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My KoAloha Story has had a wave of screenings in Hawaii and now it has hit the shores of the beautiful state of Oregon at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival. We hear that there are lots of ukulele players and KoAloha fans so we hope to see you there to support the film and to celebrate KoAloha.
If you bring your KoAloha and take a picture at the screening submit your photo and story at koalohastory.com and we’ll send you a free copy of the DVD!
ALOHA!!! Great News!!!
I am very proud to announce My KoAloha Story will have it’s official World Premiere debut for a public audience at the Hawaii International Film Festval. Woo hoo!!
I and all of KoAloha are deeply grateful to HIFF and the judging committee this year for selecting our film to have it’s World Premiere screening in Hawaii. I would not have seen it any other way. It is really a dream come true and a blessing to bring this film first and foremost to where the story originates and that is in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii and home of KoAloha Ukulele.
We are also so lucky to have not just one but THREE SCREENINGS!!! Let me repeat that!! THREE Screenings!!
This is very rare in the film festival world and all of us at KoAloha are extremely ecstatic and hope to bring as many ukulele and KoAloha family there. I really want to make sure we can pack the house at both screenings and send a message to the world that this film needs to be seen by everyone from the mainland and beyond. This film is not your run of the mill ukulele documentary. It is far from that. It is the story of the Okami family, the story of the individual lives they have touched through their ukulele and the power of KoAloha as a message of hope, love, and Ohana.
If you live on Oahu you have no excuse. This is your chance to see something special, share in a momentous occasion and to celebrate the life long work of KoAloha through this film.
So please do not delay! Purchase your tickets in advance by going to the HIFF website: My KoAloha Story Tickets!
Mahalo to KoAloha Ukulele, the Okami family, and all who contributed their stories, music, and time to this film. This film would not have been made with out the help of the entire KoAloha Ohana. I thank you so much for believing in this work.
Gary San Angel
Director
My KoAloha Story will have the World Premiere and Screening at three venues:
Saturday, October 15th at 7pm Sunset on the Beach in Waikiki
Queens Beach, Waikiki (intersection of Kalakaua & Kapahulu)
Parking: Free parking at the Waikiki Shell, Metered parking at the Honolulu Zoo and on Kalakaua Ave (South of Monsarrat).
Public Transportation: Buses B, E, 2, 4, 8, 14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 42, 98, 201, 202, 203 stop near the intersection of Kapahulu Ave & Kalakaua Ave.
Thursday, October 20th at 6:30pm at Dole Cannery A
735 Iwilei Rd Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 528-3653
Parking: Validated parking is available at the Dole Cannery garage. Enter garage on Pacific St.
Public Transportation: Buses 19, 20 stop in front of Dole Cannery.
Driving Directions: How to get to the theater from Waikiki
Friday, October 28 at 7:00PM
38 Haili Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone: (808) 934-7010
Aloha Everyone! I just want to announce the launch of the new KoAloha Story site at www.koalohastory.com. Home of the KoAloha Story Film Series and the new “TalkUlele” Online video collection of KoAloha stories.
The KoAloha Ukulele Story is an animated documentary film short about Hawaii’s very own Renaissance man and inventor Alvin Okami and his amazing story about how he changed his plastics company into one of the worlds most admired and respected ukulele companies.
I was really inspired by people’s reactions to our little animated film and how it was an opportunity for people to share their own personal stories and experiences about how they found the ukulele and found a connection to the Okami and KoAloha family. Because of the amazingresponse we had from the first film I touched base with Alvin’s son Alan Okami about the possibility of putting together a Part 2 to the animated film which would tell the story of their family after the miniature ukulele was made.
The film project is called “My KoAloha Story” the idea being everyone has their own KoAloha Story, a story with heart, passion, and inspiration, a story that connects us to family.
For part of the films process, I worked with people around the country and even in Great Britain who wanted to share their KoAloha Story. I even arranged for my personal HD video camera to be sent out or had them film themselves with their own high quality camera. The process of crossing borders and building relationships with people who I had no contact with before except for their connection to KoAloha was rather quite powerful. Each person had a set of simple open questions to answer about their connection to KoAloha and their love of the ukulele. It was really that simple- Just tell your story. Sometimes we were even blessed to get a song or two on their KoAloha ukulele so much of the music from the interviews became the soundtrack to the film.
Part of this unique community style of filmmaking comes from years of working in the theater and building communities through this unique story telling process. I was fortunate enough to test it out with NYC based artist Taiyo Na using his beautiful song “Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother)” and working with the Asian Arts Initiative community as the story gathers for the images to the song. I put the camera in the hands of the community and youth and they filmed their moms and grandmothers. It was really a moving experience. Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother) premiered at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and now has a home online at www.lovelytome.com where you can see the music video and documentary film as well as contribute your own photos to honor your mom.
I hope this gives you an idea of the simple and profound concept of putting the camera in the hands of the community and why I feel passionately about the work of the KoAloha Story Film Series. My KoAloha Story is not only the story of the Okami family but it is your story too, a community story that makes up the larger KoAloha Ohana. It reminds us to never forget our stories, to never forget where we came from “warts and all” because life at it’s most honest and vulnerable place of challenge and strife is where we see our true inner beauty, our humanity.
I have been very blessed to be sort of a conductor of this KoAloha Symphony of Stories. I have had the humble honor of making two documentary films about Papa KoAloha and the Okami family that I hope captures the heart of what KoAloha does best and that’s sending love out to the world with their beautiful instruments.
Papa KoAloha’s story was just the seed. And I hope that you can help me by continuing to be a part of this oral history project which does not end with the film but continues as a living archive online here at www.koalohastory.com. Whether you are a novice ukulele player or master, or just a person with a story to tell, please share and be a part of this project. This is an opportunity to share your story and to celebrate a unique and inspirational ukulele company and to add your story to the KoAloha Ohana.
Many thanks for supporting KoAloha and the work of these films. I encourage you to sign up and be a subscriber. We will be celebrating the work of the KoAloha films by screening them through the KoAloha Story website and posting never before seen stories and short films. So stay tuned!
I hope that all these collective stories inspire you to share your KoAloha story at www.koalohastory.com or in your own communities.
Mucho Maholos to all! I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Gary San Angel
Director
The KoAloha Ukulele Story and My KoAloha Story
Please feel free to contact us below or better yet BE A SUBSCRIBER!
When I think of Philadelphia based artists that have endured and have made a difference in people’s lives I think of the Spoken Word duo Yellow Rage. Both Catzie Vilayphonh and Michelle Myers who make up Yellow Rage are phenomenal artists. I have known them for many years and I am fortunate enough to have been there from the very beginning before there was even a Yellow Rage. Both Catzie and Michelle were a part of the Something to Say writing and performing workshop that I led over ten years ago and since then they have been a force to be reckoned with in the Spoken Word scene. Their mix of hard hitting poetry is both personal and socially conscious and they have never been afraid to put themselves out there even if it makes an audience feel uncomfortable. And most of all, they are both some of the most giving community based artists out there who teach, inspire, and give back to the community so it is an honor to work with them on a music video cameo appearance in the new Magnetic North – Taiyo Na – Jin video called “I GOT MY”.
The actual music video only uses just a few seconds of the Yellow Rage segment so I thought I’d highlight some of the footage we got with the new indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB which was a key success in giving us the unique birds eye perspective on all our shots.
I’ve already mentioned it before but the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB is the ideal compact jib on the go. I think the indiGO-JIB works so well in the music video format because its easy to setup and easy to operate and gives you a lot of creativity not to mention instant gratification. In fact, our youth from our Tech Apprenticeship program at the Asian Arts Initiative are really learning how to use it quite well. All the Yellow Rage footage we shot for the music video was in fact all set up and operated with the help of youth and young adults with little or no experience. Because of the fun we had using the indiGO-JIB we are planning on shooting one of Yellow Rage’s classic poems, “I’M A WOMAN NOT A FLAVA” later this summer.
Here are the three different versions of the Yellow Rage “I GOT MY” segment. Enjoy!
“I Got My”
Magnetic North / Taiyo Na / Jin
Cameo Segment: Yellow Rage, Asian Arts Initiative Community
Filmed by Youth from the Tech Apprenticeship Program at the Asian Arts Initiative
Cameo Segment Directed by Gary San Angel
Camera: Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode
Lens: Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount
Rig: indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB
Yellow Rage Cameo – Magnetic North / Taiyo Na / Jin – Music Video Version 1
Yellow Rage Cameo – Magnetic North / Taiyo Na / Jin – Music Video Version 2
Yellow Rage Cameo – Magnetic North / Taiyo Na / Jin – Music Video Version 1&2
I have been training a group of teens and young adults in both technical theater and live event filmmaking at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. At each session I invite local artists to perform in our classes so that our tech apprentices have a real world opportunity to design lights and shoot film. This time we had the Philadelphia Suns Lion Dancers perform their beautiful Chinese New Years dance and we filmed them using our GH2 and indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB.
I’ve used a jib crane a few times and they give you spectacular looking shots but I personally don’t like using them because they are huge and bulky not to mention take some time to setup. The last one I used I couldn’t get the weights just right so the camera was always too top heavy. So when Tim told me he had created a portable jib arm perfect for smaller DSLR cameras that was easy to setup and light weight I was pretty intrigued.
The indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB when folded down is only 38” long and can easily be packed in a bag and taken from the streets to the wilderness. When fully extended and with the front camera/monitor plate attached you get a little over 8’ of reach and when placed on your fluid head and a 4’ set of sticks you’ll have your camera up 12′ in the air.
My total set up time took me fifteen minutes to get my camera and tripod balanced and working. One of the big reasons for this is that Tim did a terrific job in creating levels of adjustments on the telescopic arm and at the weight level end to get the jib arm balanced just the way you want it. Typically with a jib crane if you are slightly off alignment its because the floor or your sticks are not level. When this happens the adjustment to get it level is a pain.
With the indiGO-JIB its very easy to get the camera pivoted so its level because you can loosen two top and bottom knobs on the telescopic arm and hand torque the camera until its level and then screw it down. This allows one the flexibility to shoot the camera nose down or nose up. You have a degree and a half front and back movement allowing for quick level shooting and a lot of creative angled possibilities.
Balancing the camera with weights is pretty easy. You can purchase the 4 liter plastic containers that you can fill with water or dirt or use your own weights. Whatever weights you decide to use there are a number of adjustments on the jib arm that allow you to get the camera balanced just right.
I have done a lot of playing around with the indiGO-JIB both with the prototype model and the production model and the fine tune adjustments is simply a solid home run here.
The students from my class really just had a ball and were able to setup, balance and operate the indiGO-JIB quite well. We shot the Philadelphia Suns with a Panasonic GH2 and the Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens using the GH2′s ETC mode. I’ve already posted about this lens and its wonderfully sharp and a nice pairing with the GH2 and indiGO-JIB. For some of the closeup shots of the Lion Dancers we used the Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 12.5-75mm f/1.8 c-mount zoom lens. It’s nice and sharp on the tele side but a tad soft on the wide end but still fun to use. The nice thing is that we switched lenses a lot and we easily balanced the rig by unlocking and sliding the weights to the right position in just a few seconds.
This is one jib that I know will be loved by students and pros alike and should be used as a teaching tool from small humble video classes to film schools everywhere because it’s portable, affordable, and easy to setup and you get some amazing results.
Philadelphia Suns Lion Dancers – Chinese New Years Dance
The Philadelphia Suns Lion Dancers perform a Chinese New Years Dance that is traditionally done during the Lunar New Year. The Suns Lion Dancers visit restaurants, businesses, homes, and special family functions in Chinatown to give good fortune and blessing for the coming year. Usually, you must provide an offering to the Lion with fruits or vegetable.
In the dance the Lion is offered food but then must spit it out because it can not consume any physical food just the spiritual sense. After the eating ritual, the Lion then sleeps and then fully awakens and ends the final dance by bowing and bringing good blessing to the home.
Main Lion Head and Lion Dance Instructor: Peter Louie
Rear of Lion: Kevin Leong
Camera: Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode
Lens: Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount
Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 12.5-75mm f/1.8
Filmed by Youth from the Tech Apprenticeship Program at the Asian Arts Initiative
Crew: Han Lin, Jaime Tat, Jenny Tat, Ty Givens, Jonathan Bennet, Kaitlin Dugan, Steve Calvarese, Loc Ngyuen, Charles Ramirez
Snow Film Test Challenges with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip
Most of my short films come out of making something out of nothing. This instance is no exception. This past weekend it had snowed in Philadelphia and I thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot a test with the Panasonic GH2 camera and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip rig using a few of my legacy zoom lenses. I first set up my Schneider Variogon 18-90mm c-mount lens with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig. I tested everything indoors pulling focus with my Chrosziel follow focus and 80mm SNAP! Gear fitted snugly on the lens and felt pretty good to go but as soon as I stepped out the door it was a different story. I could barely see the GH2 LCD screen with the snow falling everywhere and white brightness all around and I had forgotten my variable ND filter so I was getting utter crap. The camera and rig were getting icy and wet and I was just about to call it quits when I remembered I brought Tim Ovel’s hacked GH13 with me in my bag as a backup. It had the Panasonic 14-140mm lens and I set the lens to autofocus and kept trudging onward. Since my gear was wet anyway I set the GH2 and Bulldog rig in the fresh heap of snow and took a few quick snow pics of the gear. I then gave the GH13 and Panasonic 14-140mm a quick spin on the Bulldog as I walked back through the falling snow. The 14-140mm lens in AF mode allowed me to press record with out worrying about looking at my snow filled LCD screen leaving me with at least some usable footage.
When the snow finally stopped I decided to go back out to give my legacy lenses one more try on the Bulldog rig. This time I wanted to shoot with the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens which was the first legacy zoom lens that I purchased for the GH1. It’s not a perfect lens by any means and is riddled with some of the problems that many c-mount zooms have on the m4/3 system but I was thrilled by the character of the lens and the ability to see it in action with the new GH2 ETC mode. It really shines with it’s sharpness, contrast and color around the 20mm to 50mm focal range. The 8mm wide end has heavy vignetting and edge distortion and at 62mm, the longest reach of the lens, you’ll see a couple metal edges of the interior of the lens in your shot. Despite these issues, I was just thrilled to finally use this lens with the new GH2 Extended Tele Conversion mode. The GH2′s ETC is really bringing to life many of these smaller c-mount zoom lenses and primes because you can finally fill most of the frame of the sensor and record using the full resolution of the camera. Another nice feature of the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens on the GH2 is that it gives the indiSYSTEM Bulldog that steadicam feel because the rig is so light weight. I’ll talk a little bit more about this lens in more detail in a separate post. You can pick out the Angenieux 8-64mm footage pretty easily. It’s all the Philly footage shot right after the snow storm.
Aloha Winter Notes
With the challenges of the snow and with footage that was varied and shot with different lenses I decided I would have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how I can put this all together. To help me in the process I decided to look over some test footage I shot with the GH2 over the holidays. I was in Southern California and spent some time with family in Oceanside, CA. Oceanside is a small beach town just on the outskirts of San Diego and home to an eclectic mix of of surfers, folks who love the beach and military personel who live and work near Camp Pendelton. There’s a beautiful pier at Oceanside and I did a few tests with the GH2 and Contax G 28mm lens using the indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip. Looking at this warm beach footage and the joy of seeing my nephew and his love for his “Aunty Gayle” as he dragged her around the beach pier just made me think of the Hawaiian song “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi”. It is just the song that comes to mind that always makes me long for home especially during a Philadelphia snow fall. The song was written in 1951 for the remake of the movie “Bird of Paradise”. I thought it would be a perfect song to connect these two winter stories together. One of my favorite versions of this song is by Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho whom I admire greatly. Their version of “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi” with Tia’s beautiful voice and Daniel’s wonderful counterpoint with ukulele is quite evocative and filled with a childlike innocense and spirit of longing and reminescense. Their newest collaboration `ikena won them both a Grammy for best Contemporary Hawaiian album.
Here are the words to this beautiful piece.
Ku`u Lei Awapuhi
- Words & music by Emily Kekahaloa Namau`u Taylor
E ku`u aloha e (e o) I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au) Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe Return to me
Auhea la `oe e ke aloha Where are you, my love
‘Awapuhi pala o ka ua noe Like the ginger, covered in the misty rain
A eia no me au Here, I am with you
I ka poli o ke aloha In love’s sweet embrace
E ku`u aloha e (e o) I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au) Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe Return to me
Aloha Winter
a gary san angel film test
Cameras:
Panasonic GH2
Panasonic GH13
Lenses:
Panasonic 14-140 f/4.0-5.8 lens
Contax G 28mm f/2.8 lens
Angenieux 8-64mm f/1.9 lens
Schneider Variogon 18-90mm f/2.0 lens
Rig:
indiSYSTEM Bulldog
indiSYSTEM BallGrip
Music:
Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi
Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho
Hawaiiana
Location:
University City, Philadelphia
Oceanside, CA
Dear friends and family,
Please join me in celebrating this Mothers Day with the launch of LovelytoMe.com and sharing a digital picture of your “Mom”.
LovelytoMe.com is a living online community gallery inspired by the film Lovely to Me (Immigrant Mother) created by Taiyo Na and Gary San Angel with the Asian Arts Initiative and Chinatown community in Philadelphia.
You can upload a photo of your mom from anywhere around the world and connect the photo with Google Maps.
You can share a picture of your mom, grand mom, aunty, or that special someone who helped raise you and make you who you are today.
It can be a picture of your mom from an old scrapbook photo or a favorite pic with you and your mom.
Don’t have a picture of you with your mom. Draw stick figures!
Just be Creative!
Special Thanks to Taiyo Na for writing such a beautiful song and for sharing it with the world.
Very special thanks to Sean Brown for website and logo design help, Byron Bennet who created the PhotoSmash WordPress Photo Gallery plugin, and the Asian Arts Initiative Apprenticeship program for their work on the site.
Hope you can find time to honor your mom in some way today and everyday.
Happy Mothers Day!
Gary
Tim Ovel is at it again. First he democratized the follow focus with the indiFOCUS by creating a high quality independent-built follow focus unit that could be used on camera stock lenses without the need for gearing. Next he changed the slider scene with the indiSLIDERpro allowing you to purchase a slider that does not bend or flex for the price that you would have once paid for renting one. Now, Tim has changed the jib crane landscape forever with his new indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB.
The indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB is practically a jib arm in a bag. It’s a portable jib arm that folds down to 38″ which is about the size of an average tripod and when fully extended you have a little over an 8′ height extension with the camera plate attached. Most jibs are out of the price range of the average indy filmmaker. They are traditionally bulky and heavy and a super pain to set up and transport.
The indiGO-JIB is quite the opposite. In fact, you can mount the jib arm on an inexpensive Manfrotto 503 fluid head. You can balance out the your 10 pound camera in just a few minutes and counter weight your camera with either standard plate weights or purchase the 4 liter water containers that you can fill with water or dirt.
Imagine being able to take a jib with you to the wilderness and beyond. The sky’s the limit with the indiGO-JIB and for $349 it’s a jaw dropping incredible price. Simply put you can not be with out the indiGO-JIB on your next film. Seriously, this jib is designed so well with adjustments to give you the proper counterweight and the ability to get some creative shots that you would not be able to do with your average jib arm. I have a feeling this little guy will be snatched up by folks from the indy filmmaker on a tight budget to the heavy hitter industry DP.
I had a chance to use the indiGO-JIB for a high profile music video. The director asked me to not show the footage until the MV comes out in May so I thought I’d share some footage of our pre-shoot. I had a team of youth and young adults work with me on the shoot. They are a part of the Tech Apprenticeship program at the Asian Arts Initiative which I run every Sunday to train students in theater and film production work. They are a little green but they did a stellar job and it goes to show you don’t need to be an expert to use one.
The 8′ indiGO-JIB with my Gitzo sticks extends the arm to a reach of 12′. I needed to get even higher so I placed my sticks and jib on top of a few cafe tables which gave me an additional extension giving me a total height of 14.5′. What jib arm do you know that can easily be placed on top of a cafe table and still be rock steady?
We used the Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode with the Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens. This is such an ideal combo on the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB because it is so small and lightweight. In normal creative film mode the Navitar 6mm 1/2 c-mount lens is quite small and you get a very large peep hole effect when you look through your viewfinder but in ETC mode it fits the frame perfectly with only a little vignetting and a slight soft edge. Because this is a flat field lens you can get incredible sharpness when moving the jib from a very tight extreme close up on your subject to that of a very wide establishing shot.
I had forgotten to bring a field monitor so I merely stopped down to f/4 and used a ladder to check focus at 14.5′ high and then brought the jib arm down to 2′ off the ground and our subjects were in focus as we moved the jib from ground to ceiling. It’s an incredible lens on the GH2 and combined with the indiGO-JIB is perfect for doing music video work because it gives you incredible range. With the indiGO-JIB you have fluid movement and wonderful shots to discover as you use it from extreme close up to long shot.
I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to test out the prototype version of the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB for a little over two months now and it has been nothing short of amazing. I know it will crack a smile from the big boys because is can do so much in this little frame. I’m sure we’ll see it being used on reality tv sets, narrative films and even more music videos. I mean why not? We’ve dreamed of doing these shots since we started watching movies.
Well here it is folks the democratization of the jib starts today. Damn it Tim! You did did again! Filmmaking is supposed to be expensive and unattainable. LOL! No really, kudos Tim Ovel for making another wall crumble.
Now people go out and make your dream films a reality!
Pre-Shoot test for Music Video
Filmed by Youth from the Tech Apprenticeship Program at the Asian Arts Initiative
Camera: Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode
With Music:
“I Got My”
Why Do We Suffer
Written and Performed by Steve Calvarese
Rig: indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB prototype
Lens: Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens
Camera: Panasonic GH2 Extended Tele Conversion (ETC) Mode
This Winter I have been training a group of teens and young adults in both technical theater and filmmaking at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. What makes the process unique is that I invite local artists in the community to perform in our classes. The tech team designs lights, works the camera and shoots a short live video for each participating artist. At the end of the day, the trainees get a real world tech experience and each artist gets a filmed version of their live performance.
For this session, I was fortunate to have Philly based Spoken Word artist Steve Calvarese perform a new monologue he was working on called “Why Do We Suffer”. In this piece Steve brings home some insight on the plight of the homeless. I wanted the camera to represent the POV of someone who is scared to look in the eye of a homeless person. For this shoot, I wanted to test out the new indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB which is a portable light weight jib arm perfect to use for a small DSLR camera.
I wanted to see if we could use the indiGO-JIB in more of a steadicam fashion which would allow me the ability to have quick lateral camera movement as well as varied low to high fluid camera angles perfect for what we needed to make Steve’s piece work.
I wanted to also pair the indiGO-JIB arm with the Panasonic GH2 and the Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens in Extended Tele Conversion (ETC) Mode. The Navitar 6mm c-mount lens in ETC mode fills the frame with no vignetting and is a flat field lens so you have edge to edge sharpness from lanscape to macro. It is one of the smallest lenses I’ve used on the GH2 and one of the widest and sharpest. I’ll be posting a follow up post on both the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB and Navitar 6mm c-mount lens very soon. In the mean time, you can at least see a little bit of the jib arm and lens in action here.
Artists Notes:
“When writing “Why Do We Suffer”, I wanted to address the sociological phenomenon “invisible minority”. What the mass media projects as “experimental reality” leaves the viewer to question if these people exist. A lot of times, the answer is no. We ignore these people on our daily encounters. They are kept hidden because they are perceived as deviants in society. As a result, we become complacent with this being the new norm. I also wanted to gear away toward minority being strictly a race issue. In doing so, I break the story into three different parts: homelessness, being Muslim, and someone living in jail.
In the video, I embody a homeless person who is telling his/her story of how he/she is perceived as a bum. Because of this label, certain stereotypes are evoked. One of the more common ones is a person having a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia. Since this stigma is implanted into our minds, we keep our distances. I think partly because we are fearful of not knowing what might happen if we approach him/her. We then marginalize these people by blaming it on culture. As an artist and an individual who encounters homeless people almost everyday, I wanted to unmask this preexisting stereotype and others alike by telling a story about a person who is just like us. Regardless if the person is homeless, he/she has a story that needs to be told. I am hoping that our views will shift and that we see homelessness not as a disease, rather a lifestyle resulting from poverty.”– Steve Calvarese
Why Do We Suffer
Written and Performed by Steve Calvarese
Part I
Can someone give me a sign please?
if they could mind read
and if the blind can see
then possibly, they’ll see
my Sharpie
isn’t dark enough to write
the words
What’s the meaning of life, uh?
trying to be heard
but they’re not bold enough to free me, from the hurt
my net worth,
a piece of cardboard
telling my thoughts from the core
of my stomach
I can barely stomach
these infinite minutes
counting like seconds
to breathe
out of poverty
just another target, trying to pass go but this isn’t monopoly
everyday of the week
I suffer from this weak
economy
please, before I finish
I want you to listen
for a small fraction of a second
a victim, from the world promises
falls in fractions, of my image
isn’t what the world sees
my hands, bleed
from praying,
saying the cause is public housing
minimum wage
traps us in chains
displacement, misplaces our names
from our face, facing
race and racist comments
for being homeless
like the cause for property value going down
I just close my eyes lids
I’m invisible, as it is
to begin with, the physical
we are out of it
another swallow of oxytocin, some klonopin
to ease their pain, but we are the ones who are sufferin’
it’s all a hustle isn’t it
musclin’ until life drags us in
under the system, wonderin’
if they’ll ever wake out of it
© 2010
When you’re walking around on the sidewalk, you always see messages people write in the cement before it dries. When I was walking back home from school one day, I noticed that there were these messages engraved into the cement sidewalks. I knew they there, I just never really looked at them. Luckily I had my Lumix GH1 with me so I decided to record these messages on video. It was evening, so it was a little dark, but the computar lens is so great that I can take images in the dark at a faster shutter speed. But as I stated before, it was still early evening. Unfortunately I did not have a tripod with me, so the video turns out to be a little shaky.
It’s a short video, but all the messages recorded were found within a 30 yard range. What’s so important that the person just had to make their mark onto the cement and show it to the whole word? Spontaneous impulse? Pride? Love. Some were easier to decipher than others such as the greek letters, who I can only assume it was a student who expressing their pride as a member of a specific fraternity. The one at the end looks to be a heart with possibly initials on it in a similar fashion to the heart border and initials carved in the tree that we see in movies and books.
I’m thinking of going out into the city (Washington, DC) when I have time and try to record as many messages I can engraved into the sidewalk. If anyone is up to it, please try to do it within your city/town/neighborhood. See what you find. You might find something interesting.
Tim Ovel and his crew from indiSYSTEM were doing a few shop tests recently and I thought I would share some footage to show the strength and ease of use of the ratchet handles on the indiSYSTEM Bulldog.
Here’s a quick show down between Tim and one of his shop assemblers Tracy as they both demonstrate how easy it is to lock and tighten the ratchet handles on the indiSYSTEM Bulldog.
Each person hand tightens the center latch so that the carbon fiber rods don’t roll and then lock the other two handles in place. Pretty straight forward stuff. It takes very little torque. No allen wrench necessary just a little arm strength. Tim does a pretty good job but I think Tracy has got it down pat and may have the edge over Tim. A little compression force sure goes along way!
For indy filmmakers on a tight budget the purchase of a matte box is usually at the very bottom of the list but it is one of the most critical pieces to any filmmakers kit. No matter what kind of lens you have if you do not have a proper matte box you will get the inevitable glare and lens flare in your shot. A good matte box and an adjustable French Flag or eyebrow are basic essentials to controlling the light that enters the lens of your camera and is a filmmaker’s best friend when you are looking to get the perfect shot.
Speaking from experience, I can say that I too have left the purchase of a matte box for last simply because a good one costs more than my current DLSR and one of the cheap ones I had purchased during my 35mm adapter days fell a part just after a few shoots. And even after you purchase a good matte box, you still have to get standardized ND filters and rails to mount the matte box so there are additional costs that make it an expensive investment.
Could there be something in the middle ground that doesn’t cost a fortune, is light weight, and could give you solid results for the average pro or weekend warrior filmmaker?
Tim Ovel from indiSYSTEM is always trying to fill the gap and his new indiMATTEwide/slide is one of his newest creations that just may fit the bill if you are looking for an affordable wide angle matte box.
The indiMATTEwide/slide is a wide angle matte box and slider designed for the DSLR filmmaker in mind. What makes this matte box unique is that it can be used with rails or just screwed on to the front filter ring of your lens. The prototype that Tim sent me was surprisingly lightweight for such a wide matte box. Both the matte box and French Flag weighed in at just under a pound. The indiMATTEwide is 8 3/4 inches long and 5 1/2 inches wide and the top of the French Flag is 13 3/4 inches long and 5 1/2 inches wide. This matte box is nice and wide and a great match for many of my wide angle lenses including my beefy Canon J8x6B 6-48mm f/1.7 B4 zoom lens.
The wide/slide is made up of two main components, the indiMATTEwide which consists of the matte box and French Flag and the slider mount that allows you to mount the matte box to a set of rails.
Most manufacturers typically have a swing-out mount for your matte box and what Tim has done with the slider is found an inventive way to do without one. With the slider you can slide the mounted matte box forward and back making it pretty easy to change out lenses. The slider mechanism is about 4 1/4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide so you have plenty of sliding room to swap out and change your lenses in just a few minutes.
The indiMATTEwide prototype has a nice matte powder coated texture on the interior of the matte box which will also be on the exterior of the production model as well. On the prototype version the textured look is only in the inside. Some may think for such a lightweight matte box it must be made out of cheap plastic but that is far from the truth. The indiMATTEwide/slide is made from ABS PC (Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) material. This is the same material used to build wheel covers, small tractor hoods, and non-professional safety helmets. I spent a month playing with the indiMATTEwide before even writing about it just to get a sense of its durability on my shoots. I find the indiMATTEwide akin to being the “Toughskins” of Matteboxes. I’ve thrown it out my second floor window, dropped it and threw it around set a few times and not a crack. In the shop, Tim had a 300 pound guy stand on the matte box and it did not crack or break.
On features, there were a few choices made on the wide/slide to keep the unit simple to use without much fuss.
The first thing I noticed is that the French Flag has four fixed positions. One position to store the French Flag and to cover the matte box from any dust getting into the lens. The other three positions for controling your light are horizontal, angled, and vertical. The first matte box I owned had an adjustable spring based hinge on the French Flag and you could move it at any angle but it would not tighten enough and the flag would slowly tip into the field of view. From my initial testing I found the fixed positions very useful and worked really well if you have the wide-slide fixed to your DSLR lens without the use of the slider. You can set it and go and not have to worry about the flag slowly moving into your frame especially when doing handheld work.
Second, instead of standardized filter holders, the indiMATTEwide/slide has a back disc with step ring that fits on the front filter of your DSLR lens. The back disc piece attaches to the rear of the matte box with two spring loaded ball clamps. The ball clamps secure the disc nicely although I’m hoping that on the production model Tim will go for a flatter clamp because the ball clamp can get in a way of securing your lens to the matte box.
Since many DSLR filmmakers are using variable ND filters these days this feature works quite well. I have a 77mm variable Fader ND so Tim was able to get me a 77mm pass through back disc. In the production unit you will have a choice of three different filter sizes to fit your most commonly used lenses. Definitely standardized 4×4 filters are better to use but this solution allows you to use circular filters in front of your matte box keeping the weight down and allowing you to use the matte box without rails. Down the road, Tim has talked about being able to put a rotating filter holder but there may be vignetting with that option so it may not happen.
One important thing to consider is that any lens where you have a rotating front element you will need to use the slider mount and a set of rails. For obvious reasons you can not clamp the step ring as you pull focus with a rotating front element because the matte box will turn with your lens. I have been playing around a bit for a temporary solution and one way to do it is to fit the circular disc to the matte box but leave it free and unclamped that way you can still pull focus. To prevent rubbing from the matte box you’ll have to adjust the riser on the slider.
Another caveat is that if you are using zoom lenses like a Canon B4 lens in order to avoid any vignetting, I removed the back disc and filter and passed it through the matte box.
The front lens diameter of the Canon J8x6B B4 lens is approximately 85mm and I used some of my extra SNAP! Gear “squish” to line the inner opening of the matte box so that no light could penetrate through.
This solution worked fine for me and perhaps with an 82mm pass through and 82mm threaded variable ND filter this would be a non issue but my 77mm ND filter and 77mm back disc ring showed vignetting so doing this solved the problem.
Currently, the indiMATTEwide/slide will sell for $229 which will include the matte box, French Flag, and slider as well as three back discs each with a filter size of your choice. Tim is currently working on the side flags that can be clipped on and off the the matte box and will be sold separately. From my understanding it has the similar fixed 4-position mount as in the French Flag mount.
From my initial testing so far the indiMATTEwide/slide is a pretty simple, solid, no fuss matte box.
Knowing Tim I’m sure they’ll be even more improvements and I’m looking forward to seeing the production version of the indiMATTEwide/slide after the snow thaws out here in Philadelphia.
I have to say I love my Contax G 28mm lens on the m4/3 format.
I’ve posted a few examples here and it’s a wonderful surprise to be able to use this lens. It’s by no means as perfect as it was on the ol’ rangefinder camera that it was originally suited for but it sure is wonderful to use on my GH1 and tack sharp with beautiful contrast. For those who may still be on the fence, I put together a very simple no frills video to go over the steps of cutting the legs from the Contax G 28mm lens and a quick tip to make sure your Metabones adapter is nice and smooth. If you are super brave you can even do this on your Contax G 21mm lens as well. It’s well worth it if you take the risk!
No matter how prepared we think we may be when you go out on a shoot you inevitably wish you had brought that extra something often times it’s the right filter, a wider lens, or the right rig. In my line of work, as a documentary filmmaker I have to streamline big time and be creative with as very little as possible. What the indiSYSTEM Bulldog does for me is allow me that extra little something to give me a variety of shooting styles in one small light weight rig. I can shoot shouldermount, handheld, or put the rig on a sturdy monopod or tripod. The key here is flexibility and light weight compact durability and that’s a big plus with the indiSYSTEM Bulldog. I just don’t have the capacity to carry heavy gear with me. If I’m carrying more than my bike messenger bag and a small gear bag then that’s too much. I’m on the road and out in public and would rather be a fly on the wall out of sight and out of mind than be caught looking like a lost tourist.
Here’s an example of the compact nature of the indiSYSTEM Bulldog. Everything fits in a small 12″ x 10″ x 4″ gear bag with room to spare.
I can set up the complete rig or modify it depending on my shooting needs and it takes me about five minutes to put together. I can then pack everything back up in minutes and fit everything in my little bag. Obviously, you’ll have to find your own bag indiSYSTEM does not provide this with the Bulldog but it goes to show that the indiSYSTEM Bulldog is an essential part of your shoot and one rig that you won’t be leaving behind.
Here are some pictures of how I use the indiSYSTEM BallGrip just so people can get their head around the idea of using this tool. The ball joint is a brilliant idea by Tim Ovel of indiSYSTEM and it really works to help you pull focus while doing handheld shots. This is an example of how one would hold it when using a follow focus.
I use two BallGrips when I want to configure the Bulldog into a Bulldog mini. With this variation I can have something that I can walk around with in a big city or crowd and that gives me the ability to pull focus and the ability to have an extra bit of support on a moving handheld shot.
Here is the setup that I used for a recent test shoot. Since I had pictures of the Bulldog in a warm sunny Southern California beach I thought it would be only appropriate to contrast it in the cold Philadelphia snow fall.
You’ll notice the Blue strap in the picture. That does not come with the Bulldog that is a camera strap that I attached to the BallGrip just as a precautionary measure. If you slip focus and let go of the indiSYSTEM BallGrip you’ll still be connected and will never drop the rig.
It’s important to note that the ideal for this setup to me would be a GH1/GH2 or similiar camera with a small body and a small prime lens or small zoom lens. The best combo that I have tested so far for just point and shoot hand held work would be the indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip using the Panasonic GH2 and the Panasonic 20mm lens. For legacy lenses, I find the Contax G 28mm lens with Metabones adapter and SNAP! Gear terrific to use with my GH2 with this setup. I’m still testing with a number of c-mount lenses including the Schneider Variogon 18-90mm zoom pictured above with the GH2. It was a little front heavy and better suited locked to a monopod or tripod because in order to use the lens you have to engage the GH2′s extended tele conversion mode and with handheld camera shake it is a bit magnified. I did however have good success using the Bulldog with the very small Angenieux Zoom Type8x8B 8-64mm f/1.9 c-mount lens. It is probably one of the smallest c-mount zoom lenses and I got one to work on the micro 4/3 system. You can get more info about it here: Angenieux 8-64mm lens.
I put together a short piece using the indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig and indiSYSTEM BallGrip and the Panasonic GH2. It’s called Aloha Winter.
I had a rare lull during my lunch break today so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take out my GH1 and to test out how the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear and Collar work using the Kodak Ektar II 25mm f/1.4 c-mount lens. It’s a very small cine c-mount and with the new SNAP! Gear and Collar you can even pull focus on this little lens.
The footage is basic street scenes near my work in Center City Philadelphia. I wanted to basically test wide open at f/1.4 just to see the lens sharpness and light fall off as well as how well you can pull focus with this system.
I had a 52mm homemade B+W variable ND filter which I was able to use on the lens with a step up ring to help control my exposure.
For those who want to play with this Ektar II 25mm you’ll definitely need a 30mm step up ring for this lens
I literally tried several filters to find the right size and after several months and several returns later I lucked out and found out that 30mm is the filter size for this Ektar II 25mm lens. There’s no info. on the web at all on this so I had to figure this out on my own. I’ll soon post a listing of filters sizes for the c-mount lenses that I currently own to help those who want to try this similar setup with their own c-mount lenses.
I’m very pleased and surprised that you can even pull focus with this little lens. Once you set it up properly the SNAP! Gear and Collar is fairly secure and it really allows you far more control allowing you to achieve repeatable focus pulls. One thing that I noticed is that it takes about one to two full rotations to actually go from close focus to infinity depending of course where your subject matter is so that’s something to consider when using this particular ektar lens. I’d also recommend that you tighten the camera down to whatever plate you are using in order to prevent the camera from moving and your SNAP! Gear from slipping from the follow focus gears.
In general, the Ektar II 25mm has a unique character to it. Sure it has your usual light fall off and c-mount vignetting but it does give you the old school feel. It’s corner sharpness is rather so so to me but for those who are looking to use this lens to invoke the nostaligic past that may not be so bad. Again, I was shooting everything completely wide open so that would change of course by stopping down.
I do want to do a few more tests with this lens just to see if the step ring and ND filter is creating that extra light fall off. For a first test I’m really impressed that this could even be a possibiloity. It’s not bad. And really, it’s so lowprofile and lightweight that it makes it fun to shoot. The fact that we have something like the SNAP! gear and collar to be able to do this fairly economicaly is also quite attractive. You can buy a 70mm SNAP gear and then have a number of SNAP! Collars depending on the lens you are using. I look forward to more c-mount movie makers in m4/3!