Easy guide to production
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) Despite many misconceptions, the most important part of cinematography and photography isn't the camera but the light. Finding the right time to shoot something outdoors is a bit of a feat, but fortunately there's an app for that. GoldenHour.One is a simple iOS … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) The vast majority of the film industry is male, and that goes from the lowliest PA to top executives. There are examples of women in every role in film production, but that tends to be the exception and not the rule. I know a few talented and hardworking women … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) Some of the best cinematographers are also photographers. And why not since both disciplines require an understanding of lighting, framing, color, exposure, etc. but both of them also basically come down to one thing: capturing the shot. There are differences, … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) One of the weird aspects of talking about cinematography is that the first question that comes to mind is, "What camera are you using." While what you're using to capture a scene is important, it doesn't matter until you consider lighting. I've briefly touched … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) 3D LUTs are all the rage these days for the DSLR and small form camcorder (as well as the large body cameras), and for good reason. The beauty of a good set is a non-destructive way to manipulate your image from a standard, mundane look, to something far more … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) SmallHD is releasing another awesome full HD field monitor, and this time it's the 7-inch 702 Bright with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, and it's pretty darn good for filming outside in the daylight. It seems to take the lessons learned from the 500 series of … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) SmallHD, makers of compact but full resolution HD camera-mounted monitors has announced that they are releasing a set of color grades 3D LUTs. Each LUT is based on one of seven different films which include Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Bad Boys 2, The … [Read more...]
By Danny F. Santos (doddleNEWS) Designing your framing is one of the most important aspects of cinematography. How you place your subjects will have a huge impact on the audience even if the audience doesn't know why. The most well known composition tool is known as the rule of thirds. Many DSLRs … [Read more...]
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) The Histogram is a mystery to some of us, and that's OK. Like a camera's zebras and false color (that's another blogpost), the Histogram is part of a mysterious features inside your camera or field monitor that some cinematographers always wanted to use, but never … [Read more...]
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) When we wrote our post about lenses that indie filmmakers could afford, a reader wanted to draw our attention to Samyang Optics. Samyang is a Korean lens manufacturer that started with optical equipment, such as security and closed circuit TV cameras. Now they've dove … [Read more...]
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) Low budget filmmakers and cinematographers often scour the local thrift store for unwanted 35mm DSLR lenses for filming needs, and hey, it's a good option for some. One can even "declick" them to make the lenses more cinematic. But there are affordable cinema lenses … [Read more...]
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) You may have read our post about how to make your smartphone movies more cinematic, and perhaps scratched your heads over phrases like "the 180-degree line," or the rule of thirds, in terms of image composition. While we touched on it briefly, we thought it would be a … [Read more...]
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) When it comes to shooting guerrilla-style, indies don't often have the budget for a multi-camera shoot of Canon C500's or ARRI ALEXA's to get the coverage you need. Some are lucky if they can afford a single DRAGON or Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. That's where a … [Read more...]
Inner Circle To Give Members "Virtual Mentoring" By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) When it comes to cinemtography, Shane Hurlbut lives on the bleeding edge. Whether he's evangelizing for the digital emulsion of today's digital cinema cameras, or using them to make movies with live ammunition, or … [Read more...]
By Laura Blum (doddleNEWS) Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael is the answer to the question, what do father-and-son roadie Nebraska and wartime treasure hunt The Monuments Men have in common? Jolting from Alexander Payne's moony monochrome to George Clooney's full-spectrum blitz typifies one of … [Read more...]
Awards given to VFX-heavy films By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS) I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process. If we could just get rid of these actors and directors, maybe we've got something here. - Griffin Mill, The Player If memory … [Read more...]
