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Q: As a cinematographer, are you approaching these last eight episodes in any different visual way than you have the previous four seasons?   A: Vince and I have always talked about a descent into darkness. And in terms of an overall palette it's really dark. It doesn't mean you don't see stuff. It means that there are a lot of blacks in the frame; it's contrast. One of the advantages of shooting a show for five or six years is that we know who these characters are. So I don't need to light their faces up all the time. If a bald head that's around six foot walks into a room, you know it's Walt. We all know who these people are, so it gives me a lot more freedom than I may otherwise have.     The article @ AMC...

People are willing to pay for original content they can't get anywhere else. As long as it is high quality, quick and convenient.   One of the best things Vimeo did here was have Don Hertzfeldt animation It's Such a Beautiful Day as a launch title. If you haven't seen it yet, get it. I love the minimalism of the animation and how much personality and dark humour is in it. It is completely blessed of the hand of an artist.

I'd go for the Shure MX150 second hand on ebay, and second option the AT Pro70 brand new.  They sound great and amazing for the price!  For M43 Macro's it's best to consult with others.  I'm still confused about us mentioning ''voice overs.''  The reason why I mentioned ''voice over'' was because we don't see any talking heads in the video.  Therefore if your initial storyboarding didn't have shots for talking heads then it would have been better to approach it as a table top voice over which would sound really pro.  Speaking of which, maybe one last investment for your mic kit would be a medium to large diaphragm condenser mic and an audio interface.  You can buy a cheap $10 desktop mic stand and sit across from your subject on a table and record the interview.  It's all cool stuff to learn and master.   However, in the meantime the original t-stand setup I mentioned will do justice.  try it and you'll hear a difference.   B)

Ended up ordering the 5r. Should be here tomorrow. Going to do a stills and video test over the weekend :)

JG, Take a look at these. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvision   Abel Gance's 1927 film Napoleon . "It involves the simultaneous projection of three reels of silent film arrayed in a horizontal row, making for a total aspect ratio of 4:1 (3× 1.33:1)"   Cheers!

2deep4me

It's interesting to see supposed low spec cameras being used in inventive ways.  Nice one.

I think being objective and always wanting to improve is one of the most valuable traits for a film maker. If you looked back and loved it you wouldn't be improving would you? ;)

  Large VFX facilities can't live off large VFX blockbusters, actually.  These are taken on for the prestige.  Large VFX blockbusters likely cost a VFX facility to be a part of.  Yeah, they're expensive, but not for the studios.   Success in the VFX business is breaking even.  You can extend this to success for a vendor in Hollywood is breaking even.  Historically the bigger facilities not subsidized by giant corporations or otherwise not bound to the same financial pressures as a standalone facility (ie. Sony Pictures Imageworks and ILM, companies with higher overhead than they bring in) have to keep their doors open by taking on work that's actually profitable.     Both R+H and Digital Domain, prior to recent problems, had their doors kept open by having a very active commercials division, with a separate staff from features.  DD would have shuttered its doors after Titanic, most likely, if it hadn't been for the profitability of its commercial division.  R+H as well was kept afloat by this business which allowed it to take on feature work.  Sony has tried repeatedly to get rid of Imageworks because it's a money sinkhole with no chance of being profitable.  Lucas too, once he started to ramp down his interest in making more films, packaged up ILM, moved it to the city and started looking for potential buyers, because even they are more overhead than they can be bringing in.   VFX for motion pictures has pretty much always been a bad business to be in if your idea was to generate revenue.  And so everyone is looking to create their own content.  Perhaps a trade organization will improve things but it's pretty clear that content ownership is the only way to actually do better than squeak by or luck out and have a good year in the black.

I like the pCAM app, its great if you want to test the DOF relative to the distance of your subject. Exposure relative to FPS and aperture, and even filters. Field of View of lens focal length (great in preview mode. I wouldn't use it in the field while filming, but its a great learning tool to judge all your options when you don't have a camera at hand.