Movies For All
It’s easier for anyone to make a movie today. I am always saying the technology now is super affordable and extremely powerful. There was a time when this access was only for the privileged and affluent. A time when you had to be the man or near the man to create content. Nowadays all you need is the will, a decent story, actors, a mic and any pro interchangeable lens camera produced in the past decade or so. And if you want to go “all out”, throw in a person or two to help with lighting.
The mighty, but prohibitively expensive ARRI Mini LF and RED EPIC cinema cameras.
For years it was the elitist in this industry that made it seem like you couldn’t film something worthy or substantial if you weren’t shooting with an ARRI or similar camera. The veil has been lifted and us Shooters know that with a humble camera like the GH1 (released 2009) you can create a cinematic masterpiece.
Image is from “Marianne” A Swedish horror movie by Filip Tegstedt, filmed with a Panasonic GH1.
With affordable camera equipment, I was able to film and produce a feature length documentary just as comparable to what’s shown on Netflix or HBO Max. It’s on Amazon and Tubi by the way! The camera is an 8 bit 4K cinema camera from JVC that I purchased for about $3500 in 2015. I’ve used countless cinema cameras before through rentals, but this was the first cinema camera I purchased for myself. It had all the features I needed and most of all it was affordable!
Image is from the Marcy Made documentary filmed with a JVC GY-LS300.
Nowadays there are cameras 3X more powerful than the JVC I purchased and even more affordable. For instance Sony just released an entry level cinema camera called the FX30 that is a powerhouse. Today creators can produce content on par with Hollywood for little to nothing. The fact of the matter though, is just because we have these powerful tools, it doesn’t instantly make us the next Roger Deakins or Bradford Young. Like with any skill, it takes countless hours to make it useful, especially in a professional setting.
A day in the life of Industry Labs LLC.
This is why we must know our strengths. Everyone isn’t skilled at being a Cinematographer. Maybe your strength is in writing or directing. And this is where experienced professionals should be employed to ensure a quality project. The great thing about this is there are production companies that are producing high quality industry standard content cost effectively, with the aforementioned tools. If you’re ready to create your movie or documentary and don’t want to worry about the technical aspects, contact me. Let me shock you with how affordable making a quality movie is!
Just showing off my documentary’s excellent reviews.