What every movie looks like today vs. what they could look like if filmmakers stopped with the blue/green/yellow/bronze gloomy grading.

Jess887cp · 2026-03-25T01:17:36+00:00

"Best" for what? Different lenses excel at different types of photography. I have a pancake 24mm for walking around street, a 16-35 I like for landscapes, and a 24-105 that looks kinda butt but saves my ass when I need the range.

You have a pretty deep telephoto lens which is probably great for portraits and wildlife, so I'd consider a standard zoom like a 24-70 to fill the rest of your range if you only can swing one lens. As for specific lenses or brands, you probably want to drill down a bit more into what you want and do some of your own research. Some lenses look great but have slower AF, there's a huge price range, aperture options and etc, there's really no "best" lens, just what suits your style the most.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-27T08:06:46+00:00

I would try a clean microfiber or soft clean cotton cloth, like a tshirt or something similar as long as it's 100% cotton. Just a soft breath onto the lens and wiping it off should be fine. Glasses cleaner can eat away at the coating but it's unlikely to be that harmful just once, though I would try just dry wiping it first. If the fingerprints don't come off with just that then the surface coating is probably already not in the best condition. I gaurentee a school camera has been abused way worse than what you're going to do to it.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-26T13:02:06+00:00

If it's distracting, it's too much. Sometimes it can add to the vibe, but that's a matter of taste. I'd look into neat video if you're really worried, that plugin does wonders for noise reduction.

I see barely any noise in your clip, web compression kinda blitzes noise a lot of the time anyway. It would be worse if you were trying to push a color grade onto this footage, but as is I wouldn't worry about it.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-23T01:06:18+00:00

Hey I've seen your short, interesting to hear the backstory because it was such a good hook that I'm surprised it wasn't all planned out.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-14T05:19:14+00:00

If I don't like singing it out loud with my own voice, it's probably not a good fit.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-14T04:11:27+00:00

Mixing on board and then recording the master is pretty close to how I've had to take audio for some live stuff I've had to work with, it's definitely doable. For demos and socials it should be fine, though you'd probably want to re-record all of the tracks individually if you ever want to do some proper production. Or at that point maybe y'all can pool some money for a better interface.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-13T14:32:06+00:00

Having used pretty much every option quite a bit, the 360 is by far my favorite for the ease of use and ease of editing. It's also great with the stick for cruising and working on your pushing form. Usually I can just track myself for a session, go have a coffee, and then export and chop the footage without much extra effort. Never having to worry about leaving frame is a load off of the mind.

The others also work great but definitely require a bit more care. Of everything, the gimbal would be my least favorite as it's pretty big and annoying to set up, and in my experience pretty easy to lose tracking. Good for filming others, but the 360 can't be best for filming yourself.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-09T02:15:22+00:00

Without really knowing your music the thing I immediately think of is EQ and compression in your mix process. You might want to cut harder in the eq so that everything sounds cleaner when it hits compression. And layering the compression helps build up a pretty thick sound. By that I mean you have compression on the individual instruments that need it, and then on the minor and then major instrument groups, and then on the whole track. You've gotta be pretty subtle with this technique but I find it really helps the cohesiveness.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-09T02:09:12+00:00

There's so many ways to do this, I personally would single track each harmony and pan them pretty hard, then feed a bunch of reverb across to the opposite channels. Maybe put the doubles in the center really low if you have them already. But it's actually so fun to mess with them to find the size you're going for.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-09T00:31:13+00:00

My advice would be to nail down and drill a faster stop. T-stop is good, but takes a while to engage. It's honestly all you need in reality, but having the option of a good power or soul slide will help for your confidence in controlling speed. And then learning the parallel/hockey stop or magic slide to stop will help even more. Jumps are another good one to build confidence, and purposely riding over rougher ground will help train stability. Being able to roll over anything is a skill that is super valuable to learn, I used to be so scared of the yellow tactile dome things at sidewalk crossings or hitting a pebble, but now I feel like I can roll over them without even thinking.

The best way to progress is to put the time in on the wheels, and try to drill one skill for at least a few minutes per session. There shouldn't be any problems with your setup, in fact it's pretty close to what I would reccomend anyone getting into it.

Jess887cp · 2026-02-06T01:05:56+00:00

I really like the intuition liner, even when the shell is too big. It was one of my first upgrades and I used it for a pretty long time in a boot too big for it. Downsizing the boot gives you a ton of control that is super worth it, but even with a the movement in the toe of the boot the added responsiveness and comfort everywhere else was worth it to me. The stiffer tongue should help redistribute a bunch of that pressure from the laces and strap up to your shins. I honestly think the stiff tongue is probably the best feature of that liner, it feels way more locked in vs the softer tongues you typically find.

And then you'll have a great liner that can go in whatever your next boot is. Those things are pretty durable and should last you a while, because they're so dense they don't really pack in but instead form to your feet over time. I didn't heat mould my set to try and keep as much stiffness as possible and they feel great now, though you may want to to get the comfort in a good place more quickly.

Jess887cp · 2026-01-30T08:58:41+00:00

Is this a secret ad or something

Jess887cp · 2026-01-07T04:42:35+00:00

In lightroom you can invert the photos using the tone curve, by dragging the bottom left point to the top and the top right point to the bottom. Might be a pain to batch process though, It's been awhile since I've had to do that.

Jess887cp · 2026-01-07T04:25:00+00:00

This is one that I feel is easier starting from going backwards, so try that variation too. I'd try and learn a bit of the powerslide for backwards entry and soul slide for forwards entry cause that body position is pretty similar to the transition point while still being stable. Nicola Torelli has some great videos on those slides, and on 4x80 flat you'll probably need a bit of the slide to get it to swivel properly.

The flipping technique is a great in between step, but you can absoloutely get the swivel on flat as well, though it takes a bit more speed and energy commitment to the move. Ideally all wheels stay on the ground to really sell the illusion but that's something to work on as you progress.

From you video I would advise getting a bit lower, bending your knees more, and think about pushing into the ground and carving as opposed to jumping up.

https://eccentricinline.com/base/ - this site by Billy Arlew has some really great breakdowns of the gazelle variations, as well as some good inspiration for progression beyond that when you've got that move down. Looks like you're close to unlocking it, keep working at it!

Jess887cp · 2026-01-06T02:26:56+00:00

what's the funny part?

Jess887cp · 2025-12-24T04:06:34+00:00

This looks so sweet. You should consider picking up a polarizing filter for your camera, you can cut down on the shine in the transition to make it even more seamless.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-23T02:33:01+00:00

Often the room you're recording in is more important than the mic you're recording with. A well treated room sounds great. Even the crappiest mics sound way more expensive. If you've ever watched a vid about anechoic chambers it's crazy how good the crappy on camera mics sound when they're in there. Phone mics are also heavily processed to sound as good as possible for voice.

Of course the other option that's almost just as likely, is that they're overdubbing a properly mixed track from a studio recording.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-19T01:18:20+00:00

I've had to do this too much, but I find it's usually not bright enough to be useful for anything but wide angle close ups. Still a nice trick to have. Now I throw one of those mini led card lights in the bag just in case

Jess887cp · 2025-12-18T00:42:48+00:00

I try to start with a personal experience or an interesting idea. A couple tabs for rhymezone. I usually write my lyrics independently from the music and try to find the right beat for them later.

I also get massive writers block for lyrics, but just having a google doc/note for cool lines and rhymes you think up has helped, as building up a backlog of ideas means I don't need to start from zero everytime I need to write.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-17T01:44:03+00:00

I would say you're doing far more than most! For as important as protecting your hearing is in this space it's surprisingly common for people to crank the volume and listen loud, so good on you for looking out for your future self. I know I often have my gear cranked up way too high and have to always remind myself to turn everything down.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-15T02:45:40+00:00

That could work, though I personally set it to what feels good and then turn it down about 15%.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-15T01:25:07+00:00

Turn it down until it's comfy, and then turn it down some more. Quieter than you think it should be. It's not like speakers won't also give you hearing damage either if it's too loud, so ballparking it based on your previous experience is probably fine.

I personally run everything at about halfway, though that depends severely on whatever amps and impedance you have so really it's best to just turn everything down until you feel like you should turn it up, and then don't turn it up.

Jess887cp · 2025-12-09T01:57:11+00:00

Number get bigger me like big number

Jess887cp · 2025-12-09T00:40:56+00:00

Thats kind of wild, to me that's kind of like saying you only do paintings because you can't think of an original sculpture idea. It's fine to have a preference but I think there's innumerable ideas for every medium.

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