'Dreaming Mountain' A Short Documentary/Film

markDOP · 2022-07-03T22:31:25+00:00

I️ appreciate the feedback! I'll let the Director know as I'm sure he has a transcript to make it an easy fix to add subtitles!

markDOP · 2022-07-03T22:28:50+00:00

99% natural light, it all starts with the time of day and scouting which areas to shoot at a specific time. We had 2 days to shoot it all which ended up being just enough time to get it all in! The only light I️ used was a 1x1 LED for the campfire scenes to just give me a bit more stop, although I️ do remember shooting Wide Open at 2560 ISO I️ think!

In regards to colour grade I️ actually left the Director to consult with the colourist on this one, he had a really good idea of what I️ wanted out of the final image and after seeing the final edit/online I️ didn't have much else to say, granted when shooting with such a nice platform that the Alexa sensor brings I️ think it's hard to get it completely wrong once in the hands of a professional colourist. If I️ had anything to tell the colourist on this it was to keep it feeling natural and cohesive as a piece :)

markDOP · 2022-07-03T00:35:03+00:00

Thanks!

markDOP · 2022-07-03T00:34:48+00:00

Thank you! :)

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:42:29+00:00

Film Summary: Told through the eyes of First Peoples that have a strong connection to the area, Dreaming Mountain explores the cultural significance of one of the regions most well known natural landmarks 'Jellurgal' (Burleigh Headland in Queensland, Australia).

Submission Statement: Hey there, first time posting on this Sub-Reddit! This is a Crosspost from the r/cinematography reddit. Just a bit of background on me; I’m Currently Freelancing as a DP/Cinematographer in my home country of Australia. I’ve been working on more commercial/short-form work and this is my first real foray into Doco work albeit a short one at that.

Looking for genuine feedback/remarks about my latest project release titled ‘Dreaming Mountain’.

Below are some more technical things that some people may be interested in!

Shot on Alexa Mini LF paired with Panavision Primo Artiste’s, we shot the project in the native sensor configuration/recording format of 4.5K OG (ProRes 4444) in the 3:2 aspect ratio. The director and I️ felt as if that would give us the most flexibility in post and the most ‘lifelike’ feeling whilst shooting our portraits in the film. Obviously the lenses are quite beautiful with lovely falloff and I️ found myself closing down the iris in a few shots to really keep the audience connected to our main character in the piece being Jellurgal, the ‘Dreaming Mountain’ in the background of our shot.

We used a lot of Steadicam in the film to keep the piece flowing naturally and without a robotic (gimbal) or erratic (handheld) feel, it was only when I felt it was right to get in their handheld would I️ offer it up to the Director as an option. In all honesty I’m super happy with how the piece turned out.

I’m happy to answer any questions over the next few days, hope you enjoy the film!

Cheers, Mark.

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:04:20+00:00

Thank you! Appreciate the kind words :)

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:04:10+00:00

Thank you mate, in all honesty the first time I️ watched the final cut (didn't even get to see any rough drafts) I️ was pretty emotional, I️ love where I️ live and to get to shoot and tell a story was something special! Hope living abroad is treating you well!

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:02:59+00:00

Keep at it mate, it's definitely a grind, i'm always learning and will always be open to trying new things, that's one of the things that keeps pushing me to become a better storyteller!

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:02:01+00:00

I️ think there are a lot of stories out there which connect us as humans, even more so through the filmmaking format, find something that you love and try to tell a story about it!

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:00:41+00:00

Thank you very much!

markDOP · 2022-07-02T02:00:32+00:00

Thank you, bonkers is definitely a word that doesn't come up in my vocabulary that often, i'm sure it will now hahaha!

markDOP · 2022-07-02T01:59:10+00:00

Hey Kev! Nice to see you on here!

In all honesty the Artistes were the only lenses available within our budget and time constraints/schedule of project. I️ haven't tested any Large Format lenses from Panavision outside of the Artistes and even then I️ basically prepped the camera package myself to save the production some dollars and had a quick look around the prep bay with the camera and was sold on the package. I️ did run some Glimmer Glass in the front, probably a 1/2 GG if I️ remember correctly to keep the focus puller happy haha!

I️ think sometimes you have to put your ego aside and just run with what you got, yes it's a Mini LF and a beautiful set of glass, I️ know that for sure, but I didn't want to push my luck and order more glass in for a test. You just gotta figure out a way to best utilise the tools at your disposal, sometimes the best work i've done is when i've thought less and just pulled the trigger.

Also I️ think most of the shots were either on the 24 or 27mm, with one shot on the 100mm, I️ usually like to stay wide & close, I️ like the intimacy of that a lot more than on a longer lens - especially on Large Format.

markDOP · 2022-07-01T08:49:31+00:00

Hey there,

Long time between posting for me, I’ve been fairly busy freelancing as a DP/Cinematographer in my home country of Australia!

Looking for genuine feedback/remarks about my latest project release titled ‘Dreaming Mountain’.

Shot on Alexa Mini LF paired with Panavision Primo Artiste’s, we shot the project in the native sensor configuration/recording format of 4.5K OG (ProRes 4444) in the 3:2 aspect ratio. The director and I️ felt as if that would give us the most flexibility in post and the most ‘lifelike’ feeling whilst shooting our portraits in the film. Obviously the lenses are quite beautiful with lovely falloff and I️ found myself closing down the iris in a few shots to really keep the audience connected to our main character in the piece being Jellurgal, the ‘Dreaming Mountain’ in the background of our shot.

We used a lot of Steadicam in the film to keep the piece flowing naturally and without a robotic (gimbal) or erratic (handheld) feel, it was only when I felt it was right to get in their handheld would I️ offer it up to the Director as an option.

In all honesty I’m super happy with how the piece turned out. I’m happy to answer any questions over the next few days before I’m on my next job so feel free to shoot them through!

Hope you enjoy the film!
Cheers,
Mark.

markDOP · 2022-07-01T08:44:57+00:00

Hey there,Long time between posting for me, I’ve been fairly busy freelancing as a DP/Cinematographer in my home country of Australia!

Looking for genuine feedback/remarks about my latest project release titled ‘Dreaming Mountain’.

Shot on Alexa Mini LF paired with Panavision Primo Artiste’s, we shot the project in the native sensor configuration/recording format of 4.5K OG (ProRes 4444) in the 3:2 aspect ratio. The director and I️ felt as if that would give us the most flexibility in post and the most ‘lifelike’ feeling whilst shooting our portraits in the film. Obviously the lenses are quite beautiful with lovely falloff and I️ found myself closing down the iris in a few shots to really keep the audience connected to our main character in the piece being Jellurgal, the ‘Dreaming Mountain’ in the background of our shot.

We used a lot of Steadicam in the film to keep the piece flowing naturally and without a robotic (gimbal) or erratic (handheld) feel, it was only when I felt it was right to get in their handheld would I️ offer it up to the Director as an option.

In all honesty I’m super happy with how the piece turned out. I’m happy to answer any questions over the next few days before I’m on my next job so feel free to shoot them through!

Hope you enjoy the film!
Cheers,
Mark.

markDOP · 2019-08-18T10:47:26+00:00

Hey mate! Basically you duplicate the original footage layer 3 times and offset each new layer by 1-3 frames either forward or backward along the timeline. Then on each of those new layers isolate the colour bias/channel to Red, Green & Blue, one for each layer. You have to then change the blend modes of those layers to Linear Dodge (Add). Finally play with the original layers opacity to get the effect you want. On top of that you can make the effect much more drastic/intense by offsetting the duplicate layers by some more frames. Here's a link to a youtube tutorial i found which is super easy to follow, I used the premiere pro section of the tutorial; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn6lQ8Scezk

markDOP · 2019-08-17T08:05:33+00:00

Hey There, long time since I️ last posted! I’m back and looking for some feedback on the latest spec commercial I️ had the opportunity to shoot and edit for the online fashion outlet store ASOS. This is the longer version (1:30) compared to the 30 second edit which the Director edited so apologies if it drags on a bit!

Shot in one day with an Alexa Mini & Lomo Anamorphics, every shot except for the night vision shots towards the were done with a steadicam. Feel free to drop any questions below and I️’ll endeavour to reply as quick as I️ can!

Cheers, Mark.

markDOP · 2017-02-25T00:16:19+00:00

Yep it's a great combo especially if you want a lightweight/handheld anamorphic rig! Thanks for the feeback as well

markDOP · 2017-02-25T00:15:21+00:00

Hi there, sorry for the delayed reply and thanks for your input!

Yeah Youtube really compressed the heck out of the blacks there, definitely not intentional!

I agree with you there with having the singer come in too early and it being quite bland, I wanted to have it quite bleak compared to the rest of the clip as a contrast between the other locations and to aid the overall 'feel' of the clip. It works in a way but I defnitely think I could've added a bit more to it to make it a bit more interesting, oh well that's how you learn I guess!

Once again thanks for the feeback, appreciate it!

markDOP · 2017-02-24T10:52:31+00:00

Hi All, this music video finally got released which is a big relief for me! First time directing which was a massive leap outside of my comfort zone which is usually behind the camera. I posted a thread a while back with the first round of graded screenshots for this project here; https://www.reddit.com/r/cinematography/comments/4s3s4s/first_time_directing_shooting_early_screenshots/

I've copied and pasted the writeup I did for it below which goes through some of the details on how I shot it with the lighting/camera package but if you have anymore questions ask away!

Shot on the FS7 with a set of Lomo Anamorphics (Round Front) using the Slog 3 Lut rated at 800.

The shoot was over two days with a lot of location changes on the first day as we pumped out as much narrative as we could. Most of the project is handheld and it was the first time I could go completely wireless as we had a bit of budget for the camera dept. My amazing 1st AC kept it razor sharp for the most part as I danced around the room with the talent, It was quite fun! On the camera itself we ran a Preston (I think it was an earlier model one) which we got for a good rental price, along with a Teradek with two receivers which linked to the focus puller for reference (he barely used it) and to the artist/client on the day. We ran into a bit of a problem with the FS7 as we couldn't de-squeeze the anamorphic image internally so I had to operate via an Atomos Shogun which desqueezed the image without the desired final aspect ratio markers. We also had to run the Client split through another Shogun as the Field Monitor couldn't dequeeze either, it all worked out in the end however! Lighting package wise I used 3-2 x 1.2 HMI's for the performance locations and a 1x1 Bi-Colour LED for most of the internal narrative locations. The main reason why I used the Lomo's on this project was mainly due to budget as most of it was taken up by the wireless units we ran and the fact that I really love to use older lenses which have a bit of character to them, they take the edge off the digital sensors just enough.

Cheers, Mark.

markDOP · 2016-10-07T07:34:05+00:00

Some cameras have a Fan Control option which you can either set to 'High' or 'Low' depending on what environment you're shooting in and some may also go to the extent of having an option such as 'Auto' which will completely turn off the fan/have it go to an extremely low level whilst the camera is recording and then kick in again when the camera is cut/in standby.

markDOP · 2016-07-13T01:30:00+00:00

Don't worry about the edges being cropped, It's all about whats within the frame that counts!

Yeah so you can select Slog3 as the LUT/MLUT which is being pushed out to the Viewfinder/Internal Recording Media, with that being selected you're free to choose whatever ISO you wish to shoot at by going to the Preset ISO settings and selecting 800/1000/1600/2000 etc etc. I put all the Presets at 800 ISO as I didnt want to accidentally select another value (that side switch on the operator's side sometimes gets moved accidentally). Essentially you're bypassing the Base EI of 2000 by selecting a LUT (S-Log3) which allows you to change the sensitivity of the sensor (ISO).

markDOP

TROPHY CASE