u/mfrymus-dop

So, I've been needing to get a new cinema camera as ours has died. But, the cameras that every brand is releasing is rather ergonomically not great. They look like hybrid cameras rather than cinema cameras. Rigging them can be a pain.

The closest camera I've seen to what I've been wanting is the Kinefinity Mavo Edge. A simple box design with proper ports, nothing else. No monitor, no dedicated lens mount, or handles or anything. I can build it up how I want it. It's THE PERFECT design. But, with the tech is behind and unreliable, it's not worth the buy.

Are manufacturers going to continue making cameras that resemble hybrid cameras and not a proper cinema style camera? Sucks the next best thing is $20K+! (Arri, Red, Venice) The BM Pyxis seems to be the closest thing, but the design is weird and clunky. Weird buttons, huge screen. Meh ports. The image quality is there, but design wise, it's not.

Just a small thought / rant.

Excluding camera, what gear do you bring on set with you?

When I work as a DP, I only come with a color meter and my 7" monitor that I use for monitoring exposure, with a Taradek receiver.

But wondering if investing in a set of cine lenses would be something to consider, such as Arles lenses, or maybe looking into other gear? Something that would help make me better at being a DP, helping to get unique shots, or setups, light effects, etc.

Is there anything to consider other than camera that is WORTH having as a DP? That is better to open than renting (if its possible).

*Not as a videographer, but as a DP on narrative & commercial projects. **I don't usually operate the camera, unless it's specific shots

I'm curious if this is worth doing and isn't considered "cheating"...

The best way to showcase my work as a DP is obviously to work on more projects. But, not every project aligns with your style, especially when you are not very established, but experienced.

What I'm thinking is shooting, not short films, but just short scenes as if it was a scene taken from a film (short or feature) - As doing a whole short film would be costly. But shooting a short scene would be totally doable and more effort could be put in, in terms of set dec, blocking, lighting, framing, etc.

Would doing these short scenes be something worthwhile doing and putting it on your portfolio/website as if it was just a scene from a film (without actually saying it's only a small segment)?

Seems like a good alternative to doing a whole film, where you can show more variety in your style and it would cost a lot less to produce. It may feel like "cheating", but its still work you can show off.

Wondering if Set a Light 3D is the best option to do previs with in depth lighting.

When I do location scouts, I take photos and do measurements of each location. But then I would need to create this from scratch in the software..

Maybe there's a way to use the lidar from an iPad (would need to upgrade) and import that so the location is already created and exact.

But will this software do that, or is there another software that allows it?

I have questions about when would the best time to be to shoot indoor scenes...

If we're shooting at a window in a house and we need to see the outside, where should the sun be?

If it's in front, the sun will shine through the window. If it's behind, then the sun will light up the background that's outside the window.

So what's the best option?

One problem I had was lighting an interior scene with the lights set outside, shining through a dirty window. Whenever we would look towards the window, we would see the background nicely exposed, like the trees, and houses, etc. but the window itself looked very hot as of there was a light blasting into it. It looked a bit fake too.

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Is there a workaround this when you need to light the interior yet the dirty window is producing a glowing window?