A few weeks ago, in an unexpected windfall, I acquired a very lightly use Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera via Ebay. I’d been angling for a Pocket Cinema but was very hesitant because of known battery life issues along with manufacturing defects that seemed to crop up.
I decided to go with the BMMCC for the 60p RAW capabilities, and it’s modular form factor. I am a tinkerer and optimizing my gear is always super fun for me, albeit very expensive. G.A.S is real [Gear Acquisition Syndrome].
my new camera
I am absolutely loving this camera. The transition from a Canon t5i dslr to a proper cinema camera is a leap in kind rather than degree. It’s so dope to go out and shoot and have the tools and hardware to create beautiful images in most conditions.
Shooting RAW in low light situations and bring up the exposure in post is kind of a revelation.
Here are some new test shots.
slomo-choluladavid on the bridge
Looking forward to rigging this camera out for run-gun type shooting. So I found the below setup, but need to figure out how to best position my cheapo 7″ monitor.
I took an introduction to electronics soldering workshop @NYCResistor in Brooklyn this past Sunday. NYC Resistor is a hacker collective with a shared space located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. They hold regular gatherings to share knowledge, hack projects and drink Club Mate. It’s definitely one of my favorite nyc finds next to the Dream House.
I’ve never properly learned how to solder on a circuit board. I’d learn decorative soldering about 10 years ago on a stained glass project, and more recently took a basic welding tutorial @ the Madagascar Institute but never soldering.
I’ve finally purchased a small gridded softbox – DFUSE for my Amaran 672 LED panel. I’d barely used the light in the time that I’ve had it because I could never figure out how to control it. The spread is wide, even though its the Spot version so the grid comes in very handy.
Samples – I have another small Bescor 1×1 – very old, that is giving me a very small rim on my right side:
David toplightDavid toplight 02David toplight 03
This version is with the same over head softbox slightly angled to light the background slightly.
David toplight 04David toplight 05
I finally brought my ISO down to 160 to see how the light would perform at that sensitivity. I am definitely suffering with this Rebel T5i, the dynamic range is crappy and low light performance is abysmal.
Since my last post in May a lot has gone down. I’ve really ramped up my efforts to get more interviews under my belt and begin to build my reel. I’m gaining more confidence with my equipment and the images I am producing are getting closer and closer to what and how I envision them.
It may seem strange, but this is the first time in quite a while that I’ve really felt the inevitability of improvement as long as I continue to push and practice. I don’t get as upset when things go wrong, or I miss a shot, and have been much kinder to myself about the rate of my improvement. I know my work will get better.
Here are some stills from my latest work/experiments:
interview with pastor omar – T5iinterview with pastor omar – Nikon 3400interview with Sara S. shot on Blackmagic Pocket
As I am growing into this new type of storytelling, through the words of other people. I do feel like I am out growing my equipment fairly quickly. I’m struggle with the dynamic range of my T5I. I like really dark dramatic photography, and would love a camera that gave me a few more stops. I’m also considering a big flat LED softbox to replace my 120D as my main keylight and use the fresnel spot for a bright hair light. That said. I promised myself and my fiancé that I wouldn’t buy any new gear until I got at least one paid job for shooting.
Do to my obsession with finding an affordable replacement to my T5i, I’ve been researching the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.
blackmagic pocket
The pocket is about 5 years old and while ancient by current video standards, still creates an image that is really incredible. It doesn’t shoot 4k, has awful battery life, and requires a lot of kitting out to make it ergonomic, its still use quite a bit, even showing up on big budget Hollywood sets as a stunt or crash camera, because it’s affordable yet it’s footage grades very well with the Alexa.
I rented the camera off of Sharegrid for $100 for 6 days, and had a great time testing it out. The camera can be found used on ebay and craigslist for about $600, often with a bunch of batteries and a cage. I would have to buy a speedbooster/focal reducer, battery solution, rails system, etc to get this to a place ergonomically comfortable, but it seems like a good solution while I continue to learn.
Today I am listening to a new album by DJ Koze – knock knock. Really digging it. As I’ve gotten older I seem to gravitate more and more to noisy music. I think it’s the use of non-melodic or inorganic samples that blend with the beat. It is definitely some kind of post-industrial nostalgia, but I’m okay with that…
DJ Koze Knock Knock album cover
So I was searching for the phrase “What do we talk about when we talk about God”. Was was sure I wasn’t the first person to think of this phrase but I need to verify.
I found a book by a Rob Bell, with the same title. Apparently he’s a super famous preacher in California. I dug a bit and found an interview where he gets completely eviscerated on a radio talk show – its very hard to listen to – I think he almost starts crying ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . So down this christiandom rabbit whole I go and find this video.
Not only is the topic of the the doc well conceived, but the lighting is fantastic. I especially like the use of the warm hard light on brown skin and as a hair light, it pops off to give an awesome halo, especially on the ladies.
It occurred to me last night, that there must be a way to search within Google’s archive of results, words / phrases and their use over time – frequency of occurrence down to when it first entered the record. While I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, I found the Google Ngram Viewer.
My morbid preoccupation with the existential abyss that is life on earth and penchant for apocalyptic thinking in general, I endeavored to see what patterns if any we could glean from the archive.
GRAPHS
“apocalypse” google ngrams chart“crisis” google ngrams chart“dooms day” google ngrams chart“end of days” google ngrams chart“end of the world” google ngrams“end times” Google Ngrams Chart“pandemic” Google Ngrams Chart“pestilence” Google Ngrams Chart“the second coming” Google Ngrams Chart
late entry…how could I have forgotten Armageddon??
armageddon ngram chat
Impressions
This dumb experiment turned out to be super interesting. I’d originally wanted to search for references to the so called Opioid Crisis, and dig into how Pharma was marketing to doctors as the new crop of opioids were being developed.
In broads strokes, the whole 19th century seemed pretty fuuuuuucked up. Things started to chill out in the early 20th century. Now on the eve of the 21st century there is slow but steady increase in hysteria around the end of the world. The WWI spike in the Armageddon chart is dope.
Granted, this is far from a scientific study – obviously certain words and their usage have their moments based on a multitude of influences [for instance my word choice is obviously indicative of a particular Christian upbringing] but it is interesting to think about.
The “Dooms Day” chart is by far the most interesting. It ebbs and flows, like clockwork every 10 years or so…
Doing a dump of lighting test I’ve done over the last few months.
I’d ordered and LED Fresnel, the Aputure 120D with softbox and a few other smaller LED lights and have been steadily working on defining a few looks. At some point I’ll formalize these types of lighting scheme into a tutorial of some kind. More documenting more making. #2018goals.
I will get better at blogging. I will it and it shall be so.
This week I received two new books on the art and craft of documentary. I’ll be reading them over the next few weeks and report back.
The first book is In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing, by acclaimed editor and filmmaker Walter Murch. He’s cut The Conversation, American Graffiti, Julia, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather (parts II and III), The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Ghost, Crumb, Romeo Is Bleeding, First Knight, The English Patient, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
In the Blink of an Eye is on almost every cinematographer director reading list I found online – and is supposed to contain Walter Murch’s views on the craft of film and his philosophies on life and art.
Thankfully I’ve see a few of the films the book covers – Nanook of the North, Man with a movie camera, Titcut Follies, Sherman’s March, Thin Blue Line and Rodger and Me. I’m excited to see the remaining films in the book.
I am excited to finally get cracking on this blog. Since I’m out of commission recovering from my surgery and beginning to have enough energy to do some work, I’ve decided to start slow by watching documentaries.
After a very good conversation with my brother yesterday I am going to embark on documenting Angels Unaware – my stepmother’s mental health services agency. The goal is to make something. I can’t really say at this point what it will be, but documentary seems like an appropriate starting point. So first step: Learn what the heck a documentary is, and what it is not. That means watching a shit tonne of docs.
I just received my first batch of DVDs from my local NYPL branch. I did a prelim search for “top 100 documentaries”, “most influential documentaries”, “best documentaries of all time”, etc etc. I know this is only going to scratch the surface of what is considered “good”, but it’s a start. Found about 50 DVD/BlueRays available in the NYPL catalog, so they should begin rolling in over the next few days, and I’ll watch as many as I can per day, no less than 2.
