Occupational Humor

I know I usually go on and on about ideals and practices and pretty professional stuff.  I'm working on a couple of very nerdy and very specific technical posts, too.  BUT, before I go ahead and publish those (finally!), I wanted to share a funny site I've recently discovered, called Sh**ty Rigs.  It's a blog that features a variety of pictures of camera and lighting rigs that are sometime genius, mostly unorthodox, and all amusing.  All you camera and lighting geeks would do well to check it out and follow for updates.  Tons of fun!

Good News!

Today's post comes as a bit of a surprise to many, including Dave Dodds of a number of years ago, when I began my freelance career in the film business.  I've discovered a deep appreciation for an unexpected part of the film and video world... News.  In June 2013, I joined the roster of cameramen at News 12 Long Island.  I think many in the filmmaking community devalue news for it's incredible pace and varying standards, and I'll admit, I've seen some sh**ty news shooting.  But done right, it's really worth taking the time to admire.

First off, there's no B.S. in news - there's no time for it.  Most days, your job is to get important content quickly so it can go out the same day.  No time for pre-production or location scouting before, or assembly cuts and copious amounts of post time afterwards.  Story happened today, so it goes out today.  Go into a place blind (unless you've been there before on another story) and make a decision quick about where you want to shoot.  Usually there isn't time to bring in your lights, so use what's there.  Quick!  Find your background.  Quicker!!  Now you're done, so hurry back to the studio to cut (or do it on your laptop in the field).  The 5pm show is quickly approaching!  Edit faster!!  There's a lot of room for the careless errors that fuel negative stereotypes of news production, but a newsman with a good eye can make it work.  That pace, though frustrating at times, can be exhilarating.

It's also an interesting feeling to see through a news package from pre to post in a workday.  There's a great sense of satisfaction to have your work on the air at the end of the day, unlike in the straight doc or doc tv world where you've got at least a few months turnaround.  I've often had things air so far after shooting that I've almost completely forgotten what it was all about.

I'm not going to be turning down Discovery Channel any time soon.  I enjoy the scale of that work and the care put into the projects there and in other longer forms of documentary.  But, I'll definitely look forward to the news days and the refreshing change of scenery and pace... not to mention the 15 minute commute to and from the studio :)

Flip Flop Gorilla

The last few years have been really interesting for me, at least as far as equipment goes.  Regarding DSLR video, I went from they're nice but not video-friendly enough, to basically swearing by them for certain styles of production...

I now am of the camp that HDSLR (Canon, particularly) cameras are among the best options for guerilla and low-profile filmmaking - as long as you know how to focus and expose manually (those out there who are used auto focus, exposure and other auto features as a crutch should stay away).  Here's why:

• In "guerilla" or run and gun filmmaking we often don't have time or permission to light.  The DSLR cams have the ability to shoot at a very high ISO (sensitivity).  And they're so good that the digital noise typically associated with doing this (raising your gain on a conventional video camera) is often hardly noticeable, and rarely distracting.
• Shallow depth of field.  Now this is where I really sound like I'm flip-flopping.  I used to be of the opinion that the shallow DoF was a pain for doc shooting... don't get me wrong, it does make things difficult for those out there who are used to letting the auto focus work.  However, I discovered on a recent shoot that the shallow DoF actually made things easier for a run 'n gun shoot I was on.  I was shooting footage on a nighttime police ride-along (awesome, yes, I know) and much of the interview was done while the officer was on duty, patrolling in the squad-car.  I used the shallow DoF (especially shallow because I needed to be wide open for exposure) to let the world outside of the vehicle get milky.  It let lights and signs blend together for this beautifully milky wash of moving, breathing color in the background.  It really made for a beautiful shot in a pinch.
• They're SMALL.  DSLR cameras are tiny and they look like still cameras.  Ok, fine, they are still cameras.  In the first bullet point, I mentioned lack of permission regarding lighting.  While most of my projects, big and small, are on the up and up as far as permits and permissions go, there's a good 10% that are done on the DL.  On those few projects, there are always any number of valid reasons for going that way, but we're not here to discuss those sorts of things.  Whether you're not supposed to be filming or you've been asked to be inconspicuous, the small form factor of DSLR cameras lets you be just that.  It's not a whole lot more than you just standing there.  In addition to avoiding attention, it also lets you shoot differently than you would with a larger camera.  You can essentially shoot anywhere your body fits - while a large-format camera ads considerable depth to your figure, so you're limited.

Below are some grabs from a recent run 'n gun shoot on a police ride-along - this shoot was the motivation for writing this post.  I basically encountered all of the above advantages over the course of that night.  This was footage for a segment in a PBS-bound documentary, "Small Matters," directed by Matt Wechsler.  It's a film about a young man with Tourette's Syndrome who's become an advocate for TS awareness with this segment showing some "success stories" of people who grew up with TS and made something of themselves in spite of the hardships and setbacks.  The producer wanted a very intimate feel, with the interview segment being shot inside the car with Brian (the officer).  Also, since I was working with Brian while he was on-duty, it was a huge advantage for me to be able to maintain a low profile.  Add to that shooting at night (LOW LIGHT) in an active police car and having absolutely ZERO control over anything... Thank heavens for the DSLR...

As I've said in previous posts, I'm not an advocate of any do-all camera or format, but the current crop of DSLR cameras, in particular, are certainly establishing a solid footing in professional video production.

New Doc Reel

Here's the new doc reel, a montage of clips from various projects through June 2011.