are considerably larger and heavier.

Actor love the smaller DV cameras, and though it's oft neglected here, getting great performances is pretty damn important in making a movie.

Finally, all the accessories that are required for DV filmmaking as well as tape stock are less money. Plus, if you shoot higher bitrate formats, your post costs rise considerably.

A format decision is not just based on strictly the camera rental price alone, but the the whole impact on the pre-production, production and post processes.

Ken Tanaka · January 24th, 2004, 11:56 PM

Ms. Schreiber's remarks concerning her use of the camera on November seemed very enthusiastic and very sincere. The principal advantages she noted were (a) the camera's ease of use, (b) the extremely high number of set-ups it enabled them to make on each day's shooting, and (c) the camera's extreme portability enabled them to easily perform test shooting in the actual planned locations.

She also emphasized that settings she that she used (as noted earlier) were selected purely on the basis of experimentation for this project and she encouraged viewers to perform their own experimentation.

Ken Tanaka · January 25th, 2004, 02:11 AM

News just in from the Sundance Festival:

Quote:

Nancy Schreiber won the dramatic cinematography award for "November," a cryptic thriller starring Courteney Cox as a woman experiencing strange visions after a tragedy.

The full AP (via Yahoo) story can be found here.

A solid win for the DVX100!

Don Donatello · January 25th, 2004, 11:21 PM

"I'd be more curious to hear the cinematographers comments on why she chose this camera for the project instead of something w/more res. Renting even a 2/3" camera "

this was a InDigEnt project. all have 150k budget. 90% of their other projects have been shot with hand size camera's ( vx1000, Xl1, Pd150 all PAL) .. their project Pieces of April is currently in release ... i don't think the DP has a choice of using shoulder size camera as many of the DP's could easily call up their rental house they work with and ask for a favor ( free shoulder size camera).
so the choice is which hand size camera's ..
i remember being at one of the shows when panasonic was showing the pre production dvx100. Gary W (InDigEnt, director Tadpole) was there trying it out - he was allowed to shoot tape with it - i wasn't ... rumor was IndigEnt bought more then several of em for their productions.

January 21st, 2004, 01:08 AM	#1
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	"November" Just a bit of trivia here. The film "November", now showing at Sundance and due to be released this year, was shot with a DVX100. The Sundance summary of the film is here. I just finished reviewing an instructional DVD (on the DVX100) that's partly presented by Nancy Schreiber, the film's cinematographer. Sorry if this is old news to anyone but I did not see another reference to this. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

January 21st, 2004, 11:14 AM	#2
J. Clayton Stansberry Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 316	Ken, Is there any other reference other than the DVD you are talking about? I would love to read a little more about her setup, thoughts, etc. What is this DVD? Thanks... Clay __________________ I understand everything about nothing.

January 21st, 2004, 03:52 PM	#3
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Clay, At this writing the Sundance link represents represents as much info on the film as I could find. The DVD I mentioned does not feature details on the film, per se. Ms. Schreiber refers to her work on the film with the DVX100 during her portion of the presentation. She is very enthusiastic about the camera and credits it as being a key factor in their ability to produce the film for only $150,000. I certainly do not mean to be mysterious obout this DVD. But since it may not have been actually released by the producer yet I'm reluctant to discuss it right now. My review of it will be available here (on the main part of the DVInfo.net site) hopefully very soon. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

January 23rd, 2004, 09:57 PM	#8
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Well, since the cat's out of the bag, my upcoming review here goes into a bit more detail to come to the same conclusion. As police might say at an accident scene, "Move along, nothing to see here." __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

January 24th, 2004, 07:22 PM	#11
Michael Struthers Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: SF, Ca Posts: 421	Well Was it a good movie??? THAT'S the question...is it black and white? That covers up a lot of digital sins.... ....courtney's fee probably took up more that the film budget (bet it was "off" the books..

January 21st, 2004, 09:05 PM	#4
Stas Tagios Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Los Angeles, Ca Posts: 38	The DVD is available for sale here: http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/acsstore.cgi Retails for $49.95.

January 21st, 2004, 09:18 PM	#5
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	I am really looking forward to NOVEMBER for sake of our lil DVX.

January 23rd, 2004, 08:00 PM	#6
Matthew de Jongh Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: sounthern maine Posts: 344	i have the dvd, save the money, it had VERY LITTLE useful info re: settings. basically, she used f6 with detail set to -7 and black ped to -7 and i think that was pretty much it. there was a guy who did a very minimal runthrough of the options in the camera, but did little or no explanation/suggestions. i was pretty disappointed in the dvd and felt silly for having bought it. matthew

January 23rd, 2004, 08:12 PM	#7
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	That seems to be the general concensus.

January 23rd, 2004, 10:58 PM	#9
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	:)

January 24th, 2004, 04:38 PM	#10
Vlad Manning New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: US Posts: 19	I'd be more curious to hear the cinematographers comments on why she chose this camera for the project instead of something w/more res. Renting even a 2/3" camera for their month's shoot wouldn't have changed their $150K budget by more than a percent or 2. And more importantly, how did she rate its performance after having shot the feature? Hopefully her opinions weren't shaded by perks from the manufacturer, either.

January 24th, 2004, 11:43 PM	#12
Stephen van Vuuren Space Hipster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,508	Vlad: A big thig about the DVX is it's size for a true 24p cams. All other 24p cams are considerably larger and heavier. Actor love the smaller DV cameras, and though it's oft neglected here, getting great performances is pretty damn important in making a movie. Finally, all the accessories that are required for DV filmmaking as well as tape stock are less money. Plus, if you shoot higher bitrate formats, your post costs rise considerably. A format decision is not just based on strictly the camera rental price alone, but the the whole impact on the pre-production, production and post processes. __________________ stephen v2 www.insaturnsrings.com

January 24th, 2004, 11:56 PM	#13
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Ms. Schreiber's remarks concerning her use of the camera on November seemed very enthusiastic and very sincere. The principal advantages she noted were (a) the camera's ease of use, (b) the extremely high number of set-ups it enabled them to make on each day's shooting, and (c) the camera's extreme portability enabled them to easily perform test shooting in the actual planned locations. She also emphasized that settings she that she used (as noted earlier) were selected purely on the basis of experimentation for this project and she encouraged viewers to perform their own experimentation. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

January 25th, 2004, 11:21 PM	#15
Don Donatello Hawaiian Shirt Mogul Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northern cailfornia Posts: 1,261	"I'd be more curious to hear the cinematographers comments on why she chose this camera for the project instead of something w/more res. Renting even a 2/3" camera " this was a InDigEnt project. all have 150k budget. 90% of their other projects have been shot with hand size camera's ( vx1000, Xl1, Pd150 all PAL) .. their project Pieces of April is currently in release ... i don't think the DP has a choice of using shoulder size camera as many of the DP's could easily call up their rental house they work with and ask for a favor ( free shoulder size camera). so the choice is which hand size camera's .. i remember being at one of the shows when panasonic was showing the pre production dvx100. Gary W (InDigEnt, director Tadpole) was there trying it out - he was allowed to shoot tape with it - i wasn't ... rumor was IndigEnt bought more then several of em for their productions.