About "2nd Unit"

There can be little doubt that the motion picture industry, both television and cinema, have advanced leaps and bounds in the last 5-10 years relative to technological advancement in equipment. In fact, not too long ago, when we used to speak of the "Digital Divide", is was to articulate the difference between the computer-savvy and the uninitiated. Today, even those well-educated in the electronic world are finding it difficult to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape especially in the world of digital filmmaking. In cameras alone, the power that can go into the filmmaker's hands for less than $10,000 today was, a half-decade ago, unheard of at 10 times the price. And the result has been that what was once the sole domain of deep-pocket studios is now open to anyone with a few thousand dollars, a vivid imagination and the dedication it takes to produce on film what the independent filmmaker sees in his or her mind's eye. But for all the advancements the entertainment world has seen to date, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And chief among them are the basic tenets of filmmaking, many of which haven't changed since Louis Lumière showed his film "The Arrival of a Train at the Station" in 1895.

One of the real tragedies of our world today is the expense of education. No longer are 5-figure tuitions the province of private institutions like Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Today, it can cost in excess of $10,000 per year just to get an education from one of the many public institutions that just a few years ago was costing only a few hundred dollars. And no where is this more evident than in the world of film where prestigious universities like USC's School of Film can cost upwards of $30,000 a year and that doesn't even include the many and curious "lab fees" that go along with the curriculum.

Does it really take an education to produce a film? You bet it does just like it takes an education to do anything. It's called paying your dues and it's where you learn the fundamentals of filmmaking; fundamentals that form the basis for everything we do in picture and sound. But does that education have to be at a university? In the 21st Century, with escalating fees, thankfully the answer is no. In fact, there are plenty of examples where hard work and a personal dedication to educating one's own self paved the way for a successful career in Hollywood but the authors of this site certainly agree that if you can swing it, film school will give you an enormous leg up on succeeding in the industry. We'll also tell you that it's our personal mission to not let a lack of a formal education be a bar to one's success either.

During 2005, no less than four major manufacturers created and released video cameras that were so technologically advanced that virtually anyone with $5,000 could capture footage that was technically closer to professional grade than at any time before in the history of filmmaking. Canon, Sony, JVC and Panasonic each recognized that with the FCC-mandated switch to digital television came a likely mass demand for higher definition content. And with that came the opportunity to produce "affordable" HD cameras, each capable of capturing images, the clarity of which virtually exceeded our capability to view it at home.

But High Definition also brought with it a level of difficulty relative to image acquisition never before seen. The mere fact that High Definition images were clearer, sharper and more brilliant than anything the viewer was accustomed to meant the filmmaker had to understand more about image acquisition than he or she ever conceived. In short, with Standard Definition, the filmmaker could get away with alot of "imperfections". With HD, though, that luxury disappeared leaving the filmmaker solely responsible for any imperfections that appeared in his or her work. So the filmmaker had better know what he or she is doing because in HD, the viewer's expectations don't allow for "imperfections".

Thus there exists today an increasing importance of education relative to filmmaking such that the images a filmmaker sees in his or her mind can be accurately replicated. And herein lies another issue. With the headlong rush into High Definition, we've redefined the age old adage, "putting the cart before the horse". While it's true that a filmmaker can today capture HD images into digital footage and then edit that HD footage with one of the HD-capable editing programs, themselves only now becoming functional in the HD world, there exists no HD medium capable of recording the final results of the filmmaker's effort. Thus, while the two giants of the digital world fight it out to see if Blue Ray or HD DVD wins the top honor of preferred recording medium, the HD filmmaker has no way of distributing his or her content except on computer hard drive or the very tape upon which it was originally captured.

The purpose of this site, however is not to concern itself with the ultimate distribution medium...at least not until one is selected. It's purpose is to help the independent filmmaker better understand the complexities of High Definition filmmaking and filmmaking in general through the eyes and minds of guest cinematographers, producers, writers, directors and others actively engaged in the HD industry today. By understanding pixel ratios, compression. 1/3", 1/2" and 2/3" lenses, overcranking, undercranking, variable bit rates and a hundred other aspects to HD production, the independent filmmaker will be better equipped to produce quality pieces that the world accepts as professional grade productions.

To accomplish this task we've reached out to friends in the entertainment, technology and communications industries; friends whose careers touch virtually every part of the world we live in and friends whose professional accomplishments and personal commitment to educating the next generation of filmmakers distinguish makes them true giants in the world today.

We reached out to people like George Spiro Dibie, ASC whose professional cinematography accomplishments in the world of film, video and lighting have earned him 6 Emmy awards out of 10 nominations and whose dedication to passing his knowledge along to the next generation of filmmaker finds him speaking in front of audiences from California to Cannes.

 

 

We've reached out to people like Rob Kositchek whose Cinematography work in television, feature and commercial productions includes The X-Files, The Pretender, Roswell and "24" . with two awards from the International Cinematographers Guild, Rob shot numerous commercials and contributed additional footage to hundreds of films. While today he can be found on the set of several productions for the History Channel. he can also be found pursuing his real dedication, teaching as a professor at one of the world's most prestigious schools of film, USC in Los Angels.

And we've reached out to people like Chris Hurd and Jarred Land whose on-line discussion groups, dvinfo.net and dvxuser.com form the very backbone of the filmmaking community today. By building and supporting a patent communications network, Chris and Jarred provide a communications network that that enables the filmmaking community to freely exchange information and ideas, the results of which are appearing on theatre screen, television sets and computer monitors the world over.

And we reached out to corporate America through companies like Adobe, JVC and others whose very ideas and resulting products are changing the ways we communicate with each other in this new information age. Through these partners, this site hopes to bridge the digital divide that exists between the independent filmmaker and the knowledge he or she needs to get their message out. We hope to be able to contribute to the world of artistic expression by providing a method by which the fundamentals of filmmaking can be made available to everyone and not just those fortunate enough to be able to attend one of America's great filmmaking institutions. For while thankfully the ability to freely express one's own individual ideas continues to be a freedom we enjoy in this the United States of America, the foundation for the ability to successfully communicate those ideas lies in the knowledge of those who have gone before and those who are continuing to forge and distribute their message today. It is those very individuals that we are pleased and proud to be able to present such that their views and knowledge might emanate form here and find their way into discussion groups like dvxuser and dvinfo, there to be discussed, employed and used to craft tomorrow's messages from tomorrows filmmakers.