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.

“The DV Rebel’s Guide” was written by a man named Stu Maschwitz. He is also an amazing independent filmmaker, post-production guru and founder of the special effects company, The Orphanage. If you don’t know what the Orphanage is, please stop reading this blog…go back to school for accounting or something lame like that and leave the world of independent filmmaking behind. You suck. Get out!

Ahem.

Anyway, Stu and his company have worked on everything from Sky Kids to Sin City to Iron Man to Grindhouse to The Spirit…uhh…forget I said that last one…and what he does in “The DV Rebel’s Guide” is bring his vast experience of digital filmmaking and effects down to the low / no budget film level and gives an incredibly clear, incredibly concise bunch of practical tips and techniques. This is not a book on theory. Stu goes out of his way to explain the how’s and whys of every technique and short cut in his book. He tells you what you need to do, why you need to do it and then shows how to get it done.

The book covers a lot of ground, including: proper cinematic framing, lighting techniques, using Airsoft guns effectively for action scenes, compositing with After Effects (he spends a lot of time with After Effects and what it can do to help a microbudget filmmaker — the DVD plug-ins alone are worth the price of his book), editing, color correction and about 1000 other things. “The DV Rebel’s Guide” is easily the best book for a no budget filmmaker on the market today and should be required reading for anyone seriously conteplating independent filmmaking as a career.

Stu Maschwitz shows you how to take your no budget film and make it look like a million dollars and he does it all for less than $35. This book is better than any independent or guerrilla filmmaking workshop you’ll find and will not only help keep you from going over budget but it will show you how, with a little bit of After Effects wizardry, you can achieve some amazing things even with no budget at all.

If you haven’t read “The DV Rebel’s Guide” then you are missing out on some of the most invaluable low budget independent filmmaking tips around.

That’s it for today. Until next time, Keep Shooting!

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

Related posts:

1. Book Review: From Reel to Deal by Dov S-S Simens

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.

This encouraged me to try more of their equipment and I had soon ordered their Indian shoulder mount (with the front brace and belt) and their Indian Glue Pod Car Mount. Both items were fantastic for the money and performed exactly like their higher priced name-brand versions. I also came across a buddy who had ordered one of their Indian rod support set-ups and saw that it was identical to my Cavision rails…something more than a little disturbing because I think he paid half or a third of what I shelled out! Their rain cover is also a direct Indian knock-off of the Kata one and quite a bit cheaper.

Since then, I haven’t had the need to order any more equipment. I’ve got just about everything I need, outside of the higher end Indian Steadicam or follow-focus units. I’m still not ready to shell out big money for an item I just can’t find any real reviews for. I’d love to find a low budget alternative to the steadicam (although the Atlas camera support is an excellent option, made here in the US), but I’m not really ready to drop $500 or a grand on something that might not work right. Yes, I’m a cheap bastard. If anyone in my area (Los Angeles) has one of their higher end units, I would love to check it out and do a full review. However, until I actually get my hands on that stuff, I can’t comment on it.

Now, in addition to the stuff I own, I have found out a few things about the . First, they do a ton of business on eBay and have at least six different IDs on there. The ones I know about are: cine-city, dv-shop23, 23filters, cinemall19, dvaccessory, 5-colors. They’ve also got their main website under the name thecinecity.com. What a lot of people don’t realize is that they also have a site called Digital Cinema Gears (DCGears) and post quite a bit on Craigslist. You don’t realize the DCGears site is theirs because it lists a US address. However, if you ask to drop by their location to test out one of the items, like the Indian Steadicam (the Flycam), they tell you that their company is from India and ships direct from there. I also know of a few other sites who sell the Flycam Steadicam and a few other units under different names, like the Image West website. From my own interaction with the Cine City guys (who have always been incredibly polite), they seem ready to offer wholesale accounts to anyone interested in supporting their product.

That is the extent of what I know about Cine City and the Indian Film Equipment manufacturers. What I’ve ordered from them in the past has been great and I’ve talked about it here. I’ve had some good interactions with them and incredibly fast shipments (I have stuff get to me faster from them in India than I do from companies I’ve purchased from in New York or even here in California!). And that’s it. I’ve been dying to check out their Indian Follow Focus, their steadicam / flycam stabilizers and some of the other cool filmmaking gear they’ve got, but I just haven’t risked the money yet. I will say that if you need a low cost alternative for a mattebox, rod support system, shoulder mount or car mount, then is a decent and low budget option. There is no need to pay inflated brand name prices for that stuff…let the guys working on hundred million dollar films pay out the nose just so they can say they’ve got a Chrosziel matte box or whatever. Pick up what you need at a budget you can afford and then put whatever extra money you have up on the screen where it belongs.

I hope this helps and I hope it clears things up a bit. Until next time, Keep Shooting!

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

Related posts:

1. Hardware Review: Indian Camera Shoulder Support from Cine City
2. Hardware Review: Indian Matte Box Review (The Cine City)
3. Indie Equipment Review: Steadicam on a budget – the Atlas Camera Support System

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

Related posts:

1. Hardware Review: Alzo Quad Pan-L Fluorescent Light Fixture — Kino-Flo performance at a budget price
2. Low Budget Lighting Equipment Tips: How good are Britek Lights?
3. A Cine City/ Indian Film Equipment Follow-Up

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.

His answer to all three questions was “yes.” Andy wheeled in a nifty little case and promptly pulled out a set of slick-looking lights labelled Alzo. Never having heard of the brand before, I paid extra attention as he was setting up. The kit he had (the Alzo Pan-L Lite 3 Light Kit — much too long of a name for my taste) was made up of two 2-foot 4-bank Alzo Pan-L lights and one 2-foot 2-bank Alzo Pan-L light. We got the things set up and then shot with them alongside the Kinos for the next 10 hours.

You know what? For a brand I’d never heard of before, I was incredibly impressed with the Alzo fluorescent light banks. First up, the lights were strong and the color tubes Alzo supplies with the fixtures matched dead-on to the Kino tubes we had from Wooden Nickel here in LA — the 3200K and the 5600K were both spot-on. They also came with snap-in honeycombs and fabric diffusers.

All-in-all, the lights performed above and beyond the call of duty on our music video shoot. They ran almost non stop for most of the day and we had zero problems. To this day I’m a bit surprised by Andy’s apprehensive attitude towards the fixtures. I think far too many people in the film industry are more interested in expensive, brand name equipment instead of doing whatever it takes to get the job done well. The Alzo Pan-L lights are an amazing alternative for indie and guerrilla filmmakers looking to pick up some Kino-Flo style fluorescent light banks. There is never a need to apologize for having a budget lighting kit.

In fact, the Alzos performed so well for us that I went home and ordered one of their Pan-L Quad Fixtures to test out myself. I ordered up the Quad Pan-L light with 3200K tubes and added on a set of the 5600K tubes for good measure. Even though they were coming from Connecticut, I received my order less than a week later here at my home in the Greater LA area. It was cool to find out that Alzo’s customer service was as good as their product.

I’ve had this low budget fluorescent light for a few days now and have had the chance to play with it a bit. The Alzo light itself is pretty study, especially considering the price — less than one fourth the cost of a new Kino-Flo Diva-Light. It’s not as heavy-duty as matching Kino unit, but it will hold up very well to both studio on location shooting. I was (and am) impressed with the quality of the unit and am itching to pick up the full Pan-L Light Kit from Alzo (although, I do wish it has a more light weight name!) here in the next couple of weeks. I’ve been jonesing to add some fluorescent light banks but the cost of Kino-Flos, even used, has kept me from pulling the trigger…until now.

Alzo has done an excellent job with their Pan-L Fluorescent lights and they would make an awesome addition to the kit of any low budget, guerrilla or indie filmmaker looking for Kino-Flo performance at a more budget-friendly price. If you are a microbudget filmmaker in need of a budget or low cost fluorescent light fixture to add to your kit, then you’re doing yourself a disservice by not checking out the Alzo Pan-L Quad lights right now.

That’s it for today. Look for my video post showing off the Alzo budget Kino-style lights in the next couple of days. Until then, Keep Shooting!

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

Related posts:

1. Hardware Review: Budget Fluorescent Lights from Alzo Digital Video Review
2. Hardware Review: Aerial Footage for Low Budget Filmmakers with the Draganflyer SAVS
3. Hardware Review: Canon HV20 Camcorder Review

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

Related posts:

1. My Canon HV20 Camera Rig – still in the works
2. Feature Filmmaking with the Canon HV40
3. Hardware Review: Canon HV20 Camcorder Review

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).

I took the Spoils DVD back to my hotel room that night, popped the thing into my laptop and had a good old time watching it. For an insanely low budget film (I think they mentioned it was under $500), Abel put together a pretty darn enjoyable little film with a lot of gore and a killer clown. When I headed back to the Frightmare the next day I made sure to stop by Abel’s table to tell him how much I enjoyed his flick. During the course of our conversation (and mentioned again at a panel Abel spoke on the next day) it came out that he had shot the film on the Canon HV20 (maybe the HV30…I’m old and my memory is horrible). Needless to say I was completely blown away because this was the first time I’d found a specific example of an indie filmmaker using one of the Canon VIXIAs as their main camera — and extremely well I have to say.

Now, I do have to say that Spoils isn’t a perfect film, but it is a lot of fun and, more important for indie and guerrilla filmmakers, it shows that with proper planning, some creative thinking and quite a bit of blood, shooting a feature length film with the sub-$1000 Canon HV40 can not only be done, but it can be done well.

Hats off to Abel Berry and the fine folks of B.S. Entertainment for making a cool horror film with an ultra cool camera.

That’s it for today. Until next time, Keep Shooting!

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

Related posts:

1. No Budget Filmmaker Profile: BS Entertainment – HV40 Feature Filmmaking
2. My Killer Canon HV20 Rig – now complete
3. Top 10 Essential Equipment for Indie Filmmakers: Part I – the Camera

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.

That being said, there are still a lot of great microphones out there for those of us on a more modest budget. The key thing to remember is that as a guerrilla or indie filmmaker you need a good shotgun microphone to make sure your sound gets recorded well. There is absolutely nothing worse, and nothing that screams “no budget film,” than bad sound. Heck, even porn has good sound these days, so there’s no excuse any more!

#2: The Microphone (and accessories)

The bad news here is that a decent shotgun mic for your indie, guerrilla or low budget film is going to run you some decent money. If you’re going to try and put together professional sounding videos, then you really need a balanced XLR microphone instead of just a mic using the 3.5mm mini jack plug. Unfortunately, since most budget camcorders only have a 3.5mm mini jack plug, that means you’re going to need an XLR adapter like the Beachtek DXA-2S for smaller cameras like the Canon HV40 and that adds an additional $180 or so to your cost of doing business.

If you absolutely cannot afford an XLR mic and adapter for your camera, there is still some hope. Azden has a really solid 3.5mm jack shotgun mic called the Azden SMX-10, which runs for under $70 and will give you some very nice sound for the price.

Moving up from there, if your camera has XLR inputs or if you can afford an XLR adapter, the best choices in the $100-$200 range come from Azden. My personal choice for best budget shotgun mic is the Azden SGM-1x Shotgun mic. I’ve been using mine for about 2 years now on both my Canon HV20 and my XHA1 cameras, and I’ve had nothing but excellent results. I’ve shot shorts, internet videos, music videos and even a feature with it and have always come out happy. They run for under $170 these days and make a fantastic addition to the low budget filmmaker’s toolkit.

A lot of few indie and guerrilla filmmakers also really like the Rode VideoMic, which runs for a bit under $150. I’ve got one in my kit as a back up, but my personal preference is the Azden SGM-1x shotgun microphone because the VideoMic has the standard mini-jack plug instead of an XLR input.

From $200 and up your choices become a lot broader — the Audio Technica AT875 is a fantastic budget shotgun microphone at about $199; the Azden SGM-2x at $212 is another great contender for top rated budget shotgun mic. Also, and this is a great shotgun mic in the $250+ range, the Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic is top-notch.

Beyond the microphone itself, you’ll need to get a windsock for your mic to cut down on extraneous noise. These strange and furry accessories, also called deadcats, go over the foam windscreen that comes with most shotgun mics and are an absolutely necessary little add on, especially if your audio kit doesn’t include a blimp. The more you can get your microphone targeting your actors, the better time you’ll have during sound clean-up in post.

At some point a good, light-weight boom pole will become necessary, and you can never have enough XLR cable.

The main point behind this is to make sure you are getting the best sound possible for your budget. Nothing will spoil your next guerrilla filmmaking project more than crappy sound, especially when it is so easy to do it correctly. You can skimp on feeding your cast and crew, but you should never skimp on your sound!

Check back next week for Part 3 of the Film Sensei’s Top 10 Essential Equipment for Indie Filmmakers list!

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

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Essential Equipment for Indie Filmmakers: Part I – the Camera
2. Indie Equipment Review: Steadicam on a budget – the Atlas Camera Support System
3. Hardware Review: Azden SGM-1x Shotgun Microphone Review

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As a low budget, guerrilla filmmaker myself, hearing that got me very interested. Seeing shots of the Atlas Camera Support in action quickly made me realize that the system was also a potentially fantastic alternative to the old-school steadicams. Needless to say, the thought of a steadicam style unit being available at a cost under $375 got me incredibly excited.

The Atlas Camera Support is made up of a body harnass, a flexible rod, an adjustable strap which attaches to the top of your camera and a weighted handle that screws in to the bottom.

Now, when you first see a picture of the Atlas Camera Stabilizer in action, you’re probably going to have the same reaction I did: what in the hell is that thing? It looks a little strange. However, all thoughts of looking silly on set completely vanished the first time I strapped in and took this steadicam-alternative for a test drive. After only a few minutes of practice I was able to achieve some of the smoothest handheld camera shots I’ve ever seen. It’s very intuitive and if you do the steadicam duck-walk you’ll quickly be getting shots that rival footage taken on a full steadicam rig.

That is the key to remember: as with any piece of equipment, getting the ultra smooth steadicam shots take practice and take the same sort of skills you need to operate a full steadicam unit. Just strapping the Atlas Camera Support System on and hoping for the best will still get you some decent shots, but the true power of the system comes with practice, proper posture and proper “smooth” walking. Once you get that down you will be absolutely amazed at the footage you can get with this indie, guerrilla steadicam alternative.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re on a budget, or just can’t bring yourself to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a standard steadicam, then you absolutely have to check out the Atlas Camera Support System — heck, Mr. Knowles even gives you a 30 day money back guarantee to test the system out at no risk.

Check back in the next week for a full video review of the Atlas Camera Stabilizer. I loved the unit so much we’ll actually be using it on my next film, The Hog!

Until Next time, Keep Shooting!

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

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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.

I know what you’re asking yourself, “what the hell is a Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System?”  Well, that is just the fancy name for a remote controlled helicopter with a DV camera built in to it.  In other words, it’s a cool as hell new toy for the arsenal of the low budget or guerilla filmmaker. 

The brief rundown on the Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System (the Draganflyer SAVS for short) is that it is a small, but incredibly durable RC helicopter (30″ in diameter and under a pound and a half in weight) with a wireless video system build in.  The video system itself has a resolution of 480 lines, making it on par with the video output of most SD camcorders.  The camera itself comes in an anti-vibration camera mount and the Draganflyer SAVS’ 4 rotor design provides an amazingly stable shooting platform for the indie filmmaker looking to add the spice of some overhead or aerial footage to his next flick.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was a bit hesitant at the idea of using an RC helicopter to grab usable footage for a film, but Alex told me to wait until I saw the Draganflyer SAVS in action.  So, about 45 minutes after he arrive at my house, we took his unit out for a quick spin.  Having already logged around 100 hours with the Draganflyer SAVS, Alex took the lead and did a run around my neighborhood here in Covina, California…much to the shock of my neighbors and their pets!  In the hands of an experienced user, the Draganflyer SAVS provides some incredibly slick footage that would be impossible for an indie filmmaker to get otherwise…he flew over trees and houses, followed a car, chased a dog through some trees and generally piped out very workable aerial footage for a filmmaker on a budget too small for a real helicopter or even a crane shot. 

Now, there were definite limitations to the unit.  First up, you’re not going to be taking it up thousands of feet into the air.  From what I could tell, there was an effective range of a few hundred yards.  It’s batteries last right around 15 minutes (I think we were getting a bit under that during our testing) and take somewhere around an hour to recharge.  And, finally, it is a lightweight unit that can get damaged in a crash.  As with any high end piece of filmmaking equipment (be it a camera, a steadicam or anything else), getting a lot of practice in before taking it on set is a necessity. 

I also really wish there was an HD option for the camera now that a lot of shoots are heading in that direction.  I know the Draganflyer X6 exists, but I’m not sure a $15,000 system is in anyone’s budget these days.  Replacing the SD camera on the Draganflyer SAVS with an HD one would make this system unbeatable, especially for the price.

A very nice feature, is what they call Thermal Intelligence.  What that means is, if you lose control of your Draganflyer SAVS, if you are quick enough, you can just let go of the controls and the unit will auto-correct itself, using the horize as a guide.  In other words, if you start to crash, just let go of the controls and there is a very good chance the Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System will save itself.  Alex demonstrated the feature for me a few times and I have to say it was very very impressive to see.

All-in-all, the Draganflyer SAVS is an incredible little piece of equipment with a lot of potential to add a lot of production value to your next shoot.  The only downside to it is it’s price.  The Draganflyer Stabilized Aerial Video System comes in at just under $2500 for the top of the line version.  There are some lesser versions available for between $950 and $1500, but they don’t come with the full set of features the Draganflyer SAVS comes with…and, I haven’t had the chance to take a look at any of them to see if they’re as effective.

If you’ve got the money and can get the mileage out of some decent SD aerial footage, then I have to say you have got to check one of these things out.  They really are one of the best new tools for an indie or low budget filmmaker with a little extra cash in his budget.

That’s it for me for today…I’m going to go see if I can take another crack at Alex’s Draganflyer SAVS.  It’s too cool to resist.  Until next time, keep shooting!

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

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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.

That, my friends, is what makes Caachi interesting for the low budget or guerilla filmmaker.  You now have access to any web page, blog or social network on the entire internet to advertise and sell your film.  Even better, the Caachi “vidget” (video widget) allows a web owner to show off a film’s poster image, a brief description or even its trailer, all with a very simple and easy to paste piece of code. 

Will placing a film on Caachi alone make an indie filmmaker rich beyond the dreams of Michael Eisner?  Um, sadly, no.  What it will do, however, is give guerilla and low budget filmmakers a fantastic marketing and sales tool to use in their eternal search to have their low budget film shown before the masses.  It gives them a great little marketing piece to encourage webmasters to run their trailer or film info by offering them a 20% commission on any sales made off of their site.  This will encourage reviewers, fans and even internet-saavy mothers to put your trailer on their websites. 

My only negative remarks come from the look of the Caachi website itself.  It looks very much like a stock OSCommerce template site and really isn’t as slick as it should be.  For an idea as cool as it is, and in an industry as cool as film, I really expected to see something a lot coolor and more user friendly.  My advice to the powers-that-be at Caachi is to get yourself a site redesign and fast!  I’d also like to see some sort of a scrolling vidget, similar to the Amazon Carousel Widget, allowing webmasters to list multiple films as part of a single piece of code. 

For those indie, guerilla or low budget filmmakers out there with a film to sell and no clue how to get distribution, check out www.Caachi.com for a nifty option to add to your sales and marketing utility belt.  Price your film with sales in mind ($9.99 for an indie short film you download is a bit crazy…but $4.99 for a feature might be the sweet spot for you) and with a little inventive self-promotion you might find yourself actually able to pay off those credit cards you used to finance your film.  All thanks to the fine folks at Caachi.

Well, that’s it for me for now.  I’m going to go and watch a couple of films over on Caachi (Mind Flesh looks interesting…and it has boobies in it!).  Until next time, Keep Shooting!

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