Greeting from Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

[Mike Sun]

I've been shooting videos for 3 years at the recreational level, mainly for maxbimmer.com and for personal social events. My videos are far from professional though. My current (and first) camcorder is the Sony DCR TRV-17.

It's a great camcorder to use at the beginner level, but now I would like start filming more at the professional level.

I am eventually going to purchase a new camcorder, but I'm on a tight budget. I noticed that while fliping through a digital video magazine (forgot the title), the mail-in-order companies seem to offer their product pricing much lower than a retail store or even an online retailer like B&H Photo. What's up with that and should I go via the mail-in-order route?

I'd appreciate it if I can get some input on this,

Thanks, and this forum is awesome!

[Andrew Petrie]

In short: Run away. Far away. Shred your magazine to prevent any urges for a 'great deal' you may have.

They will take you for a ride, insist on buying 'accessories' that are actually part of the retail package you'd get from reputable companies like B&H, Zotz, EVS, ZGC, at inflated prices. Then, give you a run around unless you agree to buy said accessories.

You may also get a 'world wide' warranty which Canon does not recognize in North America, so forget any warranty support.

Need I go on?

[Dylan Couper]

Welcome to the forum!

Andrew covered most of it, but forgot to add:
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

There, now we covered it. :)

[Bob McRee]

if you can find used gl1 canon ---cain"t go wrong for small investment!

[Diogo Galhanone Jr]

Hi Mike!
My name is Diogo and I lived in Toronto for the past three years and half (I'm back in Brazil, now)...
Well, I got amazed that a lot of people doing video in Toronto weren't familiar with the name Trinity Square Video. TSV is an artist-run centre, and they are the folks you want to talk to. Plus, you will meet a lot of great video artists and make wonderful connections. I miss everyone of them, Jason, Roy, Ian (even though I wasn't the most frequent among the members) etc.
Their location: 401 Richmond St W #376 (Richmond at Spadina, you can't miss it)
Phone number: 416.593.1332
I'm quite sure they'll help you with whatever question you have... where to find good products in Toronto, who to buy from (or to rent from, you know you don't need to own a production house to start shooting, eh?)...
There you go,
Diogo.

[Kevin C. W. Wong]

Hey everyone,

I am a DOP in Toronto.

To do away with all the pretention, I am actually not way too experienced, I've been shooting seriously only for about 3 years and have shot a couple of music videos, a couple of TV commercials, lots of shorts, and one feature film on HD.

I graduated from RyeHigh Film school a couple of years ago and have enjoyed being a part of this small, but very competitive community.

My goal is to shoot narrative work, so for all you producers and directors out there, go ahead a take a look at my work and we shall talk about some cool colaborations.

Kevin,

www.4lanes.com

[Brad Mills]

Hey guys. I'm new as well, and currently living in Toronto.

I'm planning on shooting a feature I wrote in Cape Breton, NS during the summer. I have some investor interest, he wants to see the paper work before he gives me any money, so that's what phase of production I'm in now...trying to make my first ever budget for $40,000.00

I need a DOP, too bad you guys weren't in Nova Scotia...

[Kevin C. W. Wong]

Hey Brad,

Congrats on your leads towards your first feature.

Can you tell me more about the project?
I've made it a point this year to get more into narrative work so I don't mind travelling (on me) to working on interesting projects.

I'll send you a reel if you'd like and we can talk more.

Kevin,

[Brad Mills]

Kevin, thanks for the interest.

It's a sendup to cheesy 80's horror movies. My inspirations are 'The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra' and 'Psycho Cop'

Lost Skeleton being an influence because it's a sendup to bad 50's alien movies...just made a year or two ago, great movie.

Psycho Cop being an influence because it's the worst 80s horror movie in the world.

So it's a comedy, but it will be filmed completely serious, it has to be done deadpan...nothing like Scary Movie or Club Dread.

I'll be shooting in July/August on an 18 day schedule. It's pretty basic for actors & locations. I have a really good makeup effects guy in CB who studied here in Toronto for all the blood and gore. I've got a Locations Manager, Assistant Director, and a few other people back home interested in being part of it.

So basically all I need is a real DP, I've got a guy interested who's done some work for basic cable, but I want this to look like a movie, not a low budget tv show.

Anyway, if you're interested in travelling, I'd take care of the travel expenses. Do you have your reel online? Also, do you know anyone in Cape Breton that you could stay with? Let me know! Thanks again,


BRad

[Kevin C. W. Wong]

Hey Brad,

Sounds cool. If you would like to take a look at my reel you can go to www.4lanes.com and go into the reel section and look under DOPs.

You could email me directly at kevin@4lanes.com if you can any comments/questions.

Hope to hear from you.

Thanks.

Kevin,

[Tom Faber]

Hey all. I live in Chatham, Ontario which is about 3 hours west of Toronto close to Detroit MI. I am an electronics tech by trade and took up videography about 4 years ago so I coud pursue my true love.....acting and of course film making. I shot my first short a year ago and have just finished a rough edit. It is 20 minutes long and I have to say I am very happy with it. In fact we are entering it into festivals and hoping to use it as a calling card to acquire grants and funds to do a feature length. To eat I shoot weddings, corporates and whatever else that comes along.

Brad, I wish you great luck as a fellow coaster. I grew up in the Dartmouth area and have done a lot of hunting in Cape Breton. In fact my family has a camp in Margaree.

[Brad Mills]

Hey Tom, nice to hear from you. I have relatives in the Valley too =P Yeah hopefull I'll be able to get some things going in CB, there's a few of us doing some stuff now to get it started. We're forming a Cape Breton Production Guide, a list of people who want to work, and what they can do.

[Andresia Garnier]

Hi there, I just signed up after checking out the site and some posts. So since I'm new I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm definitely interested in video but lacking experience and most probably equipment.

I'm a 3rd year student at George Brown College and enrolled in the Graphic Design program.

I recently made a music video for a school project (video & audio class), the video is 4 minutes and 38 seconds in length . This was my first real video project.

As for equipment I have a Panasonic DV Camcorder PV-GS70 (which probably isn't as good as what most of you use). I use a basic tripod (didn't know they have names) and that's pretty much it.

My skills and knowledge lie more in design/creativity and software. I have and know (only listing video relevant programs), Premiere Pro 1.5, After Effects 6.5, Final Cut Pro (don't have this actually), Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS, Flash MX 2004, and 3DS Max 7. I'm going to learn Adobe Encore DVD 1.5 so I can make dvd menus, mainly because I want to make a proper dvd for my music video(s).

I'm presently working on another music video- it's not for anything particular, just for fun basically. I'm still in the storyboard stage and trying to work out any shooting problems.

I can't do very much with my videos as I used Natalie Merchant's song "My Skin" for the first one and Dido's "My Lover's Gone" for the second one. I think I can post them on my website but not certain if I would need their permission. Well, once I make my website I can post them.

Hmm this is turning out to be a long introduction.
The main reason I joined the forums is because I was looking for a forum where people discuss making videos and any problems. My problems lie in lack of actors (people don't want to be on camera or don't have the time), equipment (for achieving certain shots), background (location is everything), and wardrobe (I make do, but I wish I had more options). I was planning on posting to ask for advice when I have a specific problem.

I like japanese music videos (well from the ones I've seen) and those are my main inspiration. However I know I probably won't be able to make music videos or even assist in them, it's something that can at least be a hobby for now. As for a career, I'll be a graphic designer.

[Michael Dalton]

welcome to the industry, there are few pro's here from T.O.

Seems like you understand what it takes to make it in this industry. I started by making my own documentaries with my own money. I learned a lot, made some mistake, and learned a bunch. I now make films for Disocvery/Animal Planet.

Good luck, you can find a ot here on these boards.

michael

[Andrew Todd]

Hello... Andrew from Saint John,.. or Halifax,... or montreal depending on the day... (Saint John right now)

Maybe these inspire some solutions to your problems:

My problems lie in:
1. lack of actors - My experience is that when shooting in a big city you shouldnt have this problem.. i suspect you arent paying them.. so try putting an add in the classifieds next time for auditions for the video and remember to put that your not paying.. Lots of actors would probably like to do it just for experience and credit. Shooting in a small city like saint john using this method brings actors to auditions. Toronto shouldnt be a problem.

2. equipment - join a film co-op.. i;'ve seen them in every city i've lived in :saint john, halifax montreal, victoria. For the membership fee most coops give you free use or really cheap rental prices. Also a good place to find yourself crew members for free that know what they're doing.

3. background - you live in toronto . open your eyes :) Its a big place.

4. wardrobe - use the crap out value village. find the sizes of your actors or take them with you. You can find any style of clothing plus some uniforms that could hlp too.

Hope some of this helps
I've been lurking for a LONG time on here so i thought this would be a good start