hype

as much as i want canon to succeed in this apparent iso-competition between canon and nikon ... it just makes me laugh.  canon announced the mark 4 today.  it's been being tested by beta-testers since at least that world soccer thing in south africa. 

from what i heard there wasn't any "buzz" -- the kind that doesn't make it on the friggin' internet -- about the video and high iso functions.  all i was hearing about was the autofocus ... seeing as how the mark 3's were ... well ... a bit less than what shooters wanted.

would i switch back to nikon?  no.  i'm not doing sports.  in as much as my friends who are "back to shooting nikon" show me the results with on-camera flash ... well ... what i have is still plenty good.

i'm not impressed by iso's in the 100,000+ range.  camera manufacturers want us all to think ... we need the newest equipment.  that's total bs.  in fact, my cameras are far better at making files than i am. 

if i were to go out and spend $10K on new golf clubs, i'd still be unable to break 100.

same thing goes for cameras.

i know that i've made a nine foot wide print with the files coming out of my 5dm2's and 1dsm3's.  21 mp is perfectly fine for the work i do.  if i need something bigger, i'll rent it.  looking forward to the time i need to use something like the s2! :)

back to iso.  back in the day film slrs would tout themselves as "the fastest," the smallest, the most feature-packed, etc., etc.  i think now it's gonna be a race to iso prominence.  i mean ... like that matters.  honestly, there's never been a shot i've missed due to my cameras not being able to shoot fast-enough isos.  i guess if you're shooting "kit glass" it could matter but i prefer shooting the fastest available glass. there's no substitute for good, fast glass.

then again, if you can't shoot, none of it really matters.

let's see what else?  oh, yeah, the 5dm2 and it's future 24/25p capabilities.  i don't believe shit i believe on the web.  having been part of the m9 project i can tell you ... the shit you see on the web is laughable.  my favourite piece of bullshit was the "the m9 will have the 5dm2 sensor" or the dude who took apart an m8 to prove it couldn't ever be full-frame.  BULLSHIT.  thing is ... even though both of the people who put that up on whatever board it was ... i'm sure they're still posting.  posting bullshit.

i'm sure they're still making horrible photos. ;)

honestly, from the film industry people i know who were using the 5dm2 on real film sets told me that the cameras came from canon but included some kind of hardware change and that at the time 24/25p couldn't be achieved with just a "firmware update."  interesting.

honestly, though, i don't know why people are so excited about 24/25p ... please tell me when you're gonna have this projected ... 'cause that's the only reason you'd want 24/25p.  i'm good with 29.97.  i just wish canon and even nikon would fucking forget this h264 bullshit.  i think they should output to apple prores 422!  do you know how much time i'd save in transcoding? ;)

get with the fucking program.  screw h264.  funny thing is that some "film expert" who's a friend of a friend told me "you can totally edit in h264."  um, sure, buddy.  you keep believing that.  funny 'cause i saw what this "film expert" shot himself and i almost threw up in my mouth.

whatever.

at least zeiss got another lens out for us canon-users!  so looking forward to both the 21 and the 28.  unsure about the 35 as i almost don't think it's gonna be wide enough to justify purchasing. dunno.  we'll see.

i'm sure you've seen laforet's latest production?  god damn do i hate linking to anything with the smugmug name in it.  that's the stupidest friggin' name on the planet.  smugmug?  fuck me.

i've been having a private conversation -- which arose from me taking something the wrong way -- with a longtime hollywood professional in the "camera department."  what i think is funny about "nocturne" is that it's a production.  yes, it's pretty to look at.  yes, it's edited beautifully. 

but can you do it?  well ... if you have a nice dolly, access to aerial stuff, rad stabilization gear, um ... a total steadicam pro and like 30 other people ... sure you can friggin' do it, too.  

i don't think that laforet has seen the cinevate stuff, surely, if he did he'd be using it ...

of course, unless, redrock has a big "marketing budget." ;)

there's this quote ... my friend dan ... one of the best grips and people i know.  he'll see something i'm working on and say "now that's gripping my friend."  i'd text him right now but i know he's sleeping as he's working nights on one of the only big-budget films shooting in town right now.

anyway ... it's this quote about how to make a movie ... and needing an army of people to accomplish it. 

just going out with "you and your friend" and a 5dm2 or 7d or whatever variant you use ... you'll never be able to do what laforet does.

ask laforet if he "focuses himself."  bet he doesn't. 

i remember going to the premiere of some movie ... as a guest.  pretty enough.  i wouldn't expect any less.  i did notice a lot of flaws which ... for me ... because i'm an asshole took away from the story.  so ... at the after-party the person who brought me says "let's go say hi to xxx."

okay.

he says "so what did you think about the film?"

knowing he's a "leica guy" i knew i could say something other than what the ass-kissers would say, "um, may i be honest?"

"of course."

"it was a nice film except for the focusing on the close-ups."

he takes me by the arm away from a sea of suits -- people i know to be disgusting talent agents.  those suits were pissed that some "nobody" was getting the ear of one of the most successful producers on the planet.

after we're away from the earshot of "the suits" ... he says "that dumb motherfucker gave me 1 to 3 takes and i told him i wanted more."

i smile.

he goes on "those were the best-focused takes even though the takes weren't all that great.  i told him to fire the 1st asst. camera and he refused."

my smile dissolved to astonishment that this dude was sharing this kind of info, "... i told him i'd never use him again."

so .. i went and checked (i meant to in the past) ... the last and only film homeboy ever worked on ... as a director ... was the film mr. producer hired him for.  i love it when someone big in hollywood is NOT full of shit.  i won't go into exactly what mr. producer said but everything he said was true.

focus is important.

we then talked 30 minutes about everything leica.  the suits were glaring the entire time and when mr. producer actually gave me a hug ... and i left ... i said to one of the suits -- of course, a really short little guy -- "bro, you got an ugly spot on your tie."

he didn't but i thought i'd fuck with him as he clearly thought mr. producer and i had a relationship that ... we did not.

what he said to me ... lives inside my brain, though, and i think about it every time i'm shooting some little project.

my next project shoots soon.

and, yes, i'll be using a professional focus-puller or 1st a.c. as they're called ...

anyone who thinks they can do what laforet did alone, is smoking something funny.  you need a fucking army.

i know that sounds very american.

but the army i'm talking about isn't the kind which prosecutes improper and illegal wars...

they just make movies.

hope you're all well.

while i'm at it ... i want to thank you guys for continuing to read my site, making comments, sending me private emails ...

you guys are the best.

what i like the best about you guys?  is that you're all good shooters ...

unlike those other sites ... who's readers are just a bunch of old white guys who can't shoot their respective ways out of paper-fucking-bags.  and, no, leica is not just a status symbol.  if you actually knew the photo business -- like you claim to -- you'd know that leica is very much in the game.  then again, you'd have to talk to real photographers and not sycophants who -- for what reason i have no idea -- kiss your ass so that you mention them in your blog.  seriously, mate, please take some pictures so that we can see that you are talented. ;)  being a high school photo teacher doesn't mean shit ... nor does a bfa in photography.  in fact, a bfa usually means you can't shoot shit.  just so you know.  photos of trees and lawn furniture ... doesn't mean shit.

okay ... gotta jump in the shower.

cheers from a partly cloudy l.a.!

-c

UPDATE:  it would appear that laforet posted a blog to answer some questions.

also, the quote i was looking for was from orson welles ... "A writer needs a pen, an artist needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army."true then, true today, true about the laforet videos.  no way you're doing that with 2 people. ;)

Comments

[Neil Domingues]

Loved this, everybody who see's that video needs to read this blog.

And if it's dark enough that you need 100,000+ iso, I'd love to see somebody manual focus that properly if you can't even see your camera. I guess those sort of people are used to "pointing and praying" anyway.

[randall slavin]

i love it.... i just wish you would post more often. (I hope my shooting measures up.)

[C Weeks]

@neil: thanks, man. happy you enjoyed the fruit of my rant. 100,000 what the fuck? seriously, 6400 is useful. a good 6400 is really really useful but ... i'm good with 3200 and 1600 on my canons and ... my m9! :)

pointing and praying!

[C Weeks]

@randall: given how i feel about your work reading your comment meant a lot to me. thank you so much.

your shooting is spectacular and i hope everyone reading this comment goes and visits your site: http://www.randallslavin.com !

wish i had more time to write. actually, i'm starting to write a monthly column for a british magazine. i'll let you know when it starts coming out! miss seein' ya' around, man.

[Riccis]

Right on, brother! I'm more than happy with the M9 and Tri-X for my MP...

[Dzu Nguyen]

yea action shots like laforet's there definitely would require a bit of a team...but I think to film a sort of....more focused theme (like a dialogue or something) really wouldn't require too many hands.

Man...I think the video capability is tempting me to defect! Still nikon at heart though ;D

[Chris Livsey]

" i'm starting to write a monthly column for a british magazine"

Now that's much more exciting news than 100,000+ iso my UK side of the pond. Go on give us a clue, most are crap, BJP is earnest and sincere though but weekly.

[Stewart Bywater]

Nice post Chris – great timing!!

I'm trying to watch the Laforet video, but my connection is really slow today, so I'll have to look later. I'm sure it's impressive, no matter how many people he used though!

People who want to make films should keep in mind that Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi for $7,000 and that included renting a huge camera and paying for the film, so I'm thinking the equivalent would be about $3,000 if you've already got a camera that can shoot HD video. Personally, I find him truly inspirational (even if his films are a bit cheesy – but I like them anyway). He didn't have a steadycam operator for that film, he got his friend to push him around in an old wheelchair, and filmed the whole thing himself. What I like best about him is that he puts the 'five minute film school' extras on his DVDs. It's worth buying them just for that.

Anyway.. thanks for another great post. Hope the next one has some photos in it!! :)

Speak soon,

Stewart

[Ben]

phew, us MFA graduates got of by the skin of our teeth in this one! Whats wrong with empty chair photographs infront of abandoned buildings. Original?!

I used to love watching people scowl at my old Canon 20D and ask me if I own another body. Then I'd go home, load my images and see the shit they had posted! A good camera aint no guarantee! Although I'd probably drop slightly less shots if I had a pair of 1Ds Mark III's.

[Ajovah]

Interesting stuff, man.
Love the story about you as a guest at some premiere. Exciting thing that movie business.

Stay safe and take care, Chris!

[Ajovah]

Oh and Randall Slavin is fucking awesome.

[Eduardo Frances]

I was talking with a friend about the Movie, image quality wise is nice, but apart from that there´s no much difference from what we saw in Reverie (lot of shallow DOF, "cool" music, no dialog) and you would kinda expect more since 1 year has passed since the 5D MKII and reverie.

I also agree that the fucking hype is too much in camera gear and the dreams they are trying to feed to indie film makers wannabe´s, As you rightly said you need a crew and more than a 1D MKIV or a 5D MKII or a 7D or a D3s or X camera with movie to film something similar it is kinda misleading to not be open about the process from Laforet side...

Much of what you see that has been added to the MK IV feels like what Canon did with the 1D MKII N, although I hope they got AF right (but the samples they hanged SUCK so much I dunno why the fuck they don´t hire real outstanding pros to shoot the fucking samples).

Congrats on the monthly column :)!!!

My best wishes for you and your loved ones

Eduar

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=667199668]

Never mind the name... I find that Smugmug's videos don't playback very well, at least on my PC here, with a tendency to restart if you move the mouse pointer over it... sucks, because that is what the guys over at Photofocus use for their tutorial videos... :P

Watched the Laforet film... meh. Looks pretty, but I think people are getting swept up in the ooh-look-we-can-make-pretty-movies-with-awesome-dof-and-shiznizz wave generated by the arrival of the 5D2 and others... I think videocams will still have a role for a good while yet.

Interesting to hear you're going to be writing for a UK photography mag... a lot of dA folks have been getting regular gigs writing for various CG / Photoshop / digital art mags, but I think you're the first person I know from dA doing writing work for a photo mag, unless you know different?
Editing in h264? I suppose you could, but I think of h264 as an output format, not an editing / archival format. Again, another case of flavour-of-the-month.

[Mike Francis]

Good post Chris, I am finding all your posts a good read and wisdom practical. Thanx

[Sonny Thakur]

We have a group of white men who shoot lawn furniture this side of the globe. What irks me the most is one of them has a whole fridge of 4x5 polaroid film and takes photographs only his mom would be proud of. What a waste.

[C Weeks]

@riccis: my sentiments and set-up exactly. doing a shoot for a fancy director and that's what i'm bringing, mate. hope you're well!

[C Weeks]

@dzu: honestly, i think you'd be surprised what "production value" looks like even on a dialogue-only scene or something else that seems "essentially simple."

i know nikon has some terrific video capabilities i just don't know which does what.

your camera really doesn't matter.

[C Weeks]

@chris: 100,000 iso. my god. it's like they're tapped out in the mp game so ... iso ... is next. in fact, i think the next thing will be emulsion emulation. ;)

i'll write about it when my first article is accepted. ;)

[C Weeks]

@stewart: ya' know ... never saw it. i've only seen two rodriguez films to be honest.

if you have a story-driven project with only a few locations, i think you could do something wonderful for sure.

that may be giving away too much on my end, though.

hope you're well, mate.

[C Weeks]

@ben: there's you, who'll i'll respect for many reasons, even though you have an mfa, and another couple friends as well.

um ... i just had a conversation with someone who shoots the 5dm2 and not one of the better l-lenses ... and he does covers of huge publications. i think it's funny.

i think we both know the work of some who shoot with the best, get the best access and are completely shit photographers, no?

[C Weeks]

@ajovah: that story will stick with me forever.

and, yeah, randall's amazing. stoked you like his work!

[C Weeks]

@eduardo: i liked reverie a lot because it was so groundbreaking in so many ways. it was like "the conversation" to me in that it was a mood more than a story. honestly, i loved what he did with nocturne, even though he picked a name which kinda plays into the whole vampire-loving thing going on right now.

i'm happy that he put so many credits at the end because if someone really pays attention they can see "you can't just do that" with you and your friend. impossible.

as much as i want canon to succeed i have a feeling the AF won't be what people want. just a feeling.

i'm ALWAYS amazed that camera companies a) hire such shit photographers to do their examples and b) give cameras to people like dpreview. ;)

hopefully the article flies. :)

and thanks for the best wishes.

[C Weeks]

@alan: i can't get past the name. kinda like deviantart but whatever. i like dA. ;)

i've seen very very few good pieces of content shot with the 5dm2. most are stupid ass focus-pulls of people on a street with stupid fucking music. in my opinion. ;)

that's cool other people from dA are getting gigs; there's definitely some talent there. like any site, though, there are plenty of dumbasses as well. ;)

[C Weeks]

@mike: thanks, man! glad you find it interesting!!!

[C Weeks]

@sonny: that's sad. poor poor polaroid film being wasted by wanks. :(