Camera DSLR

On To a New Year – 2012

Posted on 31. Dec, 2011 by admin.

So today marks the last day of 2011 – well, here in Ireland anyway…

It’s been an eventful year for some, life-changing for others, and maybe just a quiet year for many more. But as the numbers ’2 0 1 2′ loom over you dominating your brain with thoughts that could easily scare the shit out of you, or simply leave you as happy as ever, you must remember that those numbers are just that – numbers.

No need to panic about anything, because really – it’ll all be over with eventually and once they are, you can go on to the next thing in your life. I’ve been able to take that into account, as I am easily prone to making things out to be bigger than they really are.

Then again, I’m only 15 – I shouldn’t have to worry about a fucking thing, right?

I don’t have any ‘resolutions’ because they usually never stick, so instead I’ll take on habits and hopefully change some bad habits to good. These habits include:

1. Shoot More:

I’m only equipped with a 550d, two utter shite cheap kit lenses and a 20 quid tripod, so in terms of gear, I don’t really have any advantage over anyone…but what I can do is simply do what I can with what I have until I can upgrade – by just simply using all the ideas in my head, making it visual and putting them online I can get that sense of accomplishment, even if it’s not very good, I still feel like I’ve skipped the bother of complaining about not having what I need and just going out and actually doing it!

I’ve been doing this for over a year now with the same gear, and I’ve been extremely fortunate to get jobs out of just these small personal projects which I essentially did for myself with no money.

2. Start writing my ideas

I constantly have ideas for narrative films in my head. Wherever I go, I’m always looking at people as if they’re the characters in my idea and wherever I am, I always see these locations as settings for the film…but I always procrastinate and never write these down…the ideas could be shite, or maybe even worthy of a flippin’ Oscar (unlikely), but I always just leave it and eventually forget about them. So, from now on I’m going to try and put these onto paper and with any luck, actually try and make some scripts out of them…

3. I actually can’t think of anything else. Share with us what you’re NY’s new habits/resolutions are with a lil’ comment below!

So get of this blog (the few readers who actually read this) and continue with your life into the big aul’ 2012 and hopefully we won’t all die at the end of it!

Thanks to everyone,

Nathanael

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All-Ireland Skydive Challenge Mini-Doc on 550D

Posted on 19. Nov, 2011 by admin.

I was approached by two organizers about 2 and a half months ago to film an event they were organising in aid of their charity. It was to be a charity skydive event in aid of OláGolá (http://olagola NULL.com), for the prevention of suicide, depression and stress related ilness’s in young adults around the world. I was a little hesitant to accept something quite so heavy seeing as I’m only 15 and was afraid of mucking it up or something…but Liz, a co-organiser of the event told me what it was about and I then realised how important it was – so I accepted.

It took about 5 weeks to get this fully done. The main event was on one day so it was essentially like a wedding, where I couldn’t get second takes. I shot on one single 550D, with a fairly cheap rig I borrowed off a friend who got it on eBay (can’t remember the name of it), a 20 quid tripod and two lenses: Canon 18-55 kit and Canon 75-300; both cheapies. As you can tell this equipment is very light i.e not perfect, but I did what I could with it.
It was so windy on the day and even started raining heavily at some points, so it all kind’ve went downhill…luckily I got what I needed before the weather took over.

I shot the aerial footage 3 weeks later; my brother is a pilot and took me up in a small plane for about an hour – the sky was so stunning and was just after a storm so there were some amazing views to be filmed. In the final edit I only used about 20 seconds worth of this footage, but it’s some of the nicest shots in it.

For the interviews I just used the 550d again with the kit lens. I used all natural light because I don’t have any lights as of yet (which explains the bad lighting). For the sound I had with me a Sound Devices 702 DAR (http://www NULL.sounddevices NULL.com/products/702 NULL.htm) and the mic (can’t remember which one). Stupidly, I only brought a 2gb card for the recorder and it obviously ran out..half way through the interview…I had no other audio from it so I ended up having to use the camera’s audio! Sucks, but it turned out OK. The day after I was shooting the interviews with the two politicans featured in the doc and was all set with the DAR…the camera was all set, and I stuck the XLR into the recorder and next thing I know the whole device is f*cked up and totally uncorrespondant…so once again I had to abandon it!! :@

I edited it about 3 days before it was being premiered so I spent the majority of the day on it. I used Premiere Pro CS5.5 and colored using Magic Bullet Looks. Gert Kracht (Twitter: @iGert) was a huge help during this, by giving me a ton of help on bettering my colouring skills! Huge thanks to him for that!

The actual skydive shots were done by the Tandem Masters at Tandem Skydive Kilkenny (http://www NULL.tandemskydive NULL.ie/). Thanks a million to them for letting me use the footage!

The photos at the end were by Ronan Melia, and they’re all brilliant. Thanks to him for letting me use them too.

Music was the obvious Fix You by Coldplay…I used the instrumental version which I found online somewhere. And for the credits I used Noorgard by The Vaccines.

Liz Campbell and Eddie Hughes organised this charity event. Jumps took place at Kilkenny Airfield in cooperation with Tandem Skydive Kilkenny. Help Reduce Suicide, Depression and Stress Related Illnesses in Young Adults – olagola.com

Thanks,
Nathanael Macdonald

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Some Shots from Film ‘First Confession’ shot in Kilkenny, Ireland

Posted on 13. Oct, 2011 by admin.

These are three stills taken from footage shot on a Canon 550D for a short film ‘First Confession’ shot in 2 weeks this last Summer.

The film, which I was DP on, was actually shot primarily on a Panasonic HPX371, but for this sequence I tried out the 550D just to see how it looked in this particular setting. These are the only stills I have from the 550D and are ungraded apart from the last one. Problems such as moire have not been corrected yet. Done using only the kit (18-55) and zoom (75-300).

“Based on the short story by Frank O’Connor, the story First Confession was chosen because of its reputation as one of Ireland’s most famous short stories and the fact that it has wonderful parts for young actors.  All the lead child actors were chosen from Young Irish Film Makers (http://yifm NULL.com) acting programme.

The film stars newcomer Ferdia Roche as Jackie, a young boy, who is due to make his first confession before receiving his first Holy Communion. Jackie fears confessing his terrible sins because they include trying to kill his spiteful sister with a breadknife, and planning to kill his grandmother who walks barefoot around the house and drinks porter. The film follows poor Jackie as he struggles to keep from murdering his enemies, avoid the fires of Hell and cope with the mysteries of a dark confession box!

Other children starring are Andie Snyder as Jackie’s evil big sister Nora and Odhrán O’Shea as Jackie’s best friend Bill. The adult cast will include a number of regular Kilkenny actors in featured roles, as well as professional actors such as Pauline McLynn (Shameless, Father Ted) and Karl Spain, the hilarious Irish comedian, who will play the part of the priest.”

Check out yifm.com for more info.

–

CameraDSLR.net

Twitter: @nathanaelmac

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Irish Filmmaker Captures Surprise Snow in NZ

Posted on 19. Aug, 2011 by admin.

Ro Tierney, an Irish filmmaker, captured the reactions of New Zealanders as they experience the biggest fall of the white stuff in 30 years.

A once in a lifetime experience

filmed & edited by Ro Tierney on August 15th 2011

Music: Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

rotierney.com/​film (http://www NULL.rotierney NULL.com/film)
facebook.com/​rotierneyfilms (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/rotierneyfilms)
twitter.com/​#!/​rotierney (http://twitter NULL.com/#!/rotierney)

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Irish Short Film ‘Lose the Booze’, shot on 550D wraps

Posted on 12. Aug, 2011 by admin.

Principal photography was recently completed for Monaghan based Stone Grey Films debut short ‘Lose the Booze’, which was shot in the Bragan Mountains of County Monaghan on the 7th and 8th August. The short is written and produced by Declan Reynolds (Jack, Social Work) with Ronan Connolly co-producing and Damien Byrne as executive producer.

‘Lose the Booze’ centres on two estranged friends (Dermot and Seamie) who wake up the morning-after-the-night-before in the mountains in a stolen delivery truck, a full load of beer kegs and no clue how to undo the mess they are in. When they run into the local Garda, they need to put their differences aside and think fast how to lose the booze.

Directed by James Mulholland (What If?) and shot on Canon 550D and JVC HM-700 HD-Pro by Gregory Murphy.

Lose the Booze stars Patrick Goldman (Puff, Spoon), Declan Reynolds (Puffball, Seer), Pat Deery (Leap Year, Puffball), Mark Holland and newcomer Roisin Treanor. Producers told IFTN they hope the short will have its premiere at Clones Film Festival in Co. Monaghan this autumn. For more information visit the facebook page: here (http://on NULL.fb NULL.me/peo44h)

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What Will Tomorrow Be | Viral Spot Competition by European Parliament

Posted on 25. May, 2011 by admin.

Your chance to win with Viral Videos!

The European Parliament invites all EU citizens to produce a brief and entertaining viral video on thesubject “Diversity in Europe”. What are your personal views? From languages to quirks and fashion to food…the interpretations are endless!

1st Prize: Trip for two persons to three European cities of their choice

2nd Prize: iPad

3rd Prize: Leica camera.

The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2011.
So start filming and spread the word!  A public vote will decide the prize winners!

Entitled “What will tomorrow be?”, the European Parliament has produced an online spot in an effort to raise public awareness of EuroparlTV and its content. Combining elements of classic film noir and contemporary comedy, the spot passes through the intriguing world of mystics and clairvoyants to illustrate that only EuroparlTV can provide viewers with clarity as to what tomorrow will bring. With this spot, the European Parliament wants to highlight that decisions made by the institution and featured on EuroparlTV have a direct impact on and may better inform EU citizens.

Launched in 2008, EuroparlTV is the official web television channel of the European Parliament,offering comprehensive coverage of parliamentary business in 22 languages to a variety ofaudiences.
To capitalise on efforts to increase public awareness of EuroparlTV, dissemination of the viral spot coincides with the launch of a EuroparlTV competition on 2 M ay 2011. The competition,open to all EU citizens, calls upon viewers to create their own viral video on the subject of cultural diversity within the EU. Submissions must be received prior to the deadline of 31 July2011. The competition shall culminate in a month-long public voting process to award the top three submissions on 15 October 2011.

A committed partner of the European Parliament, Schoolz & Friends EuropeanOffice is the communications agency responsible for the creative development and implementation of the viral spot.

-Nathanael

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Gear VS Story | Great Words of Great Film-Makers

Posted on 17. May, 2011 by admin.

I just thought I’d post a great conversation I saw on Vimeo. It’s under The Visualmakers Preview/Trailer (http://vimeo NULL.com/23741356) and there are several people sharing their opinion on the matter. On one comment in particular, by Steve Weiss, I read some very inspiring and true words.

Steve Weiss
Thank God they are not talking about gear, who cares. Storytelling is not about gear. As a matter of fact, I’d get rid of all of that Geek gear talk in your description. Does it really matter what you shot it on or with? If people care about that crap then they don’t get the concept of your piece.

Mestizo Devon
Gear has brought recognition to these guys and I also think its important part of the process. Funny coming from such a large vendor!!!! Knowing that a great film was created with average or highly accessible gear dispels the myth quickly. Viewing something shot on a T2i that has a more powerful impact than say something shot on a RED speaks directly to the power of creativity.

Steve Weiss
Mestizo,
Exactly, you would think I be saying it’s all about the gear because that’s how I make my living but in the end it really doesn’t matter. I’m first and foremost a filmmaker and that has been my living for the past 28 years. In our new web series BTS, one of the comments was “I thought I was going to see a piece that spoke to the equipment but quickly I realized its’s all about the story of what the filmmakers went through to make the film”. That comment made me the happiest because that’s what I wanted people to feel.

Watch the movie “the Celebration” it had a $1M budget and was shot with a $700 home standard def video camera. He put all of the money into script doctoring, getting the highest quality actors, rehearsals, etc. The movie is amazing and after the first few seconds you could care less that it looks sub-standard. Now a days it really doesn’t matter what camera you use, they can all look amazing if you know how to use it. The Shootout proved that. Something shot on a T2i will never have more impact then something shot on a RED nor vice versa. Impact is creating by the script, the story, storytelling, the edit, acting, music, etc. Actually what camera it was shot on is the least important factor to the quality of the film.

I remember many years ago in the SD days someone came to me and told me that he didn’t want to shoot his film on video he wanted to shoot on 35mm film because he felt Hollywood would only take a film seriously if it was shot on film. What I told him is that Hollywood is only interested in 2 things, “Great” & “Marketable” but he put over 50% of his budget into shooting film and to compensate he cut back on the number of shoot days, rehearsals and the quality of the actors. Needless to say, he never sold his movie.

Too many people today focus on gear. Gear is cool and we all need it. Good gear is even better but I don’t want people to get the impression that buying Zacuto gear is going to make their film better, it won’t, but it’s nice if you can afford it.

Kevin Otterness
100% agree with Steve that they are not talking about the gear. Who cares what anyone shoots on. It’s all about who is behind the camera and telling a great story. Let it be about these featured filmmakers who inspire others!

Mike Newman
to play devil’s advocate, i don’t think people are being entirely honest when they say it’s not about the gear b/c the gear has a lot to do with it. the gear is what has helped define the vimeo style. if it’s not about the gear then why use the ubiquitous dslr camera? why use a dolly? why use a shallow depth of field? why use footage that clearly is telling the viewer “hey, look at me, i have fancy equipment that makes beautiful shots”? why not shoot this on high 8 video? it’s easy to say ‘who cares what it was shot on’ when it was shot on a nice camera…

NeedCreative
Good gear matters but it ceases to matter if you don’t have a good story or message to convey with it. I think that’s the point here. I chose the people in The Visualmakers precisely because they have used a new kind of relatively affordable cinematic digital tools to express their stories. I think there absolutely is value obtaining equipment that can offer the hallmarks of a “cinematic look” such as shallow DOF, elegant camera movement and so on. But in the end as Steve says, without consideration of story, message, and may I add emotion behind what you are trying to convey visually, no amount of gear will help.

Charlie Simon
I think gear is important, however – especially to young film makers (videographers, cinematographers – whatever you want to call them!) because it does display it’s accessibility. Of course – in terms of film making – the story and message is important, but the tools are paramount surely. I agree that whether you have a £30 000 camera or a £500 camera it essentially doesn’t matter if you convey your message and people are effected but it certainly matters that now every film maker with an idea can now have a shot at doing it.

NeedCreative
Gear is important and all (after all where would we be without large sensors? Always in focus! Not that is necessarily a bad thing. I digress) but the story, message, passion and emotion of what you’re trying to convey is ultimate. Tools are a means to an end. The end is sharing your vision!
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If you want to contribute, please comment below!

www.CameraDSLR.net

Twitter – @cameradslr (http://twitter NULL.com/#!/camera_dslr)

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Why I Started CameraDSLR.net, and What I Want to do with It.

Posted on 04. May, 2011 by admin.

So, it’s been almost a year since I bought my Canon 550d. But it all started when I was 6. I started making my own little films on the families Canon Cybershot, imitating news reports and making terrible action films. Since then I’ve had small Handycam’s, and up until August of last year, I have had the pleasure of owning a 550d.

Before I settled on the 550d I madly wanted the JVC GY-HM700 and when I realized that was a few thousand too much I set my eyes on it’s little brother, the GY-HM100….before realizing THAT was also far too much money. ANYWAY, I’m glad I got the 550d, and before I knew it I was hooked and was slowly plunging into the deep ocean of DSLR madness.

After purchasing several different lenses, (all very cheap ones) I decided I wanted to share my work and films as much as I can. My Dad has his own blog, Lightonthepage.com (check it out), and he let me share hosting on his account to create CameraDSLR.net. Within a few weeks I had it completed and begun writing blog posts and shooting a short film at least every weekend.

At this point, I had joined Twitter and was surrounded by news and rumours, which a lot is pure bullsh*t, and a lot pure fantastic. *My honest opinion*

Anyway. You now know how I got here. Let me share my opinion on everything.

We all know by now that the DSLR revolution has created a whole new world of options for filmmakers, more so younger + student filmmakers. We can go out and buy an awesome camera that shoots beautiful images for less than 1000 smackers. I sure as hell am making the most of it, and I’m sure anyone who has purchased a DSLR is making the most of it, and before we know it, new products are coming out that will help us kit out these machines to work even better. I personally couldn’t care less about bit rates, or HDMI problems, or any of the vast amount of problems that there is with these camera’s, because until I can afford to fix these problems the only thing I care about is the story. In all my years of ‘doing’ this, the most important thing that I have ever learnt is the fact that beautiful images are useless when combined with a bad story. Everyone should know this by now, and seeing as it’s talked about non-stop by film-makers, I’m sure everyone does know this.

I try my hardest to revolve a film around a good story, and I realize that this is not evident in most of my films I post here. The films I post here are merely my own personal shorts to help me understand what kind of filmmaker I am, and once I have achieved my own style in film making I will slowly progress into making better looking, better sounding and better ‘storied’ films.

I spend 6 hours, 5 days a week in school. In school I learn about things that will literally do nothing to help me gain a career that I want, and as I sit in those classrooms each day I realize more and more that it’s not where I want to be. I want to be outside shooting films.
Yesterday in Religion Class, I had to take part in a quiz that determines whether you’re going to heaven or hell based on how often you tidy your room. If that’s the case, then I’m going to hell, but seriously, what kind of person actually thinks I give a sh*t!?

I just realized I have been ranting on. Let’s rewind.

Right. My dream is to create a film that will make thousands, maybe even millions of people from all around the world go ‘wow’. I want to achieve this before I’m 16. If not 16, then before 18. If you want to help me do this, continue to support me and CameraDSLR.net. Follow me on Twitter @cameradslr (http://twitter NULL.com/#!/camera_dslr), comment below, check out my films on Vimeo (http://vimeo NULL.com/cameradslr), comment on them, and simply just tell me what you think. I don’t care if you criticize the crap out of me, as long as it’s creative criticism and will help me improve then go for it! When I put my films online, I’m always dying to know what people think!

Oh, and if anyone out there is looking for a cinematographer, or an intern, then I would love to work with you! If you’re a company wanting a promotional film done, I can do that! If you’re an event manager, I can come shoot some events! If you’re Philip Bloom or Vincent Laforet or Tom Lowe or…I suppose you get my point. I’m looking for as much experience as possible, so if you wish to hire me for something all you have to do is email me.

My email address is nathanaelmac@gmail.com.

It’s almost 11 now here in Ireland. I should probably get some sleep so I’m not dead tired for school tomorrow….

If you made it this far, thanks a million,

Nathanael.

Some of my films

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Dan Chung Captures The Aftermath Of The Tsunami In Japan

Posted on 17. Mar, 2011 by admin.

Dan Chung (http://www NULL.dslrnewsshooter NULL.com/), DSLR News Shooter, captured the aftermath of the tsunami in the town of Shintona in Miyagi prefecture.

The horrible events and devastation that has and still is happening in Japan is quite truly, some of the worst encounters the world has had recently. My thoughts are with everyone.

You can help, by donating. If you’re here in Ireland, you can donate through Oxfam (https://www NULL.donateoxfamireland NULL.org/landing NULL.aspx). If you’re in America, text “REDCROSS” to 90999. This automatically donates $10 to the Red Cross to help the people of Japan.

Please, if you have a minute to spare, use it to donate to this cause. Thank you!

(via Cinema5D (http://www NULL.cinema5d NULL.com/news/?p=5659))

NM

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Canon 5D Mark II Used to Convert 8mm Footage to Digital

Posted on 17. Mar, 2011 by admin.

On the note of old footage, James Miller, a cinematographer, has managed to convert 8mm footage to digital by using a Canon 5D Mark II. He did this by beaming it directly onto the sensor of the 5D.  He replaced the bulb on an old projector with LED lights, and used elements from a disassembled lens to focus the light.

Step-by-step walkthrough here (http://vimeo NULL.com/20950590).

It’s a very fascinating process, and if you have handy a 5D and a projector then it will save you an arm and a leg of getting it converted professionally!

(via Planet5D (http://blog NULL.planet5d NULL.com/2011/03/easy-conversion-of-your-old-8mm-film-to-digital-with-the-canon-eos-5d-mark-ii/))

NM

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