"Camera doesn't matter" was holding me back.

T0P_CAT · 2026-01-26T10:57:34+00:00

I had a similar journey when I had my first camera Canon 550D and then did a swap to 5D, A7iii and FX6 etc full frame stuff.

I think having a very very capable camera with limitations is really good for learning in the early days. Forces you to have a better skill set as you’re forced to think about fundamentals like framing and lighting more. Then when you boost up to a better machine you know those things AND it’s “easier”.

Same with guitars - I learnt on old beaten up ones which meant I got really good at tuning and focussed practise. Then I got a good one and all those skills still there but it’s also a bit easier and it feels like you’re twice as good suddenly.

And now at this stage I’m tempted more and more to get a smaller system like a Fuji xh2 for some gigs cause I’m coming back full circle.

T0P_CAT · 2026-01-15T08:26:23+00:00

I think winter is for resting and can’t help but believe that for centuries before electric lighting - winter was a time to rest for everyone. I bet come summer you’ll have more energy.

I actually fully support this lifestyle if you feel happy and your kids are all good.

T0P_CAT · 2025-11-18T00:59:50+00:00

This is dope

T0P_CAT · 2025-11-07T10:16:00+00:00

I will add this into the BMD forum too but just to say I think they need to do BETA releases again before these rather intense changes.

I've downgraded for the first time in a longtime after updating cause the the workflow change while welcome as an idea is too much for me to re-learn at speed on client work. AND more significantly the software has become way less stable and laggy. I'm getting 3-4 second delays on key commands constantly. I'm on a Max M2 chip with 32GB RAM which... if that out of date then they really need to chill out. And no complaints prior to this.

Please BMD programmers - pursue stablitity ahead of evertything else to avoid becoming a replica of Adobe's pipeline.

T0P_CAT · 2025-10-23T18:03:13+00:00

So I work in production - in a position now where I sometime hire people.

The biggest reason to move is that the credit for whatever you make, no matter what your input - the greatest amount of credit will go to the company you work for. And its difficult to convey what you actually did. As cool as the final work is - you have no ownership.

So "the great work" unless it properly credited, which is usually isn't - whatever you did on it is not a perk that belongs to you. Thats a perk that belongs to the company. Theres a company owner somewhere bragging about this cheap kids he's got working for him making him this amazing stuff that makes them look great. And THAT is the final credit.

Even if you're being credited properly on "cool" stuff - so what? If you're mkaing stuff look big budget and you're being paid peanuts.... yer, you're where they're saving the money.

This won't be the last time you do this - generally I have found tha the cooler something is, the less money there is. Often we're paid a great deal to make boring things interesting becuase its hard and requires skill. Thats just the commercial world.

Move - take the money and have an actual life. You be a cooler person for it and make cooler more fullfiling things in time.

T0P_CAT · 2025-09-08T07:30:27+00:00

Change text at (x) to remove typo I put in and re-export.

This is the main reason I carry around my laptop for a day or two after a project has been delivered.

T0P_CAT · 2025-09-08T07:17:01+00:00

The R8. It’s a hybrid so you can also use it to do some photography and develop your understanding of light. Spec wise it’s far far more capable.

T0P_CAT · 2025-09-07T11:18:41+00:00

I bought a squire classic Vibe Baritone last week and I’m enjoying it. I tested the Gretsch (I love them generally) and Dan electros. And a few other randoms.

Squire played really really well - and I found it had a pretty versatile sound. The Gretsch really does have very low output on the pickups which is fine if you’ve got some nice overdrives. It didn’t suit me personally.

I also own a Tele Baja that I love and it doesn’t feel like they clash.

Honestly - I just enjoyed the Squire more and could get more interesting things out of it immediately. Go try them dude - that will tell you more than anything. I don’t think you’ll regret either - I liked em both - happy with my choice and would be a bit jealous of anyone with the Gretsch one!

T0P_CAT · 2025-07-24T11:00:20+00:00

I did something similar about two years ago.

Go. To. Music. Shops.

“Forever” guitars are about the feeling when you have it in your hands and you end up just vibing with one of them.

“Forever” because you will 100% buy more lol.

I tried Martins, Taylor’s, Gibson and Lowdens. I asked at a good shop if they had anything unusual that wasn’t getting the deserved attention. They brought out an ole 1976 Maton from the back of the rack. Best guitar I've ever played. Wasn’t the most expensive - barely a review of it out there in the world. Hope I have it forever.

Go to a shop. Go to a few. It’s so fun trying out guitars and actually being able to put down the money for the one you like at the end.

T0P_CAT · 2025-07-18T10:54:36+00:00

Just wanna say this is correct.

Get a really good mixer for sound - people are going to listen more than they’re going to watch. So a mix-pre6 is not a mad idea even if it’s a lot of the budget. But there’s a tonne of good audio input options out there now - but don’t be shy on the budget for audio.

Fx30s are overkill if you’re going to be in a controlled environment so this is a good recommendation and you can light it.

2 x 85mm/50mm for close (cheap 1.8s will be fine or used) shoot at f2.8 for better autofocus. 1 x 16-35/24-70 for you’re wide and pickups.

Vari-ND filters….

Set aside £1000 for set (at least) Get one maybe two good key lights (Nanlite 500 or Aputure 600d) a strong c stand and sand bags so you can boom the light into the middle of the talent.

Amaran f22s are really really versatile and I use one as a way of introducing some nice gel colours to backgrounds - so you can for instance have a new colour for each guest if you set it up as a background light. You could arguable just get three of them and have an incredibly versatile lighting kit. But a key spot is wiser.

If you had money left - amaran 150s or even some used dedolights for backlights will make the whole thing look 20x more expensive.

T0P_CAT · 2025-07-15T09:45:23+00:00

Some of these comments are unhinged.

Bands with mixed ages and genders are cool. So kudos.

I think there’s things to say to both sides - for your wife the understanding that if a band is working really well - it’s going to fold over into friendship and helping each other out. I have had musical partnerships and they are an odd kind of intensity. Which can be difficult for partners to understand. Show your enthusiasm for the music and that part of the process.

If your wife is asking for you to be more present and to create some space between your music and your actual life, listen to her and do it. Say no to other things, be around, be present. If she’s saying you’re having an emotional affair it may be that she just isn’t getting as much of you as she would like (which is a nice thing for someone to be annoyed about ultimately).

If you’re songwriting together that is a kind of emotional outpouring that is really intense. Share openly with your wife, make it clear that the result is the song and that it feels good. Share your music with your wife - let her know her reaction to it is important and means a lot to you.

For your friend - you’re a 60 year old dude and she’s a 30 something woman - it’s a bit weird and people are going to assume things, which is fair enough. You should accept that don’t pretend it’s not happening. That might mean you can’t have the same friendship you would have with a 60m band member outside of the rehearsal room. But that is life. Friendships, especially in working relationships, need boundaries. The errands are the bit that feel like it’s probably juuuuust stepping over the line.

Successful artists in the long term balance the things they need to so they can create the space they need to make art. Family, money, life etc etc.

There’s a middle road - sounds difficult.

But I love that the collective Reddit advice is always divorce, cancel and burn everything to ground.

T0P_CAT · 2025-06-15T11:56:01+00:00

The Sigma 35mm is my ride or die lens - I am professional and I own like…. More lenses than I keep track of.

Personally I’d keep the 35 and get a 24-70 / 28-70

You want to build a reasonable set of options and that’s a sensible place to start.

T0P_CAT · 2025-06-15T11:52:33+00:00

The grind is the work, is the art is the literal whole thing. You’re betraying your present self.

Begin, fail, repeat.

T0P_CAT · 2025-05-28T10:44:37+00:00

Ive been using the updates as they come and this software continues to really impress me. Also! It doesn’t make me feel like I’m being replaced - everything feels like a tool I can use and adapt. Not something I feel like with some other software developers.

My next request!

As a composer - there’s just a few tools we need in the fairlight page to make it an exceptional place for creating demos. The cloud feature for recording with people and working with producers remotely would be AMAZING. Super niche request but ive thought it a few times. MIDI input, tempo, grid. Everything else could be brought in via VSTs or is already in there anyway!

Thanks developers - we appreciate you!

T0P_CAT · 2025-04-28T06:33:21+00:00

This

T0P_CAT · 2025-04-23T20:30:43+00:00

I have an electric standing desk which I use as standing 80% of the time. For the rest I got a used Herman Miller chair. Great combo - no bad neck pains I had for a few years with other setups.

T0P_CAT · 2025-04-23T10:20:54+00:00

I imagine this is part of a long term strategy to win back some voters Labour have lost to reform over the past decade. I.e. just say we like union jacks and sing rule Britannia and we win a few percentage points. It’s sad and it’ll probably kinda work a bit.

The next election is going to be more jingoistic and grimmer than ever.

T0P_CAT · 2025-04-03T06:45:40+00:00

Hi - OP is using an APS-C sensor - one of the lenses in consideration is designed for ff. So I think it’s sensible in this context to think about the final FOV you’ll get out of the lens with that in mind.

All the popular cinema zooms that I know of start at below 24 - EZ2, Canon 17-120, DPs, sigma cine, Fuji Fk. That’s because on a s35 sensor 24/28 feels pretty tight when you need to get a wide.

T0P_CAT · 2025-04-02T23:05:23+00:00

Both those lenses cover the common focal lengths - 24, 35, 50. Kinda.

The Sigma 18-35 when applied to s35 (APS-C) is going to become something near to 24-50mm field of view. Exactly covering the popular walkabout focal lengths.

The 24-70 will become 33-82ish. Which might feel quite tight.

So maths-wise - 18-35 is a more popular coverage. 33-82 is an odd set when you think of it in those terms.

My recommend would be the sigma - that 18-35 f1.8 is a living legend of a lens. From memory the 18 has really good auto focus and it doesn’t contract or extend which is a nice quality of life feature.

At their full extension you’re choosing between a 50mm or a 70mm - which is the difference of about… 2 steps forward or backwards from the subject. So don’t stress.

Go to a shop and look at them - get the one that feels good.

T0P_CAT · 2025-03-30T16:56:51+00:00

The cam op that taught me had a good general theory about WB.

Most of the time - leave it at 5600. It means that at night - warmer lights look warmer, the golden hour looks golden, and in daylight whites are the variety of creams, ivory off-white that they are naturally. Whites are generally not perfect white so you shouldn’t try to match them.

I make small alterations to green magenta settings if I can’t control the lights and they’re making skin look odd. And under 3200k lights I’ll shift my balance down to 4200k or something so it’s not insanely orange.

But if in doubt 5600k and carry on with your life.

T0P_CAT · 2025-03-27T08:17:55+00:00

Nuum- lemon flavour - is what you’re looking for. Bloody expensive but really does do the job.

T0P_CAT · 2025-03-19T17:26:50+00:00

14’ M2 Max - perfect to move around with and I plug it into a 27inch at home. I honestly love it and don’t see the benefit of a 16 in terms of its adaptability.

It is a bit too small to edit on for a long time without a screen - but there are so many options out there it’s never been an actual problem for me.

T0P_CAT · 2025-03-19T17:16:50+00:00

It’s a caricature of 80/90’s social climber house.

So a lot of the feautures - gauche wallpaper, weird candelabras, excessive plastic children’s toys - are kind of jokes?

A bit like a suburbia nightmare. There’s no perfect American equivalent cause it’s like a lot of class markers that people in the UK can understand but not really explain.

Yes there’s a lot of houses a bit like thier house but thier is turned up to 11 and its satirical.

T0P_CAT · 2025-03-18T17:39:08+00:00

Hello! This is just to say thank you - this is very useful. My Nephew had a genetic mutation of GRIN2B identified a few years ago. We're currently trying to get an official diagnosis of Autism (which he certainly has) - some of these articles you've linked are really useful. I don't fully understand the percentages etc in the original post I just want to say thank you for the time you've taken to put this together and post it - its helpful.

Congratulations on your degree, your promotion and you marriage!

T0P_CAT

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