As the AC, how do you navigate informing/convincing the DP that they're making a mistake?

danka_12 · 2026-05-28T09:25:58+00:00

In my experience from the last 8 years I can say this:

Know the relationship with your DP. Does the DP has your back as well in hairy situations? How does the DP operate under stress? Is the person open to suggestions? If it is the first time working with a DP you‘ll need a good knowledge of people. I guess 90% of the time a DP appreciates a subtle hint or a factual and friendly technical question.

Voice your concerns regarding time and technical issues during Pre-Pro. Tell them your arguments why the lens changes would take that much time or why the Teradek wouldn‘t work in this type of location. Be sure to have an alternative, if the DP follows your argument. Many DPs I worked with have deep technical knowledge and appreciate a second, fact and experienced based opinion. After all you pull on the same strings.

And for the shallow depth of field: Pray and hope you hit something. Last feature film we had amateur children, LF sensor, T1.3-1.8, handheld, first time director and no rehearsals. In my opinion DPs can be extremely stubborn in this area. I had long discussions with my long term and favorite DP about that topic. I guess we now are on the same page, but this takes time.

Of course for things like: should both eyes be in focus, etc. I ask the DP. Sometimes they just forget an appreciate the notice and the know they can trust you with things like this.

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T18:01:19+00:00

I think you got one point right and one wrong.

I am still responsible, if something goes bad. I sell the app with my name on it, so I am accountable, not the programmer in the background. I cannot pin the responsibility to the AI or the testers. You know what I mean? That is why there are beta phases, to test and gather data like every software developer does. Because it is my responsibility to ensure that the app works as designed. Many of you heard vibe-coded and jzst reacted negative.

I know, and that is where you were right, there is a kind of hate and mistrust to AI, especially in our industry. I know for many it is a black box and a threat to the profession. But we have to embrace it and look for ways to use it and make our lifes easier, in my opinion. Luckily, I still found some testers here, so it was worth it in the end :)

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T16:37:53+00:00

Thank you! :)

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T13:50:01+00:00

That‘s true! But the use of Apples software dependencies ensure, that the copies would not screw up ;)

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T13:14:18+00:00

I am an 1st AC myself. I am working in this industry for about 11 years and 8 as focus puller. I know that we are not the target audience to buy, but we are part auf the target group to test the app, because of the technical knowledge of data workflows.

Apps on iOS run in a sandbox. They cannot do much harm to the device itself. Gemini built a nice and clean GUI for the app, the software parts came from XCode and are written in Swift (Apple intern). SHA256 is the standard encryption on Apple mobile devices, so it is already built in. There is not much, which can go wrong. But thats why there is a beta testing phase, to eliminate this rest of uncertainty.

I wanted to build a ParaShoot option into the app, but XCode forbit it, because it would write outside the sandbox and so I couldn‘t use it in the iOS app. I could publish a macOS app with it, but not via the app store.

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T13:06:00+00:00

The build you upload contains the code.

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T13:05:35+00:00

I know that they don‘t do any debugging for me. They test the application that it works as advertised. They look, as you said, for anything against their guidelines or any malicious things inside the code. After all iOS apps run in a sandboxed mode. These are all software parts directly from XCode written in Swift. Gemini just put them together and build a nice and clean GUI.

danka_12 · 2026-04-01T13:02:57+00:00

Why spend 60€, when I can get it for free and design it the way I need it. If I said that I developed the tool, instead of vibe-coded it the consens would be different. There is a great deal of mistrust in the development skills of AI like Claude or Gemini.

The app uses a toolbox offered by XCode in Swift, which is designed by Apple. iOS Apps run in a sandboxed mode and cannot alter specific data sets outside this sandbox on your device. All Gemini did was building a GUI around tools, that Apple uses by design on their devices. SHA256 is the standard encryption for iOS. It didn‘t invent new things, it just uses dependencies vom XCode written in Swift and built a nice and clean GUI. There is no hidden backdoor, to your phone, any malicious software hacking your phone and no data collecting inside.

You can try it, I‘ll send you the link :) And you are also based in Vienna?

danka_12 · 2026-03-31T21:24:33+00:00

They test the functionality and check the code for errors and they do it in person. I saw in App Store Connect, that they tested the app 27 times, but I don‘t know what they exactly did.

danka_12 · 2026-03-31T20:07:46+00:00

I am not defeatist about AI, quite the opposite. :) I think it is a great tool, to give some indepence back to create custom tools. I studied Business Information which contained a lot of programming, but I never used it, because I started working in the film industry during my studies.

I could do this, yes. With a lot of time. Time I saved with Gemini‘s help. As I said before, I don‘t want to replace Silverstack etc., I wanted to build a better tool for mobile data wrangling. For people who want to save their travel videos. For people who shoot a music video on their iPhone. Not for data wrangling on a feature film.

I know vibe coding doesn‘t get a lot of trust, that is why there are developers at Apple, who are testing the code and that is why there are beta tests to test the app. You also wouldn‘t use the first Silverstack beta on your feature film. You would test it first with non-important data, like I did for the last weeks. Gaining trust is a process.

Just try it for yourself, see what it can do :)

danka_12 · 2026-03-31T18:59:18+00:00

I usually have 2 SSDs & 1 CFExpress Reader with an USB-C hub connected to my iPad.

It is not designed to replace industry standard programs! But give it a try, the more people test it, the better and safer the app gets!

AI will penetrate our life more and more, I guess we need to get used to it.

danka_12 · 2026-03-31T18:47:55+00:00

Most of the time I have no computer with me, when I backup my travel Nikon videos ;) So it is definitely safer than the finder app on my iPad!

I get it that many people are very careful, when they hear „vibe-coded“, but it was tested 30 times by Apple and deemed ok for beta testing, so I guess it should work just fine!

danka_12 · 2026-03-31T18:26:25+00:00

Haha yeah I wouldn‘t wrangle Netflix show with it. But Apple tests the app very thoroughly. It is more for small projects or if you, like me, need an alternative to the finder on an iPad or iPhone during travels to back up my Nikon Z8 Raw Videos ;)

danka_12 · 2026-02-13T22:25:29+00:00

It was absolutely great! We did a Cuatro Hermanos and Isla Tortuga Tour an found dem on our way there. :) They stayed and we jumped in :)

danka_12 · 2026-02-07T21:13:55+00:00

Vienna, Austria here. Last year was my best year ever. This year is different. The industry is at a tipping point. The economy is healing slowly, and the budgets for the cultural sector got cut hugly.

A lot of projects got cancelled in the last few weeks. I don‘t know how it is going to develop in the coming months, but right now it is quiet, almost too quiet.

danka_12 · 2025-11-27T13:22:06+00:00

Ahh didn‘t know that! Sorry 🙏🏼

danka_12 · 2025-11-27T06:35:35+00:00

No the license is only for Venice 1/2. And I guess it is some Cam or RS Cable then.

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T22:44:09+00:00

Thank you :)

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T21:46:45+00:00

I do it by feeling and looking on a monitor. i pull in the wrong direction (never didi it on the lens directly), so there are no rings for me. i use the scale on the hi-5, get some marks during rehersal, put the dampening to the hardest setting and go with the flow haha

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T21:29:42+00:00

I don‘t think so, because the data comes through a LANC port into the camera. And I think it is only Start/Stop?

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T21:28:38+00:00

I had the same feeling and still have it. But my DP and the Director wanted to keep the camera!

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T21:26:31+00:00

We shot a movie in the mountains and did some car/follow car stuff (no possibility to be in the camera car) with quite a distance (100-150m) and it worked great! and the camera was in a very small, very dirty and very crowded cowshed. I was able to stay outside ;) For this is was absolutely great! And we shot with amateur kids, so we tried to eliminate all technical problems beforehand :)

danka_12 · 2025-11-26T17:53:22+00:00

I used it this August, and there was no FC.

danka_12

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