cinematography My new visual reel, please take a look and tell me what you think :)
- Thread starter trijodthyronin
- Start date
In the reel above, originally she mixed shots from different movies in somewhat random way (at least that was my impression). So maybe she could reedit the reel in a way that the water shots are grouped together (lets say first part of reel), the warm family shots together, the small girl shots together, the youth group's shots together (movie by movie) and maybe make the music specific to each group. That way, we stil have diversity (6 visuals) and also can see some sequence or progression in each group. The styles and visuals' presentation and impact could improve and a viewer would understand her styles better. But that's just my opinion.
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When we were looking for DP's for my 2 features, we did exactly what @indietalk said: watch the full movies of those people we were interested in. Of course, after that we also interviewed them, because the ability to work with the person is at least as important as their skill. And believe me, there were several that came off the consideration list very quickly during meetings.
No I don't see any point in that. Just my opinion.
Produce. So maybe i talked from that point of view. Like you when you produce something, for me it is important how the particular DP visualizes the story (in details), so maybe I'd pay attention more to that, so one can already imagine how a particular DP would shoot the story. I agree that watching entire movies is, of course, difficult and short reel is always preferable, and in that reel i'd look not for variety of shots, but how that DP makes visual story and whether we'd like the way or not. But I apologize if my insistence on thematic grouping of shots led to confusion here or I seemed like very stubborn. So thats where I come from - when we're looking for DP to shoot a romantic movie (just an example), her ability to shoot various shots and styles (like an action movie or horror) is less important, than her ability to visually tell the particular story in the particular (for example) "dreamy" way or something like that, so arguably i'd look for a reel of such type. That's explanation of my point, probably.
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There are tings i'm interested in when looking for a DP. Do we share the same commitment to a project? Do you understand the story and can you work with the limitations that are given? Can we be friends? Chemistry. A DP with a big ego is not something i'm looking for.
Looks excellent, I'd want to hire you, if you were London based^^ the last shot (woman + girl on fence): Was the head light just the sun? And did you use bounce to brighten their faces? I guess Im asking what the lighting set-up was^^
Haha, thanks, maybe one day when I am in London.
Lost shot, it was just the sun, no bounce.
Beautiful work!
The only feedback I have is the beginning feels disjointed from the title. I think you could put the title first, and slow it down (or beef up the SHOWREEL title reveal behind the curtain). Maybe a slower motion shot approaching the curtain, to blow aside and reveal your name first, then SHOWREEL 2019... And then fade from black your content. The way it starts with the stopwatch and the little girl just feels out of place from the title. (unless the idea was to preview those films right off the bat, and then randomly cut in shots from those films later???)
Other questions if I may?
1. What camera and lenses do you prefer to work with the most? (I know its a very generic question)
2. What is your DP background/Most important lesson learned as a DP?
3. Did you do your own color correction in addition to filming those shots?
The only feedback I have is the beginning feels disjointed from the title. I think you could put the title first, and slow it down (or beef up the SHOWREEL title reveal behind the curtain). Maybe a slower motion shot approaching the curtain, to blow aside and reveal your name first, then SHOWREEL 2019... And then fade from black your content. The way it starts with the stopwatch and the little girl just feels out of place from the title. (unless the idea was to preview those films right off the bat, and then randomly cut in shots from those films later???)
Other questions if I may?
1. What camera and lenses do you prefer to work with the most? (I know its a very generic question)
2. What is your DP background/Most important lesson learned as a DP?
3. Did you do your own color correction in addition to filming those shots?
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Hey, thank you for comments.
I'll answer these 3 questions:
1. I prefer Arri Alexa, we all know why. About lenses, it depends on the projects so I can't give you an answer for that, but mostly I used Cookes.
2. I have master's degree in Cinematography at Faculty of Dramatic Arts In Belgrade. Most important lesson is that key of any project is preparations, lots of it and spending as much as time as possible, tuning yourself into the project and feeling what is the right image for the project.
3. For some films in reel I did my own grading, but for others I worked with colorist.
Thanks again!
Thanks so much for answering. It seems the combo of Cooke's and Arri makes a really beautiful image. I know we all say the tools are only a small part of the battle, but there is something to be said about the beauty of the shots like you have created.
Would you be able to answer one more? (I'm interested in being a DP in the future, which is why I'm asking so many things)
You said you like to tune into the style of the project. How do you prefer to do that with projects headed by a different Director? Do you look for film references or recommendations from the Director/Producer most of the time, or do you read about the project and use your own materials to build your look?
Hi trijodthyronin. Forgive me for being late to the party. I'm one of the audio folks here, and, as the joke goes, I wouldn't know an F-Stop from a bus stop. Consequently, I don't poke my nose into cinematography very often. However, being locked down, having nothing better to do and noticing how active the thread was, decided to pop in.
Just so you know, I have great respect for our founder and DirectorRik and ScoopicMan, so I would give weight to their advice. However, I also admire Mr. LapDance, so "ya pays yer money un makes yer choice."
From someone who knows nothing about cinematography, never needed or wanted to hire a DP, here's how it hit me.
I was a bit confused when the reel started, but got straightened out when "Visual Reel" came up.
I felt that the music didn't fit the reel. It doesn't really fit with your "dreamy style."
For my demo reels (wow, I haven't done one in years...) I always put my name, info etc. right at the top and again at the end. Since I was showing sequences from projects the name of the project appeared before the scene. (Each scene showcased a specific skill - Sound Effects [i.e. magic effects or a gunfight], dense dialog, Foley work, etc.) For me personally, for your reel, I would open up with a few longer sequences of establishing and wide shots (without faces to focus on? Hmmm...) before going into the quicker cutting. Or perhaps open up with your "Greatest Hits"? Here's sort of how it goes in my mind... Your info pops up and you go into the nice establishing shots from some of your projects and then maybe move on to a few action things. Next up is faces. So I sort of get what our StoneJack was getting at. Instead of narrative there is a purposeful sequence to what is seen. Of course, this probably breaks every rule in the book, and, as I said, I'm an audio guy, not visuals guy.
Just my locked-down two cents.
Ascetic - a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification
The word you are looking for is:
Aesthetics - Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty. A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.
And before the grammar police come calling, to TriJod English is a second language, and she writes it beautifully. As someone communicates intelligently and creates such beautiful work I figure she would welcome the correction, as people like that are always looking to expand their knowledge.
Just so you know, I have great respect for our founder and DirectorRik and ScoopicMan, so I would give weight to their advice. However, I also admire Mr. LapDance, so "ya pays yer money un makes yer choice."
From someone who knows nothing about cinematography, never needed or wanted to hire a DP, here's how it hit me.
I was a bit confused when the reel started, but got straightened out when "Visual Reel" came up.
I felt that the music didn't fit the reel. It doesn't really fit with your "dreamy style."
For my demo reels (wow, I haven't done one in years...) I always put my name, info etc. right at the top and again at the end. Since I was showing sequences from projects the name of the project appeared before the scene. (Each scene showcased a specific skill - Sound Effects [i.e. magic effects or a gunfight], dense dialog, Foley work, etc.) For me personally, for your reel, I would open up with a few longer sequences of establishing and wide shots (without faces to focus on? Hmmm...) before going into the quicker cutting. Or perhaps open up with your "Greatest Hits"? Here's sort of how it goes in my mind... Your info pops up and you go into the nice establishing shots from some of your projects and then maybe move on to a few action things. Next up is faces. So I sort of get what our StoneJack was getting at. Instead of narrative there is a purposeful sequence to what is seen. Of course, this probably breaks every rule in the book, and, as I said, I'm an audio guy, not visuals guy.
Just my locked-down two cents.
Ascetic - a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification
The word you are looking for is:
Aesthetics - Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty. A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.
And before the grammar police come calling, to TriJod English is a second language, and she writes it beautifully. As someone communicates intelligently and creates such beautiful work I figure she would welcome the correction, as people like that are always looking to expand their knowledge.
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You're welcome!
Well, I always start with reading the script many times and trying to get some feeling from it. Like the main emotion that story carries. Then I look for visual references in images, whole movies or some scenes, just lots of looking and choosing what would be suitable. I discuss those ideas with director, if he/she is a visual type. Then I search for locations that fit and technical ways to light each scene accordingly. That's my road from story to images.
Thank you for you comments, I appreciate it, and I know this reel could be better as I see you guys have some better ideas. But this time was like this, btw it is the first composed music for reel by my dear friend and colleague, sound designer, so next time, we will do better!
About aesthetics, haha, yes, it was a typing mistake, I will change it, thanks!
Damned auto-correct! For some reason, every single time I type m i c s (the plural for more than one microphone) it auto-corrects to m i s s. Which is a real PITA when almost all you write about is audio. It really screws up discussions like "When recording audio in wet situations (rain, surf, etc.) it's always a good idea to put an unlubricated condom on your miss." Kind of alters the meaning of the sentence.
Yes, thats for sure. Happily, I always met great DPs or it is a matter more of agreeing to follow DP's visual style, perhaps. Once genre is clear, any DP will follow the general style, I think. Once, however, I didn't like use of wide angle lens, as it kinda distorted the scene. Sign, one never can have his way fully as the movie requires such collaboration. Editing is whole another story, again.
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