Reinventing terminology for a field that allready have established a terminology ........
Sorry for the long reply.
Word to the wise to people moving from stills to motion.
Know your workflow before you shoot.
Whether your a one man band that is director, dp, camera operator, editor, colorist, effects specialist or you outsource everything, know exactly how you plan to shoot, store, preview and deliver.
Digital video is the wild west and it's not just codecs, it's cameras, what is real 24p what is faux, what happens with jello cam, or strobing, or mixed light, flickering, the list can go on and on forever.
There is a reason the movie guys, test, test and test again, with lenses, lights, in real world situations. Something that in stills that looks simple, like a person walking under a tree can cause a nightmare in a strobing look, that is just non usable.
Something that looks like a few kelvin off in color temp, can be a non fix within the budget.
Everybody grabs a 5d, shoots with window light, it looks beautiful and say "ah ha" I've got it down and then they accept a commissioned project. Of course the commissioned project requires sound, shooting at night, pulling focus from a face to a street, mercury vapors in the background, hmis in the foreground and boom . . . the world ends and you've got 2 hours of messy footage that nobody will touch.
Also do your test, run it through your system and find out what codec works in editing, coloring and output. Don't think that high def is high def cause it's not. Don't think that non compressed from compressed footage will make it better, because it usually won't.
If you outsource (and I strongly suggest everyone outsource whatever you can afford, at least at first), talk to your editorial house, test with them, have them cut 30 seconds, send it to coloring, have it proofed and output to broadcast AND web standards (sorry there are no real standards) and at that stage you'll have a pretty good idea what it takes to complete a project. If you have any effects, or even elaborate 3d titles, get those people on board way before you shoot.
Then think about how you shoot, how the clients view as you shoot, (do you want them to see everything or not?).
There is a reason that a 30 second MOS spot takes 10 times the footage of a dialog spot, there is a reason that dialog can take 11 takes instead of 2 and one more suggestion, if you direct and it's dialog, make sure you hire a sound technician and have him/her run a secondary set of headphones to you as the shoot progresses. You'll learn as much about direction from listening as viewing.
Honestly, Hollywood has it down. They know the system, they have a reason for everything they do and what looks like overindulgence is just the standards to produce a professional motion piece.
Right now the powers that be in Hollywood are just ga ga over the 5d/7d syndrome and looking at the final balance sheet can see line items falling like flies. Take out the cable pullers, the dedicated generators, a few grip trucks, crew by the dozens cause those little 5ds work in room light.
Well, unfortunately the guys that count the money are somewhat wrong and fail to remember that the reason they got those big offices was listening to real film makers that knew how to hire professional artists and technicians that were perfect for the project.
There is a reason the directors scream, don't make me shoot video, but it's coming and nothing is gonna stop it, just like in stills. And just like in stills it will finally get just as good or better than film production, but until then it's going to be a mess.
So, my view is don't be part of the mess, be the artist that takes it to the highest level.
Please don't misunderstand me, a great film maker can make a 5d work well, and tell the story in a way that respects the viewer, but that's a great film maker.
I know for a while were all in for it. Just like in stills where the arguments go on and on that a Canon is as good as a hasselblad, a Nikon is as good as a Phase, we'll see the same thing for led lights being as good as hmi, a 5d being as good as a RED a RED as good as an ARRI, CS as good as Avid, etc. etc.
And just like in stills, people that know when and what equipment to use that's right for the project will have the most success, regardless of the brand.
The last thing we want to do as still photographers moving to motion is to lower the levels of the art, we want to raise them.
IMO
BC