Looks pretty nice to me!

Yeah, who writes these things for canon? Pretty silly. But the image quality is stunning. I’ve been on the fence about picking up a m4/3 camera or maybe the new Samsung large chip compact, but I may just get one of these instead. A bit larger, sure, but for $800 it would make a killer knockaround camera for stills and video to hold me over until Canon actually makes a large sensor compact with the same feautures.

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Where the heck-a-doodles has Nice Photo Mag been? You can stop emailing me for an explanation. And I’m sorry for the hiatus.

I haven’t been on vacation (though that would  have been nice). And no, I haven’t been unlawfully Detained. My house arrest is self imposed and deserved! The crime? Needing to prepare for a LOT of exciting projects and articles coming to Nice Photo Mag in the big ol’ 2010.

More  inspiration. More education. More gear reviews. More mystery things, too.

I’ve got a few more weeks of prep to do. So hang tight. I’ll be back around the end of the month with videos, interviews, and posts featuring the best of PMA and more. If you’re going to be at PMA make sure you say hi when you see me!

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For those curious about the lighting, I used a large fill from just behind camera (flash into umbrella) with a snooted flash on my boy and another snooted flash on the photo over the fireplace. The secret to making this one work for me is the on axis fill so we don’t loose him in the shadows.

Here’s to another great year!

–Zeke

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It’s no secret that I’ve been bubbling over with excitement about the potential of making independent films with HD DSLRs, Canon’s 5D mark II in particular. I pre-ordered mine the moment it was announced. But it takes more than just a camera that can shoot HD video to make a movie. And more than that to make a good movie.

Today I share with you the finished film, how it came together, and the lessons I learned (and re-learned) along the way.

This is not my first short film, or film of any length for that matter. I went to film school and have spent my entire adult life as a writer, director, and producer in the film industry here in La La Land. Not everyone in the world likes everything I’ve ever produced, but enough people like it enough that I’ve worked at ever major studio in town and a lot of the minor ones, too. A week doesn’t go by without something I either wrote, directed, and or produced airing on television somewhere in the world. In other words I’ve made a lot of stuff. Of course, making glossy big budget TV shows with staff and crew and blah, blah, blah – that’s quite a bit different from making a zero budget short in eleven hours with a total of six people. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’m going to condense everything so the curious can get the gist and then run off to get shooting there own shorts. Those interested in the details can read on. But first, the short film (you can watch it larger here):

Condensed:

Pre Production:

• Wanted to test out all this fun new gear.

• Set up parameters: Must be able to shoot it all in a weekend for zero money.

• Got producer and he got actors on board.

• Wrote a script in a couple hours that would take advantage of the parameters and use the three actors who were on board.

• Discussed wardrobe with actors over the phone. Producer had them email us photos of options.

• Rehearsals: one on a conference call, one at my house (where we confirmed the wardrobe choices).

• Producer secured a small crew (3 ½ people).

• Pre-vis – I storyboarded the film (just rough sketches) in ToonBoom’s Storyboard software

Production:

• On location we threw out all but the opening dolly shots due to lack of time.

• Shot 5DmII with Canon lenses 35 1.4 L, 50 1.4, 80 1.2 L (beautiful but tricky), 70-200 2.8 IS L, Fader-ND (ESSENTIAL!), Indi-Focus follow focus (very good) and camera rig (not very good), Hoodman Loupe (useless), Libec tripod (almost useless), DIY glidetrack (used once – then ran out of time), 16×9 inc. Grab and Shoot Bag (rad).

• Recorded audio separately w/ boom on pole into Zoom H4n and ambient with built in stereo mics covered with a Readhead Windscreen.

• Crew was rad!

• Actors rad!

• Location rad!

• Bears rad!

• Forgot to turn off auto white balance – BAD!

Post Production:

• The nightmare begins.

• Tried to do first rough cut edit on 3 year old computer using proxies (sorenson codec) in Vegas Pro 9. No problem.

• Exported low res version to give to post audio guy. No problem.

• Spent 5 minutes on a pick up shot in park near my house. No problem.

• Mix and master audio with post audio guy. No problem.

• Re-recorded some of the dialog that wasn’t clean enough. Eh.

• Finished final cut with mastered audio. Cool.

• Got a cut of the film to the musicians along with direction on the type of music we needed.

• Musicians delivered AMAZING tracks. Cut them in.

• Tried to replace the proxies with the originals to export. Choke!

• Tried a thousand variations. Nothing worked. Eventually saved it as a Avid Legacy AAF file in Vegas (only works in 32 bit version, not 64 bit Vegas). Changed the name of the folder where the proxies are and renamed the folder of the originals to what the proxies folder was and opened the aaf file in After Effects. Success.

• Color correction, color timing, image tweaking, etc. in After Effects. Export final movie. Choke!

• ARGE!!!!!!!!

• I tried another thousand variations, but finally broke down and bought a new computer. Exported final film from After Effects. Success.

Detailed version below what went wrong.

What Went Wrong:

• The Hoodman Loupe was useless for pulling focus. Since filming MM I bought a 7” HDMI battery powered monitor. It will join me for the next film.

• I forgot to lock the white balance on the camera (left it on auto). Total rookie mistake. I suck. No excuse. Next time I will lock it down.

• I forgot to bring my walkie talkies. Dumb! You never know when you might need them. We needed them and everything slowed down because I left them in my garage.

• Noisy walking! If you aren’t showing your character’s feet in the shot, and they are walking on something like leaves and branches, throw down moving blankets so you have usable dialog from the boom mic. I didn’t and we had to pick up a lot of dialog in the booth. It never sounds quite the same as getting it in the field.

• Turns out the 5DmII looks like poop when shooting wide with deep depth of field (a lot of it in focus). Really screams 1980’s video to me. I’ll be avoiding that type of shot as much as possible when using the mark II.

• We were shooting daytime. The sun was out. We didn’t bring anything to cover the gear and the shade was moving as the day went on. Next time I’ll bring something like a light color blanket or pop out shades to cover the gear if there aren’t any good shaded areas. Gear is usually black. Black in the sun = hot, very hot. Very hot electronics, not fun.

• There are bugs in the woods. Go figure. One of my favorite wide shots had a bug flying around right in front of the lens and I didn’t notice until I was in the editing room. I did some fancy After Effects work to take it out of the shots that weren’t panned, but it’s still there in the panning shot. Annoying! Looks like crap. Next time I think I’ll put some bug repellent near the lens.

• I borrowed a friend’s tripod because it weighed half as much as mine and we were going to be hiking several miles on foot with all the gear. The tripod sucked. From now on I’m bringing the beast or I’m going to spring for some lighter weight but equal quality carbon fiber sticks. The tripod is one of the most important pieces of gear you will use. Use the best one you can.

• Bring a flashlight. I have an unhealthy obsession with LED flashlights. I have a very large selection. So why didn’t I bring a flashlight on the shoot? Well, we were only using natural light so I figured we’d be home by dark. And I wanted to travel as light weight as possible because of the long hike. Well, we finished shooting as the sun went down. By the time time we finished packing up we had to hike back through the bear infested woods in pitch black. You never know when you’ll need a flashlight. Bring it.

• Inventory. Take the time to organize your gear before you head out and put it on a list. I did. What I didn’t do was break the list down by bag/box. I just had a long master list. If you number your bags / containers and then have the inventory list broken down the same way, when you are pressed for time and you’re trying to find something, you just ask one of your crew for the item. They find it on the list and know exactly which bag it’s in.

Detailed version:

Pre Production:

I wanted to test out all this fun new gear but rather than just do test shots, I thought I would get more out of it if I did an actual production. More fun. More creative. Get to actually tell a story. And it’s a better way to see what you can do with the gear and learn what not to do next time.

I set up parameters: Must be able to shoot it all in a weekend for zero money. I called Mark D. Cade, a good friend and great actor that I’ve worked with before. I asked him if he’d like to produce it. I didn’t have an script, or even an idea, just said it will be fun. He was in. He called around and got the actors on board. Still there was no script.

Once all the elements were in play, I wrote a script in a couple hours that would take advantage of those specific actors, the props we had access to, and an interesting location (Lake Arrowhead) where Mark had a house that we could stay for free. I emailed everyone the script.

Then we had a phone meeting where we talked about the kind of characters I wanted the actors to play and what sort of wardrobe they might wear. Mark had them email us photos of options so we could pick.

For the rehearsals we did a conference call and ran lines. No notes at this point. Just going over what was on the page. We did another rehearsal at my house here in LA (where we confirmed the wardrobe choices). This was the first time I met the two actresses in person. We spent a couple hours going over the lines and giving them direction. Putting the time in here can save a lot of time on location when time is more valuable. Time!

Thanks to Mark we managed to figure out a weekend when we could all get out of town and head up to Lake Arrowhead for the shoot. Mark secured a small crew and we were off. Although the actors had all worked many times, our crew were friends – one of mine and 2 of Mark’s. None had any crew experience, but they all busted their butts and really made it all possible.

While all this was going on I storyboarded the film. Nothing fancy. Just rough sketches in ToonBoom’s Storyboard software . Storyboards take a lot of time, even really simple ones like what I drew. But being able to pre-visualize the film is incredibly valuable to me. It saves time out on location, but more importantly let’s me expand my visual opportunities and revise them without having to reshoot. They also help keep me organized. It’s easy to get mixed up on location and accidentally leave out a shot if you don’t have a shot list or storyboards helping keep track.

Production:

On location we threw out all the dolly shots due to lack of time. The plan was to use dolly shots as a device to indicate time passing between each of the scenes. It only took one shot to realize this would eat up time we didn’t have.

I shot with the Canon 5DmII. I used these Canon lenses: 35 1.4 L. Great lens, but watch out for wide shots with anything f8 or higher. The aliasing you get from the way the 5D captures video will likely make the shots look like poop. 50 1.4 best bang for the buck IMO. If I had to shoot a whole indie film with this lens, I would. 80 1.2 L One of my all time favorite lenses. The images you can pull from this lens are like kisses from an angle – with tongue! The problem is the way you adjust focus is wonky. You turn the focus ring and it tells the camera to move the focus element instead of the ring itself moving the focus element. It is really a pain in the behind for film making. 70-200 2.8 IS L Great lens, didn’t end up using it.

The Fader-ND is a variable neutral density filter. I don’t plan on ever leaving home without this puppy in my bag. It lets you adjust the brightness of the light coming into the camera so you can open up your f-stop for those short depth of field shots without sacrificing your shutter speed. Absolutely indispensable. Get one and use it.

I used the Indi-FocusPro follow focus. It’s a great unit, especially for the price. However, I didn’t have a field monitor so I couldn’t really pull focus. In other words I didn’t use it much on this film. The Indi-Focus Matte Box was essential for the kind of shooting I was doing with the sun at my actor’s backs. I was able to use the top and side flags to block flair from the lens in almost every situation. That said, it’s going to need some tweaking before I use it on my next project. And I don’t know if it’s the best mattebox for the 5D crowd. I also had the Indi-Focus rail rig. It is still pretty rough around the edges. I don’t think the rig is ready for prime time. Pain in the butt to adjust. Heavy. Etc.

I had the Hoodman Loupe and was planing on using it for pulling focus, but it sucks. It didn’t want to stay put and even when it did I’d have to contort my body to get into position to use it. Even then, it didn’t help enough. Very frustrating. I am now strictly a field monitor shooter if I’m going to do scenes where I want to pull focus.

The Libec tripod I borrowed from a friend had a terrible fluid head that made it close to useless.

I brought my DIY glidetrack. It’s okay. I mean, it works with some practice, but I’m still looking for a better solution. It is nice and compact and fast to set up compared to a full dolly track. I need to experiment more with it.

I kept the camera and rig with mattebox in a 16×9 inc. Grab and Shoot Bag. The bag seems to have really good construction quality. It has a big mouth on it which makes it easy to shove the whole rig with the camera and mattebox still on it into the bag between shots without breaking it down.

We recorded audio separately using a boom mic on a boom pole into a Zoom H4n. There’s an art to getting good audio this way, but in my opinion it’s the only way to do it unless you have access to very high quality wireless lavs and enough independent channels to record them into. Even then, boom might be better. We also recorded ambient (and backup live audio) with the built in stereo mics on the Zoom covered with a Readhead Windscreen. If you are using the Zoom’s built in mics outside, please do yourself (and your listener’s ears) a favor and get a Readhead for it.

Crew was rad!

Actors rad!

Location rad!

Bears rad!

I forgot to turn off auto white balance on the camera. Yeah, yeah, I know. Total rookie mistake. What that means is not only did the camera change white balance from shot to shot, but sometimes even within the same shot. I had to fix the horrible result in post as best as I could, but it took many hours and still isn’t great. Do yourself a huge favor and turn off auto white balance before you shoot video!

Post Production:

This part was such a nightmare I really don’t want to relive it in any more detail. But feel free to ask me questions if you want to torture me. So see the post production section above if you skipped the condensed section.

I would, however like to add a little detail about music.

Music:

It wasn’t until we got the original music on Middle Man that I felt like what I wanted the audience to experience emotionally was coming through. The musicians did an amazing job and elevated the film to a place it would never have gotten to any other way. Unruly Helga along with co-producer Sean C. delivered greatness by the bucketful. And I owe them a special thanks.

Music has the power to completely change what your audience is feeling when they watch your film. The same shot can have completely different meanings with two different songs. Put the time needed into getting the right music. If you don’t have the money to hire musicians, reach out to your local musicians and see if they would be willing to do it for the experience. If you can’t find anyone willing, you aren’t trying hard enough. Please don’t take existing music, particularly if you don’t have the rights. It’s totally lame, and you’re cheating yourself. Film making is a collaborative art. If you aren’t going to collaborate with the composer, expressing what you are looking for, you’ll short change yourself and your audience.

Results & Next Time

Now it’s done. Well, not done really. There are plenty of things I’d like to change, fix, massage. But I’ve gotten to the point of diminishing returns. If any one of the things still wrong with the film was the only thing wrong, I’d fix it, but with so many little (and a few big things), I’m just going to walk away and let it exist on it’s own just the way it is. I hope people like it. I hope they “get it”. But if not, I just have to let it go.

The next short is going to have a much higher budget (though still very low), and most importantly have a much longer shooting schedule to make sure we get every shot I want to get. I’ve got a new camera rig I’ll be using and I’m going to edit in Premiere using the GPU Decoder from Divide Frame. It lets you do real time cut edits with the original 5D mII files. No transcoding! I’ve been testing it out and it’s working great so far.

The next short is called “Donut” and it’s already written. We’re just holding off shooting until the 5D firmware update comes out – hopefully in January. So keep your eyes peeled for “Donut.”

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Got one of them newfangled still cameras that just won’t sit still? I’m talking video. Yup. Maybe it’s giving you a rash of new ideas and you’re itching to make some movies. Here are a few accessories you may want to put on your “I want it list” this holiday season.

Fader-ND: For movies or stills having a neutral density filter in you bag can really come in handy. Way back I posted a “why to” article about using ND filters for still photography. All that still holds true, but now with a vari-nd / Fader-ND you’ll have variable control over the density or darkness of that neutral density filter. If you like using short depth of field shots in your video work (or just want to have more control over your exposure settings in general) you’ll find yourself using the Fader-ND for video far more than you ever used an ND filter for stills. I got one that would fit on my largest diameter lens and bought step rings so it would fit on my smaller lenses. ($60-$190)

Follow Focus: A follow focus changes the way you manually focus the lens from actually on the lens to sideways next to the lens. I won’t get into detail about how helpful these can be because that’s a whole other post. The prices for follow focus units are all over the map (as is the quality) so do your research before you decide which brand to put on your list. To get you started, Indi-Focus has a quality value priced follow focus. ($120 – $3,000)

Cans (closed ear headphones): Some people say we see 70% with our ears. Okay, no one says that. I just made it up. But I think it’s true. If you’re doing video, you’ll want to think about the audio. That means you’re going to need to monitor the audio as you are recording it in the field. That means using closed ear headphones – not earbuds. You want headphones that cover your entire ear. Trust me on this. They are also preferred over computer speakers by 9 out of 10 spouses for your 3 a.m. editing sessions. I think the best cans for your dollar right now are the Audio Technica ATH-M35 ($50). You can definitely get better cans (like the Sure SRH840), but you’d probably have to jump into the $150 – $400 range to get there. ($50 – $400)

Zoom H4n: A 4 track recorder with built in stereo mics, two phantom powered xlr inputs, and more than 100 other “cool bean” features powered by a pair of AA’s for hours that records to an SD card in MP3 or uncompressed WAVs for under $300? Yeah. Put it on the list! Recording sound separately from the camera will improve your end product better than switching to the most expensive lens. And the Zoom H4n is the recorder to do it with. ($300)

RedHead Windscreens: If you get the Zoom H4n you are going to want the ReadHead. This work of magic made on the Hawaiian Islands will render all but the harshest winds mere whispers to the ears/built in microphones on the Zoom. If you don’t know why you’d want one of these, then you DEFINITELY need one. Actually, you need one either way. Personally, I like to have two on me at all times: a black one for low profiles shoots where we maybe forgot to ask for permission to shoot in a particular area. And the original red one for when I want to see right away if the boom man drops into the shot (instead of noticing it in the editing room and having to have him “punished”). Solid construction. Amazing price. Professional results. ($35)

Articulated Arm: These are fun little buggers. They are good for about a million and one things like holding a field monitor, or a camera light, or a recorder, etc. But not just holding them. No. Holding them just right. Imagine having a leprechaun clamped to your camera who would hold anything you want and position it anywhere you want as far as his little arm could reach. Now subtract his prankster ways and that smell of bathtub gin and you’ve got an articulated arm. See my Articulated Arm Shootout in the next week or so for more info and my pick for the best of the best in the category. I’ll give you a hint. ($45 – $150)

Lensbaby Composer: Here’s another great accessory that you can use both for stills and video. Just because you’re fancy pantsy camera can make everything look perfectly perfect doesn’t mean everything you shoot should look that way. The Lensbaby Composer lets you selectively F-up your image. And it does it in such a creatively inspiring way that I rarely leave the house without it in my bag. Sure, you could copy some of the effects of the LensBaby in post through selective blurring and messing with various plug ins and doodads, but I don’t. Shooting with the LensBaby moves the inspiration into your work flow to the part just before you capture the image rather than after, making it an active inspirational tool, rather than a passive one. ($260)

Trade Secret Cards: Okay, okay, I’m biased because I edited these little gems, but the reviews coming in make me feel like a proud papa. These lighting diagram trading cards, though describing lighting techniques for still photography, work equally well for movies. Both the Chase Jarvis Portrait Sessions set and the Strobist Favorites set feature an impressive image on the front of the card and a lighting diagram and description of how it was done on the back. (around $20)

In my opinion the best thing a film maker / photographer could put on their wish list is Ideas and Hard Work. Of course that’s a gift only you can give yourself. Be generous and give it.

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The following is an article (reprinted with permission) from a incredibly inspiring and equally hilarious blog that has recently come to my attention and quickly shot to the top of my daily must read list.

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The Beatles Are Holding You Back:

John, Paul, George and Ringo have been repurposed more times than a temp at a mortgage firm.  New boxed sets crop up like the constantly regenerating severed arms of a cyborg.  There is a never-ending supply of re-mastered recordings for those who may not have previously been able to hear Apple Records’ director Neil Aspinall coughing in the background during an alternate take of “I Dig A Pony.”  A Cirque du Soleil tribute arose from the ever-growing demand for the Fab Four’s music as visualized by contortionists, and Beatles Rock Band emboldens fans of all ages with up-market karaoke that keeps score of just how much you are making everyone else in the room suffer.  And now they are remaking Yellow Submarine.

Before the angry comments start flowing in, know this: I am aware that this flood of continued interest in the Beatles has everything to do with them being rather remarkable.  There is no denying that their R&B-influenced, melodic and later deeply experimental sound continues to influence millions of musicians. They rank handily among the greatest songwriters of the 20^th century.  Key word there: 20^th century.  Friends, the Beatles are holding you back.

The more we give in to the idea that music has never been the same since the Lads from Liverpool, the more we stay out of the present, and our own potential to break through into self-actualization. (Not to mention that, if we remain seekers, we will discover there is a wealth of interesting music out there—and it’s available on more outlets than ever before.)   And as far as the present goes, if you are one of the eleven people who still cares what Paul McCartney is up to, apologies in advance for my insensitivity.  At least Ringo has had the courtesy not to burden us with the release of yet another moribund album every year.

By all means, keep listening to the Beatles.  Love them, respect them, and enjoy them.  But put the Beatles in a box labeled ‘been there, done that,’ before things get ugly.  When we constantly lament that nobody will ever be as good as them, we are including ourselves and our own untapped potential in that assessment.  It’s like we’re saying, “Why not let them be the great ones, while we sit back and know in our hearts that we have nothing that significant to contribute?”  Well, just because you cannot spontaneously generate “Rocky Raccoon” on Garage Band doesn’t mean that your creativity isn’t adding a vital spark of powerful energy to the world.

And the Beatles are not the only 800-pound gorilla in the room.  Mozart, Shakespeare, Picasso, Emily Dickinson…all these talented bastards can provide plenty of ammunition for those predisposed to thinking that all the wonder is behind us.  But progress only happens when we let go and pursue our own personal truth.  Whether you are a musician or a baker, beware of nostalgia.  It keeps us in the belief that everything was better at some other time but right now.  Sort of like continuing to believe that The A-Team is an example of masterful filmmaking just because it was a source of comfort during your years as a neglected latchkey kid in the 80’s.   Let’s be honest with ourselves: we are always facing challenges, no matter where we are in life or what music we were listening to at the time.  Let us not forget that despite how the soundtrack of our lives can, with time, put a rose-colored spin on our personal development, we’re always and forever working through a bunch of sucky bull crap.  We just have to let it be.

—

Reprinted with permission from the blog: Mr. Paul Maul

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Over the years I’ve come to the realization that wanting to be original is the most unoriginal desire. Ever. And in the broad sense it’s impossible. Communicating an idea, an emotion in away that connects with others, that’s what matters to me now.

I still search for interesting, novel ways to communicate these ideas, but no longer let an idea go just because it’s been communicated before.

How many times has this story been told? Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Girl leaves boy. Boy cuts off his own head… blah, blah, blah. Done a billion times. But tell it from your heart, really mean it, and it will move people.

This video is a great example that it’s not what you do, but the way that you do it. 30+ songs that all use the same 4 cords, but each (well, most) say something personal from the musicians. And that makes it interesting.

So work hard to communicate with passion in an interesting, compelling way, but don’t let a desire for originality, or anything else for that matter, stand in the way.

Nice!

Don’t you want your photography, your movies, your crochet toilet seat covers to be extraordinary? If you don’t, you might as well stop reading this, too.

I have a beef with people who create art with no desire of doing anything extraordinary. I’m not saying every piece of work has to be extraordinary, not the most extraordinary of extraordinaries can pull that off. I’m saying, if you don’t aspire, then you are just contributing to the sludge that bogs down the machine. Don’t be the sludge.

The flip side of desire is intention. You can want all you want, but don’t intend it, you’re chances of making something extraordinary are zero’s next-door neighbor. Accidentally extraordinary work isn’t really extraordinary. It happens every day. I know I just said the chances of that happening are next to zero. Well, when you’ve got a planet full of people not trying to do anything extraordinary it only takes a sliver of a percentage of that number to make accidental extraordinary things happen everyday. And there’s a beauty to that. I think it’s nature trying to give us a jump start. Do not shun nature! Take that spark and start your furnace. Huh? Yeah. What? Let’s continue.

So, how does one create something extraordinary? You can start by thinking about it. Yeah, you’re probably going to have to dust off that old brain of yours. Think about what you want to say. I’ve said it before and will say it again. Have something to say.

Having something specific to say immediately rockets your work out from the masses since most don’t. But don’t stop there. Have something to say and then say it with as much passion and intensity as you can muster. Instead of saying, “look how cute my cat is,” tell the world of your undying devotion to your feline Josephine.

Okay. Now you’ve decided what you want to say, and you’ve figured out how to say it in a way that is writhing with emotion and passion (it is a lot of work to get it to this level – a lot). Congratulations. Don’t stop there. Think about it some more. Did you know on average, when coming up with ideas, the vast majority of the population use one of the first three things that come to mind? You want to be extraordinary still, right? So keep thinking. Write down 20 or 50 or 100 ways to illustrate what you want to say. You still may pick one of the first few, but you’ll have a far more textured approach and significantly better chance of it being extraordinary. Besides, maybe it was idea 92 that was the extraordinary one. Wouldn’t it be sad if you stopped at 91?

Now it’s time for an execution. Any guesses why the phrase “execute an idea” came to be? Yeah, you’re going to have to kill it. That idea you worked so hard on, it can’t live outside your head, not in the same form. Accept it. Now, if you try really, really hard (most people don’t), and you capture what made the idea extraordinary to start with, you just may have a piece that is extraordinary, too.

Does your work emotionally do what you’re idea emotionally did? If you’re answer is yes you are either mistaken or extremely fortunate. If it doesn’t, or if you think it does and you’re mistaken, do it again. Yes, again. And again and again and again. It’s all part of the process.

Just about everyone has quit by now. You should quit, too. You know, unless you want to make something extraordinary. Oh, you still do? Read on because you still aren’t finished.

There is one last obstacle, and for some it’s is the most difficult. You have to take a chance. Be vulnerable. Rip off all of your project’s clothes and run it naked out onto a crowded street corner. Let people throw stones and kisses. It doesn’t matter which one. That’s right, some will hate it, and maybe some will even love it. Am I saying it doesn’t or shouldn’t effect you if people don’t like it?

Hell no!

If a million people tell you you’re a genius, yet one person, even a total stranger, thinks it’s crap, and you aren’t sent into a crippling depression, then you didn’t really put all of you into that work and it doesn’t deserve to be extraordinary. Congratulations, either way you are a failure. What?

Yes, the reward for flaying your body open and exposing your soul to the world, for trying to stir the emotions of your fellow Man, the reward, if you do it right, is suffering. If you do it right, you suffer at every stage, from concept to completion to exhibition.

So why bother? Most don’t. But if you manage to do something extraordinary, really and truly extraordinary even just once, I think you’ll find it’s worth it.

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Woo-wee have I been busy! At long last the new release from Trade Secret Cards is out featuring the master works of international superstar photographer Chase Jarvis.

Like the Strobist trading card set before it, the Chase Jarvis set features beautifully reproduced images on the front of the cards (in this case all the images are taken by Chase) with a clever setup diagram and description featuring words of wisdom from Chase on the back. Though lighting plays a big part in the cards, the Chase set also focuses on the thought process behind the images, probably the most important skill any photographer could have.

These cards are rad. How do I know? Is it because I’m a totally impartial audience member who happened to buy a set only to find himself overwhelmed with happiness, love, and success, flooded with creative opportunities thanks to the knowledge gleamed from this magnum opus?

Well, not exactly. I know it because as the editor on the project, I’m the lucky SOB that got to fly to Seattle, hang with Chase and crew, pick their brains, and return to help create this amazing set of cards.

Coming in at just over a sawbuck (under $22) and the size of a thick pack of baseball cards, these make the perfect stocking stuffer. Hmm. What a coincidence that they were released so close to the holidays! Shameless promotion aside, what could be sweeter than a peak inside the brain of master photographer Chase Jarvis?

Well, I can answer that. If we can sell out the 5,000 set print run Chase and Trade Secret Cards are going to donate $10,000 back to the photo community. So head over to Trade Secret Cards and buy ‘em already. You know, if you want to be one of the cool kids.

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A few weeks ago my buddy Syl from Pixsylated.com asked if I’d like to come up to the beautiful wine country of Paso Robles and help shoot a little behind the scenes documentary of a Joe McNally photo shoot. Um. Yeah.

I arrived just as Joe was finishing up the last hour of the last day of his workshop. I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier bunch of photographers at the end of workshop. I don’t know what kind of magic pixie dust Joe and his top assistant Drew were sprinkling around over that week, but it was great to see its effect.

The other thing that caught my eye? One of Joe’s gear bags had like 40 Nikon flashes in it. Yeah. That’s what he travels with, that and six or seven other gear bags – any of which were large enough for me to crawl into and stow away on their next adventure. But did I crawl in? Yes.

Joe, Drew, Syl, and I headed out on the town and had an incredibly delicious dinner at a swanky, upscale I-talian joint. We were by far the most under dressed people in the room. I’d say I don’t know how we got in, but Syl knows how to pull strings in this town. Over creamy concoctions and bottles and bottles of fine wine we talked about the photography business, film making, pushing the creative envelope, and staying current with our work. As good as the food was, the conversation far exceeded it.

I’m not going to say what happened after the last bottle of wine magically disappeared, but I will quote from the comment Joe put up on Twitter that night: “JoeMcNallyPhoto @zeke_kamm and @syl_arena –Friday night heading for tattoo parlor w/ $249 among us — we are all getting OCF tattoos”

The next morning we had breakfast at a diner surrounded by Shriners with miniature cars, folks with restored historic tractors, and biscuits the size of a basketball. Then it was off to the secret location, an abandoned laundromat, for Joe’s shoot and the behind the scenes doc.

I was impressed to see how just a short discussion between Joe and Drew resulted in a lighting setup that pretty much stayed the same the entire shoot. A few small adjustments at the beginning to lock down the power settings was it.

The best part, though, was watching the way Joe works with his models. This shoot was a mixed bag in that department: one professional model, and then a few pierced, tattooed tough guys with no modeling experience. That didn’t slow Joe down. He talked to everyone like you would talk to a good friend, constantly engaging them, encouraging them into the positions and expressions he was after.

I wish I could be more detailed, but words cannot do Joe’s style justice. If only someone had been recording the whole thing on video. Hang on! We were! I was crawling around with my 5DmII filling up cards faster than elf at Santa’s workshop. The footage is currently embargoed, but I will definitely let you know when it is up.

It was a long day. A hard working day in a filthy, run down, abandoned laundromat on the bad side of town. Yet, when we wrapped I looked around and everyone had that same expression that the folks from Joe’s workshop had on their faces. It was spotting that detail that lead to this revelation: Joe McNally is not only a master of photography, but also a master hypnotist. Fortunately he uses his powers for good.

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The photo above stars London, my son. He’s almost a year old. Last Halloween he was dressed as a pumpkin.

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Here’s a weird short film by world famous director Spike Jonze featuring Kanye West playing himself. The video feels very long in parts, but I have no doubt that is intentional. Hang in for the wonderfully disturbing end.

The first time I watched this there were big chunks of the film that annoyed me. The pacing and shooting style are very different from my tastes. But the film made me think and the more I thought about it, the more powerful it felt to me. After some reflection I found it to be incredibly inspiring, not in it’s messege, but in reminding me to think beyond the obvious, the pat, or even the understandable.

I’d love to have some interaction with my ever-clever readers about this short film in the comments below.  So go ahead and share your thoughts.

While you’re at it, I have an idea for a short and have access to a sloth and an amusement park bathroom, so if someone could get get me Lady Gaga’s cell number I seem to have misplaced it.

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In this day and age with ultra fast computers and programs that auto-sync your sound files from 100’s of sources (if you got ‘em) with just the click of a button, why bother with an old fashioned slate?

A slate is an erasable board about the size of a magazine (for those that don’t remember magazines, they were kind of like a laptop made out of a stack of paper, containing photographs and text). You write on the slate information that is pertinent too a shot in that movie you’re making featuring your neighbor Danny, his 83 cats, and that overly friendly lady in the short skirt. You know, the one that hangs out by the bus stop and smells like coleslaw and feet.

Hinged on one side, two blocks of wood sit above the slate. That’s so you can clack them together and make a nice clap sound. That’s why some folks like to call slates “clap boards.” What’s the point of all that noise? So you can take sound that you recorded separately, out of the camera, find the point where that loud clap happens and slide it over to the exact frame of video where the two blocks of wood touch for the first time, lining those suckers up.

As I mentioned, there is software that can automatically line them up for you. So why bother with the slate? Because slates do more than just help you line up the audio.

Well, you’re not writing poetry on them, you’re writing important information about the shot that you are going to want to have later when you or your editor are sitting in front of the computer faced with a mountain of video files, Balthazar, your lead actress’s “friend” telling you which take has the most “realisms.” At the very least you’ll want to write down the scene number, shot number, and number of the take. Make sure the slate is in front of the lens when you hit record and now you can use a program like Adobe Bridge or your editing software preview window to see what each file is without having to hit play. Unless you are shooting a completely unscripted doc like a wedding, concert, or kid’s party, without those numbers your life just took a sharp turn down the off ramp to Sucksville.

Now, you could just write that info onto a piece of paper and hold it up in front of the camera. That’ll work. Kind of slow to have to write down the headings for each number each time. And it’s not very pro looking, but it’s way better than nothing. However a good slate also has stripes.

That’s right. Stripes. Those boards on top that you clap together, a decent slate has color, black, gray, and white stripes on there that help you with exposure and match your white balance later when you are color grading. It’s right there on the stripes. Big time saver. You could just use a gray card for that, hold it next to your janky spiral bound notebook that you’re writing your scene numbers on. I won’t, but you could.

Yes, having a really decent quality slate can be temporarily replaced with items you have already, but nothing quite replaces that really good clap sound. So what if you don’t need it to sync sound anymore? Well, that sound has a magical effect on a set. It snaps your crew and cast to attention. Don’t underestimate this power. No joke.

Buy your last slate first. Slate’s seem expensive. Heck, they are expensive. Even crappy ones are around $40. And that’s $40 you are just going to throw away because you’ll be lucky if they last through a pair of productions. For less than double that you can get the best made slate I’ve ever used, the CineTools Engraved Film Slate (currently $75). It’s made in the USA and I think it might last forever. It’s made of a dry erase marker friendly plexi that is engraved with the headings that don’t change from shot to shot and super solid clappers with a magnet in the ends to make sure you get a solid clap! I likey. Throw down an extra 35 smackers and they’ll custom engrave what you want on the board. Why engraved instead of just printed on there like the cheepy ones? So it doesn’t wear off after a couple hundred takes.

As I was saying, slates seem expensive, but at $75 for one that will outlast your next five multi-thousand dollar cameras, and considering all the time they can save in the editing room, etc., I’d say it could be one of the best values in your bag.

Essential gear for HD DSLR film makers? I’d say so.

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UPDATE: The camera has now been officially announced.

(via Jesse Rosten)

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