Zak Forsman

This is a good list. And I would add the Phoenix Film Festival. It's a crime this festival isn't on that list, as a matter of fact. I've never seen anything like it. Filmmakers get multiple screenings (competition features screen at least three times), they've been attracting 23,000 festival goers each year, and the people who run are awesome. One of the few that truly make the filmmakers feel like the center of the festival. And the audiences are amazing. You will have people asking your cast for autographs and pictures, making them feel like Tom Cruise for a weekend. I had a feature there in 2013 and the festival was so much fun, I've gone back every year since -- wth or without a movie in the program. http://www.moviemaker.com/archives/best_of/50-film-festivals-worth-the-entry-fee-2016/ http://www.phoenixfilmfestival.com Here's a little video documenting my first year there that my buddy slammed together.

That's because most films that get fee waivers have been invited to submit -- either because the festival is familiar with the film already (because they saw it at another fest or its got a high profile for whatever reason), or it's from a filmmaker who the've programmed movies from in the past. That's why the odds are better. Now, knowing that, if you've got a short film and have never played a film festival before -- something to consider is choosing festivals you would want to build a relationship with. Imagine two filmmakers submitting to SXSW. One is a first time filmmaker submitting their very first feature. The other is also submitting their first feature, but they've also had three short films at SXSW over the last five years. If the festival programmers were split on these two hypothetical movies and their was only one slot left in the program, who do you think is getting in? Festivals love returning filmmakers. That being said, it never hurts to ask for a fee waiver. The worst they an say is "no".

someone stop me.

This is ridiculous, I know. But putting the monitor on the rods only adds 3.5lbs. And the camera provides peaking, zebras, a rec709 LUT of sorts, 2.39:1 overlay. only thing that I use that's missing is false color. I rigged a quick mounting solution here. I wonder if they make a VESA plate that would mount directly to the 1/4"-20 end of my Noga arm.

no, to do that i run it through my Odyssey (mounted on camera).

Able to get a pretty close match to my SmallHD 502.

yeah, the specs of the 15.6" are slightly different. slightly less bright, slightly less contrast. but the price is great. would love to hear from someone that gives it a shot though. I *did* notice Lilliput carries these monitors (plastic, metal & open frame versions) in their online store too. I bought mine from Viviteq in City of Industry, CA through their Amazon Store. Not sure if Lilliput has a relationship with the Yiletec brand beyond just being a reseller. Maybe. Last, something i neglected to mention is that the monitor also has Red, Green, Blue gain settings to really dial in the color. Using that I was able to match the calibrated broadcast monitor I color grade with very, very close.

thanks. fixed the links.

I put up a slightly more detailed review at my site, but wanted to share most of my thoughts here too. http://zakforsman.com/a-solid-13-3-field-monitor/ I've been kicking myself for not taking part in the Osee 15.6" Field Monitor group buys that were running a month or so ago. The current $995 price tag is a little hard for me to swallow, so I started hunting for a more affordable alternative. I found this 13.3" 1080p panel, called the Yiletec 1303MCPT. It had some crucial aspects: 1080p, full size HDMI port, built-in VESA mounts. So I pulled the trigger. It arrived today. I set up my rig with the Odyssey 7Q+ sending a feed over HDMI, powered it up, and my initial reaction was: nice detailed image, black blacks, but the colors are wrong. I went into the monitors's Picture Menu and made some quick adjustments: pulled down the color saturation, set color temp, turned of noise reduction, and so on. Within seconds I had pretty closely matched my Odyssey's screen. The second I knew this was a keeper, I ripped off the protective film covering the screen, and mounted it to a Kupo VESA light stand mount. The listings for this monitor neglect some key details. I knew some specs before buying it. Brightness: 350cd/m2, Contrast: 700:1, Resolution: 1920×1080. But there were no reviews for it anywhere. I couldn't tell how much it weighed or how much control I'd have to dial in the image. Happy to say it met most of my hopes. It's bright with good contrast and reminds me of my MacBook Air screen in many ways. Color rendition is good. In all likelihood this is an 8 bit display. I'm guessing it weighs about 3 pounds. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the glossy finish. But it's no different than the screen of my Odyssey 7Q+, or SmallHD 502. That being said, I am on the hunt for a suitable sunshade now. Another concern I had was if there would be an issue with 24hz frequencies because only 60hz and 50hz were listed. So I ran through all the framerate settings the Micro Cinema Camera had to change its output and was glad to see the monitor black out and sync up with each of the 60hz, 50hz, and 24hz signals. It even displays the incoming signal frequency in the bottom left corner, confirming its compatibility without a doubt. I also can't detect any additional lag when viewed side by side with the monitor I'm looping the signal through. Granted I've only had it in my possession for half a day, but I don't have any hesitation in recommending this monitor to budget conscious filmmakers who want a little more screen real estate on set. I bought the version housed in a plastic casing -- it's solidly built, don't let "plastic" make you think it feels cheap. However, there is also a metal version, but I was concerned about its weight. Either way, it's priced at $339 on Amazon. A steal. When I bought it, an additional $17 was taken off in the cart as a promotional discount. Even better. And a worthy addition to my arsenal. Here's the link to the Amazon listing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DFZFYKW/

only batteries that work for me on my 672's are the ones that came with them, and authentic Sony batts. I tried some off-brand batts and I'd lose power intermittently, and always when wiggled.

also recommend the slr magic 82mm. i have one and when I need to move fast, I'm always grateful to have it in my kit.

Agreed. my wife is a film editor and much prefers working with filmmakers who go out and shoot exactly what they want, rather than gathering a bunch of material to be sorted out later. One of the first features she cut, the director asked "why didn't you use the close up here?" my wife's answer was, "you didn't shoot one." and the director's replied, "then punch in on the 2 shot." now she has a scene with these reframed close-ups and every now and then the other actor's nose creeps into frame. she did the best she could but it's still awkwardly composed. I realize for Sekhar covering an event is one thing, because he has no second takes. But shooting narrative benefits from specificity. unless you *are* on the level of david fincher and all the post resources he has available to him, this approach will start to undermine the experience of the movie. similar to deciding you wanted to slow a shot down in post back when all we had available to us was "frame blending" to smooth it out. few things signaled "digital video" louder. optical flow brings us much closer, but it's still better to do it in camera. and to have the vision to know that you need it that way.

I'm in the color and dynamic range camp myself, but will say that when it comes to televisions sets, 1080p on my 4K set looks a little better than it did on my 1080p set. it tends to smooth out jagged diagonal lines. http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-resolution/4k-ultra-hd-uhd-vs-1080p-full-hd-tvs-and-upscaling-compared

I traded in my GH4+Odyssey combo for a Blackmagic Micro and couldn't be happier. My days of wrestling with a camera to do what I want are behind me.

delete your account.

Thanks for the input everyone. Truly appreciated. I believe gsenroc was right. This morning I went to work on the worse of the two speed boosters, adjusting the rear optical element for infinity focus again, but also holding it in place with my thumb so that tightening the holding screw wouldn't lift it up. that basically did the trick. at f/1.4 I can still see the slightest variation at the edges, but at f/1.8 it's sharp across the board.

yeah, it's definitely improved across the board -- top, bottom, left, right. and center frame is equally sharp on both. the difference is only at the edges. if I can find the time, I'll start experimenting with how the rear optical cell is seated, but was hoping someone else out there might have already done the same.

zach, i love you, but please... i'm hoping for some insight from people who have first-hand experience with optics. don't derail my thread before it's even had a chance to begin. in that spirit, this post does not require a reply.

I own two Metabones BMPCC EF mount Speed Boosters. Today I was trying them out with an anamorphic rig (Kowa B&H) using an EF mount Voigtländer 40mm f/2 as a taking lens. Seen here... Sadly, I saw soft, smeared edges at the far reaches of the frame. Before deciding that this particular setup just wasn't going to work, I tried the second Speed Booster and noticed a big improvement. So I immediately did a quick test of identical frames, seen below. These are grabs from the very top of the frame. This shows the worse of the two, on top. And the better booster on the bottom. I've verified that the smeary edges on the top are not motion blur from wind or anything like that. The second one, while sharper, is not quite as sharp as the center of the frame. but it's much closer, so i wonder if it's improvable. Both of these Speed Boosters have been adjusted to lock in infinity focus by loosening and rotating the rear optic. and they both keep my Sigma 18-35mm parfocal. But now i'm wondering if there is something else I can do, or a specific adjustment to be made that will eliminate the smeared edges for this particular setup. Anyone had success tinkering with their Speed Booster optics to get rid of soft edges?

There a re a few new or greatly improved functions and plugins that are exclusive to the Studio version too. Noise reduction, motion blur, film grain, etc.

dbp, you don't need to defend yourself from anyone -- they'd have nothing to criticize without inventing a fictional motive for posting this video. it is out of line to attack your character. i see that. i'm sure others do too.

good work. you've got a black flash frame at approximate :49.

Ha

Monoprice Ultra Slim Series has 6", 12", 18". Very flexible, thin, low cost, Never had one fail on me. http://monoprice.com i also like the Hyperthin brand at Hypershop but they cost a bit more.