So a 90 mins feature film can cost up to how much in post production minimum ?
Have you seen the Singapore movie...that sweeps some international awards ? About a kid's relationship with their filipino maid over just a short period. The whole movie look very low budget to me. I don't think they spend much on post production too...but I am no expert. Wonder if anyone can guess on their post production cost.

May I know what is a 7d + 60d means ?

Those are DSLR - Canon EOS models.

Your budget cinema camera does not hold any advantages of dynamic range and sensor quality over Alexa or Epic as both cameras is on another plane altogether.FYI epic can be shot until 6k but Alexa is prefer on my rental list simply because of more organic operation and filmic quality.Red is one temperamental camera to use since Red One days as you won't know what problem might come up.Basically Red products are beta phase tech that needs constant firmware and expensive accesories to make it work.RAW video workflow was introduce back on Red One while Alexa follows with their version while Canon only use it during C300.Canon C500 is just 5d mk3 house in bigger casing that shoots 4k raw but still has that very canon video look to it.The idea is to treat each project differently with looks so you don't end up the same thing over and over again.At a glance with Canon footages you can tell it's Canon.Blackmagic micro 4/3 is still too early as technical quirks and that damn crop factor can be problematic.Useful for tele but bang head on wide angle .x2.3 crop makes it quirky to measure focus distance for focus puller.

On previous post already mention that dslr is altogether a different thing from cinema camera.

ST was asking movie quality and not video quality.

This post has been edited by 6so: Apr 26 2014, 12:54 AM

I was referring to Budget cinema camera advantage over DSLR

Of course the Alexa and Epic is in a whole different category.
Most of us cannot afford to own an Alexa or a Red Epic anyway
Not to mention most videographers in Malaysia wouldn't even require such top of the line system.
It's like comparing local cars with a Bugatti Veyron. It's not even worth comparing because they fit extremely different needs for very different people.

As for Arri over Red,
Most directors in Hollywood prefers Arri over Red
http://reframe.gizmodo.com/these-are-the-c...ilms-1504990016

I believe even Malaysian made movies/TV shows do not use flagship Arri Alexa or Red Dragon cameras.
So that begs the question, what exactly do you shoot that requires you to rent a RM 250k Arri Alexa camera ?
Also, have you actually shot something with the Arri Alexa camera ? If so please do share it here.

This post has been edited by LegendLee: Apr 26 2014, 01:56 AM

Cinema lens are lens build specially for cinematography.
There are some common (but still expensive) and also rare (super expensive) lens.
Difference wise, I believe 6so mentioned it. You get more "consistency" and excellent image quality
As for the cost, let's just say it's expensive that you probably will not consider that unless you've really a whole of money to burn..

A Red Epic Dragon cost about RM 160k while a Arri Alexa is about RM250k
This exclude cinema lenses which will cost another RM 300k or so to cover a few focal range?
Of course there's lighting, jibs etc etc.
So unless you've... hmmm a million to burn ? It's probably not a good choice.

Not to mention these are just equipment. It doesn't make a shitty movie good.
There are so much more to making great video rather than expensive videocamera and lens.

Stick with a DSLR/GH4.
As for which to get, depends on your actual budget.
- Panasonic GH series
- Canon DSLR (For crop you can get 70D, for full frame any of them is good)

As far as I know Singapore budget is even lower than locally produced movie.So I could foresee minimum post-production like 80s era where there's no heavy special effect and barebone quality like grand brilliance type of movie should be around 80k to 100k.Post-production easily needs 2 to 3 months to complete provided you are very firm with your decision,if you are experimental it can goes up to 6 months or more.You can hire freelance editor who can do it on their laptop or come to a facility you provide.There are two stages of editing process.The first one is called offline where you do your first round.Here is where you do a rough cut with no tweak to visual and temporary music track.Upon completing first stage,you do colour correction based solely on offline footages so you don't waste time on all footages you have shot.At the same time offline edit to be given to audio technician for sound effects and final mixing.Music scoring also to be done during this period.When all these completed you do online editing where graded footages being reassembled again with music and final mxing.Visual effects and graphic element also to be done this period.So please don't ask whether you can finish it in days.

During editing you will know whether you have enough footages or make improvements over your initial script narration.There will be a lot of back and forth with editing and if you have financier which you may even need to make changes to suit their request.

Basically you don't want to self produce a movie unless you are really rich hence a lot of time you get into financial aid either by selling movie rights to production companies or profit sharing with investors.Should you manage to put out onto cinema bear in mind that you only gets back 50% ticket sales while tv station might buy from it for few hundreds to 1.5k per airing.If blockbuster you demand higher selling price.It's not as lucrative as you might think.If lucky you can get some further money provided you manage to sell to foreign movie distributor upon completion or selling it based on trailer and behind the scene footage.

Making a feature film is not a lone wolf kind of activity as you need a strong producer to manage budget and production.More importantly strong collaborators that can gives constructive comments and ideas to improve your movie.If you think that if shooting a movie is all about according to script then you are bound to be disappointed as a film director needs to be like a jazz musician where a lot of improvisation and trouble shooting happens on a daily basis.

I produce TV commercials and worrk on feature films here and there.

How about explaining Youtube Productions like JinnyBoyTv or others alike. How are their production costs and how do they make money?

I do hear about MNCs paying low budget freelance videographers to make youtube videos or even tv commercials. Like how would an lone videographer make money if he wants to pursue this as a part time career or even quit his job to do it full time.

Oh, are you based in Malaysia ?
I'm guessing you own or work in a major advertising/film company ?

I do hear that in Hollywood movies generally require that much work... but
How's the production for a regular TV commercial and Malaysian made feature films in comparison to the ones in US ?

I did follow a Mediacorp TV series drama before, definitely doesn't seem like they need that complicated production process.

Lengendlee, 6so & Rice....,

I understand a video camera can shoot longer time than DSLR.....is this a big disadvantage for the DSLR ? How do i overcome this problem if i go for dslr ?

Is movie quality and video quality different ? So is video cam and movie cam two different thing ?
Actually anything more than rm15k (including parts and accessories) is out of my budget for a start. In case if igive it up after trying, it will be a waste. But i hope to get something that i can add up to the system over time without wasting money.

Is Panasonic GH series dslr or video cam ?

So those high end camera can be rented in Malaysia ? How much is the rental cost like ?

This post has been edited by simpletraveler: Apr 26 2014, 11:22 AM

Thank you for such production info...
What do you mean by "grand brilliance type" of movie?
You mean post production cost for a simple movie today will cost 80k to 100k minimum ? Anyway to save on that and yet produce a decent movie if i just depend on good script, acting and well prepared shooting ?

Longer time is not a disadvantage unless you're recording a speech/ceremony for documentation.

Panasonic GH series is a micro4/3 camera widely used for amateur film productions. It's more than capable to hold it's own against some dslr.

Don't blow all your budget on camera and lens.
You will need to spend on tripods, lighting, audio and a good computer system.
And to be honest don't spend all your budget on one go, especially if you're not sure which equipment will be useful.

Panasonic GH series is a top end mirrorless camera. Just think of it as a DSLR but smaller.

Here's how I started out. I got in with a Canon EOS 650D (Entry level DSLR). I do hear great things about Panasonic GH3 that time but that camera is expensive. It doesn’t look well supported when compared to Canon. And as a beginner you look for more support. Support as in lenses, accessories and youtube video guides. I also find there are more Canon 2nd hand stuff as a good price, which when you start getting lots of gears you will appreciate. Also its nice to know the stuff can be sold so you don’t lose everything when you made an impulsive purchase. So you can be more confident to take risk to buy&try and if don’t work out then sell it. And seeing that in the future when I buy a full frame 6D or 5D mk3, I can still use my 650D as secondary camera. Using the same brand gears usually they have the same video format so its easier to mix footages. So that made me more confident that this camera is well worth investing in. Basically Canon has some really good lower end DSLRs like 650D, now replaced by newer models Canon 100D & 700D, that are capable of making very good video. If you can spend a little bit more a 70D would be very nice to have since it’s a highly talked about DSLR for video.

Basically my budget was around RM 10K in total. I spent 2K on a camera. I then spent 6K on lenses (yeah I overkilled here). Then around 2K+ on budget tripods with video heads, steadicams, audio, Rode microphones and other accessories. You’ll be surprised how good and effective budget gears work, but of course you still get what you paid for. And yes I went over my 10K budget and still buying accessories because the list can go on in this area. You really do have to buy good audio recording system too as audio is seen as 50% of your video you can’t go too cheap here.

You will find that it is the lenses and accessories that make the video and not so much the camera body. Right now I’m just treating as an expensive passionate hobby. But if I can make money from it too then great! I haven’t really learnt post production properly yet and slowly learning Adobe Premiere.

You can look up Dave Dugdale on Youtube. He’s my online youtube sifu guide. There is so much to learn.

The question you should be asking is not to make a movie but rather a short film or tele drama kind of thing.Movie production simply a big undertaking that reserve for people who knows what they are doing as anything else is strictly time and money.In my career there will never be a thing that called 'well prepared shooting' as way too many element beyond your control.Weather,gear malfunction,accident,creative clashes with budget/schedule and under performing manpower just happens and you can't do a thing against it but finding a solution.Even in hollywood production shit still happens.
Rather than pondering what camera to buy,it's better to spend your time and effort on film making books to have a clearer understanding.At the end of the day camera just one portion of bigger scheme of things.Having a solid script and talent is not a guarantee thing.The biggest question of all is how to fund a movie?

This post has been edited by 6so: Apr 26 2014, 12:40 PM

Tv series production is a different method altogether as you are on a race to meet dateline and not quality.Everything operates on a formula process.

Post-production system has been this way all this while and haven't change one bit as all profeessional editor and equipment thrive on offline and online system.Even 3d production.When you are doing personal short form you can try skip offline but longform you simply needs these 2 step process to manage schedule,budget and approval from censor board or finacier.You simply don't want to blow all your resources solely on online editing as it will cost more to make changes on finished audio and visual effects later.There's a reason why this system work.

This post has been edited by 6so: Apr 26 2014, 01:48 PM

You mean longer time is not an advantage ? Typo error ?
I just seen the GH, is it rm7k plus ? I am told it's not full frame and less professional compared to mark3, but less bulky,
is it the one ?
Is full frame means better quality ?

No, i dont mean tele drama or short film. I want to make something that can be shown at the cinema.
At least like Blair Whitch Project or those dogma films by Lars Von Trier ?
I will consider the fundings later. I need the basic equipment first to try out first.

True but i need the basic equipment to do some practice together. Otherwise, it's all just theory learning.

If you are directing why on earth would you want to handle camera unless yourself is a dp. Cameraman/dp takes years if not decade of practice to be good at what they are doing.Knowing how to shoot wedding video simply does not make you a good cameraman.A good dp has the ability to give you consistent result of exposure from one scene to another without breaking continuity of storyflow.Even some of the best photographer will break a sweat if you to shoot 50 set-ups maintaining consistent exposure and lighting continuity of different angles while your camera constantly on the move.
Lars Von Trier can be consider those indie darling who has already been actively making movies for decades and all these people came from film school.Even those people who did Blair Witch Project.Local Ho Yuhang was doing casting for years before he got his break at directing.He graduated from overseas film school moreover.Yasmin Ahmad was an accomplished copywriter for decades before he made sepet.All these directors has in depth knowledge of how film language works and most important of all experience..