HelsinkiZim

I see GoogleAdwords in your link. Do you make a commission? If so, please do a proper review. If not, link direct because you are giving someone else money. Only fools and horses... tut, tut.

True. It humanises the characters in a way. I think the best current example is The Walking Dead. We are somewhat 'in sync' with their show schedule and breaks - as humans who are evolving and growing - so are the cast. They are almost the anit-instant-gratification model. Nobody is complaining and it is a welcome repreive to have a show keep you waiting. But then the show better satisfy. Or is that too demanding.

You cover a lot of ground here, and I thoroughly disagree with the Sherlock assessment. Bad Sherlock is still good TV... and I thought that way back when I snoozed on The Hound of the Baskervilles (Season 2?) - but it was still the best of British. I agree that writers are at the forefront in TV. When the second season of True Crime came out, the penmanship was slaughtered, as is every writer on any TV show that loses its way (*cough* Wayward Pines). I think we are in a Writers Renaissance. I still remember when Charlie Kaufman was an enigma... now good writing is abundant, like uber to taxi drivers - or airbnb to hotels. Its not rocket science and anyone who can download The Poetics by Aristotle is miles ahead of the older generation who were told about it at a dinner party. But what I wanted to discuss was that experience of spending up to 13 hours watching one show. What dynamics make it work and when would it fall on its face. Haven't seen Pretty Little Liars or Scenes From A Marriage... will check them out! ... and Breaking Bad and Dexter where serialised formats... I'm talking about the new slow-as-folk stuff (that used to be the domain of BBC drama- Wallander, Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Prime Suspect etc). Oh! and The Missing (James Nesbitt)- it is the perfect example. Would have been a snooze-fest week by week, but emotionally gut-wrenching when watched in one go.

What are your thoughts on Steven Soderbergh's TV ventures - The Knick and The Girlfriend Experience? I personally enjoyed them more than any of his actual films... Edit: Gonna check out A Woman Under the Influence, haven't seen it... Edit Edit: albeit, Sex, Lies and Videotapes was the first VHS I rented because of the title. Boy was I disappointed. All they did was talk.

Rent a perfect camera. Buy a cheap workhorse for you needs. Invest the rest in lights, sound and (mechanical) dynamic movement. You will be be way ahead of those who blew it all on specs and you will learn so much more! That last statement is opinion and you could well be a DOP looking to get work and then the camera is paramount. But here's a pic I took today on a music video shoot I am working on. I invested in the cheap micro cinema camera, and used the rest to get a complete po'-boy's lighting set up and even had change left over for some green screen florescent lights w/ softboxes. I set this up in my bedroom today... I also got a slider and mechanical steadicam, and gimbal, for the total proce of a kitted out fs5. i know it wont last, but I wanted the opportunity to film whatever I wanted and charge the lowest price, without having to hire.

A very fine and much appreciated brain-fart. Seriously.

So I lost my binge watching virginity with the first season of Orange is the New Black. Now it is my preferred viewing experience, so much so that I dont even look forward to films anymore. With a (well-made) TV season I get more bang for buck and also resolution in my own time. E.G. British crime drama like The Fall, Happy Valley or River - or American drama like Transparent, Bloodline, OITNB, - or even international capers like The Last Panthers and Top of the Lake. (Most recent binge was Strange Things - it was like the homage to Spielberg that Abrams wanted to make with Super 8 - but much better with its odes to Serendipity and The Goonies!). Is slo-burn (crime/ suspense) drama (over 6 - 12 hours) becoming and actually art-form? Is it a digital fad, a new production model or the beginning of the end for cinema?

I hate talking politics because its a zero-sum game. Nobody wins. Every ideology is flawed, because we as humans are flawed. A liberal management unchecked will exploit capitalism and everyone suffers when free trade consumes their daily bread - like Uber to taxi drivers and AirBnB to hotel workers, or China and Mexico to automobile factory workers. A conservative management unchecked will end up exterminating... well anything that walks funny. But everybody embodies both ideologies at different times and in different situations. As a whole, people are stupid en-masse and selfish, but as Bronn said in Game of Thrones about Geofrey: There is no cure for being a cun*

I hate hacks and respect them at the same time. They are super intelligent people that know how to push buttons of segments of society. A word here and there, and they are repeating facts, but molding your opinion at the same time with adjectives, word placement and headlines for these facts. Edit: I always look at the Drudge Report everyday before I look at the BBC, because I find it so fascinating how Drudge molds opinions with a single headline or omission. BBC says the Trump did something insane, a black man gets shot in the back, or next to his girlfriend and dies on mobile video, and no mention on Drudge or even an acknowledgement... but his followers believe he is reporting the 'truth'. Fascinating. But I am old enough to know that even the BBC is anti-trump, which in itself is not great. They constantly add stuff like his exact dialogue in quotes and of course that makes him look dumb because he is not a public speaker. I can hear the journalist chuckling to himself. I consider someone writing for the Sun, Daily Mail, Daily News, NY Post, the Mirror, etc... hacks. But they all have Master's degrees or excelled in school and they know what they are doing. In the UK you would be hard pressed to find a journalist on Fleet Street who did not go to Cambridge or Oxford. Even at the tabloids. These are professional (and the original) trolls. Piers Morgan for example. Documentary has the same.

You make a valid few points. I think at the least, part of the huge fines they give these kids and a chunk of the assets they take from guys like Kim Dotcom should be put towards development of the arts and independent artists, not just funneled back into studio coffers.

We Well, how about a free market spammer-for-hire global initiative. Like fiverr.com.

Not sure, but I think Andrew has a guide. I'll check quickly... actually I can't bothered. I got the GH4 guide he did and I pretty much was set, everything else I picked up was a bonus. Get his guide or wolfcrows and you're liquid. No free info unless you are prepared to cipher through hundreds of threads - like this one - on various sites. Which I have done... and realised now that I will now happily pay for a guide from a crash test dummy. Good luck!

Go iFootage S1A3. Best slider on the market and a powerful motion head. Bollocks remote menu system, but as an adult that should not be a problem, the rest is basically the best you can get right now. Like Beyonce told you, with iFootage, you are replaceable. It's another you in a minute. You must not know 'bout me...

Laugh. But this is what your next movie will look like to the rest of us. But it will be in 4K.

Ok, here's the thing... I have been thinking about how we can stop piracy once and for all for the past few years and I think I have a solution. Media companies need to lobby government to pass a bill that makes it legal to disrupt illegal sites and software. Think about it, if a budget was formed to pay the wages of a global task force whose sole job was to hack, distribute malware, rig seed/ leecher ratios, bombard with pop-ups, and generally make torrenting and streaming a living hell - piracy would be dead in a year - max. Well... not dead. As die hard broke folk will move back to irc networks, but the fact is it would go underground. Imagine an army of folk from developing nations whose job is to disrupt - flood - infect every website that tries to profit on pirated material (which they do from ads, and as we have learned from The Egyptian job, a small amount of money is a big amount outside of developed nations), Employees of the UNAP (United Nations of Anti-Piracy) could bring in a steady paycheck for their families too. Legally and un-anonymously. A global piracy hitman team, sanctioned by the US government. Funded by the entertainment industry. Why has none of the billion dollar corporations done this yet??!!!???

Thanks for this. I went to my first writing screenseminar at 16 - +20 years ago. i did a bit of writing in college but never pursued it really. But I remember zoetrope.com, wordplayer.com and johnaugust.com where-in I spent my online life in the 90s. i don't know how useful they are now, but for me these were the original film-making forums. Also, just saw a funny moment with Aaron Sorkin being interviewed and the host assumed he knew Proust. Sorkin later said his inspiration was William Goldman and Poetics by Aristotle. Those were the first two 'adult' books I ever read after graduating from Judy Blume and the Hardy Boys. Next was Easy Riders, Raging Bulls... Anyways, it goes to show that even though we watch The Social Network or Steve Jobs and think there is some intellectual academic behind that dialogue, the writer is really just writing 'fantasy' and is not necessarily 'super-literature-geeky' as the host assumed he was. Sorkin writes to a formula he was taught by the above resources and uses a dictionary, both in interesting and unique ways. But the dude didn't know Proust. He knew Goldman and The Poetics. New York Times writer/ editor/ novelist he ain't. if that's your mark of success. I wish we all talked about this kind of stuff. Oh, I didn't read the link... should have done that first, but was excited by the post anyways. Maybe I am speaking out of context. What's new.

Grrr, how do you delete a post!!??!! I guess, think before posting, no. We less fortunate must accept our fates.

I make no claims to knowing the guy, being a part of anything other than being his fan for the past 3 years. He introduced me to blackmagic, because when I searched for blackmagic in 2014 his vimeo channel came up all the time. He started with, if I remember, the pocket and then moved on to the cinema camea. He built his own light systems and taught himself pseudo 3d animation to complete his money shots. His talent was his wife. Who, if I remember, was a painter or photographer, I don't know, but she was not shy. Yes, it sounds like a 'latching on to success' post, but really, I thought he was very strange. But I wathecd all his early videos like a hawk because he had, what we call, 'talent'. He got hired by some agency based on his shorts and I thought he was gone. Then a week ago I see promo for a film BASED ON HIS SHORT. To me, he is an inspiration. His movie is trending worldwide, its called Lights Out. Look through his videos to find his inspiration. Here's the profile https://vimeo.com/dauid Try to watch his behind the scenes if you can where he gets a bit nuts with piping and hardware lighting. We should support him fully!

I think if we... think outside of the box, the OP is really asking about automation and how much do we rely on it in real world production. I would almost say in cerainty that most DOP's and Directors would not give up so much control to a bot. But I think automation is a serious part of what one-man-band producers do. Investing in an automated system really makes sense, unless you are intent on the me-and-my-girfriend/cat look... which I love. But, movement is always the difference between homemade and paid. Nowadays, it's a combo of slider, jib, drone, and a bit of shoulder rig, that maketh a promo. Soon even that will not be enough. And yes, the documentary style establishment promos are over. Don't let anyone tell you that story is the key to success anymore. Or that you need and FS7.

I cannot tell you what you need, but I invested in the iFootage motion system. I first watched this video It is like a gimbal, it appears in your portfolio when you are getting paid. Then, it is a godsend for making your life easier to get really interesting shots. But for the rest of the year it will sit in your cupboard. so are you charging or having fun? i cannot answer that. Edit: you didn't ask for my opinion on systems in general so apologies for, er.. generalising. But yes, you should invest more in automation, but no, not with anyone else but iFootage for now.

It's so strange how this technique never dies. I instantly want to know how you you did it. But there is no 'it'. Its an understanding of camera-hyperlapse-editing. Not even at s crazy level, just diligence. Shoot, I didn't give feedback! Aside from my observer critique, I actually enjoyed this video to the same extent as the Turkey one. This in our day and age was actually better. You didn't have access to balloons or whatever, but it came across as thoughtful underneath the flamboyance.

To quote from Game of Thrones “Shame! Shame! Shame!” How dare you recline in your sofa/ coffee shop/ bedsit and lambast Ed David for having a pair of balls. Not only is he rocking a heavy copper pair, he also gave you a lesson in storytelling. What is it you loved so much about Serial, or Making a Murder? Haven’t heard or seen those, ok, let’s spread the net… Why did you love the Sopranos, Orange is the New Black, the Wire? Ok, you’re still lost… Breaking Bad? It’s because in real life there are no good guys and bad guys. To try and bookend this episode with your own view of the world and how it should be will always make you a shitty storyteller. Yes you can make your money knowing everything about a camera spec and DP for someone, but you do not understand the complexity of emotions in real life drama that unfolded before your eyes. You went through the emotional roller-coaster, you just wanted to wait until the dust had settled before taking action. That's the difference between art and criticism. Where were you when you could have put your cards on the table many times during the episode? Where was your defense or attack? Michael Moore said that the most important thing a filmmaker can do is to find an opinion and fight for it, it doesn't matter what side its on. The honesty as you work through your honest emotions is what everything is about. Werner Herzog was a bit more enthusiastic - he said you must stare death in the face (I think he had the same general jist - be honest about your own humanity). Where were you when all of this humanity was unfolding? Anger, sadness, remorse, arrogance (defensiveness?) and full circles over and over again... Oh, youre here now, book-ending and categorizing the winners and losers. Those are the cheap seats. Ed went through so many stages of emotions, and at each stage he gave us such honesty that it is ridiculous that you sat at your desk for a week and still feel you have a right to pass judgement. he showed it all… ... in defense of YOUR community... our community. For that, I will always remember a one Mr. Ed David.. that filmmaker in New York who fucking loves this racket we are trying to make it in. ... and he will have your back if you get screwed... ... and he's fucking nuts. Go find someone like him on any other forum. I dare you.

Thanks, i was looking at this as a micro/ mark III alternative. Although I honestly feel that I should not buy a camera for a client. EVeryone has been fine with the GH4, but I have had to hire all the options. I want a system where I can produce 'automated' and then eventually figure out the main big camera to invest in. My work is too sporadic to make that kind of jump as yet. If a client is unimpressed by how things 'look' compared to what the recent graduates are using, then I hire. Can you say honestly that I am going to get better images from a fs700 than a 5DIII raw or cinema camera raw? Or is it just buttons and looks? I don't think I am in the buttons and look game anymore. I need kit that does the job, people will hire based on my marketing skills.

Jeez man, Ed, get out of this situation. It all just stinks. There is a seat for you here on the sidelines. These messages sound crazy, seriously. Extract yourself and rest easy. The male version of the Lolita scam is going on now. You just gotta open your eyes.

Just let us know when it is in the post. Noone needs to hear about the details anymore. Put in post. Give recipient tracking number. Post here. That order.