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Final Hand In!

I’m very happy with my final hand in. The process has been a really interesting one and I have no doubt that this will benefit my future career.

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Business Cards - They have arrived!

My business cards finally arrived! I ordered 50 Lux cards from Moo.com and I’m really happy. I heard some horror stories while I was waiting for mine to arrive about edges looking messy but mine look perfect and I couldn’t be happier with them. I’m glad I paid more for the top version cards because they feel very high quality and I hope people will be more inclined to keep a nicer card.

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A Place For Everything Production Stills

My graduate film production was a huge undertaking for me and the crew. We travelled to Bulgaria to build sets and shoot in Nu Boyana Film Studios which is one of the best film studios in Europe.

My role as one of the two Directors of Photography was a tough one but it was an invaluable experience and I learnt the most I have ever learnt in a 2 week period of time.

Here are a collection of highlights from the shoot and a little bit about each one.

These stills are from the last set build day which was also a bit of a pre-lighting day towards the end. We has a very busy schedule to get everything finished in time for the shoot.

Shooting with Monnie our 1st AC and our opening shot of the film.

Balancing the lamp shade so it falls off when the book is slammed on the table. Not strictly a job for the DOP but when the schedule is tight, needs must.

Adding the last touches to our lighting with our Spark and Gaffer.

Set Designer Anna adding the final touches to the prop book pages.

Shooting in the Props warehouse.

Filming the magical ‘entering the tunnel’ sequence.

The very quick turn around that was involved in finishing the set and shooting the circus scene.

This lighting set up in the bedroom was one of my favourites. We had a cherry picker with a huge Arri M40 light acting as moonlight, coming through the window. I also love how the red practical lights sit in the room.

The handheld filming of the end scene was very fun to film, especially with a child actor in the room. It lightened the mood and the set looked amazing as always thanks to our great set designers.

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Software Analysis - Photoshop

When I was considering how to create my CV I decided on using photoshop as, although I want to learn Indesign more, I was more confident and thus more able to create a better looking CV in Photoshop.

Much like the guidelines you get in Indesign, Photoshop allowed me to format very easily and drag items to click in line with the rest which kept everything neat and clean looking. I find Photoshop very intuitive and I feel like the final product looks great.

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Software Analysis & Showreel Editing

To edit my showreel I used Adobe Premiere CC on my computer. Premiere is my primary editor and has been for the last 4-5 years and I’m using a student discount to get the full Creative Cloud Suite.

I found Premiere much more intuitive in comparison to Avid Media Composer or Final Cut. Because I have used Premiere for a while I know a lot of the essential shortcuts that help speed up the workflow.

I also know my way around Premieres dedicated colour plugin - Lumetri colour, which has enabled me to grade my own projects to a professional standard on the past few years.

Editing my Showreel was a fairly pain free job; what took the most time was finding and importing all the footage that I wanted to use from lots of different projects, a lot of which were on different hard drive. I now have a dedicated folder for all the final renders of my showreel-worthy projects which I will continue using into the future.

The research I had done helped me in so many discussions when it came to making the video. It taught me to keep it shorter and fast rather than a long and slow paced. Some showreels kept me start the edit and how to begin the video as well as just inspiring me and getting me excited to make the best showreel I can.

Below is the final showreel that is now on my website. I uploaded it to Vimeo as it is a more professional platform and it looks good to be using the Vimeo player on my website rather than youtube or similar.

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Tips for Creating a Solid Production Resume

Here is an article raising a lot of great points about the most common mistakes for beginner level CV writing in the film industry.

* Mistake #1: Tiny Contact Information. Make sure that your phone number is large and clear. Even if you submit your résumé via e-mail, most of the time the production company will phone you to interview. Your number should be the same size as your name - and both should be a large, in an easy-to-read font. Don’t make the UPM have to search for your number. Always include your full home address too - smaller and on a separate line. * Mistake #2: Lack of clarity about your position. Don’t have a one-size-fits-all résumé, and don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades either. The rest of that saying is "master of none". UPM’s on real movies with real budgets, are looking for individuals to do specific jobs. Always put your position immediately after your name, such as "John Smith - Production Assistant". Don’t have "position sought" taking up space on the page. * Mistake #3: Describing the duties of production jobs. People hiring you already know the duties of all the crew positions. Don’t describe them on your credits. Just list your job title on those projects. Nor should you need a Special Skills list most of the time. Exceptions are if you apply for a job with a post-production house - they may appreciate a list of the equipment you know - or a studio office job - when the traditional office résumé rules apply. * Mistake #4: Mixing up different kinds of projects. Credits should be categorized by type of project - Feature films, TV series, MOW’s, Cable Movies, Cable series, Industrials & Commercials, Web series and so on. List Shorts and Student Films last. You will re-order the categories depending on what type of production will receive your résumé. Other disordered priorities include putting your Education at the top of the page, and putting non-industry jobs before your credits.

* Mistake #5: Too much, too little, or the wrong information about your credits. I‘ve seen people include the format of feature films, the length in minutes, recite the plot, and list the log line of the project. I’ve seen résumés that are just a list of project titles, with maybe one unknown producer added. When I help someone reformat their résumé, the first thing I do is carefully research the credits they list and the people involved to make sure the credits are clear and in the right place. The information should include the project’s title, year, production company and the producer’s and/or director’s names, along with your proper job title. If there is a known star in the movie include that name. The purpose is to clarify the budget level of the project. If you worked in a particular department, rather than as a PA, you could include the Department Head’s position and name. * Mistake #6: Keeping student and micro-budget projects on your résumé for too long. I know we all have a lot of affection for our early work. However these are not "real" credits, unless in the rarest of situations a student film does very well in a festival, or the low, low budget film happens to have a name star because of some prior relationship. Most of the time, drop those projects "off the bottom" of your résumé as you get more real credits to include. It is better to have a few real, higher budget credits - regardless of how lowly the position - than to be listed as the Producer of an unknown student short. * Mistake #7: Too much info about your other experience. People want to look impressive on their résumé, but listing too many non-industry jobs just highlights your lack of credits, and takes up too much space on the page. Plus people display so much information that they use tiny fonts. Don’t make a crowded page that is unattractive - and NEVER go over one page for your résumé. --- Stick to recent jobs that show parallel or similar skills, and summarise your duties in only one line IF the job title is unclear or unusual. Use your cover letter to expand on why this job in some other industry makes you a good PA candidate.

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CV Research

In order to make the best CV I did research to find other camera department example CV’s that would help me format my own.

What I found is the following:

- A clear design is key. Not over complicating the design with bright colours or complicated patterns looks to be the way to go.

- Simple Formatting. I need to make sure my formatting is clear. It seems that a clear credit list is vital as well as well personal details and contact information being shown clearly.

- Short and concise. Everything from my bio to my education to skills should be presented in the most condensed way possible.

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Business Card Designing

After a couple of hours work with the research I had done in mind I was able to come up with a fairly simple design that I thought really worked.

The front is nice and simple with my logo filling most of the card and the words ‘camera department’ on the front which I chose over ‘Cinematography’ or ‘AC’ as it covers everything and so whatever job I am talking to someone about it will apply. It will also hopefully lead to more callback as people will see me as able to do more on set.

The back has all the information that I felt was essential to have and nothing more. To keep it simple I just put my email, website, phone number and Instagram. I also used the same shapes as are in my logo to keep a consistant branding across the card.

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Website Progress

Using the research I did looking at examples of other cinematographers websites, I began to complete my website and here are some stills of how it was coming together.

The cover page now shows a small showreel of my work and on the screen it has my logo and my social media icons. In the middle of the screen it not says ‘Enter Site’. I really like home simple the design is and I think it reflects my style of aesthetics well.

When you click ‘Enter Site’ you are now taken to my homepage which simply has my showreel on as this is the first thing I want people to watch when they see my work. It is my number 1 selling tool. I also have the tabs; Home, Films, Stills, About and Contact as I’m trying to keep it simple.

The next tab is Films; this tab shows my 9 most recent films and a screenshot from each. I have added hyperlinks to the images so that, for the publicly released films, you can watch each one in full.

In the Stills tab I have cerated a gallery of some of my most varied photography work because as well as film clients I also get asked about my photography work and I felt that it was still very important for me to be able to show it online.

My About tab is now a lot cleaner with only one picture of me at work, a brief description of me and my background and a Instagram feed that shows my most recent posts.

Lastly I have my Contact page which shows all the same contact details I will have on my business cards. I have also put in a picture of me and below that a reference from a previous client about my work with them. At the top of this page there is also a link to my updated CV.

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Logo Designing

So I’ve finally found a logo that I’m happy with. Because I’m pretty rubbish at drawing and prefer to use Photoshop to play around with my design and then finesse it on the computer rather than sketching it out.

Firstly, I went to find a little inspiration and I new of some logos and looks that I already liked so I went and found them to refresh my memory.

I really like the geometric shapes of this logo and thats something I’ve wanted to add to my existing logo for some while now.

Although the handwritten font isn’t my thing I really like the neon colours of the Instagram style. I’ve been interested in gradients for a while and it might be time to try something like that on my logo.

So after brainstorming some styles I liked I and being inspired by some of the business cards and logos I have seen on other cinematographers websites I made my first draft with a similar font to my original one as I like the clean style of the Serif Sans fonts.

Although I do like the design I don’t think it looks clean enough and I’m unsure about the font.

From this design I kept playing around with geometric shapes to see what I could come up with.

I was really happy with this design, it was much tidier than the last and it included the shapes that I wanted to include. Its very blocky and that makes it easy to work with in terms of animating for the potential use in videos.

I then tried to add the gradient I had previously mentioned.

I really liked this look but the colour limited its use-ability in certain situations (such as video overlays) but I might keep it for future use. I also didn’t feel that the design reflected my filming style which is much more low key and naturally lit.

Once I removed the colour but kept the larger squares I was happy. I really like this look and I wanted to test out how it looked as an overlay over some video stills.

Although I realised after I had made the screenshots that I had used the logo with the smaller squares it still showed me how the logo would look and I’m confident that this logo is my final one.

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Business Card Research

In order to make the best business card I can, found a number of examples of cinematographers business cards to help me understand what is expected from a professional industry card. I wanted to make sure I had all the relevant information on it while not making it too busy and thus unattractive to look at.

I already knew I was going for a monochromatic colour scheme and this beautiful card reinforces why. I love the simplicity of it as well as the matte finish.

I really like how this cards branding is consistant with the curvy logo and curved edges.

The typography of this card is very clean although the finish looks a little cheaper.

I love the texture of the design although I don’t think this will be the I’ll go for, I can appreciate it for its different approach.

This card has very strong and bold branding and the added colour looks quite nice.

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Showreel Research

To aid me in re-editing my showreel I looked up the showreels of a number of different Directors of Photography and camera crew. They range in styles but there are some clear similarities between them:

1. They are all relatively short, not many about three minutes and absolutely none above 5 minutes. It seems a good rule of thumb is if you are knew and don’t have a lot of footage to work with then its best to keep it short and show your best work.

2. Upbeat music, something that if good to cut, maybe also variations in speed as well to fit all types of footage.

3. As a cinematographer its best to not show full scenes. Montages work best.

4. Logo at the start and end showing the year of the reel to show how up to date it is.

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Logo Research

To gather inspiration and be inspired I researched a number of Directors of Photography and Camera Assistants, found their websites and took note of their logos/typography. Here’s what I gathered

After collecting these examples I started to see quite a clear pattern in the way they look and the way each person has branded themselves.

Modern and clean looking ‘Serif Sans’ fonts seem to be very popular and a theme of black and white throughout, minus a few exceptions that generally only used one over colour to accompany it.

In terms of logos, simple shapes and lines have been used with quite a few people not actually using a logo and only using their name at their branding.

This has given me a clear route to take when it comes to designing my logo and it appears I wasn’t far off industry standard with my original design.

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Be The Best 2nd AC You Can Be

Every now and then I stumble across an article that I find very helpful to my career choice. I’m glad I follow so many film magazines/websites otherwise I would miss some of this create free content.

NoFilmSchool is a great website for all things film production and I recently came across a post about the role of being a 2nd AC on set. I really wanted to give this a read as I know that 2nd AC-ing is a role that I am very likely to do early in my career so articles like this a a great way for me to prepare for this. The article is centered around a video from Film Riot, a long established film production channel that is most likely the most popular of its type.

The article paraphrases some very useful information from the video:

“Slating It seems simple enough, but slating is a bit of an art form. You've got to make it easy for the editor to read, hear, and see all of the pertinent information relating to each scene, so here are some tips on how to do that: Be aware of every scene (which scene/take/roll you're on) Clearly call out your slate Place the slate so that it fills the frame Avoid cameos! Have an insert slate on-hand for when a normal slate is too big to fit in the frame (like on extreme close-ups)

Changing a lens Being a filmmaker, you've probably switched out your fair share of lenses, but you should make sure that you're following proper protocol when doing so on someone else's project. Take the lens from the 1st AC with your fingertips, not with your palm (to avoid smudges) Keep your hand over the sensor once the lens is removed When the 1st AC hands you the lens, say "got it" once you know you're securely holding it Put back cap and lens cap on lenses (and keep those caps in the camera bag, not in your pocket) Never rush a lens change, no matter what

Setting marks Again, here's another seemingly simple task that actually takes a little finesse to do right, setting marks for the actors and/or. Here are some tips on how to use your 1" camera paper tape like a pro: Pick a specific color for each actor, and save fluorescent colors for camera marks Leaving a tab on the end of your tape makes it easier to pull markers up, as well as grab more tape No tiny T's, only big T's (4" x 12" is good) Premake 4" tape tabs and stick them on the back of your insert slate for later use Let actors know if you're going to "bust" or "dot" marks Get T marks for all different kinds of terrain: sandbag T marks, metal T brackets, etc. Use canned air on dusty/dirty surfaces before laying down tape”

http://nofilmschool.com/2016/09/tips-and-tricks-thatll-help-make-you-best-2nd-ac-ever

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Cinematography Database is a FANTASTIC resource for people who aspire to be in the camera department. The creator of CD, Matt Workman is a DP working in New York and for the last 2 years or so he has been making videos that started off as visual cinematography breakdowns of films/music videos/commercials; where as now he does everything from grading tutorials to gear reviews. 

He has a fantastic insight into what it takes to be a modern day DP in the film industry and is full of great advice to help aspiring film makers.

This video relates to website creation and has been extremely useful in my research of making a new site.

His 3 key tips for making a new website are:

1. Show your best work, don’t have too many examples. No more than 9.Dont choose bad thumbnails.

2. Make sure your contact information is really easy to find, whether you have an agent or not.

3. Make sure to link your website to Instagram. Instagram is being used more and more as a portfolio and a source of information for potential employers.

Other great videos that have helped me include:

Camera Department 101:

This video is great for anyone aspiring to go into this area of filmmaking as he goes through each job role and talks in depth about the does and don’ts of that role as well as how each job interacts and their responsibilities.

How To Get Work As A DP:

Another extremely useful video which talks a lot about social media and networking and being approachable and friendly. He mentions making contact and staying in contact with Directors as very often DP’s and Directors partner up and find each other work and help each other out.

Now there tonnes of video’s on his channel that I could post here as they are all super helpful to me but I’ll stop with these as these are some of the most important for my specific area of expertise. 

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Website Research

rIn order to make my website the best I can I’ve gone through the Directors of Photography and Camera Assistants that I follow on Instagram to find how they have formatted and styled their websites. This is both so that I know what is expected of a professional film makers website and to also shape my style and understand how I want to present myself personally.

The first stills I have got are from the Director and Cinematographer Ryan Booth’s website. He works in Manhatten and films everything from music videos to commercials.

These first two stills are from his cover page which has a video playing in the background showing his showreel material. He has used Squarespace to create his website which you can see by looking at the similarities in formatting to mine. Soon I will be creating a mini showreel that will be playing in the background.

He also has his social media icons at the bottom which I will be keeping there.

His first page contradicts my expectations by having an about section alongside his showreel. I know that either way I am going to be having my showreel on the first page you come to when you arrive in the site.

Ryan is able to create a page for each area of his film work from commercials to music videos which isn’t something I can do but I love the use of select frames from each video to get a feel for the video quickly before watching it.

Another Director of Photography that I follow on Instagram is Steve Annis who’s website is very straight forward but this minimalistic approach doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of his site. You can find his work clearly on the opening page as well as all the contact in a clearly marked tab. I like the way the tiled thumbnails on his films lets you see a wide variety of his work while still seeing his distinct style.

His site also has a cover page which, much like Ryan Booth’s, shows a short showreel of his work before you enter.

I really like the gallery type feeling of Steve Annis’ site and the social media aware/well branded look of Ryan Booth’s site. These are looks I will take forward in developing my own site.

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MattLewisMedia Website

I’ve had my website, www.matt-lewis-media.com, for the last 3 years or so now, unfortunately most variations of mattlewismedia domain names are taken which is why I’ve had to opt for the dashes in-between. In the time I’ve had it it’s been a great way to show potential clients my work as well fellow film makers. In the past year or so I have been updating it and at the moment it has gaps which I hope to fill to make it industry ready for when I begin freelancing full time.

Firstly Here are some screenshots from how the site looks now:

This is the cover page of my site; for a while now the images that would slideshow are samples from my photography work as I used to get a lot more freelance photography work than I did film work. I selected about different pictures that showed my action sports, street, location, portrait and event work.

My logo has been consistent across my work and underneath my logo it says ‘Cinematographer | Camera Operator | Photographer’ which was also consistent with my Instagram and the rest of my social media sites.

You’ll also notice that at the bottom I have four social media icons: my Instagram, Vimeo, Linked In and Twitter. I’m going to make a post about the importance of social media in the near future but through my research I very quickly realised that having an active, smart looking social media gives you a huge step up in terms of looking professional and getting seen by potential employers.

When you click ‘ENTER SITE’, you come to my ‘About’ page. 

As my research will show, ‘About’ pages are much less common that they used to be 5 years ago. I want my site to open up straight onto the page that shows all my most recent work with an option to see a page that has more about me in it, as opposed to the other way around.

On the same page I have linked a gallery of my recent Instagram posts so its even easier to reach my social media. It also shows how active on social media I am which is something people really like to see.

The next two pages are my currently unfinished Video and Photography pages which will both need redesigning to reflect my more specific field.

The video page was going to show a screenshot from each video and then, once clicked on, give you more information about the shoot and the crew. I don’t feel that this is necessary anymore. My photography page is currently just a single photo at a time gallery of my work but again, I want to change this so its quicker to explore my work.

The last page is a contact page which is very basic and that I will probably combine with the About page to make the design of my site simpler.

Thats my website so far but there is plenty I want to do to it to make it reflect my research which I will post in a follow up post.