These shots are ahead of its time. I can feel the wind from these moving shots and tension from the standing shots.

Cinematography by Robert E. Collins.

I've been shooting mostly indoor shorts with a BMPCC 4K for a couple years and planning some outdoor shoots in the near future, which will require using IRND filters. Running the numbers, I might as as well just sell my 4K and upgrade to a 6K pro that has internal ND filters.
Lenses, lights and other gear can be used later on, but considering modern cinema cameras have built in ND filters, is there a reason to spend money on ND filters? (specifically talking about 4x5.65 style filters)

Hey all!

To cut a long story short, I'll be heading to Kodak at Pinewood at some point over the next couple of weeks to create a little BTS with some shorter Q&A's.

As well as coming up with my own questions, and questions that are beneficial to the teams I'm working for, I figured I'd ask what the wider filmmaking community would want to ask, because I have no doubt there'll be a bunch of questions that I wont think of, and it's a good opportunity to get some real cool insight on some of the processing, scanning and archiving of all sorts of stuff that comes through the door.

Something as simple as 'how do you process the bleach bypass, and how popular is it?' to 'DoP's are coming majorly from a digital background, how much guidance and prep do you offer DoP's who are shooting film for the first time'.

Reposted from r/Filmmakers

Half of the party was a DJ Set and the Other half was people wrestling with dish soap (don’t question it). Sony FX3 with a Pentax 35mm. Could only use the lights that were already there so for a lot of it (especially the wrestling) the exposure is turned up a good chunk. Added some fake film grain on top of it too.

Hey all, have a voucher from cvp from a previous course i did last year.
Looking to spend the voucher this month.

Not sure what to get, should i get an additional ND system + rota pola (my camera has internal nd) or should i get a filter? (anything like a black satin / gg / promist etc)

Mainly shooting at indie level, shorts and music videos for the most, odd lower end paid job like a smaller commercial.

Any opinions?

https://cvp.com/product/tiffen_4565multrottravnd (ND and rota pola system)

I’ve been learning and experimenting (fucking up) with my Sony A7IV, trying to figure out S-Log3.

Just to get that out of the way, I shoot in 4.2.2 10-bit, so this isn’t the issue.

Shot a scene today outdoors (in the woods). Set zebras to 95 and dialled my ND filter until the brightest part of the sky juuuust started showing a zebra.

Settings are 1/50 24FPS 800ISO.

Came home and checked the footage. Lit fine, but shadows are noisy.

So, do I understand correctly that in order to have clean shadows, I needed to blow out some of the sky? Or am I doing something wrong?

I’ve posted some of my work here before, and I think it got some positive feedback haha. Don’t really have much to say about this one. Shot on the Sirui 20mm S35 autofocus anamorphic lens.

P.S

I`m pretty new I guess. I`m like 15. It says I should tell if im not a professional lol

Btw, im a total amateur. I don't know a ton about lighting but I heard its bad to have two different kinds of lights? I'm a therapist who is trying to film some content, in the form of an interview.

I had two Westcott 45W Dimmable Daylight LED bulbs and one of them broke. Westcott doesn’t sell them anymore, and every attempt I’ve made to find one online has come up empty.

My setup is two umbrellas on stands, one light per person, for interviews with two people seated across from each other. The Westcott runs pretty bright, so I usually dim it with its remote.

So I’m stuck between two options:

1. Buy one bulb from a different brand and pair it with my remaining Westcott. The new bulb probably won’t work with my Westcott remote, and I’m not sure how well the color and brightness would match.
2. Buy two matching bulbs from another brand and retire the Westcott. The lighting would be consistent, but I’d lose the Westcott remote unless the new bulbs come with their own.

Here is the bulb im talking about
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1538308-REG/westcott_345_45w_dimmable_daylight_led.html

I’m losing my goddamn mind over here and I know I’m not alone

I’m trying to see if I can find a better wide angle match for our SLR Magic APO Microprimes than the tokina 11-20, especially because it is an s35 (but it will cover FF starting at around 17mm depending on number of filters etc)

Can anyone lend me their eye or expertise of what I should maybe be looking for

And here is where it gets frustratingly specific (and I know, PL would probably make this easier, as well as using a matte box haha)

wider than 20mm
f2.8/t2.9 (or faster but ya know)
EF mount or able to be converted
Can take 82mm filters

Anyone know of what this might be that would match the rendering of the SLR APOs

TIA

Hey! I’m a filmmaker, concept artist, and self-taught colorist.

This is the more refined version of the film powergrade/node structure I built while grading my first feature film, which was delivered for a theatrical release.

The goal of making this was not film emulation,but to retain the things I love about the film look,, namely the color depth and contrast curve. I wanted to maintain a more “real-life” representation of the hues, limiting strong hue shifts that is standard in film colors.

I wanted a neutral starting point that would let me build and push custom looks quickly and efficiently, without things falling apart or getting garish.

Above, I have recreated a few shots from some of my favourite films to explore and to help visualize, the different looks I could produce.

Long story short, I’d love to collaborate with you on coloring your next project and make some cool stuff together!

I’m currently looking to work on short-form projects (under 30 mins) — music videos, short films, YouTube content, ads, and more. Professional delivery standards, always.

I prefer project-based pricing, with rates starting at $500, depending on the project.

If you dig my work, drop me a DM and let’s talk!

Ok so background, I’m a complete beginner filmmaker. Before someone says it I know a camera is only as good as the person behind it, which is why I’m not really here to argue specs, but functionality. I have some knowledge acquired from being on projects in front of the camera, but very little. My main goal is to just have fun making little short films just to get my ideas out there. I want to stop completely relying on others, and start fulfilling my own vision making my own stuff. Doing some research I’ve landed on the GH5S. Biggest constraint for me right now is budget, and I can find these used near me anywhere from $400-$700 which seems crazy to me. Especially because I don’t think the potential drawbacks are that critical. I’ll 99% of the time have the camera on a tripod or a gimbal, as a lot of these earlier projects I have envisioned are with just me. So I’m not too worried about the lack of IBIS. The autofocus I don’t think will be such a big deal for me either. I want to learn different focus techniques anyway and I think doing it manually more times than not looks better, or at least more intentional. The low light performance is a big one for me, I tend to gravitate towards darker/moodier vibes, and a lot of what I have planned is very much that. Also the ability to shoot 10 bit and log is fantastic. This obviously really expands the color grading potential which is my personal favorite aspect of the work done behind the camera. With all of this said, being aware of my lack of experience, I feel like I’m approaching this all completely naively. And I’d like to know if there’s anything that I’m failing to consider that could potentially be a huge blunder for my specific use case? Are there other cameras at this price point that I should be considering? Not so much worried about things that could be remedied with knowledge and skill. But more so things that this camera may be missing that would lead to undesirable results regardless of skill set. Like if it couldn’t shoot in 10-bit or log.

Im looking at purchasing a GH7 but am relatively new to micro four thirds. Are there any budget lenses that you could recommend please? I don't mind a more vintage/ slightly soft look when wide open but would ideally need to sharpen well after f2.8. I have looked at the voigtlander nokton and sirui nightwalker lenses, but finding it difficult to find many clear examples on youtube. Looking to make ultra low budget shorts, general content and photography which is why I liked the GH7 as an all rounder.

This is a filmmaking tutorial I created about filming during golden hour. I'm a professional photographer and filmmaker, and I enjoy combining educational content with cinematic visuals to make filmmaking more approachable and entertaining. I really enjoy teaching filmmaking and finding ways to combine educational content with beautiful cinematography to make the videos both informative and entertaining :)

The response so far has been really encouraging and I’d love to hear some constructive feedback from other filmmakers here. I’m particularly interested in how I could improve my approach to teaching, storytelling, and keeping the videos engaging. If you have a moment to watch it, I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts!

What’s the best light meter for your kind of work?
Is it worth to invest in something more expensive?

I would like to be versatile with it. 16mm film, digital sensor as well as some still photography.

Hello Everyone!

I'm a beginner in this field and am shopping for a camera. Advice on affordable cameras that are of high quality? I'm in the $100-$200 range. Thank You in advance 🙏 Edit: let's bump that up to $300-$400, does doubling the cost double the quality?

If i have $40.000 should i get Sony Venice 1 used or RED Weapon Monstro used for indie filmmaking?

Hi everyone,

For some personal photo projects, I'm looking for a diffusion filter to use on a modern CMOS camera. I'd initially considered a Glimmerglass from Tiffen, but in the end I will probably go for a Black Satin, a Black Pearlescent filter or the Hollywood Black Magic from Schneider. As for the Black Pro mist, the bloming seems a bit too visible for me.

Ideally, I'd like to find a filter which adds a slight grainy texture to image, if such a thing exists. I read the Black Satin might be the one which produce that.

If anyone has any experience to share, I'd be interested to hear about it.

Thanks

Hi everyone,
I'm a film student currently studying cinematography, and I'm trying to figure out how to recreate the visual aesthetic shared across these reference stills.
What catches my eye is the milky, smooth bokeh with subtle swirling characteristics, along with a hint of chromatic aberration and organic highlight roll-off. It has that gentle separation without looking clinically sharp.
If this comes down to inherent lens characteristics, which lens sets would get me closest to this look? (e.g., rehoused vintage glass like Cooke Speed Panchro, Canon K35, or something like Leica M / Leitz HUGO?)
Or is this primarily achieved through filtration and optical accessories? For instance, pairing a wide lens with a low-power diopter (+0.5 or +1), using rear magnetic filters like the ARRI Impression V Filters, or combining subtle diffusion?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, setups, or any creative ideas on how to approach this look!
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone:) I’m new to this subreddit, I just joined because I wanted some advice for a film I’m working on. This is a shot from the documentary ‘SPERMWORLD’, it’s fantastic and I was wondering how to achieve this shot for my own film? I know it involves mirrors or something like that, but I am not able to find any good proper instructions and information about how a shot like this is done in-camera. Any info would be greatly appreciated

Hey I run a site called skillbid.io featuring Mentors like Martin Ruhe, Antonio Paladino and Julian White who worked on films like The Martian, Game of Thrones and many other hollywood productions. Feel free to book them for consulting and mentoring on the highest level.
https://skillbid.io/en/mentee/mentorsearch

Hi all. I run a small camera and lighting rental house. Before we launch anything, I'd like honest opinions from people who actually light for a living.

What we're building: you upload a reference frame, and the tool suggests a rough top-down lighting plan (key side, soft vs hard, practicals, neg fill) and turns it into a rental list with prices. Staff then add crew, transport or a generator if the client asks for them.

What it is not: it doesn't replace a gaffer or DP. In our tests it gets the side of the key right in roughly 9 out of 10 frames, but angles and fixture choices are much less reliable. So everything it outputs is
labelled as a suggestion, and the final call stays with the gaffer and DP.

My worry is how this lands with crews. Some honest questions:

1. Would you see a tool like this as useful prep, or as a threat to your work (e.g. producers using it to skip a gaffer or argue with you)?
   
2. Is there a version you'd actually use yourself, e.g. to build a gear list faster or show a client a plan before the shoot?
   
3. Where's the line? Anything a rental house should never do with something like this?
   
4. Lots of great lighting breakdowns get shared online. If a tool ever used reference frames or diagrams, what would fair credit or permission look like to you?

No link and no pitch here. I'd rather hear the criticism now than after we launch. Thanks for reading.

So I'm deciding between Nanlite FC-120C and FC-120B. What I like about them is they're one of the very few lights that have a physical remote available and can run off cheap batteries (powerbanks and V-mounts).

Originally I wanted to go with 120B because its cheaper (Php 13,290) and I think it's brighter according to what I've researched (i may be wrong). Problem is it's pre-order only where I am so I hesitated.

But then, the 120C recently got a discount at Php 12,741 (originally around P15k) in my location, making it cheaper than 120B.

Do I pre-order the 120B (2-4 weeks) or go with the discounted 120C which I can get right away? Thanks!