Award-Winning Veteran D.P., Sandi Sissel A.S.C. TONIGHT at 9pm!

On the next Double Down Film Show we'll have a special extended interview with Award-winning veteran Director of Photography, Sandi Sissel, A.S.C. With four decades (and counting) in the film and tv game, Sandi has D.P.'ed such notable feature films as Mira Nair's Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, The People Under the Stairs, and Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.

She has also worked in the camera department on more than 50 feature films including Fame, Blow, Rock Star and as a 2^nd Unit D.P. on Master and Commander, which won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

• How did she manage to break into a MALE-DOMINATED union?
• What should a young D.P. know BEYOND the camera?
• How is the career path to D.P. vastly DIFFERENT now?
• What does she tell other WOMEN that want to be D.P.'s?
• How do you become a PARENT and still have a film career?

Sandi Sissel will share her insight into all of the above, plus a whole lot more candid wisdom from her decades as a veteran image-maker. Find out how sisters can do it for themselves and craft long-term careers in the male-dominated film industry, only on the next Double Down Film Show.

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FILMMAKING REALITY STARTS HERE.

The Double Down Film Show

Every Wednesday, 9pm - 10pm E.S.T.

Call-in Number: (646) 929-1956

Stream Live:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/DoubleDownFilmShow

OR

Subscribe or Download:

Subscribe to the iTunes Podcast

SKILLZ: D.P. - Cliff Charles Teaching Cinematography Masterclass

Peep this hot news - D.P. , Cliff Charles is giving a rare private Master Class in Cinematography - Saturday, November 6, 2010 in New York City.

If you aren't already familiar with his him, Cliff (a.k.a. The People's D.P.) is the Emmy-nominated D.P. of such films as Spike Lee's When the Levee's Broke, If God is Willing and the Creek Don't Rise and Chris Rock's Good Hair documentary amongst many other projects. He also runs the popular educational online cinematographer's magazine, DPTV.com.

Cliff will be highlighting:

• Camera (setup, movement, and composition)
• Lighting (creating mood, color balancing, lighting methods and styles)
• Image Manipulation (filtration and color grading)
• Equipment Options (Do I rent or by, which camera and lights should I choose)

PLUS -Registration includes:

• Lunch
• Network Social
• Resources
• Vendor Discounts
• One-on-One Training

D.P.'s, Don't Sleep on this! Admission is limited to only 20 students. This is RARE opportunity to get up close and personal training with one of the busiest D.P.'s in New York City.

In fact, if I were you, I would register first and tell my friends just after. (I've already registered, hence the blog post now.) This event is guaranteed to sell out. Just don't say I didn't tell you.

Download full details HERE.

For more info contact: work@thepeoplesdp.com

Listen to Cliff's Interview on The Double Down Film Show.

The People's DP Reel from Cliff Charles on Vimeo.

The People's DP Spot Reel from Cliff Charles on Vimeo.

Veteran Hollywood DP - Julio Macat on This Week's Double Down Film Show!

On the next Double Down Film Show we’ll discuss building a career in cinematography with veteran Hollywood Director of Photography, Julio Macat.

Julio is the man behind the images of some of the most popular comedy movies of the last decade including Home Alone, Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor, Wedding Crashers, and more.

· What previous job gave him a lot of confidence as a young DP?

· How can you best learn the language of lighting?

· How did he survive his first big job as a DP?

· What should you shoot on your first reel?

· What type of people succeed as DP’s?

Tune in and soak up some filmmaking wisdom and insight as a veteran studio image-maker shares his best no-nonsense tips and career advice only on The Double Down Film Show. Listen and learn and we’ll help you earn!

The Double Down Film Show

Every Wednesday, 9pm - 10pm E.S.T.

Call-in Number: (646) 929-1956


Stream Live or Download:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/DoubleDownFilmShow

OR

Subscribe or Download:

Subscribe to the iTunes Podcast

***PS - If you can't tune in live, you can always stream the show or download the .mp3 file later at the site above.

DSLR Camera Debate: Cinematographer vs. Producer

Let me start off by saying two things here:

1) I thoroughly disagree with the general viewpoint of this video and

2) Nevertheless, I think it's very funny and presents a very teachable guerrilla moment about common strains in the dynamic of the Producer / Cinematographer relationship as well as filmmaking elitism.

Watch and we'll discuss the very serious filmmaking debate(s) it raise in a future blog post. Enjoy...

Cinematographer vs. Producer

Created by nicholasdh using Xtranormal.com (a "filmmaking" web site that's a whole other debate unto itself) and to my man Alex Houston who posted it on Facebook.

NPR Interview w/ The Coen Brothers' DP, Roger Deakins

(Roger Deakins left w/ Joel Coen right - photo courtesy of Focus Features)

Just wanted to share this enlightening interview I heard on NPR this afternoon w/ DP, Roger Deakins, who shot ALL of the Coen Brothers movies since Barton Fink as well as Shawshank Redemption and A Beautiful Mind amongst others. It's always educational to peep other filmmakers techniques...listen and learn:

The NPR Article and Audio Interview w/ DP Roger Deakins

Color Theory for Cinematographers

Alright, all you DPs out there--check this blog out if you wanna learn the importance of utilizing your color palette on film.

A couple months back Isaac Botkin wrote an interesting blog examining the use of color as a "storytelling tool" onscreen. In "Color Theory for Cinematographers" Botkin provides an in-depth analysis of color in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, illustrating how the film artfully conveys emotion through alterations in its color palette.


Botkin also provides a link to Brendan Dawes' fascinating "color charts." Dawes ran his favorite films through a Java program, which "sample[d] a movie every second and generate[d] an 8 x 6 pixel image of the frame at that moment in time." These "Cinema Reduxes", as he calls them, provide a "unique fingerprint" for each film, illustrating the changes in color and lighting that occur throughout the film. It's an interesting way to look at the entirety of a film in one image--and a great way to study its use of color, lighting, and rhythm.


While Dawes created only 8 Reduxes (two of which were featured in a MoMA exhibit), his work has inspired copycat work. For more Reduxes check out Matthew Merkovich's website here.


--Joanna Chlebus