cinema is over | let's talk cinematography and industry

My year end review. Cinematography, lighting, cameras and the state of the industry. Treat it like a podcast. I have lots to stay.
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[@patricklebby]

This is spot on and thanks for sharing. I shot a lot more corporate work late in the year with my Komodo and it was over kill. I thought about getting a second Komodo, but decided to go with two fx30's for smaller jobs.

[@507318]

Man your content has always been great, and it’s always a pleasure to watch disregarding what kind of content you are making. Lighting, movie reviews, cameras, gear, etc, I enjoy it all.

[@AFreeFlicks]

Mannn! I love how you left in the unedited “gear I’ve used” lol was a nice touch! 🤘🏾

[@Malak_Production]

Spenser, thank you so much for the inspiration and motivation! I live in Russia (I hope you won't block me after this word), and to be more precise, I live on the very edge of our continent - Kamchatka. And I have a pretty small town, I started my journey as a photographer and after 3 years moved into video. And now for 3 years I've been nurturing my production together with my wife. We work in tandem, she is my director/screenwriter, and I am the directing cameraman and cameraman, and in such a tandem we started to try ourselves in the summer of 2023 in shooting short films. We really enjoyed it, we have a lot of equipment that allows us to make feature films, but of course it's hard to break into the industry. I am constantly pumping my eyes on foreign films and TV series, but alas I will probably never have access to such great cameras and beautiful lenses as you have, but still I try to pump my vision, story and of course picture with what I have. I'm very glad I subscribed to you, I'd love to see your reviews and follow your work! Really looking forward to the backstages from your movie shoot!)

[@mlindikasa5789]

Hi there, Im based in South Africa, have been doing video for a while now Started with photography myself. It is very nice that you told your story. If I may ask what is your main camera ?

[@Malak_Production]

@@mlindikasa5789 Hi! At the moment my main camera is Blackmagic 6K Pro and my second camera is Sony fx3 + Atomos ninja V) I shoot in RAW on both cameras and get fantastic results).

[@Malak_Production]

@@mlindikasa5789 Hi! My main camera is blackmagic 6k pro and my other movie camera is sony fx3 + atomos ninja v

[@captureinsidethesound]

Spenser, great stuff man! Back during COVID, The KZbin algorithm caused me to spin in circles when i first started searching for influence on film making gear but I eventually picked up on the waywardness, favoritism and hypocrisy from some "high profile" KZbinrs. Hopefully, you get what I mean by that. I "accidentally" coming across your channel, eventually. I'm glad I did because I seemed to have "glitched" the system and found similar channels. I think i was searching on how to fix something on my "Suzuki" but it auto-corrected to "Sakurai". I think i cried a little because its like finding real music these days, its by accident. Part of me is glad I cant spell. Blessing bro!

[@samuelguce]

Thanks Spencer - Cheers to another great year of creation!

[@Behnam_Moghaddam]

after looking it all: thanks very much for sharing your perspective. nice to hear you plan to "take us with you" on your journey! looking forward to it me personally am not as interested in "topics" as i am to see them develop, don't care much about opinions but seek new perspektives. yours are interesting to me thank you again

[@noahyv]

In no world is r5c DR similar to komodo... It has solidly 1-2 stops less DR than most competing cinema cameras. Xh2s definitely doesn't have more DR than most other cameras, it does have more than the r5c but that's not saying much. Your obsession with oversampling is surprising given how obviously superior Arri's approach to resolution has been for the last decade+. Unless you're shooting vfx or doing heavy stabilization, you don't need a 6-8k camera unless you just really really like more challenging post workflows and media management. The latest best in class cinema cameras are 4.5k

[@scottrgarland]

Absolutely wonderful to hear someone rant about the things I love and want to learn more about. I sense a podcast in the making..

[@spensersakurai]

You may just get more rants like this rather than a podcast lol

[@scottrgarland]

@@spensersakurai I'm not mad, I'm elated.. to back what you said, I'd love to see more lighting totorials or just breakdowns of your work is always cool to see. What you were thinking or problem solving on set to make a great image in the end.

[@YOUAREMYKIN]

Good video, worth the watch 👌 Definitely up for watching these more often.

[@TheContentShak]

If you’re worried about auto focus try the airs 3 LiDAR, cheap and works a charm for those scenarios. I was in the same boat.

[@Dwayne_M]

Love your vids, though that last one was a harder watch b/c of the auto focus! I did love the lighting content, any good suggestions for building a versatile light kit based around cost vs fixtures.

[@loommovies]

Why not C70 instead of r5c?

[@spensersakurai]

That’s a big camera for KZbin style shooting as well. I’ll probably snag a r7 for KZbin and another Komodo for paid work.

[@noahyv]

The c70 sensor is an order of magnitude better than any mirrorless camera and has more dynamic range than komodo. There is no camera under $10k with better image quality and the raw is really good and unusually manageable for raw

[@Behnam_Moghaddam]

I would give the S5iiX a chance or at least a deeper look. If i listened carefully it should be a great fit. I do mostly corporate stuff and was "forced" to sony all the way. I do not enjoy sony... lumix makes it more convenient imho some examples: shutter angle (instead of speed) waveform and vector scope, open gate, anamorph desqueeze, stunning stabilizer, AF works great with EF-lenses adopted... but wait... you tested the OG S5 a year ago, right? you surely are aware... sorry i'll leave the comment for the algorithm :)

[@spensersakurai]

S5 is honestly just as good as any other camera. Just even the II lacks great AF and that’s the only thing missing for my non-commercial gigs. Setting up a couple bodies for an interview with AF sounds pretty nice lol s5II isn’t reliable enough for that based on what I’ve seen.

[@KonstantinA27films]

Panasonic S5 II(x) can be a good one to look at. Good autofocus, great codecs options and ability to shoot raw externally.

[@J_HNP]

Go with an FX3 (or FX30 if you want to save some money for a Sony lens) for talking heads. Control the environment with proper lighting and you’re good to go. If you don’t mind a larger body, definitely get a C70. Dynamic range, image quality, small file sizes… a dream for smaller production work. Recommendation for future “discussion” videos: find someone to talk to and riff off of. It’s really hard to watch someone share a ton of random thoughts, with abrupt jump cuts all over the place. Seems erratic and jarring.

[@YusiDJordan]

I thought that white light behind you was my volume slider

[@ShellyBHollis]

Lumix s5IIX has been a great hybrid for me

[@spensersakurai]

Definitely a great camera. I know the AF has improved but I wish it was on the level of Sony or Canon.

[@ShellyBHollis]

This is my first attempt trusting AF, I choose Lumix cameras for pure features.@@spensersakurai

[@CalebMcLellan]

@@spensersakuraiI use three on the daily and the autofocus is pretty great and I’m coming from canon. 🙌

[@davemorphling7432]

I shoot talking head interviews on 8-bit Sony, and love the roll off you get out of your Komodo X, whereas mine falls into darkness more suddenly. I've looked up comparisons online and even 10-bit Sony suffers from that. Is it the sensor or the bit-depth? I like C200/C70/Komodo look, but if it's just the bit-depth, I can get FX30 with Atomos ($2500) otherwise C200 ($2500 used), or C70/Komodo ($5K+).

[@asa_martinez]

Canon R5ii is the only canon small body that looks like it could hang with all the other cameras. Hopefully the clog 2 is actually good because that the achilles heel of all the canon mirrorless bodies. Haven't tested it but it hopefully it's good.

[@AugustDreams-ek3xo]

Thank you for sharing your truth.

[@giveupbuddy]

This video needs more likes!

[@Dwayne_M]

BTW this shot looks great as well..skin tones ae warm..image looks really sharp...(viewing on an M1) laptop

[@rw3452]

For KZbin no need for Raw. 10 bit is more than fine or I’ve seen ppl do 8bit also.

[@scottievee330]

Canon wants to be 2 stops over when shooting in RAW for that reason, no? I always go over... with C70 and R5c. Easy tweak.

[@spensersakurai]

I’m not trying to shoot two stops over. I want to look at a waveform like any other camera. Remap the log or something for me ya know.

[@J_HNP]

The C70 doesn’t need to be overexposed. The DGO sensor is beautiful, and is best when exposed properly.

[@whoiam3410]

I'm considering getting a good hybrid camera to complement the Komodo because I also take photos. I'm thinking about the Fujifilm X-T2HS, I just love its color science. I'll use the Fuji for photos and as a Cinema B Cam. The possibilities for combinations are vast. I'd also like to have an FX3 for some low-light situations, but you can't have everything. I'm also intrigued by an Alexa Plus 4 3. Just on specific customer requests. They're available at a good price. Ah, what do I know...

[@lacaraja]

I own an R5C. Please make a vidio with tips for filmakig use. Saludos desde Bolivia!

[@scottievee330]

Everything has Sitcom lighting. I agree. It sucks. And some commercials have a movie look? Odd.

[@mrivkinr]

Why not try a C70?

[@Abdi_Mohamed_]

i genuinely have no idea how you "only" have 60K subscribers? like did you sleep with the KZbin algorithm tech guys wife or something? your content should get have you in the 500K club without a doubt

[@nextquestionlighting]

0:45 the immediate reset hahahah too funny

[@spensersakurai]

How did I leave that in there lmao

[@nextquestionlighting]

@@spensersakurai hahaha i love it

[@GlobalShutterNY]

Give Team Sony a chance- great color science/DR in their 10bit codecs - even the 'lowly' FX30 creates gorgeous images (that can even match with the highest end Venice per some DP's I know who have mixed both on a shoot!)

[@spensersakurai]

I’ve used them a bunch. RF mount will just be easier for me in the end. My short film Flea was on every Sony camera including Venice and fx3.

[@SamueleApperti]

try nikon z8...

[@blnksktch]

R3 is the thing

[@raredreamfootage]

Corporate = Ronin 4D

[@nelsonZeledon]

Talk about vintage red cameras

[@spensersakurai]

could be fun. i really want to stress test one of those old sensors and see how they compare now.

[@Jaydexterphoto]

Who watches movies anymore?

[@AndresArosemena]

I do, all the time

[@WinnySarmiento]

I do !

[@Easyfilm84]

It feels weird to not have you address the new FF BMCC.

[@Easyfilm84]

Also, dude, move to LA

[@spensersakurai]

Eventually.

[@Easyfilm84]

@@spensersakurai I’ve said that every year for 13 years. Let’s make this the year we follow through!