Should I get a new camera?

My dad wanted a DSLR for his birthday, so I was going to give him my Canon T2i, since maybe I should get a new camera in the future anyway. I would save more money doing that, than buying him another camera, then buying a whole new one for myself.

But I was thinking, perhaps it's better just to use money in the future to higher DPs, instead of get my own new one. Right now in filmmaking, it seems that people rely on me to have my own equipment too much, rather than just use theirs. I got a DP to shoot a short of mine for example, but her car was impounded along with the camera inside, she told me later, and cannot afford to get the car out. And she says we can just use mine instead.

But I figure in the future, my money may be more well spent if I just hire better people who are more reliable on having their own equipment. They know that they cannot allow anything to go wrong, if they want to remain hired for the movie, since I don't have a good enough back up camera, on hand, so maybe the money will be more well spent on better disciplined people. I often have to fill in for an actor anyway, and do not like having to set up the camera, and have it rolling with no one behind it.

Or if I should get my own camera still just in case I need it, I would like to know which is the best for me? Outdoors at night on downtown streets has always been a concern as I may want a camera that is better on noise. I was told the GH3 and perhaps the new GH4 coming out are. The new GH4 I hear has a global shutter too, so no jello effect problems hopefully!

I would also like a camera that can shoot at 60fps and still be at full HD, or perhaps even higher frames per seconds speeds, for slow motion if I want it. I would also like one where I can dial in the color temperature manually, allowing me to choose whichever temperature I want, rather than relying on magic lantern which can be a bit faulty sometimes I find.

I would also like a camera, that can not only take prime lenses but hopefully zoom lenses, with a constant aperture for zooming, and not have it be too expensive. But if that's not an option I can color correct the aperture changes in during the zoom I suppose. I would also like a camera that has a good amount of picture styles to choose from to give better cinematic looks.

I guess that's it for all I want in a new camera. If I think of more features I will add them in. Any ideas what camera could best suit these low budget needs? Another thing is camera technology is changing so much now, compared to audio technology. You can use the same field recorder for years and people will think it's good, but with cameras, it seems that everyone wanted HD when it came out over SD, and now 4K is coming, so maybe a GH3 will be considered sub-par in two years. I would like a camera, hopefully good enough that I would not have to update again for at least 8 years if I am to buy another one, as oppose to relying on a DP.

Thanks.
 
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I have been trying that for several weekends for the past two years, but my friends keep canceling on me and never really want to do it. When casting calls fail, I always try to get friends. I will try again this weekend.
 
I have been trying that for several weekends for the past two years, but my friends keep canceling on me and never really want to do it. When casting calls fail, I always try to get friends. I will try again this weekend.

Can you do some favors for your friends so they owe you one.
 
I would suggest Dale Carnegie.

He is good too.

you'll be 100x better by this time next year if you do that

Great advice Don. What's the best he won't follow your advice?

I'll put money down on the following result: "Failed, made excuse"

I have been trying that for several weekends for the past two years, but my friends keep canceling on me and never really want to do it.

Don't your friends like you?

Try the line, "I'll make you famous"... See how that goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOzOdj7JmfE
 
My last casting call was:

Cast and crew wanted for local short film.

"It's a 2 page short film script, that I plan on shooting in two days over the weekend, in late January.

The two characters are a man and woman couple in their 20s-30s.

It is a non-payed project where everyone can work on their craft, but you will be wined and dined throughout the shoot, and not to mention a thank you dinner afterwards!

Thank you for your interest!"

That's how I worded my last add.

:rolleyes:
You're not quite selling your project, aren't you?
You say NOTHING about the project except: the script is 2 pages and the 2 characters are male and female in their 20s-30s.
Why would anybody be interested in a vague project?
Besides that: it's devoid of enthousiasm.

This is almost as bad as: 'I got a new camera, so I'm looking for beautiful girl for photoshoot.'
Models like to know: idea, style, etc. Especially when you lack a portfolio...
The same goes for actors: most like to know what it is about, so they can decide whether or not it's interesting for them. The mere fact that it's a short is not enough to make people think: 'Yeah!!!'
(That could happen when you have a portfolio people like and they already know you and liked working with you.)

You need to at least say what genre it is.
Sell your project!
Your casting call is more about food than about the content of the short.
(Do see the differences with my casting call?)


Imagine a movietrailer saying this:
"A film by Who Knows?
A 118 pages script
A male and a female character
The budget was tight.
Cast and crew had dinner when it was a wrap.
Soon in cinemas near you!"

Do you think people will go to watch it?
 
Imagine a movietrailer saying this:
"A film by Who Knows?
A 118 pages script
A male and a female character
The budget was tight.
Cast and crew had dinner when it was a wrap.
Soon in cinemas near you!"

Do you think people will go to watch it?

I might go see that, just because it would be kind of funny to hear that as the script for a trailer. But I'd wait for the cheap theater. :P
 
1) You have to sell a project with confidence. If you aren't confident and excited about it, why would anyone else be? If you're nervous and wary, you aren't going to inspire others to jump on board.

Look, you really need to understand this simple concept.

I live in a small town of about 20K people. I wanted to make movies.. I came up with a concept, talked to my pastor he got excited..we recruited people from our small church, people I didn't even know well as I had just moved here a year earlier, and we shot our first film. And you know why it got completed? Because the pastor and I, no matter the issues that came up, stayed excited and positive. We dealt with snow, rain, scheduling conflicts due to only being able to shoot on Saturdays, loss of our DP for a few days shooting, non-actors not knowing their lines... Every shooting day we had a handful of major problems crop up. But we stayed excited and solved these issues right there. We instilled confidence that time wasn't being wasted.

Our first film was lost due to a crashed hard drive.We got to show it twice but all the footage was gone. Lesson learned.

Our second film, which I posted here, was boring in the camera dept..rough, to be polite, in the
audio dept. Lessons learned.

Our 3rd film has more camera movement and the audio is marginally better, but we have a long ways to go. We have actually had requests to show this film at a Christian film festival, local churches, and other venues. And for me, it's mediocre. It doesn't meet my vision in my mind when we first started... but it's completed. Lessons learned.

I personally have made about 4 to 5 shorts with my kids and have gotten them excited about these small projects.

You need to be confident and excited about your projects.

Almost every post of yours includes these three words "The problem is". Stop thinking that way and find a way to change that to be "The solution is". If you can't do that, you will not succeed. You need to learn to be a problem solver.

Good luck man.
 
Okay thanks. I will change my way of thinking around and be more positive. I will also not try to be as picky about letting things go in the productions. I will post a more positive add.
 
A bakers dozen of dragons would be better.. :P


For reals though...

This:
https://vimeo.com/85040589

Do you have good taste? Churn through as much as you can until your skill matches your level of taste. If you can't or aren't willing to, give up and stop wasting time and money, pick up a new hobby; gardening, for example.
 
Don't even THINK about making a short until you buy this . . .


Bullet-Grip-10-Ton-Grip-Truck-B2-Full-Shot-72.jpg
 
Some may have noticed the Dutch won a lot of medals with ice skating :P

One of the coaches has a message for H44.
Watch it till 0:41
That is the message!
"You have to believe in yourself."
And then watch the rest, because it is funny :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6EaEb2hswk

BTW,
he trained his pupil very well and believed he could beat his teammate and ruling worldchampion Sven Kramer. And he did while nobody in the world believed that could happen. So he knows about mindset.

PS.
The coach actually likes American Football, but hey, someone needs to draw attention...
 
Don't even THINK about making a short until you buy this . . .


Bullet-Grip-10-Ton-Grip-Truck-B2-Full-Shot-72.jpg
And that's just to transport the script!

The camera gets transported in this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRcE8guvTJU

And the tripod or (shakeycam hand-holder!) in this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbick3SbsOU
 
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I have been trying that for several weekends for the past two years, but my friends keep canceling on me and never really want to do it. When casting calls fail, I always try to get friends. I will try again this weekend.

It positively boggles the mind. The county that I film in has a population a little more than 100,000 thousand and I had no issues finding actors for my first full short film. Granted here in the States the population isn't as spread out, but you mentioned earlier that you live in a city of 300,000 so I'm assuming you live in Saskatoon. That's a huge supply of possible actors to pull from.

My short was filmed with three actors that I found via Craigslist and some fliers at the local college. It was crewed by myself and a good friend. Their only payment was a few dollars for gas and free food. The movie ended up being terrible, but it got made and I learned more from that failure than I ever did from test videos.

If you really want to make a movie, there's nothing to hold you back.

As far as cameras, save the money and use that for sound or for crew. When I first started I was concerned about the camera and wanted one with all sorts of bells and whistles. But on the advice I found on this site, I settled on a Canon Vixia HF10. It's not the most powerful, it's not the prettiest, but it gets the job done, it was in my budget, and I love it. Now when I take the next step I'm going to find a DP with his own camera that suits what the movie needs so I can concentrate on directing.

TLDR: Save money, don't get another camera. You shouldn't have issues finding 3 actors and 3 crew in a population of close to 300,000. Others have done it, so it's possible.
 
Man h44, I have to give you major props buddy. You are truly a master at your art. You have pulled off the most epic troll in the history of internet forums. 4 years later and people are still responding to your posts. I cannot comprehend how much time you have shaved off indietalk memebers lives. It could be years by this point. I will always remember you as the greatest troll the internet has ever seen.

Keep up the good work brother!
 
It positively boggles the mind. The county that I film in has a population a little more than 100,000 thousand and I had no issues finding actors for my first full short film. Granted here in the States the population isn't as spread out, but you mentioned earlier that you live in a city of 300,000 so I'm assuming you live in Saskatoon. That's a huge supply of possible actors to pull from.

My short was filmed with three actors that I found via Craigslist and some fliers at the local college. It was crewed by myself and a good friend. Their only payment was a few dollars for gas and free food. The movie ended up being terrible, but it got made and I learned more from that failure than I ever did from test videos.

If you really want to make a movie, there's nothing to hold you back.

As far as cameras, save the money and use that for sound or for crew. When I first started I was concerned about the camera and wanted one with all sorts of bells and whistles. But on the advice I found on this site, I settled on a Canon Vixia HF10. It's not the most powerful, it's not the prettiest, but it gets the job done, it was in my budget, and I love it. Now when I take the next step I'm going to find a DP with his own camera that suits what the movie needs so I can concentrate on directing.

TLDR: Save money, don't get another camera. You shouldn't have issues finding 3 actors and 3 crew in a population of close to 300,000. Others have done it, so it's possible.

Okay. One audition I held long before, five actors showed up, so they are here, somewhere. One actor wants to work with me again, and it's a matter of finding more. He said that Saskatoon culture just has no passion for art, and that's just not our people. But that's probably not true, and I guess I just need to make my adds sound better, and really sell it.
 
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