Welcome to the DOJO!

A few weeks ago I talked about a microbudget filmmaker I met while in Dallas at the Texas Frightmare Weekend by the name of Abel Berry from BS Entertainment Films. Abel was a great guy and his movie, “Spoils,” was a neat little flick about a killer clown. As I mentioned earlier, the cool thing about Abel was the fact that he should “Spoils” on the awesome little Canon HV20 (now the Canon HV40) consumer HDV camera. This camera is an amazing tool for independent and no budget filmmakers and it was great to find someone who had actually gone out and shot a feature length horror film with it. That’s right, a feature film shot with the Canon HV20 / HV40. How cool is that?

Well, Abel and his crew are now deep into production of their latest no budget horror flick, “Kodie,” and are once again using the Canon HV40. Even better, Abel is posting a series of video blogs talking about the production and extolling the wonders of the Canon HV20 / HV40 cameras.

Check out Abel’s video and keep an eye out for this young filmmaker…I think we’re all going to be seeing a lot more of Abel and his team in the future!

Until next time, Keep Shooting!

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO

When the Film Sensei promises something, he delivers! Well…most of the time. Here is my video review of the Alzo Quad Pan-L Fluorescent Light bank. I had a longer text review of this fantastic budget fluorescent light bank for indie filmmakers last week, and this is my follow-up. Check out the earlier review for a more detailed look at these lights. I was impressed enough with the units at a recent music video shoot that I ran home and ordered one to test out for myself. I am definitely in love!

If you’re an indie or guerrilla filmmaker looking to add the power of fluorescent lighting to your low budget lighting kit then you’ll want to check out the Alzo Quad Pan-L lights. Great units at a great, under $400 price.

Take care and, until next time, Keep Shooting!

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

In a minute or two I’m going to get around to talking about my video post for the day — showing off my Canon HV20 camera rig and all of the cool accessories that go with it. Before I do get around to that, I want to reveal a bit of personal information. As with a lot of husbands (and 99% of husbands who are nerds, geeks or dorks), my wife despises the clothing I pick out for myself. She particularly hates any clothing that I still manage to keep that predates the beginning of our relationship over 5 years ago. She makes fun of what she likes to call my nerd-wear or my old-man clothing. Personally, I don’t think my wardrobe is all that bad, but for the most part I bow down to her superior fashion knowledge.

Today, when she found out I was going to do a new video post for the Film Sensei website (http://www.filmsensei.com), she asked what I was going to wear and then mocked me furiously for the shirt I picked out — the one you’ll see if you watch the video portion of this post. I held my ground and said that I was posting about indie and guerrilla filmmaking and that fashion had nothing to do with it! Then, I shoo’d her away and got down to filming, feeling more than a little self-righteous. Feh, what did she know about low budget filmmakers and how dare she make fun of my cool green shirt!

After I shot my video and was going through the upload process I decided to take a look at the original video post about my Canon HV20 camera rig from just over a year ago (a year and 2 days to be precise). I have to say I just about shit myself when I saw that I was wearing the exact same shirt back then. Wow, not only is my fashion sense bad, but it’s very consistently bad. Guess it’s time to start listening to the wife!

Ok, on to the regularly schedule indie filmmaking post.

A year ago I talked quite a bit about my awesomely cool Canon HV20 and what I was doing to trick it out. I promised to do an updated video to show off the final rig with my TwoNeil 35mm adapter and then promptly forgot about it. Well, after receiving over 150 emails asking for an update on my rig, I have finally put together a quick video to show it off.

In the video you’ll see my Canon HV20 (now replaced by the Canon HV40) mounted on Cavision Rods. It also has a Bescor Flash bracket with an AZDEN SGMX1 Shotgun Mic; on the camera’s hot shoe rides a pretty cool little 72 LED light I picked up on ebay. The SGM-1x is connected to the HV20 through a Beachtek DX-A2S XLR Adapter. Out on the front of the camera is an IrvB focus wheel and a TwoNeil 35mm Adapter with a Nikon Adapter. Finally, the entire rig is mounted on a You Pod shoulder mount, one of the coolest pieces of gear I’ve come across in a very long time (and one I’ll be posting a video review about soon). It also has a Xenarc 7″ monitor (I mistakenly say it’s 5″ on the video — but I’m wrong) mounted via a custom-made attachment.

Overall, the Canon HV20 (and its successor, the Canon HV40) is one of the most amazing little cameras to come out in a very long time. With a little bit of work, and some cool accessories, you can turn it in to an indie and guerrilla filmmaking monster machine. With proper lighting and a little pre-planning it puts out some killer footage. I absolutely adore my HV20 and shoot with it as often as I can.

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Until next time, Keep Shooting!

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

Hey, all.  Just a short post for tonight.  Here is a quick video I put together from footage I shot for the Hunting Sensei website (http://www.HuntingSensei.com).  It was shot with a little Canon ZR960 with the onboard mic.  No color correction or processing was done to the footage and the song was pulled from one of the days hunting.  Now, duck hunting really isn’t my bag, but I have to say that hanging out with Steve D and Big Steven was a tremendous amount of fun.  I’m working on putting together a longer video of the two that I’ll show off in the next couple of months.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check it out!

-Mat Nastos, The Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

Like any red-blooded, American, male indie filmmaker, I have fevered dreams of putting together a bad-ass action flick with a ton of martial arts and…most important…Guns.  However, like a lot of you, I have been completely baffled as to how to pull it off safely and on a budget.  Anyone who has done any sort of research in regards to obtaining prop guns for a film has come across the standard options.  Let’s take a quick look at those options:

Real guns loaded with Blank Rounds.  This is the choice for most big budget flicks.  What looks better than a real gun?  The problem for an indie or guerilla filmmaker is the added expense of hiring an armorer to manage the guns, as well as the high cost of both real guns and the blank ammo.  And let’s not forget the biggest problem with real guns firing blank load ammunition: safety!  With a semi-experienced crew, short shooting schedule and microscopic budget, safety can be a major issue when it comes to prop guns on an indie film shoot.  What does this mean?  Well, it means real guns with blank ammo isn’t an option for for most of us.

To tell the truth, I’m not sure I’d use real guns as props even if I had a budget to support it.  In this age of digital filmmaking, do we really need the safety hazzards and risk?  I’m way too paranoid.

Next up we’ve got Blank-firing guns (blank guns or starter guns).  These are a slightly safer alternative to using real guns with blank loads in that blank guns have plugged barrels and are not capable of firing a live round.  Real shells won’t fit in them and, even if you could get one in there the plugged barrel would stop it from firing.  Blank-firing guns are cool because you get the blowback action of a real gun as well as shell-ejection.  The downside to blank-firing guns is that their barrels are plugged and without some additional work you won’t get the spiffy little plume of fire out the front.  That’s right, the gas and flame erupts from a tiny hole in the top of the barrel instead. 

Now, if you live outside of the US and our rather strict laws pertaining to gun replicas, many of the blank-firing guns do not come with plugged barrel fronts, in which case you’re golden.  Unfortunately for me, I live in California where it is difficult to order even a US legal blank firing gun (technically, an individual isn’t allowed to order blank guns to a residential address here in California…so you have to do what I did and have them sent to friends in a neighboring state with less stringent laws).  If you’ve got a way to get a hold of Canadian or European blank guns then you’ll have an excellent option.

Finally, fake guns.  I’m going to go ahead and group everything else under this category – squirt guns, Airsoft replicas, spring-loaded guns.  In truth, for a low budget filmmaker, these prop guns all require additional work in post production to make them a viable option.  For pistols I wholeheartedly recomment gas blowback Airsoft guns, and the full metal ones in particular.  Airsoft guns tend to be highly accurate replicas with excellent weight for your actors to work with, realistic loading and the ever-important blowback action when fired. 

A lot of guerilla filmmakers will settle for light plastic toy guns (painted squirt or spring-loaded BB guns).  And, truth be told, squirt guns and spring-loaded guns work well for background guns, but nothing will be the look and feel of a full metal, gas blowback Airsoft Beretta replica.  The weight of the gun and blowback motion are what will sell 99% of your gun battles.  With the toy props, it is easy to tell when the actor is just pretending and faking a gun’s kick when fired.  We’ve all seen fake machine guns being fired in low budget Sci-Fi Channel films.  Sad.  It is worth the extra expense of the higher end Airsoft gas guns.

The downside to Airsoft guns is that they don’t eject shell casings or have the flaming gas emmission out of the barrel like real guns do.  Luckily these things are fairly easy to do in post production, even for a micro budget guerilla filmmaker.  There are tons of tutorials for these available online.

Hooooowwwwwever, during my rather frantic search for a solution to my gun problems, I came across a few additional solutions which might not be readily apparent to a new filmmaker.  The first thing I found was a couple of interesting little paintball guns.  I found these things called RAP4/5 or RAM (Real Action Markers) which are used by guns who are hardcore into running military simulations and by both the real military and law enforcement for training.  These are a series of nearly exact replicas of popular military/police/SWAT weapons such as the MP5.  The best part about these RAP4/5/RAM guns is that they eject a cool brass shell casing after each shot.  The casing surrounds the paintball ammo, but the clever filmmaker can easily remove the little paintball inside the casing and just have the gun spit out the brass in a realistic and, more important, safe manner.

The RAP4/5 markers (that’s what paintballers call their guns) are a bit more expensive than a good Airsoft gun.  The trade off, though, is you’re saving yourself hours and hours in post production adding in ejected shells to your gun battles. The only downside is that the RAP4/RAM guns are expensive.  I believe they start in the $350-$400 range and go up to $1000 or more!

That still doesn’t solve our problem with no muzzle flash, though.  What is a guerilla filmmaker to do if he wants an accurate replica or a gun, with realistic blowback, a front flash AND ejecting shell casings?  Where does it leave an indie filmmaker who wants it all and wants it on a decent budget?  Well, it leaves him looking to the shores of Japan: makers of Anime, panty vending machines and, drum roll please, wonderful little items called “Model Guns.”

The best way to describe a model gun is as a cap gun on steroids.  Model guns are accurate gun replics, generally made of heavy duty plastic, which have realistic blowback, and fire caps mounted in very real looking brass shells which eject and give off a very cool looking front spark and smoke.  These things kick a whole lot of ass and are totally safe to use on set.  I do want to say that the front emmissions don’t always look completely realistic, especially with some of the fully automatic shots.  Sometimes the effect comes across on screen as looking like a bunch of sparks, but this can be very easily tweaked in your favorite effects software such as After Effects.  The addition of real smoke gives gun battles using Model Guns a very authentic feel even if you’ve had to go in and adjust the front fire a bit.

As far as I’ve been able to find, no one in the US really sells Model Guns outside of a few popping up on eBay from time to time.  So what you’ll have to do is go to the sources in Japan or Hong Kong or to one of the resellers in the UK, and they will cost you as much as a good quality Airsoft gun — ranging from around $100 up to $1000 or more for the heavy duty, tripod mounted machine guns.  Look to spend a few hundred dollars for most models.  You’ll also have to pay for shipping.  My tip is to save up and purchase a few Model Guns at a time in order to cut your freight costs way down.

I’m going to admit something here and hope my wife isn’t reading.  In my quest to answer my “Riddle of the Gun” I spent nearly $2000 to try out the various options – Airsoft, cheap spring-loaded, Blank-firing and RAP4/Real Action Markers/RAM.  I even placed an order for a couple of Model Guns (which haven’t arrived yet).  The answer I found is…you can make whatever you’ve got work if you have the time in post to correct or add to the footage.  However, my preferences for guns on my next action flick are high quality, metal gas blowback Airsoft pistols, RAP4/RAM rifles and SMGs, and as many model guns as I can pick up.  Any combination of those three choices (individually or together) will give you some excellent gun fight footage to work from.

That’s it from this end.  Take care and Keep Shooting!

Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.filmsensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

First off, I’ve been a bit lax in my posting this week due to a rather intense bout of food poisoning.  We were at my wife’s favorite sushi place (Kabuki’s in Pasadena) and I must have been hit with some bad Tonkatsu because we both ate the same sushi and she didn’t end up sick.  Food poisoning, if you’ve ever had it, only lasts about 24 hours, but those 24 hours are some of the worst in your life. 

Of course, the wife didn’t completely miss out on the pain of my illness: during one of my hyper-vomit sessions I missed the toilet and sprayed some rather colorful stuff on the wall.  Note to self: avocado rolls look particularly disgusting when half-digested and smeared on bathroom tile.  Running through my head during the entire sessions was “Gee, I wish I could be filming this.”

If I was a wittier or more clever writer, I’d be able to seque vomiting in to talking about my current Canon HV20 camera rig, but I’m not.  You, faithful students of the DOJO, will have to put up with one of my usual heavy-handed transitions.

Now that I’ve mentioned it a few times in passing, a few readers have written in and asked about the set up I’m using right now for my Canon HV20 HDV Camera and if it would work for a Canon HV30.  The answer to the second question is “Yes.”  Physically the Canon HV20 and HV30 cameras are pretty close to identical, with only a couple of interior changes — the main one being the HV30′s ability to shoot 30p footage — so any accessories or add-ons for the HV20 can be used on the HV30 and vice versa.

In regards to the first question I want to say upfront that my HV20 rig isn’t quite complete yet.  I’m still waiting for the most important add-on, a 35mm adapter, which is on back order and won’t be to me for another month or so.  I’ll be tossing a matte box with rod support on the front of that and then attaching a Xenarc 7″ monitor to my rails (once I figure out how to do it).  No, it’s not an HD monitor.  I’m still looking around for the best option for an HD monitor to go with the Canon HV20…I’ve been considering trying the DIY Samsung monitor route, but I’m not sure how a 10″ monitor will work on a small camera like the HV20. 

On to the rig itself.  Obviously, the base of the unit is the Canon HV20 HDV video camera.  Right now both the HV20 and its successor, the Canon HV30, can be found for under $800 and, in some places under $700.  I’d be a tough choice of which camera to pick if I were buying one today with the HV20′s price being $100 or more lower versus the HV30′s ability to shoot 30p footage in addition to the standard 24p or 60i.  The HV30 also looks really cool in black and, as Wesley Snipes said, “Always bet on black.”

I’ve got the HV20 mounted onto an RS-15IIM Cavision Rod Support System.  The Cavision rails are very slick, very solid and give your camera the extra support it needs to handle all the addition accessories and weight we’ll be adding on to it.  It also comes with an adjustable height bracket I’ll be using to brace the 35mm adapter and Nikon lenses when they come in.  Rails are an essential piece for any serious indie or guerilla filmmaker looking to get his camera up to snuff, and these are priced at a reasonable price under $170 at B&H or Amazon.

Out on the front of the camera I’ve got the monster Raynox HD6600 PRO wide angle conversion lens.  The Raynox is a .66 wide angle and one of the best lenses I’ve ever used for a DV camera.  The images it gives you are fantastic.  I do recommend the 52mm version with a step-up ring over the cheaper 43mm one because the larger one lets your camera focus in on the “sweet spot” of the lens and results in slicker footage. 

You’ll notice a round lens hood on the Raynox if you watch the video that goes with this article.  That is a simple metal lens hood with a 72mm ring I found on eBay for a few bucks.  I’d prefer to have it mount to my Cine City Matte Box, but I haven’t been able to get a larger adapter ring for it.  Right now all I’ve got is the 43mm adapter the Cine City guys sent with it.  I’ll be working on that in the future, but right now the lens hood works fine.

Next up is the Azden SGM-1x shotgun microphone.  I cannot say enough good things about the Azden SGM-1x.  As I talked about in my earlier article on the Azden SGM-1x, it provides some of the best, pro-quality sound I’ve ever heard come out of a budget mic.  Check out the full review of this great indie microphone for more info.

The furry windscreen on the SGM-1x is from Micover, which ran about $24 or so.  I picked it up on eBay, but it is also available on their website.  There isn’t much to say about it — well made and slip on.  I do want to mention that shipping from Micover took a bit longer than I’m used to.  The  windscreen took a bit over 3 weeks to make it out to me and I was charged $6.95 for shipping on a $24 item they only paid $2 to ship (according to the stamp on it). 

The Azden is attached to the Cavision rod support with a basic flash bracket.  I picked up the Bescor Flash bracket from Amazon for about $13.  You can find the exact same bracket under about 100 different names, so I’m guessing they all get it from the same OEM supplier.  It’s solid, gives you two spots to attach a mic and/or video light.  Most important is it gets your mic away from the body of your camera to help cut down on extraneous motor noises and the like. 

On the bottom of the rails is a Beachtek DXA-4 XLR adapter.  I’ve talked about this before and it is a must have for anyone who wishes to get pro sound by using XLR microphones.  A number of people have asked why I didn’t opt for the smaller DXA-2 XLR adapter.  Truth be told, the units are basically identical except for the size and I prefer the larger size since the rails are mounted to the adapter and the adapter mounts to my tripod.  I feel like the extra bulk of the Beachtek DXA-4 gives the entire setup additional stability.  Check out my full Beachtek DXA-4 XLR adapter review for more of my thoughts on this great piece of gear.

Last up, the Hoodman H300 LCD screen hood.  Not much to say here.  LCD screens can be tough to see when you’re outside in the sun or under any type of bright lights, and the Hoodman H300 fits on to help make it easier to see.  They’re under $20 and worth getting for sure.

When I’ve got the HV20 rig all together, I mount it either on my Davis & Sanford Provista Tripod with FM 18 head or to the Cine City Shoulder Support System I reviewed last week.  The Davis & Sanford tripod is the single best under $1000 tripod I’ve had the pleasure to use.  The sticks are metal and very strong, and the FM18 fluid head is “like buttah.”  It’s hard to believe a tripod priced at under $200 can perform as well as this one does.  I cannot recommend this tripod enough.  Right now B&H gives you a free W3 Dolly when you purchase the Davis & Sanford Provista 7518 tripod with FM18 fluid head.

And that, my friends, is my Canon HV20 camera rig.  I might upgrade to some Cavision Dual Handgrips and Cavision Shoulder Pad in the future, just because of how slick they look, and I still need to mount my Xenarc monitor, a battery pack and the receiver for my wireless lav mics.  Not being the most mechanical of guys, I’m not completely sure how to do the mounting yet.  Like I said, it’s still a work in progress, but I’m pretty happy with it all so far. 

That’s it for this rather long posting.  I’ll be back on Monday with some more indie filmmaking fun from the DOJO.  Until then, keep shooting!

Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

As a low budget or guerilla filmmaker, one of the things I’ve learned over the past 10 years or so is the thing which separates a good indie film from bad porn is sound quality.  If you’ve ever watched a video on Youtube (or used the Internet for its true purpose and downloaded some whacked-out German poopy porn), then you know exactly what I mean.  Tinny sounding voice, strange echoing sounds or even voices which are too quiet to hear properly or fade in and out.

While a lot can be done to fix a video’s sound in post, most of the time problems can be fixed upfront with a solid, pro-quality microphone instead of your camcorder’s crappy onboard mic.  One of the absolute best choices out on the market for a reasonably priced pro-quality shotgun mic is the Azden SGM-1x shotgun microphone. 

The Azden SGM-1x comes in a slick little faux-leather case containing the mic itself, Azden’s cool hotshoe/shockmount (with a 1/4″ mount as well) and a foam windscreen.  It’s a very slick little package and you can mount this mic on your camera’s hot/cold shoe, a boom pole, a mic stand or even a lightstand or tripod.  The two things not included in the case are a AAA battery to power the mic and an XLR mic cable.  For the cable you’ll either want to get a 1.5 foot XLR to mini jack cable or, better yet, pair it with an XLR adapter box for your camera (such as the Beachtek DXA-4 XLR adapter) and get a 1.5 foot XLR cable.  I picked up an Audio-Technica 1.5 foot XLR cable with an angled female plug to give the whole set up a much lower profile on my Canon HV20 rig. 

I know what you’re saying, “Ok, Mat, the Azden SGM-1x looks really freakin’ cool mounted on your HV20, but how does it sound?  Does it compare to the Rode Videomic?”  And, to respond, yes…it does look really cool, which really is the most important thing, right?

Seriously, as someone who owns and has used both mics (I’ll be doing a Videomic review in the next couple of weeks), the two are very similar in performance.  In on-set use I’ve found the Azden to be a little warmer and a bit richer sounding than the Rode.  I also feel like less post production is needed on the Azden’s sound.  Both are more suited for voice recording as they aren’t as deep in their lower frequency range, but even there the quality of the Azden is still solid and can be easily used as your main mic for just about any film shoot situation.

Let’s take a look at the Azden SGM-1x’s specs:

AZDEN SGM1X SHOTGUN MICROPHONE SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Response: 80-18,000Hz
Pattern: Super Cardioid
Sensitivity: -41dB re 1V/Pa
Impedance: 680 Ohms at 1Khz
Max. SPL Input Level: 110dB
Signal to Noise Ratio: 65dB
Dynamic Range: 80dB
Power: AAA (1.5V) Battery (not included)
Weight (sans battery): 4.76 oz.
Dimensions (inches): 11.8 (length) x 0.83 (diameter)
Output Type: 3-Pin XLR type
Supplied Accessories: Shock mount mike holder, 1 windscreen
Price: Under $155

To wrap things up, if you are looking for a great shotgun mic for your indie film productions and, even more important, a pro-quality mic on a budget, then the Azden SGM-1X is a stellar option to add to your filmmaking arsenal.  Priced at around $155, the SGM1x beats the pants off the competition.

-Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

Indie and Guerilla filmmakers can get away with quite a bit on their low budget features – bad acting, bad scripts, even bad shots — but the one thing you absolutely cannot get away with is bad sound.  That’s right, the only thing that keeps your masterpiece of a micro budget feature film from feeling like a bad porno is high quality sound recording.  Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to get decent sound from a low-cost consumer microphone with a 3.5mm mini jack.  You can try it, but, much like me squeezing into a Medium-sized T-shirt, the end results are never pretty.

I can hear your cries now, “But, Mat, my consumer/prosumer camera doesn’t have XLR inputs…what can I do?” 

Ah, quit your whining.  Your answer comes in a compact little package called the Beachtek DXA-4 XLR adapter.  This handy-dandy little device screws in to the bottom of your favorite video camera and gives you a pair of balanced XLR inputs.  Even better, it also comes with an auxilary 3.5mm mini jack port for you to plug in your wireless microphone set up.  And, even betterer (hey, this is my blog and I can slaughter the English language as much as I want) is how freakin’ simple the thing is to set up.  All you have to do is plug the supplied cable in to your camcorder’s “mic in” and voila, you’re done.

I’ve been using these Beachtek adapters for years now — I picked up my first one in 2001 for use on my ultra low budget film, “Bite Me, Fanboy,” and have been a fan of theirs ever since.

Now, the Beachtek DXA-4 is great for any mic which doesn’t require a phantom power source.  For example, I use the Azden SGM-1x shotgun mic with my Canon HV20 camera and it works perfect.  If you’ve got a mic with phantom power requirements then you need to step up to the DXA-6A.

I picked up my Beachtek DXA-4 XLR Adapter at BHPhoto for about $179, which seems to be the going price.  The Beachtek DXA-6A units go for about $309.  If you are in need of XLR inputs for your camera, or want to make sure you have a shot at the best audio quality for your flip, then one of these XLR adapters from Beachtek are absolutely essential for indie and guerilla filmmakers alike.

-Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Welcome to the DOJO!

I talked about this yesterday, but as a low budget and guerilla filmmaking I am always out on the prowl for the absolute best prices online for film and video equipment.  If you’re reading this website then you know exactly what I’m talking about — we make the kind of films where sometimes even FREE is too expensive.

Well, as I also mentioned yesterday, I decided to go ahead and take a chance on some of the famous (or would that be infamous?) low budget filmmaking equipment from India.  We’ve all seen them online with a ton of different eBay users names — IDs like DVACCESSORY, DV-SHOP23, 23FILTERS, CINE-CITY and about 10 other various.  And we’ve all looked over their listings for matte boxes, follow focus systems, rod supports and the incredibly tempting Steadicam clones.  I’m sure you’ve loaded up their items on eBay, or on their website , and wondered just how good some of that equipment could really be, given the low prices.

After receiving two orders so far, I’m here to say the equipment has been surprisingly well built and designed.  As thoroughly impressed as I was yesterday with the Cine City Matte Box from India, today I am equally impressed with their Indian Camera Shoulder Support system.  There are a few different versions of their shoulder support available, I ordered the one with two handles and the double support rod attached to a belt.  I figured it I was going to take a chance, then I might as well take a chance on the fully loaded version…besides, I picked it up for about $110 plus shipping.  I’ve seen them as regular auctions for as low as $95 plus shipping, but sometimes auctions end up going higher than the “Buy Now” price.

arrived here about a week after I placed my order.  Very impressive because the shipping charge was very low and the package arrived here faster than a lot of the B&H orders I place AND pay higher shipping on!  Six day shipping from India to Los Angeles for $20 is amazing.  The box was well-packed and nicely padded.  I’d been worried after reading some feedback online that packages weren’t that strong, but the two I’ve received so far were really solid.  If anything, the Camera Shoulder Support was a bit over-packed — I had to bust out my Spyderco knife to tear through the tape.

Anyway, the unit comes in about 5 pieces and is very quick and easy to put together.  I am very unmechanical and it took me 2-3 minutes to get the Camera Shoulder Support put together.  Looking at the unit I was a bit worried about it being a little too lightweight at first.  However, when I loaded up my Canon HV20, I found my fears to be misplaced.  The Shoulder Support feels really good and is easy to use.  I plan on mounting a battery-pack on one of the rear support pads, as well as the receiver for my wireless lav mics.

I do want to give a little bit of a warning to other “Big Guys” like myself (you know who you are).  The belt for the support rods is made for smaller people — keep in mind that I’m a little over 6’1″ and 310 pounds.  It might be a bit of a tight fit to wear over one shoulder, but I’ve taken to wearing it like a belt across my mid section, which actually gives me better support and maneuverability than the over-the-shoulder set up.  I can make it work over the shoulder, but I just feel more comfortable with it around my stomach area.  If you watch my video review, you’ll see what I mean. 

After running around our cul-de-sac like an idiot for about 30 minutes this morning, filming cats and my neighbors leaving for work, I am very impressed with the usability of the Cine City Camera Shoulder Support.  It’s not as good as a steadicam vest and rig, but having a shoulder rig for my Canon HV20 set up is awesome indeed.  I can’t wait to get to use the Indian Camera Shoulder Support on my next shoot.

If you’re looking for a great camera shoulder support system and you’re on a tight budget, the is an excellent option.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some cool new filmmaking stuff…yes, “stuff” is the technical term for it.  Until then, keep shooting!

-Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.filmsensei.com

You know, like every other low budget and guerilla filmmaker out there, I am constantly surfing the internet and browsing on eBay looking for great deals on professional filmmaking equipment.  And we all understand that the phrase “looking for great deals” really just means we’re cheap.

In our efforts to find those “great deals,” we’ve all come across the film equipment manufacturers from India.  You know the guys I’m talking about, you’ve seen them with a bunch of different eBay IDs like DVACCESSORY, DV-SHOP23, 23FILTERS and a bunch of other names.  You may also have seen their website on the internet at .  Yup, they’re all the same guys.

Now, if you’re anything like me, as tempted as you’ve been by their fantastic pricing, you’ve been more than a little wary of actually placing an order through them.  You may have trolled their website and their eBay listings for weeks but never pulled the trigger on a purchase.  I’m there with you.  How good can their matte boxes, shoulder supports, cranes, car mounts or Steadicam-clones be at those insanely low prices?  Heck, do they just keep your money and never send anything?

After months and months of hemming and hawing, I decided to take the plunge and order up some of their equipment thanks to the wonders of the government stimulus check I received (yes, I realize ordering internationally isn’t what the current administration had in mind with the checks, but cut me some slack here).

I received my first order this past week and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.  I ordered a matte box and french flag attachment from through one of their eBay IDs — I think it was the 23filters ID, but I could be wrong.  All those India-based eBay sellers seem to be from TheCineCity.com, so all the filmmaking equipment comes from the same place.

If you’ve watched my video up above, then you already know there were two things which impressed me with my order.  First, it arrived incredibly fast considering it was going from India to me here in Southern California.  I placed my order on a Monday and the Matte Box package showed up through DHL on Friday, 4 days later.  Needless to say my mind was blown.  I order through eBay all the time and packages from New York or Florida take twice or three times as long sometimes.  Heck, some packages from here in California take longer than 4 days to get to me. 

The second thing which impressed me was the quality of the compents in the matte box itself.  The package contained the mostly metal Indian matte box, the french flag attachment and a metal adapter ring to attach the entire thing to my camera (the lucious and kick-ass Canon HV20 in my case).  The Cine Matte Box was very well made, sturdy and surprisingly slick.  You won’t be embarrassed to show up to your next film shoot with one of this things attached to the front of your camera. 

In addition to the french flag, the Indian Matte Box also has two slots for 4″x4″ filters…I use screw-on filters for the most part, but having the option to drop in some 4×4 filters is a nice little add-on.

All-in-all, the Cine City Matte Box from India is an excellent little piece of equipment to attach to your camera, and a great bargain for indie and guerilla filmmakers looking for the best priced matte box on the market right now.  If you’re in the market for a new matte box then don’t hesitate to give the a try.  I can’t wait for the rest of my equipment to make its way here from India!

Until next time, take care and keep shooting!

-Mat N., the Film Sensei
http://www.filmsensei.com