[Konvas] OCT-19 Canon DSLR

[Adam Frey]

colcam at aim.com wrote:
> but you have to be both blind in reality and blinded by "wanting" to
> accept most of what DV is pushing today.

H.W.,
I whole-heartedly agree, but in my area it's quite cut-throat when it 
comes to video. Most customers don't care about the image anywhere near 
as much as they care about the pricetag. They want it done as cheaply as 
possible - but they would like it to look better than their competitors.

Basically, this is the pencil pushers and number crunchers - in other 
words the corporate suits, who are not into film and no where near 
artistic, looking at it as if it were a different way of sticking flyers 
on every window of every car in every parking lot in the area... It's 
cheap and it gets the point across.

Many want a full (2-10 minute) promo commercial or video for a whopping 
$300-$5000. And that's no joke - about once a week, I'll get a phone 
call from a tire-kicker asking me to shoot a music video or some other 
video (oh, and they would like the works too). I've gotten so used to 
these calls that I'll come straight out and ask them their budget - and 
it's usually, "We were thinking $300, but it would have to look really 
good." I guess it's possible to make a living dealing with $300 clients, 
but my current gear would have to get sold and replaced by the super 
cheap stuff. And honestly - I don't want to work in that market.

While on the topic, I priced out a commercial shoot using actual film (a 
30 second spot) yesterday for a potential new client. The company said 
they wanted a real pro look, and knew that film would get them there, 
and they even showed me a few youtube clips of what they had in mind. I 
gave them an estimate for a one day shoot, but they were questioning 
several aspects of it. For instance, "Are all those people really 
necessary?" I figured it for a small crew: Director, DP, AD, AC, PA, and 
a decent Soundperson. I could probably get by without *all* of them on 
set, but I'd rather have the proper people there to make it look as good 
as possible and for the set to run smoothly (is that asking too much?).

I'm positive they will get bids from at least a few other local 
companies that will give them extremely reduced prices (probably 15-20% 
of the price that I gave them) and these same people will promise them 
that their crappy little video cameras (HD or not) will look much better 
than film, because it's digital... Btw: Besides me, no one else in the 
immediate vicinity is shooting film or anything even remotely close to a 
high-end HD or RED camera. Some of them are still shooting with the 
DVX100 and saying it looks better than film because it's 24fps ("just 
like film"). But, I wouldn't doubt that at least one of the smarter 
companies will tell them they can shoot a much better looking commercial 
with an HDSLR like the 5D.

That's the reality of the market that I live in.

Anyway, I digressed a little (okay, a lot). Shooting with film, a RED, 
or other high-end HD camera is nice. But that's only if the customer 
doesn't mind a larger budget. Most customers in my area are content to 
see 2-3 people show up, bringing in a few lights, and a video camera on 
a skinny little tripod. Anything more is not necessary - like sprinkles 
on a cupcake.

To get them at least a somewhat decent look (something better than their 
competitor's) with a low price-tag, you could use these cheap HDSLRs 
shallow DOF to your advantage. You don't need a lot of light, so you 
don't have to bring in anything more than a few 600-1000w lamps. Throw 
up a softbox, give them a rim light, and go...

I found and watched this one a while back, shot with the 5D, and I think 
this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:
http://bit.ly/2OKysp
If it doesn't work, you can try the full URL:
http://www.gucciboy.com/login/client_area/Syman_LA_Microsoft_70909_FINAL_with_levels_boosted.mov

You can see they worked around the limitations of the camera as much as 
possible (although it's not overly blatant, you can see a little of the 
jellocam in the walking shot). Overall, it looks decent - and, 
unfortunately, I'd be willing to bet that not one customer in my area 
would hate the look the 5D, 7D, GH1, or any of the others provide.

Also, for some reason the tinyurl's weren't working for me that I posted 
earlier, so here's the full links:
http://www.abelcine.com/store/product.php?productid=1001600
http://www.abelcine.com/articles/index.php?option=com_content&id=385


Cheers,

Adam Frey
Director/Cinematographer
Crimson Chain Productions
http://crimsonchainproductions.com
Cell: 301-639-7146

Crimson Chain Productions
PO Box 35
Libertytown, MD 21762