New Feature shot on the DVX100

[Nathan Brendan Masters]

Hey guys, check out www.the4thbeast.com to see the site for my new film. I have three trailers up so tell me what you think. This was all shot on the DVX100. I think the third trailer is the best but check out all three if you have time.

-Nate

[Jim Quinlan]

I suggest you work more with your white balance and lighting. Especially the first shot with the intense backlight situation. Try lighting the subject to compensate. I saw a few other areas where lighting could be improved. Looks like an interesting plot.

The blueish tint makes me guess you're not white balancing correctly unless it's intentional on your part to get that look.

[Josh Brusin]

Any trouble shooting in Chicago?

[Nathan Brendan Masters]

<<<-- Originally posted by Jim Quinlan : I suggest you work more with your white balance and lighting. Especially the first shot with the intense backlight situation. Try lighting the subject to compensate. I saw a few other areas where lighting could be improved. Looks like an interesting plot.

The blueish tint makes me guess you're not white balancing correctly unless it's intentional on your part to get that look. -->>>

Those back lit shot were a hassle because didn't have a lighting kit. But we managed to do a lot in post. The blue tint was our doing, it was supposed to have a grimy street feel not overly polished but I do wish those back lit shot had come out a little better.

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Brusin : Any trouble shooting in Chicago? -->>>

Nope. Chicago is big on film permits but they make it very hard for anyone not working with Hollywood or who doesn't have a million bucks to get permits legally. Private property laws and the 1st amendment are the only real protection you have. The big secret is cops really don't care unless someone complains and the city has no use for you unless they know about you and think you'll make millions from your film. They could care less about a guy making a couple of grand from his "home video". They'll get you in sales taxes when you buy stuff so they aren't hurting.

Chicago is a big film school city not to mention the skater "kidz" with rich parents who bought them their VX/GL/XL/DVX ect. So if cops got on every kid with a film camera or camcorder it would be a lot of kids with rich parents causing problems for the police. Not to mention schools like Columbia College (who found Columbia College LA) who have a lot of money and influence and who'd getvery mad if cops kept hassling their students.

Grant park is known for student shoots. If you're using guns do everything in post as not to make noise or draw police attention and keep the camera clearly seen. Only expose guns when needed. We did a shoot out for about four hours without problem. And no one called the cops or anything because they saw the camera and just watched the shoot.

The only time cops get involved is when someone calls them just to be a pain or if somebody hasn't made their arrest quota for the day and you become a target. Then you can get shut down. If the cops feel like being jerks they can take your equipment. If their in a "just doing our job" mood they'll just tell you to pack up and move you a long. Cop's know when people are being jerks too so if the cops come around and you don't get freaked out they're less likely to cause a big fuss. If you act like you're doing wrong they'll treat you like you're doing wrong. But for the most part there's no problem. Although cops may confiscate prop guns. They're actually illegal in the city without the red barrel. The thing about the DVX and GL is that they're small and unassuming but semi professional looking and can do so much.

-Nate

[Matt Gettemeier]

I was in Chicago at the end of last summer and I shot everywhere with a DVX. I had several cops approach me and ask what kind of movie I was making... I found Chicago to be incredibly friendly and a great place to shoot... When I say I took my camera everywhere, I mean everywhere. People interacted with me or avoided being in the shot always at the right times. I really like that city 'cause the people just seem to be smarter and with a generally better attitude (then Saint Louis)...

Locally I'm lucky if somebody doesn't step right in front of my tripod in a remote location...

In Chicago the FOV of my camera was like Moses... maybe I just got lucky that weekend, but if it wasn't so pricey to live there, I would.

Hey I just watched the trailers AFTER typing the above OT comments. I'd thought Jim may have been hard on you with the lighting comments... Hopefully you'll take minor criticisms well and you'll find that it helps you.

There's a saying for just about every aspect of video so maybe I'm stealing this from somebody but remember this anyway; "Having ANY light is better then having NO light"... and by "any" I mean you can use a bounce-card, reflector, car windshield thingy, a flashlight, a spotlight... ANYTHING... also you can get pretty creative when you need to. I got these $26 spotlights from Costco and I use 'em to bounce light and to run mini-softboxes for location stuff... There are a million CHEAP ways to dramatically improve shots.

I used to bash certain mics for their unflattering rendition of voices, but real audio professionals use those mics because they meet their first criteria, intelligible sound. I've been told more then once that the first priority in location sound is intelligibility... I finally got the lesson.

I think there's a similar moral in lighting... certainly there are times when a silhouette or shadowy figure serves a purpose, but when you make those choices you need to be sure that the choice is clear to the viewer... This is going to sound stupid, but try to forgive my lack of proper phrasing... Creative choices that are neither one thing or the other will be misinterpreted by your audience (as either mistakes or lowered production values).

Of course there's one unwavering fact of filmmaking... A good story is the trump card that beats everything else.

[Nathan Brendan Masters]

That's true. A good story is always the key. Although we try to keep the look as pro as possible. Frankly I've seen somethings on the market that make me question can anything not make it into a video store. I like to think everything has some redeeming artistic value (although I found that's not always the case) and I think there's decent market for this film. My next film will probably more of a hardcore actioner more HK styled and we'll probably have more money for stuff.

-Nate