Popular Post HelsinkiZim Posted April 5, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted April 5, 2017 On my walk to drop off some gear at the rental house, I ran into 5 teenagers filming. I of course wanted to ask what they were up to, camera, lens etc, and it ended up being a very enlightening experience (15mins of). They are vloggers and instagramers here in Finland with over 100 000 followers/ subscribers in each medium. I, indeed, was the old fart (all 37 of my years on earth) they were humouring but they were super pleasant and made my day. But to the point, all they had as 'gear' was an olympus, native pancake lens, and a tiny plastic tripod. Their main goal was to walk around the city and produce content. I metioned I had some stuff like the Zhiyun Crane, like it was impressive... but it turns out that kind of stuff was arbitrary to their interests. These guys were content machines. It made me think. Have I been getting it all wrong? Yes, I script, I storyboard, I know my way around a manual cinema camera and traditional lighting techniques... But who cares anymore? These kids are the future and they did not care a toss about dynamic range or bitrates. They wanted everything auto so they could focus on actually enjoying a shoot. Something to think about... Davey, IronFilm, Cinegain and 12 others 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Here's my take: "Content" is its own word. "Filmmaker" is a different one. The latter needn't concern themselves too much about the former. I respect content creators for YouTube --as I don't have the motivation to do it, but "content" is not really art; it's not really filmmaking, is it? Kisaha, Cinegain, Liszon and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelsinkiZim Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 12 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said: Here's my take: "Content" is its own word. "Filmmaker" is a different one. The latter needn't concern themselves too much about the former. I respect content creators for YouTube --as I don't have the motivation to do it, but "content" is not really art; it's not really filmmaking, is it? Trying to figure that question out myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Also, I have almost no doubt their current path has a better chance to be more lucrative and notorious than the one I'm on, but the style of content-creators is not one that I personally would find creatively fullfilling or artistically worthwhile. I like traditional movie-making too much "Content" will have a place, but I think overall it's probably just not for me. Jaime Valles, Chrad and Liam 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelsinkiZim Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 4 minutes ago, fuzzynormal said: I like traditional movie-making You should watch this if you haven't already, these guys kind of bridge the gap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrad Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 It depends on what your aims are. Do you want to produce content, or do you want to produce art? Do you want to write a column or a novel? The main attraction of VLog and instagram work usually isn't so much the qualities of the image, story, themes as it is the ego of those creating it. On the other hand, great filmmaking looks both within the self and to the outside world. Where I think what these kids are doing does have something to offer people like us is in their willingness to shape a new aesthetic. We don't need to go as far in not caring about the technical, but perhaps creative liberation comes with holding ourselves to at least a different set of standards. I think a lot of DSLR filmmakers get caught in the trap of chasing the 'cinematic', which seems to me to be missing the point. I've been thinking of writing a thread about this for a while - maybe I should get to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 1 hour ago, HelsinkiZim said: You should watch this if you haven't already, these guys kind of bridge the gap. Very nice short, but Anders Øvergaard does know and care about equipment, it's just that he can do wonders with minimal gear. This video also demonstrates the importance of good AF. And I guess variable aperture zooms can come in handy sometimes. Shot on Panasonic GH4 + Aputure DEC LensRegain & Metabones Speedbooster + Sigma 18-35mm & Tamron 24-70mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Kotlos Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 2 hours ago, HelsinkiZim said: They wanted everything auto Something to think about... That got me thinking of which camera performs good on auto. Good color, AF... Oh damn, there I go again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrad Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 David Lynch shot his Inland Empire on autofocus on an old DV cam and couldn't stop raving about how creatively liberating not having to focus was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 1 minute ago, Don Kotlos said: That got me thinking of which camera performs good on auto. Good color, AF... Oh damn, there I go again. Shot with ancient technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdouthit Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 It's just another genre. Neistat and Fine Brothers are the role models to this group. Note that The Fine Brothers managed to shoot a show for SHO a few years ago using consumer Canon pocket cameras. These guys are content machines. If they stop producing at ridiculous rates, their revenue and social stock can crash. That's fine, but it leaves little time to improve the art. It's what they want to do and more power to them. I have friends that are into this, and the have a love/hate relationship with it. Personally, have no interest in that mill. Kisaha, Liam, HelsinkiZim and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jax_rox Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Lot of talk here about content vs art. I'd posit that both are forms of content. Anything that has an intended audience is a piece of content. And in fact, if you take the vloggers you spoke to as one extreme, and arthouse filmmakers as the other, there's actually a broad range in the middle (including those here) that many people will sit along. I think preoccupation and obsession with gear is silly regardless of the type of content you're making. I think it's very easy to forget that gear and equipment are there to support the procurement and production of the content. You can have an audience shooting on an iPhone and you can have an audience shooting on an Alexa. The audiences may be different (and there's potentially some crossover), but they're both viable. Making a video and making a film are inherently different as well. Figure out what you want to make and make it. Personally, I think as audiences we connect to what we relate to. Yeah, maybe sometimes we like to watch stuff that looks nice as well, but overall if you can make a connection to your audience - whether that's through the way something is framed, the lighting within, the performance of the person in front of the camera or otherwise - that's when you know you're doing a good job. Both extremes connect with their audience, they just go about it in slightly different ways. HelsinkiZim and ade towell 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 What i like about these guys is they are out there doing.... The art/production side will come while they are out there, they'll likely instinctively learn and improve composition, lighting etc webrunner5 and Chrad 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 9 hours ago, HelsinkiZim said: these guys kind of bridge the gap. Oh, no doubt that some young folks coming up will do both, mixing provocative elements as they go. Its just that, for a guy my age, I'm gonna stay out of it; played with doing so about 10 years ago on YouTube, but couldn't get comfortable in it...also was too soon, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted April 5, 2017 Super Members Share Posted April 5, 2017 I'd vlog but I can't bring myself to say "Hey guys, what's up" prior to opening a cardboard box. I really admire Neistat to having his production so well set that he can turn stuff out every day with the quality consistency he has. He offers a window into that New York creative character that so many people aspire to and whilst I just can't warm to him I can see why his audience does and good luck to him and them. Unfortunately, the constant need for content is fuelled by and fuels the short term product cycles and attention spans of manufacturer and consumer alike (with its consequencent product shaming if you don't have the latest and greatest) so it's not entirely healthy. Having said that, because you can quickly go back over years of content, it can also serve to quell GAS as you can be readily underwhelmed by just how tiny some of the incremental upgrades of products actually are under real world conditions when compared to their predecessors. It probably needs less unboxing and quick run throughs of a product that came out 30 seconds ago and more "look what you can do with the one that came out 3 years ago and I picked up for peanuts" In terms of non-tech content, it SHOULD be the greatest source of investigative and niche interest documentaries but you have to plough through so much man in a basement ranting stuff to find anything decent. Mind you, it's a platform where we get the content we deserve as it's totally in our control to make better stuff so I've got no room to be sniffy about it if I only consume and don't contribute. silvertonesx24 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I respect some of those guys, but can't justify Pewdiepie being a multi multimillionaire... There ARE people out there making powerful films with their $7 or whatever they can. They'd be the happy medium to me. Never hurts to reexamine yourself and what you're doing, especially when you see someone with less doing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelsinkiZim Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 I read an article yesterday that Shia LeBeouf(?)'s latest film earned a total box office haul of 7$ in the UK. So 1 ticket. A few years ago Richard Gere's last film earned around 30 cash dollars. The current environment cannot sustain itself. I argue that in a few years the people that can produce the best image in a fastest way (auto everything) will be finally making a decent buck, as the productiin budget bubble bursts for hollywood films. You may be making the next Nicholas Cage movie! Go get em' tiger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Just now, HelsinkiZim said: The next Nicholas Cage movie! FWIW, he'll work for cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webrunner5 Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 3 hours ago, Jimmy said: What i like about these guys is they are out there doing.... The art/production side will come while they are out there, they'll likely instinctively learn and improve composition, lighting etc Well Jimmy said it in a more mild manner than I was going to say is, That yes they are out doing it, and I am sitting here on my ass talking about getting out and Doing it LoL! If I spent 1/50th of my time shooting as I do sitting on my ass looking at articles, and reviews, forums, hell I would have already won a Oscar for Cinema Photography!! Yes you can learn at lot on the web, but the only real way to learn your camera is to get out and use it, screw it up, well change something, try again, and again, and again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonesx24 Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 3 hours ago, Liam said: I respect some of those guys, but can't justify Pewdiepie being a multi multimillionaire... There ARE people out there making powerful films with their $7 or whatever they can. They'd be the happy medium to me. Never hurts to reexamine yourself and what you're doing, especially when you see someone with less doing more. For every Pewdiepie there are tens of thousands of imitators that make absolutely nothing. Also, IIRC he was born pretty wealthy. Far easier in that scenario to spend time focusing on creating whatever content you want rather than having to earn a living on it (and then having to care about skill and accountability) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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