Leaderboard

Ok, so how does that all add up? Simple, I started reading Andrew's site a few years ago and learned everything I needed to know about the Samsung NX1 and SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x adapter. I decided to use them on our first feature film. After numerous film festivals and special events our film, Black Luck, signed an International distribution deal with Indie Rights. Yes, we probably would have done the film without this knowledge, but I'm not sure it would have had the same look or feel. The camera and adapter worked amazingly well and proved that a no budget indie thriller can still have a high production value. I can't thank Andrew enough for educating me and so many other filmmakers about the possibilities of shooting a feature film with these great tools. Cheers! David P.S. If you want to check the film out, it just launched on Amazon Prime. Read the reviews as well. This isn't some masterpiece of cinema, but it is a satisfying movie created with passion. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Luck-Garrett-Sheeks/dp/B0764KD2K8/ref=sr_1_2?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1507185936&sr=1-2&keywords=indie+rights

Hey Salim. Thank you! I will do my best to outline some of what I experienced. First off, I looked at making the film as my film school. I had done short doc work and commercial work before, but nothing as big and complex as this. We are fortunate in the middle of America that a lot of people love to be involved in filmmaking. We had a ton of volunteers, but we signed contracts with each of them offering everyone a piece of the pie, if the film made money. For me, it's really about creating enough revenue, so that I can keep making films and share with the people who help make it happen. When we first started we had many delays, we would shoot one weekend and then it was two weeks before we could get back together. Everyone had their regular jobs, so it took us about 6 months to complete the film. If I had any type of budget I would have everyone take off two weeks and we would knock it out, but I didn't have that option. The cameras were great, but I did have a few issues with the lenses and NX1 manual mode when I first started. We finally got it down properly and it was good to go. We only had a Arri 1K and Arri three light kit when we first started. I bought a ton of c-stands and 2 Digital juice Flag kits. That really helped control our lighting setups. Most of the lighting on actors is bounced light, which I love the most. I wish I had known more about actually directing talent. That was something I have studied ever since. Jason Levering and I co-directed and that was complicated as well, but we both adapted and kept pushing each other. When it comes to festivals, I would say enter the festivals that you think the film will fit in the best. Have people watch it and have them give you their honest opinion. I had a fantastic editor give me some amazing insights and I ended up re-cutting part of the film. It's nothing personal and you have to look at it that way. We were fortunate to sign with Circus Roads Films who is a sales agent. They reviewed the movie and liked it. I would recommend them if you have a solid film. They took it out and got us a couple offers, but they didn't fit what we needed, so we went back to the festival circuit to build the film. Then we signed a deal with Indie Rights. They have a fantastic reputation with treating their filmmakers well, so we were happy to sign. There is never any guarantee on money. I think if you are going to make any kind of money you need someone taking your film to AFM and Cannes, which Indie Rights will do. They will sell the rights to different countries and that can be a nice revenue stream. On the other hand, if you have a massive following, it could be better to self distribute online. It just depends on the film and where you want to go with it. I hope this helps out. It is a little vague, because I have no idea how much money the film will actually generate. Best! David

Having worked in Hollywood I can say categorically that the marketing department (money, budget, etc) is less connected to the filmmakers than the person filling the popcorn at the movie theater. Also, the money can come from different sources. Even back in 1985 when I worked in the biz foreign distribution money could give/take-away a green light. That is, there are many "interests" in the film, from academy nominations to simple worldwide gross. When I was at Orion they made "Dances with Wolves" only to keep Kevin Costner happy so he would make other films with them--who saw Waterworld coming? ;). While it was being made, people practically laughed to his face about that movie. Blade Runner is partly a vanity project for all involved. I remember when they were making 2010, or whatever that 2001 sequel was and had to build all new sets because Kubrick had purposely destroyed the old ones. At first I thought he was a jerk. That changed after watching the sequel. They must have known it would be no 2001. They didn't care. For many reasons, various people wanted to invest in it. Bottom line, if money was the only reason to make blade runner, I doubt it would have been made. It's an adult story. They're not money makers. All the money makers have children in them as lead characters--well, children to me

Hello community, I have finally finished my new video "A Journey through the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge”, when you have 15 mins to spare and want to relax to some nature / lens porn, I love for you to check it out. On a good screen with sound ;) Filmed over 3 years with Baby Hypergonar 1.75x, Bolex 16/32 1.5x, Kowa C35 1.5x and Kowa Inflight 1.75x. Taking lens used were the Voigtländer 42.5mm f0.95, Voigtländer Color-Skoparex 28mm 2.8 , Olympus Zuiko Pen F 38mm f1.8, MeVis 35mm f1.8, Takumar 200mm f3.5, SMC Takumar 135mm f2.5 and the Zeiss Ultron 50mm f1.8. Edited in Adobe Premiere and colored with Colorista III and Film Convert. If you give me a screen grab of a shot you like I will tell you the combo. Bonus, of the 160+ shots 2 are not scope. A special shout out to John Barlow for his lovely Rectilux Hard Core DNA and 3FF-s which are all over this piece. Thanks.

http://deadline.com/2017/10/ryan-gosling-blade-runner-2049-harrison-ford-opening-weekend-box-office-1202183063/ I've just seen it. Definitely not a fast paced action film. It's slow, brooding and very very tense. Roger's cinematography is his best work ever, and he'll get a Oscar for it. So many deft touches and changes mid scene to serve the story. It's a stunning looking film. Dennis Villeneuve slowed down the pace, focussed on a study of the characters above everything else. I'm still not 100% a Villeneuve fan but this is far more entertaining than Arrival. I am more impressed with the story and screenplay... It has many good ideas. Some genuinely original and untried. I think it will stand up to repeat viewings, it has the depth to go down as a bit of a modern classic. I just wish I was more a fan of the overall cinema experience of people munching stinking nachos in your fucking ear whilst talking constantly. (To be fair this isn't as common in Berlin as some other places but I lucked out and got to sit next to a dirty old corporation man on a date with his 18 year old intern)

If Samsung could see the potential

Dude, just retire from all camera and color testing and shoot a feature film with whatever you just did there. I keep saying a modern day Mean Streets with your visuals would be awesome and this 80s film look is phenomenal!!! PM me the special sauce though. What iso did you shoot that at?

The Martian is PG-13 (larger potential audience), skewed more heavily female, did better with younger audiences (2049 was 86% over 25) and did $54m+ on its opening weekend. In fact its second weekend was better than 2049's debut at $37m, because of all the buzz it had terrific legs. It also did $228m in the US alone. Blade Runner might not reach that with its total global gross. Hollywood accounting aside, the studio has to be disappointed with returns of less than $8000 per theater for such a wide release - and it barely topped $50m outside the US. The Revenant got a seriously fat boost from all the Oscar nods, going from $54m in grosses before nominees were announced to $170m+. But to counter your point - opening weekends can be a fairly accurate predictor of overall success as 25-35% of the total gross typically comes in the first week of release. This one seemingly had a built in audience so it would be front loaded. If that's the case it could drop off the cliff pretty quick.

I have a geforce 1080ti. How can I help (never used resolve)?

If the budget was around 155M$, then 400M$ is a reasonable break-even figure. Producers/Studios generally receive an average of 50% of the gross Box Office (the other half is what distributors amd cinemas keep). It is an old rule of thumb that movies need to make between 2 to 2,5 times their budget to break even, depending on marketing expenses and distribution deals. According to this, Blade Runner 2049's marketing expenses would have been less than 35M$ which frankly seems to make sense given the media presence and promotion has been OK but not huge... In addition nowadays there are many movies in which most of the marketing budget come from pre-opening campaigns by "affiliate brands". I remember Men In Black 2 had a crazy high marketing budget -for its time- but it was mostly paid for by Mercedes-Benz and Burger King. Minority Report also had important sponsorship and product placement deals with big brands -Nokia and Audi, I believe-. I don't know about Blade Runner 2049, but wouldn't be surprised if the marketing budget had been tied to the agreements they managed to sign. Truth is 35$M is a poor opening, but we have no idea how long its legs will be (8.7 on ImDB) or how well it can go in international markets... we'll see!

You will notice there are anamorphic shots in it, but without a spoiler, I can't get into specifics

@kidzrevil - nice! - looks similar to what I've been using. I agree, the battery grip and eye-cup do tons to make it nicer to work with. I'm curious, what that accessory that looks like a lever coming out of the hotshoe? Don't think I've seen that before.

Well break-even would suggest that for the movie to make a profit, it has to do over $400m from ticket sales, blu-ray and merch, doesn't it? So box office isn't everything and yes bomb maybe too strong a word but the problem is clearly illustrated Hollywood will kill its own product if it carries on like this chasing $400m returns on art. Because it's an impossible business model and the only way this level of greed can be maintained is by churning out branded, franchised, heavily marketed lowest common denominated trash for the masses.

Being the cheap bastard that I am, the camera next year from Nikon which interests me the most is the D5600 replacement! 4K with focus peaking please

The S model has been a minor refresh, the D6 with a new sensor and new AF is still a couple years away. A year and a half is June or July if you look at when it actually shipped, so we're just a few months past. Close enough. Cheers.

Thank you Salim! Best of luck with your future endeavors! David

David, This is super helpful and yet more inspiring. Keep the great work and wishing you more success in your future work. BTW, I'll try to watch Black Luck on Amazon Prime. I also love the subject of the hitman and wanted to make something about this character in Central/Eastern Europe. Mostly to add an exotic element to it, but also it's an area I've go to travel a lot in the past few years and made a few contacts and I just think cinematically it could look great. I read some of the review comments on Amazon Prime on Black Luck. Mostly around hitman being a cliche topic. Which is what I'm struggling with right now. How to approach it in a new way. Some of your reviewers said you approached the storytelling in a new way, so I'm looking forward to see if I can pick something up from how you did it. Cheers, Salim

It hasn't premiered in Japan or South Korea yet. I'm unaware of how popular it is over there but it might be a huge market. The ties between Columbia (Sony) and Japan are of course obvious. I remember the articles about the Warcraft movie and how poor it did domesticly, while it made most of its revenue in the Chinese market. Legendary pictures also had strong ties with China. Just a thought.

Yes I agree 100% but the problem is - they spent $400 million on making and marketing it as fodder for the masses. Grossly overrated the reach and popularity of the source material. The budget of the film was $155 million after tax rebates and other stuff. The marketing effort was HUGE. They better hope the long term outlook is good for it... I think it will be... It'll stand up well in 5, 10, 20 years.

I think people are overthinking this fun hypothetical exercise. I believe the point is... if tech stopped now and we were left with what is available now, then what would people choose based on what is on the market now.

Exactly, its barely a year and a half old, it'l be at least two more years before its successor is even announced. The big sports bodies are on a 4-year cycle. The d750 and 610 replacements will likely be next in 2018 - along with the FF mirrorless cam.

Not surprised it's being so well received, the D750/D810 video was quite under-rated. Lovely colours.

As I watched Aronofsky's Mother!, I noted how soft and noisy it was, figured 16mm film (it was: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec). Lots of handheld, close follow shots, POV pan-reveals, and overall genius-level unnerving camera motion and editing. This is probably his best film to date: A+, 5/5 etc. Camera, color, editing, acting, story, lighting, music, sound, VFX, all top level work. He digs deep into the human psyche / ego / control / fear and doesn't let up 'once it starts' (you'll know what I mean when you see the film). For those who haven't studied psychology, it might seem incomprehensible. However while it works as an amazing horror movie even if it doesn't make sense, it's genius on so many other levels! Worth repeat watching to learn more, it's that good. Recommend not reading any reviews beforehand, and hopefully no spoilers are leaked in this thread. [edit: removed the trailer link, best to see it without any fore knowledge!]

UPDATE: look at me i wrote the first episode!! its a rough draft but if u wanna read it pm me, its only 4 1/2 pages! (@Zak Forsman ?)

Well start with this: Best price performance ratio. In that case I'd argue it was the Samsung NX1.

i once shipped a box of iscorama parts a rare zeiss baby focus iscorama the first ever iscorama and 2 baby moller 1.5 optics to super 16 5 optics all the metalwork mixed up the glass protected it had been sitting on a shelf for 2 years at one of the demon money grabber repair places. i stuffed a note for bernie that simply said sorry about this can you see if you can rebuild parts maybe missing 2 weeks later an email saying ready for shipping no moaning no huffing and puffing he just did the best he could i wish i had yaken a picture of that dustry old pile of germanic junk before the bern and after.

do not give it 2 van demon the logo speaks for vandiemen a little forked devil check it out a devil with a big smile the greatest company in the world for lens works is truelens uk same town as cooke expensive in the movie lens world repair biz you have panavision la then true lens then p&s technique germany slow and van demonics slower uk truelens has many folks that have worked at cooke so that small town has some mighty talented lens repair guys probably the lead in the water. repairing rehousing spherical and anamorphics i was the clown that first used that company with the devil logo they solved some problems on an iscorama rebuild project that i started. they then started offering an iscorama rehouse before even finishing my prototypes. very dubious i could say more but i will not bernie o is a great man the problem is in bernies day he could leave a lens soaking for months today the pressure is on turn around . the old cooke speed panchro from ww2 often got seized up in the brass housings sometimes the raf would paint the metal again causing problems years later. sometimes you would have too put the lens aside and go back try again weeks later. bernie is indeed an old gent i am sure it was frustrating for him as hans says if it is know open and you feel he owes you a favour email him. john at focal point lens repair is another great old geezer based in the usa east coast like bernie also maybe able too repair optics i have done jobs using bernie and focal point working on the same lens in the past. focal point is great with optical decay bernie breakdown service rebuild.. failing that an iscorama is still worth good money for spare parts no matter what the condition optics and mechanical.

My opinion is that new A7siii camera MUST have 10bit and HDR (and H265 in some form). These are the new video standards, GH5 has them, everyone should follow. Processing power is not a problem, there is plenty in this world, fast writing speed and memory too. The key is thermal management. Even gaming laptop's only problem is how to keep -relatively- cool, not computing power. GH5 went to dSLR lengths (size, weight) to fight those limitations, and on a smaller sensor. I am just waiting to see Sony's (and the others) move in this new age of videography. 4K will be enough for traditional filmaking in the next, many, years, HDR standards are here, and in my opinion they are here to stay. I am not sure Sony were ready to fight the "all-in" Panasonic attitude, whatever they had ready, they are back in the lab. A9 is a good indication of what is coming, it certainly is a notch or two better than A7 series, by design and a couple of other things.

Agreed about the close ups. Any smaller scale formats really shine in this setting. The extreme being Super 8 or Polaroid film. Portraits on polaroid look like they've already been airbrushed. On the discussion of 16mm. Stuff I have shot with the Bolex has just been the most rewarding for me. The colors, skin tone, and overall feel are very hard to replicate. I think someone saying they can easily copy the 16mm look with filters, is the same as saying the GH5 can look like an Alexa or a F35. I suppose there's different traits that people would to copy. To some people that would mean analog inconsistency; film burns, grain, jumping gate, etc. There is a huge difference in the film stocks alone. These first two frames are 1080p scans on the Shadow. This is a 10+ year old scanner. The 3rd frame is a 4k scan from a Scan Station. This is just cheap c-mount glass. I've n ever used Zeiss on a bolex, but I am sure the results would be very nice. I've never seen this but the trailer looks good. I'll be checking that out this week.

Kay, hum, interestingly I haven't seen anyone mention Jake Paul yet. Enough bad jokes... in no particular order, when you get some time... here's some you might want to check out: https://www.youtube.com/user/dslrvideoshooter/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/petermckinnon24/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7gBcKzHKc0oOR5-XiWdlFQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCameraStoreTV/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCameraStoreShorts/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/BartJohnsonProd/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/DSLRguide/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/cadevisuals/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/dkmiles/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/NitsanPictures/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/mattiasburling/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/paisjon/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFyIEjsL3T-Bn5xZEKYVvqw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/KittyGuerrillaFilms/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-1kQdqgioKPigA6SCxZ5g/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/Neumannfilms/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/Dod3032/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MrAlbertFast/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/tferradans/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/drumat5280/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/3DListings/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/RJFilmSchool/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/mirrorlessons/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvIIQc5Jo9-jIXnkPe03oA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MattScottVisuals/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXV7bLiYu6DSX73KuoprBzw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5YYClqH8JYAA7nBQO6nnw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBasicFilmmaker/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/christopherfrost/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/dmandrade1978/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/b3naqua/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelTheMentor/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCknMR7NOY6ZKcVbyzOxQPhw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_m1_0MTTmnWo4tpB0O_7g/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6AP9n3PjSqLSC8O8Ghohw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/sullycortez/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/Knoptop/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/dslrfilmnoob/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/onelonedork/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCheesyCam/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/benbrown100/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_2mvU6hq3J1bW4qEIas-Jw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIipdoqa9Ex4TDvaDl1LGQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCItXUE2EJ0tj25h5FWqOvRQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/cameralabs/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/HurlbutVisualsLA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/derekaggs11/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/PanasonicLumixVideo/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/cinematographydb/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/erish2k5/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZb8uqR_73t8DlfpVfVbiEw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/AustrianGeek/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/Yanherlin/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/zedpromedia/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/adamish9/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/mat0fr/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/chungdha/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/polcan99/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgKxCFC4zd9KonSct0NC-gw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_JpxW07_6Ln0YoZ4tne_jQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVwRkDLlUpocQ1VnhjyzPA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/FenchelJanisch2/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/LarryJordanFCP/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNKuHkBSc46z5jLhXZgGiuw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/Maksimyuryev/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/PeterGregg/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6L1BFNKuQb6jqf8jb0rlEQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dgdG1-CPp-izu4zuEMF3w/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/aputurephoto/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/1950wien/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/drewnetwork/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkzRe0fCFKmOQU-Z4tHSVw/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/filmriotextras/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/VistaClues/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/jlinaschke/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/GreatPhotographyTips/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/VFXProductionsRT/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/PeglegMediaFL/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/AndreasAHem/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEqB0O_1TaDmjvG5Il7-pyA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtTjh6GOn218KbjhF8mtFLA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GxK7Fr8bjc27WtMWdUCwA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/NiceLadyProductions/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/nmansurov/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/alanbesedin/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/mike24p/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom4k/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/JonOlssonVideoBlog/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/devinsupertramp/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/devingraham/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/88dsilva/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3stPIuUoCDHG7COfwr0tEA/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MrSanderrrG/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOq4e1UIq-ARfEbQrr8PzQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1UYCL1SgyBAVudD-3R5y3w/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgtd_PT57Ay6Zrrgh_q6Tsg/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/driftwoodtv/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/bluesniff/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/griffinity/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TiffenCompany/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/ErikNaso/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/jwright7788/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/RealmPictures/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/imacanonvideos/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCooph/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/nicceeo/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/CorridorDigital/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5s2Gz3fJVakdkjg1o-4uQ/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/adoramaTV/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/BHPhotoVideoProAudio/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/CVPTV/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz0x9El1RnVx3qepP7PhpSg/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/FilmTVVideo/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/ProAVTube/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/MaarTech/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/theartofphotography/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/LensVid/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/TvMarkerIL/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/everyframeapainting/videos \ https://www.youtube.com/user/thrnetwork/search?query=table \ ..