3D Shoot

The other day I worked on my first 3D camera project. The camera operator from "Mother's Little Helpers" was shooting test footage for a documentary that will be pitched to Gatorade and he invited me to come with. It was a pretty guerrilla style shoot, no permits. The Sony 3D rig was set up inside a van which served as our portable video village as well. We spent the night following bikers around the city streets of L.A shooting first out the back of the van and then out the sliding side door. The rig was so big and complex it took us about 45 minutes to move it from one shooting position to the other. The rig itself was made up of two identical cameras, one that shot straight out like normal and another that shot straight down into a mirror that was attached to the bottom of the matte box. This allows both camera to shoot basically the same image at the same time. In video village, the DIT could adjust the "ocular distance" of the two cameras remotely. This adjustment changes how close or far away the two image beams intersect and become one. Any object that is in front of the image intersection will pop forward on the screen and anything behind it will fade into the background. The DIT can control exactly what elements in the frame will pop out.

I learned a lot about 3D but there is sill a ton that I don't understand. Hopefully if Gatorade likes the test footage, the project will get a green light and I will get a chance to work with the 3D rig again.

Day Trippin

Over the weekend I shot a pilot for a television series called, "Day Trippin." It's a documentary style show that follows a female host around as she visits various attractions in California. On saturday we shot in a spa, at the beach, at a wine tasting venue, and then a roller derby. Santa Barbara is a pretty beautiful place. There were a ton of people surfing on the beach, I want to try it so bad. Once I start making a little more money surfing is the first thing on my list of things to try.

Sunday I got to shoot out of a helicopter, it was insane. They took the door off so I could basically hang out and shoot straight down. I got some really cool footage. I wish I had a better mount but I got some pretty steady shots for just being hand held. The biggest challenge was the difference in exposure between the inside and outside of the helicopter. Every time the host wanted to be on camera or talk to the pilot I had to quickly readjust exposure/ND level for the inside of the helicopter and vice versa for when I wanted to shoot the landscape. Overall it was an awesome weekend and the client seemed happy with what myself and the other camera operators had captured. They will sure have plenty of footage to sort through in the edit. I'm excited to see how the final 30 minute show comes together in post.

First Feature in LA

After getting settled in LA for a few days I managed to get on board a feature called "Mother's Little Helpers" starring Denise Richards and Jim Belushi. I can't believe after 4 days here I'm already a part of very legit production. I've gathered from people so far that it is extremely hard to break into the industry and to get on any sets at all, never mind a feature with some big names attached to it. I consider myself extremely lucky to have already gotten such a great opportunity and I'm working hard to make it count. This one job could make or break my career out here.

I really like everyone on set and I'm trying to learn as much as I can from the people in each department. There is a really fine line between not asking enough questions and asking too many. It's hard because you want people to notice you and the fact that you want to learn, but at the same time you don't want to be annoying and interrupt the flow on set. It's only my second day but I'm already beginning to feel that camaraderie that can only come from spending 14 hours a day in a hotel room with the same people night after night. I forgot how much fun it was to be a part of a team again.

Hopefully if I work hard enough on set this next week and a half, someone on the crew will be impressed enough to want to hire me on their next project, and so on and so forth until I can start making some money and officially say I made it in this crazy industry.

Off to L.A.

I'm officially heading out to the west coast in search of feature film work. Ever since wrapping principle on my first feature, I have been dieing to get on board another and start the movie making process all over again.Doing freelance work around the Boston area has been great, but I miss being part of a larger crew. I will be staying with a friend in Hollywood for at least the month of February to see what I can get myself into. I'm excited to see what the scene is like and hopefully find some work on any kind of feature film, indie or mainstream. My flight leaves today and the job hunting starts tonight.

Shooting the Eastern United States Danceport Championships

My last freelance shoot was at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in Boston for the Eastern United States Dancesport Championships. I've shot live performances in the past, but this one was one of my favorites. A ton of colorful clothes flying in and out of frame made it a fun shoot. Every style of dance dictated my own shooting style. I liked being able to switch up the movements according to the music. I'm interested to see what kind of a piece will be made with the footage I shot. There were definitely some really good moments captured that night. I've never seen so many talented dancers before. It was a much bigger event than I had expected and I was glad I got the chance to work it.

Video Lock

After one last meeting with the director, all major decisions were made regarding the video and my responsibilities as both cinematographer and editor have finally come to an end. We have reached yet another important milestone in the progression of this film, and I hope it will continue to move at a steady pace. After working on The Mercury Cycle for almost a year and a half now, it feels weird to finally be moving on. I know big things will come in the near future for this film, but for now at it enters post audio, things will be quiet for a while.

The Real World

Now that I'm officially out of college and have left the world of "student" productions behind, I figured a website would be a solid way to showcase my work as freelance cinematographer. The site looks good so far and will be constantly updated as I build a larger body of work.

Here is the link: www.zachsalsman.com