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I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for large silk material, diy or otherwise. I'm curious if the expensive options like Lee 216 are much better than, say, a shower curtain. I want a large material that I can hang/mount to a stand to create a very large diffused light source. As...

Oh, awesome! That's what I was wondering. Thanks a lot!

Do you thread the stem of the light stand through the handle of the sand bag, then? Are there different sand bags for light stands compared to c-stands?

I realize this is a bit of a newbie question, but how do heavy sandbags stay on lightstands' legs without rolling off? I've seen some with clips to attach to the stand's stem, but most sandbags don't have them! What's the deal?

Hi guys, I'm in the early stages of preparing to DP a feature film where the mandate is absolute realism. In order to make the footage look as real as possible, I'm considering shooting it at sixty frames a second. The only problem is, we're using a t3i, which only shoots 1080p at 30 frames a...

Hey, thanks a lot! Man, that's a lot of useful information. Obsessively searching the net, I found Phillip Bloom recommending just this: http://philipbloom.net/2010/05/11/why-i-recommend-the-zf-2-lenses-for-canon-dslrs-over-the-ze-2/ I also found a huge number of awesome videos shot with...

I'm looking at the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/2 lens for my T3i. On the crop-sensored body, it's a 56mm equivalent, so it'll make a good standard lens for filmmaking. Man, that lens is sexy. But here's the thing. If I'm going to spend over a thousand dollars on this lens (and skip over the...

On set, when I dump cards, I... 1) copy the files over, 2) double-click on each one in sequence to make sure it plays, 3) confirm that the alphabetical first and last file have copied, so I've got every file, 4) delete the files off the card. Now, the only problem I have with this workflow...

See, I've heard the same thing about tripods. Like, the moment you set down a tripod, you've crossed the line and the police will clamp down on you. This always seemed a little silly to me, since tripods come in many sizes and shapes, and a lone photographer with a DSLR and a tripod will never...

Great insights, as usual! Thanks, guys.

I've been hanging out with the sound guys on a film project I'm working on, and they were describing the exhaustive process that audio goes through before delivery: dozens of filters, equalizers, and the like, all simply designed to improve the quality of the actor's voices. For me, hearing...

If you could only afford one lens, which one would you choose? What if your lens budget was $1000? I'm not just speaking hypothetically, of course. I'm in the process of saving up for a t3i, and I am sick and tired of just sticking to those unfortunate stock lenses. My primary use will be...

Ah, that's a good point--plus I'll need to rent an additional battery as well. Fortunately, lenses won't be a problem; I'll just borrow my 20D's L lenses.

I've been looking into renting a 5D MkII for a short film shoot, and this website seems to have a fairly attractive offer. I'm wondering if you guys think $167 is reasonable for a four-day rental (especially since I plan on only filming two days), or if you guys have an superior alternative...

Thank you guys for the advice!

I wrote this contract for Crew members for a feature I'm producing, but I don't have any experience doing this and there's a good chance I did something wrong. Let me know if I missed/forgot about something obvious, or whatever criticisms come to mind. CREW CONTRACT Definitions: the...

Our independent feature film "Henryk" needs grips and PAs for our October-December shoot. We're looking for enthusiastic, reliable people, from all areas of the Puget Sound, who can help out on set. Our project is a highly ambitious neo-noir feature, and is on a very tight budget. Subsequently...

This is an almost embarrassingly basic question, but I'm wondering if it is fully legal to film on the street without any permission. What if I'm filming the exterior of a post office? What about a city park or a beach? Is there any way this guerilla footage could be made unavailable because of...

I'm involved in a production with a scene that takes place in a church with a good number of people, anywhere from 15 to 50, with more being better. Since extras are hard to come by, especially without pay, I've been considering using post production to increase the size ofthe crowd. Here's...

Haha, nice! Plus you have to pay for the audio equipment, too, right? Since the audio implementation on the DSLRs sucks and all. I guess you could use offline editing in a pinch... that would be cheaper but also a lot more technical and time consuming (and you'd need professional editing...