YOu right, but with no operator its kind of dificult make this stuff hand held, even thoug you are right. Im still learning this is my 3rth year making videos.

Thanks.

It's not my intention to be harsh and I don't mean in any way to discourage endotoxic. Completing a short (or any length film for that matter) is in itself worthy of admiration and respect. It just seems there is a wave of new filmmakers who have been conditioned to believe that shallow d.o.f. is not only desirable but also imparts a 'cinematic' quality to an image inversely proportional to the area in acceptable focus. It's my opinion that this paradigm is wrong-headed and needs addressing.

@endotoxic I agree that it's hard and a lot more work without the assistance of an operator or cinematographer, especially when you're shooting long days and are directing. However, when those circumstances do arise think of it as the perfect opportunity to hone your craft and become more intimate with the cinematographic aspects of fimmaking and all it encompasses. Apart from the focus issue your camera work is fine and suits the content of your film well. The issue with focus can be addressed by stopping down your lens (selecting smaller aperture and yes, that means more light or higher ISO) to give your acceptable focus range more latitude. Your films won't suffer as a result. Do a search on hyperfocal distance for more info.

Oh, and I have a deep appreciation for your casting skills ;)

I think it's pretty decent. I also think that Spacewig has very valid points here. Also I'll second that having fast lenses doesn't mean you should open them all the way up and not worry about lighting. I see that Endotoxic did some decent lighting but I also think maybe his lens irises were too open and that contributed to the overly soft look. In good cine lenses you can run wide open and not worry a whole lot about softness but SLR lenses are completely different in this regard. Add a little fill light and stop the lens down a stop or two.

Otherwise, I like it. It's well edited and flows a lot nicer than a lot of amateur vids where folks are whipping a handheld camera around.

@spacewig

When you elaborate like that, it seems like we are in perfect agreement. :) It might have sounded harsher than your intention.. Or it might have been my reading.

@endotoxic I like the look of your other video a lot, but I think you could edit it down a lot, too without loosing any of the artistry / story (maybe the other way around). Kill a few darlings. ;)

I thought the shallow DOF actually worked. It put me in a more dream-like surreal state, it was totally justifies in a film like this.

I don't care how 'cinematic' these f/.01 lenses are supposed to be, if the images are out of focus it looks like amateur home video not a serious attempt at filmmaking.

I think this goes in the category of "things people are just saying now". For MOST PEOPLE and audiences, shallow DOF is STILL more related to 'cinema' than deep focus. It's really stupid that people are trying to flip the tables now that shallow DOF is commonly available. It's honestly just a bunch of bullshit elitism. When all cameras were 1/3" chip... deep-DOF was amateur. Not that everything has a large sensor... shallow DOF is amateur. Does anybody see the obvious psychology here? Whatever is widely available to people (or is a new trend), is discredited as "amateur", in an desperate attempt to separate them from the "pros" and "elites".

I'm not saying this video is beyond criticism... but the idea that "shallow DOF" is now "amateur" is really freaking dumb. Deep DOF, TO MOST PEOPLE, is much more amateur and TV-show-like than cinema... no matter how much the threatened elitists clamor otherwise.

@spacewig, it seem that we are mixing up things here. @bwhitz, its not "elite" proper focusing, either proper focusing is 5.6 dear spacewig, the focusing is for centering the atention. It another tool, just like iso, frames, shutter, it adds up for the sensation.

I must admit i would like to be more on focus with my last footage, but i must agree also with @svart. This footage flows good, and it gives the intended emotion i wrote on the script. Even though i dindt have an operator, i think was pretty well done for 30 min, with no more than 3000Watts on light, and complete darkness.

Also spacewig you cant judge just cos of framing and focus, if that was the intention and cinema is an art form, how can you say what is right or wrong? This are tools, and i agree with you about focusing properly, but there is no rule about proper focus for creating a sensation, it all ads up. So i think you have here an issue with DOF and othe people that really THINk is the right way.

Its like you telling me how to eat or not, there is so many food, and so many ways to eat it, that the only thing they share is they enter your mouth. The flavor, well, thats another story.

I liked the look, good job.

The complete shot (9am to 7pm cost me a grand totl of $1300. Make up artist, stylist, hair makeup, 1 camera man, 1 asistant director 1 producer and lost of balls and hard work. I hope i can make even beter looking fotage in the future, im begining to feel the 8 bit limit when trying to give more DR and more color. Alway noise comes along, eve though moon 5 holds quiet well on each shot for post.

Thanks @Vitaliy_Kiselev for your hard work, now this webpage is paying of !!! hard work pays off, in diferent levels. Not just Cinema or hack, there are other people beting for you an to you. Also thanks to @driftwood for your hard work!!! i wouldnt by an GH2 if it wasnt for your patches. They really have something special on them.

Cheers

Jonas.

@endotoxic Seems to me you achieved what you set out to do. I thought it looked damn good, and the shallow depth of field seemed to give it a feeling that we were in another zone/place where crazy things happen between people that we never really see in regular life. This out of focus background stops the viewer from being able to logically identify where the location is...and that works to place us in that zone/place. Soon the viewer simply is in this new place...and waiting to see what happens. Well done. I'd say keep following your instincts - you're onto something good here.

I really liked the look of this. I especially liked the way focus hunted and seemed very appropriate to the mood and the characters. Nicely done!

@endotoxic I loved it! it seems like you got inspiration from Franck Leclerc :)

For you who dont know DOP Franck Leclerc:

@fix , i didn't knew who Franck Leclerc was , but men, it make me understood more now with its reel, and how much you can push DOF angles and aberrations to take advantage of composition and feeling. thank you very much, as im typing this i must admit this reel has added a plugin in my arsenal. Also bring me new ideas since glass finally is the medium where light is given its final flavor.

@TrackZillas , i must do better from now on, i have good people here making critics and telling truths. i can only go up from there. Thanks!!!