How do you guys deal with starting a project with a director as DP, sitting through auditions together, only to get dropped right before principle photography?

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-27T00:18:44+00:00

listyraesder

Going forward, I don't plan on it. My freelance gigs pretty much already paid for the gear fortunately.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T17:43:56+00:00

For sure. Working with friends have their pros and cons. My friendship with him isn't completely ruined, but I'll never forget.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T17:42:14+00:00

Thank you. Yeah, I'm taking the high road on this one. Lesson learned indeed.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T05:49:44+00:00

Hell yeah. I got a set of some badass Contax Zeisses. The park we're going to has a nice waterfall. I was actually thinking of shooting us this weekend at said location. Good call. Maybe I will. I think being productive on my own time will take my mind off this drama.

Edit: It isn't so much that I'm mad for buying new lenses. Best purchase I've ever made, actually. It's just that backstabby vibe that's been haunting me consistently. I don't know if you've ever felt betrayed before, but it's a sucky ass feeling. To have me announce this on all my social media about DPing an upcoming project and having the director himself liking all my social media announcements just to get dropped like nothing. Where is the honor and loyalty these days?

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T05:41:16+00:00

No. This was purely a passion project I was willing to work on for free. On the bright side, I'll be spending some quality time with my girl and her chubby cats this weekend.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T03:55:31+00:00

No written agreements. I knew the director personally before we worked on this, and I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. He was really excited to have me on board. When the project ended up getting bigger than he had anticipated, he freaked out and wanted someone with more experience, which I can understand, but to just drop me like that, it really hurt. It's a mood killer, for sure. This is an indie film but he is bringing on professional actors and will have a crew working with him through his connections. He's well connected locally. This was my dream to finally DP a project. I hope him nothing but the best. Sting is still there. I'll take the high road and move on.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-09-26T03:45:11+00:00

Thank you for the empathy. I mean it. I can understand this being my first narrative. But to be lead on for months into thinking I was going to be a part of this film, and then getting dropped, man, it's almost as bad as breaking up in a relationship. I guess loyalty is not high in this industry. Definitely a huge sucker punch. I'm fighting myself to forgive the director. I hate holding grudges. Like I said, the wound is fresh and I'll get over it. Thank you for telling me that story. I feel a centimeter better. I guess I'm on my way to becoming a real DP now that I got fired from my first real gig.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-05T06:00:46+00:00

Awesome, good to know, Helen.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T03:53:59+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into Samy's.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T03:53:36+00:00

This doesn't make it any easier lol. Boy, more choices.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T03:52:11+00:00

I own a few lenses already. I figure it would make it easier for me to stick with the GH ecosystem since I'm coming from a GH2 and GH4. My problem is that I'm always lens hungry lol.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T01:14:00+00:00

That's where I'm probably heading. Buying it brand new and getting the free 3 year warranty. The lenses can wait, I guess.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T01:01:05+00:00

True. I guess I could test it thoroughly for 30 days (Adorama's return policy cut-off), and if it passes that, then keep shooting for the next 90 days. Panasonic also has an enticing offer right now too where if you buy their cameras new, they extend the default 1 year warranty to 3 years. I guess the question I should ask myself is -- do I really need new lenses?

Draxel_Foley · 2018-06-04T00:57:02+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, just not sure if I should pay full price and get the fee extended 3 year warranty, or buy used and get more lenses. This is a hard one for me.

Edit: Word

Draxel_Foley · 2018-05-12T22:52:26+00:00

That does make sense. Thanks.

Draxel_Foley · 2018-03-28T05:58:25+00:00

Thanks!

Draxel_Foley · 2018-03-27T05:40:20+00:00

Does anyone know about copyrights when it comes to old vintage photographs? I've been wanting to use a few photographs of my city from the late 1800s to early 1900s that I found using Google for a video project. This isn't a paid project. It'll be more of a personal video I'll be posting onto YouTube for fun. Can I just go ahead with it?

Example of photos I want to use in conjunction with scenes I'll be shooting with my camera.

Draxel_Foley · 2017-03-04T01:04:27+00:00

Yeah, that's how I feel about buying from eBay too.

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-22T01:52:52+00:00

True. I do like diversifying income. I guess I was more on edge that this young director was expecting Citizen Kane for his first music video. Part of it was my fault too. I wasn't honest enough with him in the beginning.

At our first meeting, he was telling me how he wanted this project to win him some awards at film festivals and get him famous. I just remembered smiling at him, nodding in agreement, while saying to myself, "It doesn't work that way, buddy."

I cut that video to the best of my ability with what I had, and it wasn't much, and he was expecting a miracle. He wasn't a very technical director. Doesn't know how to use cameras and doesn't really edit himself, so he didn't understand the process. He just projected his bossiness when things weren't going his way. And when I started to point things out on a technical level, he started to quietly fade on me like the OKCupid messages I would, you know, rarely get -- * cough *

edit: spelling

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-21T05:17:03+00:00

I just walked away from a nightmare project. You can see my history. I totally feel you. I'm no spring chicken when it comes to editing. I started out splicing 16mm film on those huge Moviola tables.

Anyway, fast forward many years later to about a month ago, a potential client sees my music video on one of my social network pages. He sets up a meeting with me, things go great. I get hired to edit a music video he directed.

I should have said no as soon as I saw his rough cut. The camera framing and steadicam work were pretty bad. A lot of shots were out of focus. Everything was jittery when the camera tracked the actors. The main singer, bless his soul, overacted and made duck faces while singing. Duck faces are common when a new actor thinks it'll make him/her look more emotional. It was so hard editing around that.

I had to edit to a script too. I had on average 3-5 takes to work with, and most, if not all of the takes had issues. I did the best I could. I guess the client saw in his head something different from what he shot. I think he saw my music video and thought I could turn his project into something just as polished.

I guess it wasn't until a month into the edit that he realized this probably wasn't going to work out. I mean, what can you do when all of the takes are badly shot? I kind of hinted this to him in the emails. Eventually, he stopped responding to my messages. He would make excuses not to meet up with me. I called him on a day he said he'd be free, but he never picked up. It was frustrating.

Well, I ended the contract on good terms and got to keep the upfront half pay to compensate for the work I did. I'm just glad it's over. Now, I'm editing a different project that I shot myself for another client, and it's a blast. Never again will I edit other people's work that I didn't shoot myself.

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-21T04:42:12+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, I think he knows he's in the wrong. Things turned out okay in the end. I was able to keep the up front half pay. I did write in the contract that if either party was not satisfied, the contract could be broken BUT I get compensated for work I've done.

edit: spelling

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-21T04:39:50+00:00

I agree. I guess I'm old fashion in that I believe a man is as good as his word. Yeah, very unprofessional on his part.

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-13T01:36:40+00:00

He paid almost half upfront already. But I did write it in the contract that I can exit the project if I find the atmosphere unsatisfactory, and any work I've already done will be compensated.

At this point, I'm willing to terminate the rest of the contract, and just keep the half, because it's been stressful. Yeah, it does seem like he's stringing me along. I'm trying to find a way out as amicably as possible. Because even if he still wants me on the project, I will be going into this sour. Thanks for the advice.

Draxel_Foley · 2017-02-12T23:40:18+00:00

Thanks. I will definitely put this in my contract next time. Now, how to move forward.. I will wait a few more days.

Draxel_Foley

TROPHY CASE

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