Been a long year...

or a short one...

Gone by so fast... yet sometimes it couldn't go by fast enough. Ever had that feeling? Ya, well thats me right now.

Just got a Canon 7D as well as a full Pro Aim Cine DSLR rig for it. REALLY amazing rig that unleashes the full potential of this amazing little camera. I've been working dead on my feet the last 6 months with pre production on my new film, Angel of the skies. Ensuring all the CGI is looking as real as can be and teaching myself the workflow to make sure it all cuts together seemlessly together with the live action footage.

Cannot wait to start shooting, and thanks to this amazing camera, I feel so free. As an independant filmmaker, I have always had to wait on other people or that of the gear houses. To be a filmmaker, you need to have a camera right... and not just some camcorder, no.. if you are serious about making films for cinema, you need the big guns... RED, F35, Arriflex, Panavision / Sony F900, Genesis... you get my drift... well, not anymore it seems.

This little Canon 7D is making waves in the independant sector, very much like RED did 2 years back. This little bugger has a CMOS sensor in it that is the same size as 35mm Film stock. It Shoots FULL HD 1920 X 1080 @ 24P... as well as being able to use 35mm lenses, thus giving the operator full Cine Style DEPTH OF FIELD... the best bit... its only $1900. Thats R18 000 roughly here in SA. Why so cheap? Because it is a DSLR. Originally a professional Stills Camera with a 18mp sensor... but it shoots true HD. Now to put this camera into perspective... sure it doesn't have all the bells and whistles like XLR input/output and sturdy body design... but lets be serious here, you really don't need all these things. Look at Slumdog Millionaire, 2009 OSCAR winner for best film. That was shot on the Silicon Imaging's SI 2k... a camera that has nothing but a Lens and CMOS sensor... NOTHING ELSE. They did pretty fine with that and it doesn't even have a viewfinder for the operator to see what he's shooting. The 7d is roughly the same size.

Here is some interesting facts... The TV show SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE has used the 7D to shoot its new Intro sequence as well as many of its skits. Source - [link]

Also, two independent features have already been completed using the 7d, not to mention the amount of features and commericals that have been shot on the older 5d, the brother of the 7d.

Now, many young indi filmmakers have been drawn towards Sony's new EX3... a robust, great camera that shoots Full HD and has overcrank of up to 60 FPS, very awseome camera, I myself was so close to buying one, but at the time could not afford it with all the extras it required for my shooting style... mainly because the EX3 is essentially only a 2/3" sensor, which means it has a 2/3" mounting on it, so it can't use 35mm lenses which ultimately amounts to no cine style depth of field... hmmm... but there is a solution. If one such as myself needs to get that depth of field, one then needs to invest in a Letus Adaptor or something similar, which allows the operator to then use 35mm lenses on the camera, thus enabling him/her to achieve the desired cine depth of field needed for Feature film narratives... So you ask whats the big deal about 2/3" sensors? Well, look at RED's new Scarlet... the entry level aimed at people who cannot afford the mainstream RED camera. It has a 2/3" sensor. BUT WHY??? That is so stupid. True it's going to do A LOT more than a Canon 5D/7D or SONY EX3 due to its 3k resolution (some believe there to be quiet a bit of noise with the downscaling), but what are you going to put on it? Any regular 35mm format lens is going to crop x2.5 so even a very wide 18mm will become moderately telephoto, a 50mm suddenly becomes a 125mm. I'm super enthused about this big sensor revolution we're living in and if someone can give me a reason to get excited by a 2/3" RED camera, I'd love to hear it. But for the moment, Cinema only requires 1.9K resolution and The 7d delivers that with 35mm lenses...

But lets get back to the 7d's main rival, the EX 3. Putting a price to this EX 3 with Letus Adaptor and 35mm lenses aswell as the rig needed to place the adaptor on the Camera --- $12 000 plus.

The 7d does all of what the Ex3 does (with Cine Depth of Field) and better, right out the box for $1900. WOW.

Now let the naysayers have their say, but the DSLR revolution has begun, and man, its kicking ass for the small guy.

To find out more about this amazing little DSLR camera, check out cinema5d.com and [link]

Wow... Crazy times.

Just got off a shoot for a national broadcaster here in South Africa, a 19 day road shoot.. Not stop traveling. Was pretty cool. Always a good thing to get paid doing what you love whilst getting to see the world on someone elses dime.

Anyway, back in my studio now, working on a new short titled Angel of the Skies. The Teaser can be viewed here [link]

Still in very very very early pre prod.

I'm so lost right now. Not really sure what to do. So many questions that I ask myself with what to do next. So many potential projects waiting for me to get them made... yet I sit here staring blankly into my screen, wanting to RAM my head right through it cause the frustration of having to wait on other people is killing me. I have 4 films I want to get made, 5 if you count the documentary... I can start them tomorrow... but as I said.. waiting on other people is killing me. I wish I could just move forward but at this stage in my life, I am unable to do so...

So... anyone willing to sponsor a RED ONE camera to a struggling film maker... I am your man.

Check this space soon for more updates on Angels of the Skies...

Ya, thats right... I've been off DA for 2 years and finally I am back...

And a long road it has been, but I have some exciting news. My latest film has been very successful and I had the fortunate opportunity to go to Cannes in May and meet Mr. Steven Spielberg himself at the première for Indiana Jones.

Anyway, today's headlines are just to let you all know that we (H.O and I) are back from Cannes and man, what an experience. The film did well, with many professionals around the world surprised with how real and authentic the film was with such a small budget. Some of the other short films there were shot on budgets exceeding over a million rand. So I'm quite happy to say that we pulled AT THY CALL off with only R40 000 / $5000 - Please check out the trailers here.
[link]
and here
[link]

We've now made contact with some big players overseas and investors who are interested in co producing with South Africa. So... its back to the writing board for me to get my next script out there. I'm going to be updating the page soon with pictures from CANNES and VIDEOS... but for now, if any of you have facecrap... or facebook as they call it, take a look at the AT THY CALL @ CANNES FAN page that I have up for now. There are pictures there and vids. Check out the video with Quintin Tarrintino, that was really awesome.

Here is the link to the AT THY CALL @ CANNES PAGE
[link]

PS. AT THY CALL has been accepted into the Durban International Film Festival and will be competing for best Short film. Its also been invited to the AFI film festival in LOS ANGELES... Wish us luck.

Chris

There is no reason for love. It just is. And when it's there, it endures, even when it shouldn't. Even when you try to make it go away. It's hard to make it die. I've learned it's also unnecessary - and unwise. It only lessens you for it. So I accept it. I lock it away, I let it stay. I don't deliberately kill love. I just don't act on it. - I disdain love...

Just a thought...

Almost a year since that unfaithful incident... God.

Well, on a positive note, life is getting along well. My film school won an acedemy award for best student picture this year, which is great, now my Degree has a fat little notice that reads, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING FILM SCHOOL.. lol..

Oh well... Shooting a 30 minute film next week, can't wait, busy going over some small issues to fix before principle photography begins... MAN I LOVE THIS JOB.

Hey all, I'm back... been real busy as of late.

My old man just got back from a business trip overseas... England and Italy, really cool. What was even cooler, was the fact that he came home with a new Macintosh Powerbook... WOOT. Now, in South Africa, this thing goes for around R30 000... Now thats a shit load of cash. But when my father saw this powerbook (which I am using to type this very message) for a mesely R17 000 - HE HAD TO GET IT.... so now, because things are always better to buy overseas, I have a new weapon in my arsenal... the Macintosh POWERBOOk... yay.

Beats my MiniMac any day,.... So yeah.

Just though I would let u guys now... not that your all too interested anyway. Well, keep ur chins up fellow bunnies and remember, MAC is the way to go if your into DIGITAL ART...

PS. - Magenta the Lion wishes he had a MAC, even though he refuses to admit it... LOL