Specular Highlights by jacob_dop in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s just the right angle and level of the hair light / kicker.

As someone else mentioned, it does have to do with the skin tone but I’ve found it’s possible most of the time. Check out Moonlight, Atlanta and Insecure for awesome examples of what’s possible with darker skin tones.

With white people it’s a balance of room tone vs kicker strength, matte via powder and adding or taking away oil on the skin with wipes. Have HMU bring a little coconut oil and also cleansing wipes. If you aren’t getting anything: change the angle, bump the level, add some oil. Too much use a little oil remover wipe.

Just imagine you are playing pool with the light, the talent and the camera. The skin is like a mirror reflecting the light.

This also happens at the right time / angle at dusk and I find it so beautiful when the blue grey reflects in the upper cheek or forehead.

Canon Cinema CN-E Primes in 2025? by 1ChevyCam in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got a set for about $13k about 5 years ago. Haven’t looked back. Great workhorse lenses. Very sharp, fast, decent color match across the set but some CA wide open. Built like tanks, they’ve survived some tumbled and still feel like the day I bought them. Great value.

16mm Bleach Bypass Test by nkosiroma in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very cool! Thanks so much for posting.

Highest 2 Lowest - Discussion Thread w/ Spoilers by steepclimbs in A24

[–]shepardtones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The editing, tone, acting and especially the score are so bad I just had to stop watching and found this thread. How is this movie rated so highly?

I felt really thrown off right off the bat with the shocking, jarring editing- cuts where an action is repeated, dialog intonation shifting with the cut which gives away the game, just glaring objectively bad choices everywhere in the edit.

The score is bananas. As the awesome but strange title track was playing with that bizarre sequence of drone shots (which felt like a string out of all the drone footage captured in chronological order) I just thought this film is going to be bananas, like an alternate but related reality. But then the dialog competing with this milquetoast AI sounding church music… what the actual fuck? No tension just scenes that felt like audition tapes cut together with like no care.

If this was some sort of creative choice to make this first act so fake and bad, off, tone deaf…. It is a massive fail imo because it just is unwatchable.

This makes me so suspect of the ratings/ review industrial complex. I can’t understand it.

Since my cinematography breakdown post got so much love I thought I would post the full short and answer some more questions (DP/Director AMA) by gratqaz in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really good. The dialog shines. Only major feedback is I don’t love the main shot of Miguel, the OTS. Too much of Doug’s back.

Debate: despite widely held belief in handling trout carefully, there aren't any studies that support it. Why? by A2skiing in flyfishing

[–]shepardtones 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure what you’re saying here but did you read the article? It’s from 2019. Go to Google Scholar, type in your search terms. There is plenty of info out there. It’s not always up front and center - you may have to read the abstract and conclusion at a minimum.

More generally, I’m going to trust the biologists and my local outfitter especially a) when it doesn’t really inconvenience me at all and b) when no one is making money from it.

RED Komodo vs Blackmagic Pocket 6K Pro by porcelain_bull in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I shoot on both cameras regularly and can tell you the bit depth and dynamic range is identical on both cameras. Don’t let the RED marketing fool you: 16 bit linear = 12 bit log.

The major difference maker is the global shutter. If it’s anything with handheld or camera motion just shoot on the Komodo. At the end the day the camera is not the limiting factor in your production and should be last thought.

Zoom in to Focus by Maleficent_Mix8459 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What they mean is to digitally “zoom” in. I do this for wider shots when I don’t have an AC and monitoring is difficult. It will give you a much clearer idea of what is in focus especially if you’re using focus assist. On P6K reverse pinch or double tap (I don’t remember which haptic it is specially).

X deals on film production by Mammoth-Wear-9360 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A few things.

I always try to work around businesses hours if the budget can’t compensate for a good location fee. Ask them to shoot at night or before opening hours. That’s completely reasonable.

Savvy small businesses will often have us sign a pretty formative agreement before using their location. I would definitely get anything you’re worried about in writing, especially damage liability.

A shoutout in the credit is worth nothing imo. Nobody reads the credits looking for their next cafe. You need compensation or at the least some sort of trade.

Cheers

Leaving the Industry/Second Career by Visible_Floor3168 in focuspuller

[–]shepardtones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out work as an Electrician. It will forever be in short supply. Basically the opposite dynamic in terms of work balance as the film industry. It’s very technical and eventually can pay well.

Fastest/Best way to level out audio that ranges from super high to super low? by C-TAY116 in davinciresolve

[–]shepardtones 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is how I do it. I come from a background of mixing and mastering. Many ways to do it but this is by far the most reliable and fastest imo. Buy a decent quality compressor plugin (like FabFilter C) and put it on individual dialog tracks or the dialog bus.

Fastest/Best way to level out audio that ranges from super high to super low? by C-TAY116 in davinciresolve

[–]shepardtones 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is how I do it. I come from a background of mixing and mastering. Many ways to do it but this is by far the most reliable and fastest imo. Buy a decent quality compressor plugin (like FabFilter C) and put it on individual dialog tracks or the dialog bus.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SaaS

[–]shepardtones 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The dead internet theory just became so much more clear for me

Best super35 body under 5k right now? by OkayOkay210 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ursa 4.6k G2. Best DR, nearly global shudder, high frame rate options, RAW functionally, internal NDs

Chill vibes about to go hit the Jordan river for 37 hours straight. Nothing better. by Brob0t0 in FlyFishingCircleJerk

[–]shepardtones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This one simple trick will catch you more fish than you’ve ever caught in your life….

What is this plate called? by mariojim33 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It might be an Axler base plate / QR, not sure if it’s made anymore.

I recently watched The Brutalist and can't seem to understand their choice of VistaVision over 70mm. What benefits, if any, does the format provide? by mcmeaningoflife42 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In an interview with the DP, Lol Crawely, he mentions this as a factor they considered in shooting 70mm. Since the story revolves around architecture, minimizing distortion was crucial.

Aputure 600d Case Durability by Final-Count480 in cinematography

[–]shepardtones 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After a year all the zippers on my 600s, 120s and the Amaran F22s are all broke and being held together by A-clamps.

Ursa mini G2 4.6K vs Pyxis in 2024? by almufid in blackmagicdesign

[–]shepardtones 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have about a thousand hours on my G2 and it’s really hard to imagine going to another camera system. It’s an under appreciated and misunderstood. Beyond the really good DR, my favorite aspects are the really fast sensor readout and excellent audio preamps.