Digital Cinema Society

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the August 2021 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) Deep Fakes -- Not All Fun and Games Anymore Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that can be used to speed up and improve the creation of visual effects, among ... [ Read: Deep Fakes -- Not All Fun and Games Anymore ]

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the July 2021 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) The question of what to call the smartphone/camera reminds me of the famous dialogue at the finale of Chinatown, “She’s my daughter…She’s my sister...She’s ... [ Read: The Smartphone -- Camera or Communication Device, a Crisis of Identity ]

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the June 2021 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) You may send me to wash my mouth out with soap after you read this, but old habits die hard and the vernacular we use on film sets is slow to change.  In fact, the word ... [ Read: You Can't Say That Anymore - The Evolution of Language on Film Sets ]

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the May 2021 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) This is not the first time prognosticators have predicted the end of the movies.  TV sent a chill up the spine of Exhibitors when it first started to gain ground in the ... [ Read: The Final Nail in the Coffin? The Pandemic and the Future of Theatrical Exhibition ]

This is the second in a series documenting my ongoing quest to find the right small form factor camera to add to my equipment arsenal.  I own several full featured Digital Cinema cameras including a couple of Panasonic Varicams, a Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K, and a few trusty old HD cameras from Canon.  However, ... [ Read: DCS Road Test - James Mathers and Friends Evaluate The Panasonic Lumix S5 ]

First, let’s start with the headline news: Sigma has announced a major upgrade to their Compact Mirrorless fp camera and added a detachable EVF.  The new “fp L,” is identical to the extremely compact body of the original fp released in 2019.  However, the “L” has significant new features under the hood ... [ Read: A Deeper Dive - James Mathers Reviews the Versatile Sigma fp L & EVF-11 ]

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the February 2021 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter)I have a Canon 5D that takes beautiful pictures; it’s not a 5D Mark III, or a 5D Mark II, but the original 5D released in 2005 before it was given the ability to shoot ... [ Read: Crossing The Blurring Line Between Still and Motion Picture Cameras - An essay by James Mathers ]

Once again Industrial Light and Magic rocks the world of visual effects with the production of The Mandalorian using the new virtual production technology. It has sent shock waves through the VFX community and worries many of my fellow compositors about the future of our jobs. After all, shots that would have normally ... [ Read: Virtual Production: Compositing Will Survive - DCS Member Content Contribution from Steve Wright, FXecademy ]

by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the November 2020 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) In mid-July of this year, Blackmagic Design CEO Grant Petty held an online press conference to announce their latest camera, the URSA Mini Pro 12K.  I follow all ... [ Read: Where The 12K Rubber Hits The Road - James Mathers Tests the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K ]

Excuse Me, I Think Your Camera is Ringing — iPhones for Movie Making Part II by James Mathers Cinematographer and Founder of the Digital Cinema Society (Excerpted from the October 2020 Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter) The iPhone is so prevalent, especially in the entertainment industry, that it seems ... [ Read: Excuse Me, I Think Your Camera is Ringing -- iPhones for Movie Making Part II ]