Give me a cutaway!

"Give me a cutaway, a reversal, and don’t cross the line.”  Language that makes complete sense to you, right?  How about “Roll sound?” Maybe you’re familiar with that one, where a movie production’s sound guy is told to start the recorder, and then the slate person places the slate in front of the camera and the AD says “Mark it! “ But I bet you’ve never witnessed it at a wedding.  If you think I’m going to tell you that I do all of this at weddings and events (I'm a wedding cinematographer)  well, no. But I do follow the most intrinsic protocols, the stuff  taught to me many years ago when I was a supernumerary/ apprentice at Pinewood Film Studios in England. I was seventeen and I’d quit school early because I hated school. My initial training started with knowing the difference between emulsion and celluloid, key numbers and reel numbers, how to recognize fogged film, to know what butterflies, HMI's and scrims are and how and when to use them—a training that  lasted ten years, as I worked my way up the ladder, becoming a  film and TV editor, a director of independent art films, before I decided to DP and write. After three decades in the film and TV business i decided that I wanted to be a writer of fiction.   To this day, I get really excited to go out and shoot. For photography,  I typically use 2 cameras, one strapped over each shoulder, so that I can easily switch focal lengths without changing lenses.  For video, I mostly shoot with 3 cameras, sometimes four of five.  You might be surprised to know that complex video shoots require fewer cameras because complex shoots typically are crafted with production tools, rails, video cranes, camera stabilizers, an aerial camera, for the creation of designer motion shots.    My 3-camera shoot is a master camera setup and two matching side by side angles. If I’m at a wedding without a second or assistant  I keep the set-up easy, 2 or 3 cameras on tripods, wireless microphone on the officiant, back up mic on the groom.   For more adventurous shoots, my third camera is set up for mobility, tracking shots, slides, etc.  Want to know more about me?  

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