Digital Cinema Society

What’s Expendable In Movie Making? Excerpted from the James Mathers column One DP’s Perspective in the Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter September 2014 Safety on the set has been on everyone’s mind since the tragic death of Camera Assistant, Sarah Jones.  Various locals of IATSE, in particular, the International ... [ Read: What's Expendable In Movie Making? ]

Excerpted from the James Mathers column One DP’s Perspective in the Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter July 2014   The world is abuzz with talk of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, (“UAVs”,) and in order to avoid conjuring up images of CIA missile strikes, or NSA spying, I’ll avoid the synonym “drone.”  ... [ Read: A Flying Can of Worms -- UAVs for Professional Cinematography ]

Evolving to Meet the Challenges of Making a Living while Making Movies By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS For a lot of years I’ve primarily earned my living shooting Indie Features, or to put it in less glamorous terms, Low Budget movies.  I’m talking about budgets that would typically fall ... [ Read: Evolving to Meet the Challenges of Making a Living while Making Movies - June 2014 ]

We Survived NAB 2014! By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS We survived NAB 2014!  I think that’s the general sentiment of the folks who work the show as they wrapped up another year.  The Digital Cinema Society shot 55 Booth Tour interviews from the show floor which are currently streaming ... [ Read: We Survived NAB 2014! -- James Mathers' Reflections Covering the Show ]

One DP’s Perspective RED Epic For Sale? By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS That’s right, after being a very early adopter and loyal customer of the RED Digital Cinema Company, I’m seriously considering selling my personally owned Epic Camera.  Although there were the occasional hiccups ... [ Read: RED Epic For Sale? -- James Mathers Ponders the Sale of his RED Camera Gear ]

One DP’s Perspective Our Need for Speed...And The Whole InterWeb of Things By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS The essays I write for our DCS eNewsletter usually revolve around how digital technology is impacting Cinematography, a subject I like to think  I know a little something about ... [ Read: Our Need for Speed... And The Whole InterWeb of Things ]

By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS As a Cinematographer, I’ve had to get used to the fact that my role is constantly changing, and while I don’t think it is necessary, some have even suggested a new name for what we do.  Whatever the specific skill-sets employed, we are still charged with ... [ Read: Motionographer, Virtual Cinematographer, Director of Imaging? Role Evolves, Title Remains: Cinematographer ]

One DP’s Perspective DP / Test Pilot Action Figure? By James Mathers, Cinematographer and President of DCS In my role covering new Cinema Technology for DCS, I am often offered gear to test and evaluate, everything from new lighting units and cameras to various digital cinema recorders. Since I need to keep ... [ Read: DP/Test Pilot Action Figure? James Mathers on Tribe of the Wild, December 2013 ]

With a Little Help From My Friends -- The Making of “1000 to 1”  by James Mathers Cinematographer and President of the Digital Cinema Society Believe me, being a journeyman DP shooting indie pictures is a hard way to make a living, but it does have its rewards. It can be much more than a job for hire ... [ Read: With a Little Help From My Friends -- The Making of "1000 to 1" ]

Keeping Up With The Clairmonts -- Confessions of a Gear Addict One DPs Perspective by James Mathers Having survived NAB, I'm now buckling my safety straps in preparation for Cine Gear and IBC, trying to prepare myself for the continuous onslaught of new gear coming our way. I sometimes have trouble deciding if ... [ Read: Keeping Up With The Clairmonts -- Confessions of a Gear Addict by James Mathers, May 2013 ]