I live in LA. Traffic is a non-stop presence. It is one of the reasons I’m moving away. To see it without traffic really triggers all the right neurons. Does it move you?

Nice!

People want to have taken an award winning photograph, have the most contacts on Twitter, be the first person to walk on the moon (fingers crossed). Goals are great. Hell, I think they are an essential element of growth and growth an essential element of happiness. But living for the goal is no life at all.

There is only one time in the process of creating art that the artist owns his work. I’m not talking about copyright or intellectual property laws. I’m talking about you, in your soul, owning your work. There is only one time in the process and it’s during the process of making it. While you are crafting the idea it is yours. You control it. You can make it fly or slit its throat. It’s up to you. But once you finish it, once you’ve handed it over to the world, the world owns it. Don’t believe me?

An example: a photograph you’ve taken wins first prize and is published in a magazine. You see the magazine and you realize you should have used a hair light because the model is getting lost in the background. Do you get to ask for all 100,000 copies of the magazine back so you can fix it? No.

Example #2: You’re just finished the best blog post you’ve ever crafted. You mind is a flutter with electrons. This post is sure to change the destiny of the world. You will be heralded as the one true and mighty man of inspiration. Only you hit the publish button in WordPress and within the hour you start getting hate mail. Thousands of people have misunderstood what you were trying to say. Bird’s rights organizations think you were advocating global Avicide. After months of self imposed exile you muster the courage to leave your hilltop mansion and journey into the valley to restock your walk-in ice cream sandwich freezer only to find your automobile vandalized, buried under a bubbling mound of angry guano. You follow?

No? Let’s move on.

Ownership isn’t the only reason to enjoy the process.

There is nothing wrong with looking at your finished image, film, novel, haircut and admiring your handy work, but life isn’t an accumulation of victories and failures. It’s not even an accumulation of ordinary experiences. Life is the now. It’s all we have. Enjoy it.

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.” The things we do to get where we want to be are just as valuable as getting there. Enjoy it.

Do you want to have taken great photos or do you want to take great photos? There is a substantial difference. Maybe it is more clear if we replace the way we do our art, in this case, photos, with the word vacation. Do you want to have gone on a vacation or do you want to be on vacation? When you are on vacation do you grit your teeth and push through it, knowing that thankfully it will soon be over and you will have gone on a great vacation? No. It wouldn’t be a great vacation if you did that. Why would the act of making art be any different? It’s not. Enjoy it.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think creating is always going to be fun. If you aren’t experiencing some pain in the process you may not be trying hard enough to expose your most sensitive parts. That said, life is about the journey not the destination. A journey towards a goal always lasts longer than the moment of achievement. Why not enjoy the journey?

An artist’s life is like that of a boxer’s. You beat yourself up learning the art, you beat yourself practicing, then, if you’re lucky, you get a chance to go in the ring where everyone can see what you’ve got to show them, and you get beat up again. Maybe you win. Maybe you lose. Either way you’re bloody and bruised. Enjoy the process, it’s what gets you where you’re going.

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Yeah, they’ve got a compact large APS-C sensor camcorder with interchangeable lenses coming out down the road. When? Don’t know. My guess? Within a year. Maybe by December.

Will I buy either of these? I don’t know. What I want is a compact camera and a video cam just like these, but with the Canon UI. I’m a Canon shooter. Maybe it’s a sickness.  I just hope if they’ve got something coming, it’s coming soon and that they tell us it’s coming before I crack open the piggy bank for these Sony creatures.

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Sure, you could have a casual love affair with photography forever. Maybe you could even be obsessed with it in a way that the obsession never fades. But anyone who really dedicates themselves to their art will at some point be completely and utterly furious with the medium.

Have you ever felt that empty pit of despair in the bottom of your gut when you remembered you were going to go out and shoot some photos today? I have. Ever realized how long it’s been since you’ve picked up a camera and been haunted by the thought? Ever felt like grabbing your neighbor Danny by the epaulets on his band leader jacket and shaking him, screaming in his face, “If I have to take ONE more photo I’m going to eat my own face off!”

It is perfectly natural, and, in my opinion, a healthy reaction to passion. Passion for photography, passion for film making, passion for story telling. Passion consumes. And at some point, if you are really passionate about something, it will consume a chunk of your lower intestine (or feel like it anyhow), leaving you with that painful empty feeling.

Don’t let it get you down. All you need is a recharge. Take a break. Find another way to express yourself. Never painted? Give it a try. Take a class, or just go it on your own. Take up juggling. Do something to get your mind off of it. Give yourself permission to not think about your art. Tell yourself for the next two weeks, or month, or two months I’m not going to pick up a camera at all, under any circumstances, not even if an alien space craft lands on my lawn and a bunch of nude ice cream sandwich models saunter out wanting to trade their delicious frozen treats for head shots.

Freeing yourself from it can have a powerful effect. Likely, before your mandated abstention has come to an end you’ll be hungry to jump back in. That hunger is a good thing.

Never had that empty feeling? Maybe this isn’t your passion. Maybe it’s just a hobby. Nothing wrong with that. I hope you find a passion for it or for something else. Am I wishing you the pain and suffering of sleepless nights, nausea, and agony? In a way, yes. It may not feel like it at the time, but it’s worth it. At least it is for me. The upside is freedom.

Yes, passion both frees and enslaves. Passion for your art makes you a slave to creating. It ties you up in knots and forces you to look for an escape. But it also provides that escape. It gives you freedom to express your self, an outlet for your point of view of the world. Freedom to work out the joy and pain of every life through a lens so you don’t have to suffer alone.

Passion in your art gives your voice volume.

So, if you’ve never looked at your camera gear and thought you would rather puke on it than fire off the shutter one more time, I say it’s time you had a little one on one with yourself in the mirror and start figuring out the hard stuff. Come up with a project that will be emotionally difficult for you to complete. Get outside of your comfort zone. Make yourself sick.

It is a cleansing process. Growth rarely comes without suffering. So if you haven’t suffered at the hand of your work, my guess is you have plenty of room to grow.

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Nice!

It’s okay. We are creatures of habit. Even if the way we’re doing something doesn’t work, we tend to keep doing it the same way over and over and over again. And if the way we’re doing it has at least some level of success, forget about ever trying something new.

I say, even if the techniques you are using to communicate are outrageously successful, it’s time to shake it up and give something new a try. “Any thing in particular?” you might ask. Come in closer and I’ll whisper it to you: SUBTLETY!

Sure, it’s easier to hear a scream than a whisper. But which is more likely to communicate your idea?

It is successful communication we’re after, not being the loudest person in the room.

People have the unique ability to tune out the drowning rumble of jets flying by overhead, the humming of their refrigerator, their neighbor Danny’s screams for help with his computer. You could be reclined in your big comfy chair, ten past midnight, sipping a chocolate shake through a crazy straw, blasting Tropic Thunder across your eyeballs from your 60 inch high def for the hundredth time, laughing that same chocolate shake right out your nose holes, Hollywood explosions rocking your floorboards, but you hear a slow, long scratch running along your window on the other side of your black out curtains and you’re not only going to notice, you’re going to shut down the whole show until you source where that subtle little noise is coming from.

If you’re trying to get your message across with bright colors, giant letters, and lots of screaming, shake it up. Instead of someone tuning out your screams, driving right past what you want them to hear, whisper. They’ll prick up their ears and lean in to get a listen. Then, when they’re in close enough, you can give ‘em a good old fashioned kick in the privates. That ought to get your message across. Right?

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Story. With just the right look from your model, you can ride that fine line between them seeming uninspired and them seeming uninspired for a reason – preferably for an interesting or mysterious reason. You can crank up the drama if you like by placing them in an enviornment or scene that would seem at odds with their uninspired-ness. Come up with a reason they are uninspired, tell your model to feel that reason, set up the environment, and snap away. Blamo! An inspired photograph of someone feeling uninspired.

Why are you still sitting at your computer? Get out there already, or better yet, get in there – in to your head and think it through, then get out there and do it. If uninspired doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.

Nice!

Wow. Our short hiatus has extended longer than planned. Thanks for the hundreds of emails checking in. It’s great to know how much you all love Nice. Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. There are lots of exciting things going on around here that caused the delay and they are all good for you, the wonderful readers of Nice Photography Magazine.

1. We’ve been flooded with items to review from various manufacturers. There are some things you’ve heard of, some things you already know you want, and some things that haven’t even been released to the public yet. I’m testing them all out in actual production before I’ll share if I think it’s worth you taking the plunge. I’m going to try doing the reviews as videos for the most part. Once they start rolling out (about one a week), let me know if you like them.

2. There are more Trade Secret Cards series in the works. These take a lot of my time, but if you have either the Strobist set and/or the Chase Jarvis set, you know the time is worth it. Thanks for all the great comments about the cards and for helping get the word out, too.

3. I have a new short film in the works. Almost all the preproduction is done. This will likely be my last short film before directing the feature film next year.

4. I’ve just finished the screenplay for the feature film I’m directing next year. I’m turning it in to the powers that be next week. This has taken up most of my time and been the dominating factor for delay in getting the posts flowing like normal around here.

5. Top secret project: You guys and gals are going to love this one. I just applied for my first patent and it’s for an invention I think you’ll all have in your camera bag before summer is over. I’ve already got a big name manufacturer on board and distributors lined up around the world. It’s going to be a crazy exciting summer!

So there you have it. Mystery solved. We’re ramping up for the most exciting year yet here at Nice Photo Mag.

Nice!

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.

Nice!

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!

Nice!

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

Nice!

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.”

Nice!

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.

Nice!

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.

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Reprinted with permission from the blog: Mr. Paul Maul

Nice!

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!