Good news: I got to work on the Warner Brothers studio backlot!
Bad news: I was working as an extra.
Good news: Extras get paid
Bad news: I really need the money this time, haha.
Back when I was still living in San Diego I answered a craigslist ad and ended up working as an extra on an episode of Veronica Mars which was shot there. At the time I was considering moving up to L.A. and going to film school, but I really had no idea if I really wanted to give up my life of leisure in San Diego to enter an industry I really didn’t know anything about. Working as an extra on a TV show seemed like a great way to be able to get on a real, professional set, without having to know anybody or know anything.
After far too much delay and procrastination, I have finally gotten around to updating my cinematography reel which I had neglected for over two years, and really, I’ve shot a lot of good stuff since then. So this week I finally buckled down and just put something… anything together to better showcase my improved skills and hopefully get me some more better work in the near future.
And so here it is, now on Vimeo and available in HD!
Despite all kinds of claims to the contrary, shooting in 24p with a 35mm lens adapter with prime lenses will not make your digital video images look like film.
The best way to get “film look” is to shoot on film. Of course, this is somethign that I (and many others) have been saying for a while now but last night I got quite a rude re-awakening on this.
Last night, “Returning“, a short film I produced and shot screened at the L.A. Shorts Festival. It was shot on a Panasonic DVX100 (provided by my friend Brian) with a Red Rock M2 35mm lens adapter and a set of Nikon prime lenses. Not exactly current state of the art equipment, I know, but it was what we could get.
At this particular festival, the allowed submission formats are 35mm film print and standard definition video on DigiBeta tape. “Returning” had the unfortunate honor of being the first film in its program to be projected in standard definition video after the first film was shot on 35mm and projected from a film print.
Yikes. The transition from film to standard definition video made my eyes hurt. But it was so much more than that. The depth and richness of color… the contrast… there’s so much more to the look of film than just the resolution, latitude and depth of field, and last night was quite a vivid reminder of that for me for sure.
Back in the days of my old web journal I used to do a lot of product reviews, but I haven’t really done one in a long time. And even though I’ve had this thing for over a year, I feel compelled to write about it now.
Last year California passed a law making it illegal to talk on the phone while driving without some sort of hands-free device, despite the fact that research shows that talking on the phone while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving, even with hands-free kits, but I digress…
The short version of this story is that I was driving on the freeway on Thursday and my car’s battery caught on fire. It stayed contained and there was minimal damage to my car. Nobody was hurt. And now for the longer version:
So I was driving down the freeway in the Miata when it started acting a little bit strange. The engine would cut out for a split second and then keep going on normally. At first I figured it was just a clogged fuel filter and didn’t think much of it and kept going on my way.
It happened a few more times. Once, I could have sworn I saw the ABS warning light come on. I started wondering if the ABS system was malfunctioning and slamming on the brakes, rather than a fuel problem. The engine cuts out again and this time all of the idiot lights flash on for a split second, and then everything returned back to normal. Now I dreaded it was some kind of electrical problem.
