I haven’t done a good independent filmmaking book review in a low time…in fact, I think I’ve only ever done one before and it was many moons ago (over a year ago with my review of Dov S-S Simens’ book “From Reel to Deal”). It’s funny, I read quite a bit (1-2 books a week), but I can never seem to find the urge to write up a review of any of the books. It must be some sort of left over rebelliousness from high school and how much I hated doing book reports. My incredibly evil 9th grade english teacher, the satanic Ms. Thom, must have done more mental damage with her class than I had realized! Today’s post is my little way of healing that damage.
Back at the end of 2007, I was trying to find a cool book for independent filmmakers. There are literally thousands of books (and quite a few really good ones) on theoretical filmmaking. What I really wanted, though, was something more practical. I wanted a book that was a nuts-and-bolts, real world instruction book for an independent or no-budget filmmaker. Something that gave actual examples of guerrilla filmmaking techniques and showed how to replicate and use them.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but what I was looking for was a book called “The DV Rebel’s Guide: an all-digital approach to making killer action movies on the cheap.” Yes, I realize it has an unbelievably long name and I am usually morally opposed to unbelievably long names for products. This time, however, I’ll make an exception because this unbelievably long name tells you EXACTLY what the book is about. Full Story →
I am writing today’s post for a selfish reason and, to tell the truth, out of a little annoyance. You see, due to some video posts I put up last year about items I purchased from a company called in India, I get quite a bit of email asking about Indian film equipment. And “quite a bit” is a relative term — I receive 100+ emails a week asking about Indian Matteboxes, follow focus units or Steadicams from India, which is a lot unless you compare it to the number of SPAM emails I get offering to sell me ways to increase the size of me penis. Unfortunately, those number in the hundreds per day and I believe most of them are sent by my wife…but I digress.
Anyway, a little over a year ago I decided to bite the bullet and give ordering some of the Indian equipment a try. I had been seeing them on eBay for 6 months or more at that point and had always been tempted by their pricing. The reason I say I was taking a chance is because I couldn’t find any “real” reviews for their equipment. I saw a lot of online coverage that was obviously produced by the company, , under various names and I came across a few reviews by people who had been given the equipment in exchange for giving it a good review (if you’ve searched for information online then you know the Youtube videos I’m talking about).
So what I did was start with one of their cheaper items, and an item I knew it would be tough to mess up: the Cine City Indian Mattebox (or whatever they call it). The matte box arrived incredibly quickly, something I found to be a regular feature with the Indian Cine City — they have great response time for orders. And, the mattebox was better than I had expected. It was an obvious knock-off, but was amazing for the price. I am constantly complaining about how the film industry is forced to pay for over priced brand names and finding something more appropriately priced, especially for independent and low budget filmmakers, was a breath of fresh air. Full Story →
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.
As I’ve mentioned here on The FilmSensei.Com a number of times (and as my wife is painfully aware), I am absolutely love picking up new indie and guerrilla filmmaking equipment to try out. Even more specifically, I love coming across new filmmaking gear while out on a film shoot and getting to play with it. When I come across anything ultra cool I’ll promptly run home and order it up online.
That is exactly what happened at a music video shoot I was directing about two weeks ago. The shoot was pretty standard until, during a move to a small backroom office, a PA dropped and almost completely destroyed two of the rented KinoFlo Diva-Lites we were using. After freaking out a bit (and killing the afore mentioned PA in a manner far too gruesome to describe here), we managed to get our first day of shooting done. Things looked great even with the crew reduced down to only two Kinos (and one PA), but we all knew we were going to be in a little bit of trouble on the next day of the shoot where all four Kino-Flo Diva-Lites were going to be needed. It being after midnight on a Saturday, we were pretty desperate.
Lucky for us, our gaffer, a well-spoken Englishman named Andy, spoke up ever-so-politely and mentioned that he had a fluorescent light kit back at his house. Needless to say, we were all incredibly relieved even when he told us that the kit wasn’t a “Proper Kino” one. We broke at the end of the day and went off to get a couple of hours sleep before starting up again and 10am the next day.
Skip forward to about 9:30am that Sunday as we were all just starting to arrive for the shoot and get set up. I was a bit surprised when Andy sheepishly approached me and started to apologize for his kit. He mentioned that he was a bit embarrassed that he didn’t own a “real” Kino-Flo kit, but that he was still new and wasn’t able to afford the “proper” gear yet. I let Andy know there was nothing wrong with having a budget lighting kit proceeded to ask him 3 questions: Did he have the lights? Were they flicker-free? Would the light color match our main Kinos without a lot of extra work. Full Story →
After I posted a couple of articles talking about my cool little Canon HV20 camera (now the Canon HV40), I started to receive a lot of emails from other indie and guerrilla filmmakers asking me about using it for feature length film productions. By “a lot” I mean 200+ emails over the past 6 months alone.
All of the filmmakers emailing me had seen the numerous music videos, shorts and test videos shot with the HV20/HV30/HV40 since the cameras debuted a few years back…and there are a lot of amazing examples of just how awesome the little cameras can perform even right out of the box.What was lacking, however, were very many examples of low budget features being shot with the cameras. I have to say that I had a heck of a time finding any decent examples of the Canon HV40 being used as the primary camera on a guerrilla or indie film — I knew of a number of them which had used it as a second unit or back-up camera, and a huge number of filmmakers who use the HV20/HV30 as a capturing deck for their higher end Canon XHA1s, but nothing came to mind for an entire feature shot with one of the little Canons.
That all changed in May of 2009 during a trip out to Dallas for the Texas Frightmare Weekend. While browsing the dealer room looking for cool indie horror films to add to my already ginormous collection, I ran into a an incredibly nice guy by the name of Abel Berry. Abel is an indie/guerrilla filmmaker from the Dallas area and he was at the show pimping his new horror flick, “Spoils.” Spoils is a revenge flick where a guy comes back from the dead as a particularly creepy killer clown, Spoils the clown to be exact, to enact his revenge on those who wronged him (and killed his hottie of a wife). Full Story →
I am a very bad man. I can’t believe it has been almost a year since I posted part one in this series of articles for indie and guerrilla filmmakers! Sheesh.
Before I get on to part two, I want to say a couple of things about this essential filmmaking equipment list (c’mon, you’ve waited 10 months, waiting a couple of more paragraphs isn’t going to kill you). This list is really for those of you who are just getting started or who are on a budget and looking for some advice on how to get the best quality for the best price. For those of you who have been doing this for years and years or who have a bigger budget, then stick to the reviews I post…this stuff might be a bit basic for you. These are the absolute essential pieces to get started with — well, at least from my experience and perspective.
In part one of my “Top 10 Essential Equipment for Indie Filmmakers” I talked about cool cameras to pick up at various budget levels. Even after a year those choices haven’t really changed. My high end pick for best camera is still the Canon XHA1. The camera gives an indie filmmaker everything he could possibly want in camera and spits out some amazing footage. The XHA1 is also the camera a majority of the big-budget action-thriller, Crank 2, was shot with. If it’s good enough for a multi-million dollar blockbuster, then you can bet it’s good enough for an indie!
My mid-range choice, the Canon HV20 has been replaced by the HV40. If you’re looking to go for this camera and want to save a little cash, there are a lot of great deals going on for the previous generation HV20 and HV30. The HV40 itself is a fantastic camera and well worth looking in to.
For the low end, really, whatever you can get your hands on that has a mic input is going to be fine. Try to avoid cameras with no mic input because that will limit you to whatever crappy built-in mic the camera has, which is never a good idea. Adding on a mic, even one with a 3.5mm mini jack plug, is going to increase the quality of your sound and give you a much more watchable film when you’re done.
Since we’re talking about sound and microphones already, that gives me a good transition to talk about what mics and sound equipment are essential for an indie or guerrilla filmmaker. Now, before anyone goes off on me, with sound equipment, the more money you have to spend, the better your equipment will be. If you can afford just under $600, then the Audio-Technica AT4073 kit should be one of your first considerations; if you’ve got over $1000 your choices open up considerably and you’ve got options like the Sennheiser MKH-416 or the Sennheiser ME67/K6 Deluxe Microphone kit. Also, at under $500, the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo or any of the related kits is a fantastic choice. In other words, more money equals higher quality of sound. And remember as a rule, the longer the shotgun mic, the better. Full Story →
It has been far too long since I’ve posted a good product review and today I’m going to fix that with a doozy. Like every other low budget, indie or guerrilla filmmaker out there, one of the things I wish for every day of my life is a good, low budget option to a steadicam. Lacking that, I’m always looking for a way to make my handheld shots smoother and more manageable.
Unfortunately, up until now there really hasn’t been much out on the market. Options are either crappy hand made, no-gimbal “Poor man’s steadicam” units, horribly made knock-offs from India or paying an obscene amount of money for a true steadicam set-up. For me, none of those options were really options at all. Because of that, it always seemed like an affordable camera stabilizer was always going to be out of my reach as a low budget, guerrilla filmmaker.
Luckily, I’ve got some of the best readers on the Internet and I had my eyes opened to one of the most fantastic pieces of indie filmmaking equipment out there. The unit I’m talking about is a little thing called the Atlas Camera Support System (also known as the Atlas Camera Stabilizer and formerly the Indie Steadicam). Created by Michael Knowles (no relation to Harry), an indie filmmaker in his own right, the Atlas Camera Support is billed an affordable camera stabilizer that gives you the ability to shoot hand held for longer periods of time and get smoother shots. Full Story →
It is days like today that remind me just how darn lucky I am to make a living doing what I love. You see, today a very good friend of mine name Alex Waxman brought over what has to be one of the coolest toys ever made with an indie or guerilla filmmaker in mind. What he brought over was so cool, in fact, that for a split second I considered hitting him over the head and running away with it for myself. Luckily for him, Alex is a very big guy with a very hard head, so I was too scared to try it.
I’m not going to tell you what that toy was yet. No, I’m going to be a tease and tell you why you, my fellow low budget filmmaker, will absolutely want to have one for your next shoot. Why, if you were in my place today, you too would have contemplated braining one of your best friends in the world in order to make off with his new toy.
What is it that ever low budget, indie or guerilla filmmaker wishes he had more of in his films? The one thing that could make the difference between a sellable film and something that sits on his shelf at home and rots? Nooooo…I’m not talking about more boobies. What I’m talking about is that mythical and ever elusive “production value.” In films, production value comes in many forms: it can be a giant submarine set, or explosives, or a car chase through downtown Chicago. Or, it can come in the form of aerial footage. And that, my friends, is where Alex’s new toy comes in.
If you’ve ever dreamed of getting some low budget aerial footage of a scene, of a car chase, of a neighborhood or of anything else, then the Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System (SAVS) is the answer to your prayers.
The number one problem for every indie or guerilla filmmaker out there is: “Where the heck do I find a distributor for my low budget film so people can see it?” In other words, “will I make enough money to pay off all those damn credit cards I ran up to make my film?” Yup, the age old question of what to do with that film after you’ve finished shooting and editing it.
And you thought making a film was the hard part?
Well, like a lot of you, I’ve asked myself those same questions a number of times and have even taken the dreaded path of self distribution. Over the course of following that path, I ran into a very cool little website, Caachi.com, that offers an interesting take on digital or online film distribution. You may be surprised by what I discovered.
Is any one else as tired as I am from the holidays? Sheesh, I think I get more worn out from the end of the year holiday “vacation” than from any amount of work. Something about large numbers of relatives and in-laws decending upon my home just plain sucks the energy out of me. I’m ready to get back to work and get some rest!
One of the upsides of this particular holiday season is that I always wind up getting some pretty cool gadgets I might not have otherwise purchased for myself. My beloved wife seems to pay extra attention to all the gear I talk about in the final months of the year, makes a list and then goes out and picks the stuff up. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the best wife in the entire universe!
For this particular Christmas, I found a handy little item waiting for me Christmas morning, the Sony DVP-FX820 Portable DVD Player…and more than that, I found the answer to my long standing prayers for an affordable solution to the problem of trying to focus a high definition image on my tiny Canon HV20 LCD screen (and the near impossible task of doing so with a 35mm lens adapter strapped to the front of my camera).
As any indie or guerilla filmmaker out there knows, HD (high definition for the neophytes out there) monitors are expensive as heck, which puts them out of reach for most low budget filmmakers. Unfortunately, with more and more of the industry turning to HD for production, it’s quickly becoming a requirement to have one. This is even moreso the case for those of us who have 35mm adapters, such as the Letus, Brevis, JAG35 or TwoNeil adapters, in our toolkits. The LCDs on even the larger cameras can be a pain to focus with and the tiny little LCD on the Canon HV20/HV30 is just plain brutal.
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. I had a longer text review of this 
back at his house. Needless to say, we were all incredibly relieved even when he told us that the kit wasn’t a “Proper Kino” one. We broke at the end of the day and went off to get a couple of hours sleep before starting up again and 10am the next day.
), I started to receive a lot of emails from other indie and guerrilla filmmakers asking me about using it for feature length film productions. By “a lot” I mean 200+ emails over the past 6 months alone.
…and more than that, I found the answer to my long standing prayers for an affordable solution to the problem of trying to focus a high definition image on my tiny Canon HV20 LCD screen (and the near impossible task of doing so with a 35mm lens adapter strapped to the front of my camera).
