Just got back from attending DVFilm.com's 24P film school over the weekend.
Although I enjoyed the class, most of everything that was discussed is in Marcus van Bavel's book, SHOOTING DIGITAL.
If you're the kind of person who understands everything they read, you really won't need the class. If you're the kind of person that wants a lot of clarification and answers to a lot of related questions, then the class is outstanding.
Most of what was discussed was pretty technical. I assume this stems from Marcus being a software engineer. He seems to approach filmmaking from a technical point of view... Which, I might add, is really conducive to learning and understanding what's going on inside the camera.
Basically, what I got out of the class was that the best cameras right now to use for making digital movies for a possible film transfer are the following:
Sony HDV Cam: both the HDR-FX1 and the HVR-Z1 although the Z1 has XLR inputs so this camera has an edge on the FX1.
Canon XL2: because of its native 16:9 capability
Panasonic DVX100A: with the anamorphic adapter
Of course higher end cameras are also recommended. I didn't add them here since they are slightly out of the average indie filmmaker's range for an outright purchase... But both the Sony Cine Alta and the Panasonic Varicam make outstanding transfers to film. For that matter, so does Panasonic's SDX-900.
The highlight of the class for me was watching the DVFilm demo reel of all the different cameras they've transferred footage to film on... Wow! Boy was this eye opening! All the footage looked really good. There was footage from lower end cameras that they don't even recommend using but damn if the footage didn't look pretty good.
The best stuff came from the Cine Alta and the DVX. I didn't see any XL2 footage on the demo reel but there was XL1 footage and it too looked really nice. Not as nice as the DVX, but very passable. In fact, I would go so far as to say that all of the footage I watched would easily pass (to the average viewer) as though it had originally been shot on film. Some of the pans might give it away as video but I gotta tell ya, the DVX looked GREAT!
The footage they had of the Sony HDV cam was from the FX1 I believe... This was really interesting because the shot was a really long distance shot of surfers in the water... Most MiniDV stuff that I've seen shot at this kind of distance really llooks flat and somewhat blurry. Not this... The footage was very definitive and sharp. I doubt that the DVX could handle a shot like this...
Overall, this class is more for technical information. There is absolutely no instruction from the creative point of view although, the instructor for the lighting and audio section of the school was very passionate about the technical aspects and his passion definitely carried over.
The great thing is that both instructors were very approachable and there was never any bullshit answers. If they didn't know something, they flat out told you. If they knew something you wanted to know, they told you. Additionally, DVFilm didn't keep advertising itself. In fact, they referenced their competitors and rates respectfully. One thing that was pointed out was about having a 35mm film print of your movie. It was suggested that by simply having a print of your film can often help get you into festivals... Especially, the better ones. Something to think about...
Anyway, if anyone has any questions, I'll try to answer them as best I can...
filmy
Although I enjoyed the class, most of everything that was discussed is in Marcus van Bavel's book, SHOOTING DIGITAL.
If you're the kind of person who understands everything they read, you really won't need the class. If you're the kind of person that wants a lot of clarification and answers to a lot of related questions, then the class is outstanding.
Most of what was discussed was pretty technical. I assume this stems from Marcus being a software engineer. He seems to approach filmmaking from a technical point of view... Which, I might add, is really conducive to learning and understanding what's going on inside the camera.
Basically, what I got out of the class was that the best cameras right now to use for making digital movies for a possible film transfer are the following:
Sony HDV Cam: both the HDR-FX1 and the HVR-Z1 although the Z1 has XLR inputs so this camera has an edge on the FX1.
Canon XL2: because of its native 16:9 capability
Panasonic DVX100A: with the anamorphic adapter
Of course higher end cameras are also recommended. I didn't add them here since they are slightly out of the average indie filmmaker's range for an outright purchase... But both the Sony Cine Alta and the Panasonic Varicam make outstanding transfers to film. For that matter, so does Panasonic's SDX-900.
The highlight of the class for me was watching the DVFilm demo reel of all the different cameras they've transferred footage to film on... Wow! Boy was this eye opening! All the footage looked really good. There was footage from lower end cameras that they don't even recommend using but damn if the footage didn't look pretty good.
The best stuff came from the Cine Alta and the DVX. I didn't see any XL2 footage on the demo reel but there was XL1 footage and it too looked really nice. Not as nice as the DVX, but very passable. In fact, I would go so far as to say that all of the footage I watched would easily pass (to the average viewer) as though it had originally been shot on film. Some of the pans might give it away as video but I gotta tell ya, the DVX looked GREAT!
The footage they had of the Sony HDV cam was from the FX1 I believe... This was really interesting because the shot was a really long distance shot of surfers in the water... Most MiniDV stuff that I've seen shot at this kind of distance really llooks flat and somewhat blurry. Not this... The footage was very definitive and sharp. I doubt that the DVX could handle a shot like this...
Overall, this class is more for technical information. There is absolutely no instruction from the creative point of view although, the instructor for the lighting and audio section of the school was very passionate about the technical aspects and his passion definitely carried over.
The great thing is that both instructors were very approachable and there was never any bullshit answers. If they didn't know something, they flat out told you. If they knew something you wanted to know, they told you. Additionally, DVFilm didn't keep advertising itself. In fact, they referenced their competitors and rates respectfully. One thing that was pointed out was about having a 35mm film print of your movie. It was suggested that by simply having a print of your film can often help get you into festivals... Especially, the better ones. Something to think about...
Anyway, if anyone has any questions, I'll try to answer them as best I can...
filmy