equipment

[mercona]

what kind of camera is good for making a low-budget first film? And where do people get that kind of equipment? thanks

[N. Foster Tyler]

Depends on what you are making and how much you can afford. Standard low-budget has been 16mm for years, although more films these days are made with digital cameras. Don't forget about Super-8mm either; it can give you wonderful results on film for a lot less than 16mm.

Personally, I shoot on Super-8 film, then transfer to, edit and distribute on video. If you light Super-8 well enough, and get a good transfer, it can look just like good 16mm.

Here's some feature films that were shot on Super-8:

A POLISH VAMPIRE IN BURBANK (Marc Pirro)
DARKNESS (Leif Jonker)
LAST CHANTS FOR A SLOW DANCE (Jon Jost)
YEAR OF THE HORSE (Jim Jarmusch)
THE CELEBRATION (exterior scenes only) by Thomas Vinterberg

-N. Foster Tyler

[Gurdeep Samra]

Don't take this guys advice -- GO DIGITAL! FILM WILL BE DEAD SOON!

[mercona]

Thank you both for your suggestions.

[Xendar]

Hi Mercona,
Digital 8 is a great format for first time film makers. It offers a digital format and picture quality very close to mini-DV, in fact I cannot tell the difference between D8 and other single CCD Mini-DV cameras.
Digital 8 cameras are cheaper than Mini-DV cameras and boast many features that more expensive Mini-DV cameras have. The tapes are cheaper too. And they have FireWire.

Pretty good overall.


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Mark Smith
Neon Films - Low / No budget films in West Yorkshire
www.neonfilms.freeserve.co.uk

[miker]

Film may die fairly soon as an aquisition medium for movies (a bit like it died when ENG arrived) ... BUT cinemas have LOTS invested in equipment that can only project FILM. So there's life in it as a distribution medium still.

[eddie]

use whatever you can afford. My advice is dont get into one of these DV vs Film arguaments it'll go on forever. Just use whatever you have, can afford, can scrounge.
Once you have started you will know for yourself what equipment suits you the best and what to buy.

I have a super8 and a pretty good scrounged VHS video camera. They do me fine for the moment.
Even though it has to be converted to video
if anyone is going to watch it.

[Ruthie]

I have made projects in both film and digital. There are several things you need to consider...

What is the look of the film you want...Digital picks up more details and it will have a crisper look than film. With film, the colors are softer and seem to blend together better.

Also, what kind of editting equipment do you plan to use. If you plan on a non linear editing suite, go digital. It will save you in the long run.

Either way you can't loose if your story is strong and you are well organized. Good luck

[N. Foster Tyler]

You know, you can always shoot film, then edit non-linear on DV or video.

In my opinion, all video looks flat, artificial and cold (even DV). If you can afford film, I would not consider shooting video for a fiction film (unless it should be). Documentaries however are a different story.

-N. Foster Tyler

[Littlerich]

What would the finished article look like if I shot on DV, edited on Computer and then transferred to film?


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KEEP FOCUSED!
Little Rich.
http://go.to/littlerich
www.rmsgraffix.freeserve.co.uk
[email protected]