Today, it’s a very special post. I made a very, very awesome interview to a resource on filmmaking with DSLR. He has been on set with Philip Bloom. Also, he has made tons of commercials , music videos and corporate videos. He is well known for his website ninofilm.net which covers a lot of great things; from updates, how-tos, and he even showcases his work through his site. Nino Leitner, he is an Award Winning Filmmaker, DP, Video/Film Producer. We will be talking about his success as a video blogger, his amazing meet up, and how was his experience working on set of Lucasfilms. 

Q:What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

A:That’s a good one, but hard to tell. Somehow I always knew I wanted to create moving pictures, but that interest evolved over the years. My parents have a graphic design agency, so I was already raised in a very creative environment. When I was a kid I wanted to become a cartoon artist with Disney. At some point my interest in real-life movies surpassed my interest in animation, and I guess at 16 it was clear to me that I had to become a filmmaker. Add to that a passion for journalism (which I wanted to pursue for a while as well), and then you know why I’m very keen on doing more documentaries.

Q:Is there any movie or scene that made you realize you were meant to do video or film?

A:There are many examples for movies that inspired me in my lifetime … among them are a lot of visual films like the work of Godfrey Reggio, but also “Back to the Future” or newer examples like the work of P.T. Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Charley Kaufman - the list just goes on and on! Generally I like really smart films that you can watch over and over again and find new aspects in them every single time. The films and filmmakers I just mentioned manage to accomplish just that almost each and every time.

Q:You are one of many resources on the net of shooting with HDSLRS. How did you learned about them?

A: I learned about them quite early when the 5Dmk2 was still new on the market and crippled by the forced automatisms of the old firmware. Some friends started working with it early on, when actually hardly anyone else was taking notice, and so I had a look. The image was already stunning but it was much too cumbersome to work around the automatic stuff that could not be disabled. At that time I was looking jumping onto professional HD finally as I have totally skipped the HDV cameras as I hate that codec. The EX3 was still quite new on the market, and for some time I was thinking to buy a 5Dmk2 rather than a professional camcorder, but I was glad that I bought the EX3 at that time. Now the decision would be a much harder one, but I just work with DSLRs and broadcast camcorders, and there are different applications for each of those still, and that won’t change.

Q:Do you really think there has been a “Video Revolution” with these DSLR’s?

A:There was definitely a “film look revolution” spurred by these cameras as it was impossible to get the 35mm film look on a tight budget before that. Now it’s literally in everyone’s own hands and I find it incredibly great that students or other young filmmakers who put a lot of effort into their productions can now really also make their films LOOK GOOD, which has been a problem with budget productions until not long ago. It’s the democratization of filmmaking skill - now there is no excuse any more not to make that gorgeously-looking movie you always wanted to make.

Q:Any thoughts on how could this new wave of media creation could affect you as a cinematographer? (This is more like a reflection on how this HDSLR are so accessible to anyone…some people might think as soon as they buy this they have a whole production powerhouse.) Could this really affect the norm of quality and presentation?

A: As I just mentioned, yes it definitely empowers people. But due to the fact that their are really not easy to handle for beginners, skill shows immediately, and so does lack of it. In other words: It’s easy to make nice-looking images with a normal consumer HD camcorder. It’s hard work to make gorgeously looking images with a DSLR in comparison though. The great thing about is that you have to basically work with these cameras as if they were 35mm cameras - you have to exchange lenses, pull focus, 12 minute time limit on Canon DSLRs …

Q:How was it to be part of the shoot of Red Tails?

A:It was amazing to be part of that team. I have said that before already, but I have been assistant on other large film sets before, but I was just amazed at the great atmosphere on set, I really mean that. I could talk to a veteran pryo-technician who worked on like 10 of the last Bond movies as if he was my neighbour, or the ILM guy … but I guess one of the nicest guys of them all is Rick McCallum himself, who I chatted with several times about DSLR filmmaking and so on. He is a person that has influenced blockbusters like few others over the past decades, and he’s just remained a nice, normal guy, who knows exactly what he wants. 

Q:As soon as you were on set with Lucasfilms how was it? Was it like outer-body experience?

A:Well, it was amazing to be there as I said and I’m very grateful for that experience. But the whole process of making a film that is very reliant on special effects is very arduous and like playing a puzzle game. Lots of green screen work, lots of construction breaks and stuff like that. 

Q:You worked with another great resource of HDSLR Philip Bloom, how was it to be part of his small crew of HDSLR shooters on Lucasfilms set?

A:It was great to finally meet and get to hang with Philip Bloom for a week, who has been my “online filmmaking mentor” for many years before that (as he is for many other people), long before he got into DSLRs. Apart from his apparent skill & diligence, he is very generous and honest, something that I found to be quite rare in our industry. I ended up shooting lots of behind-the-scenes during that week while I could use any of Philip’s infinite camera gear. The HDSLR crew could just sneak in when a new shot was planned out, and cover that additional angle with mostly a 7D (PL mount) any way Philip liked. It gave him a lot of freedom and from what I hear really lots of his shots will end up in the final cut. I also got to know Sebastian Wiegärtner on that set and we immediately got along great. So great in fact that I have already done one very successful HDSLR Masterclass in September on the beautiful island of Mallorca, and we’ll do a whole range of new workshops next year, hopefully in lots of other places around the world.

Q:What is your current gear?

A:I guess it’s too much to list, but I have an EX3, a 550D (which will most likely be replaced by a 60D shortly), lots of good lenses, Sachtler FSB-8 system tripod, Manfrotto tripods, all sorts of viewfinders that go with different DSLRs that I rent (in addition to my own 550D), a DitoGear DriveCam slider, Tascam DR-100 sound recorder, Rode NTG-3 microphone, … the list goes on and on, that’s just what came into my mind right now.

Q:What is your dream gear? 

A:I honestly don’t think there’s something like that, but the upcoming large-frame camcorders (like AF101 or F3) are a step into the right direction. A shame it took them so long. I don’t see myself buying any of those though, as even a camcorder with a large sensor won’t be able to replace “normal” broadcast camcorders like my EX3. Why? Simply because a 20x lens on a 35mm chip will be incredibly huge and unaffordable, but I need that flexibility for many jobs. For all the other stuff I use DSLRs, I just hope Canon will make a 5Dmk3 without aliasing or moire. I’ll be the first person to buy it.

Q:How is your work-flow with tape-less format? A:Double backup, then convert to ProResLT if working with H.264 from Canon cameras (something else they should seriously improve on), and off you go to editing!

Q:How do you keep up with all these crazed up updates? There’s always a “Game Changer this and Game Changer that” Do you hate the phrase game changer? It seems like some rigging companies have over used this phrase don’t you think? A:Yes it’s getting ridiculous, I admit that. DSLRs were a game changers and a revolution for filmmaking. EVFs or even 35mm camcorders are not - they are evolution. Twitter is a great resource but don’t buy all the marketing hype - that’s why there are blogs like mine, to bring in some reason to the discussion :-)

Q:What’s new in the world of Nino Leitner? Any new projects?
A:A lot of stuff is just getting finished and lots of new stuff lined up for next year. I will be DP on a feature documentary, though financing is still a bit wiggly. Other than that lots of workshops, commercial productions and image films for large companies, unfortunately also a lot of stuff that I won’t be able to share online. But I have some great new stuff that I produced coming out soon, check my blog regularly.

Q:For last, can you give an advice for those who are about to graduate from film school?A:Don’t bother looking for employment in creative parts of our industry too much - most creatives are hired per project, but you need to make a name out of yourself. Build your reel. Get your buddies together and shoot an awesome short film / documentary / commercial / whatever. It is a lot of effort but getting noticed has never been easier than today, but you have to be steady as a beating drum. Something you can learn quite well from the likes of Philip Bloom.

Before closing this interview I would like to give thanks to Nino Leitner for answering my questions. Knowing that he is a very busy fellow. If any of you want to learn more about Nino’s work. Please go to Nino Film. Or follow him on twitter.  Also, I would like to give my appreciation to my followers who are following Are We Shooting Yet?  Thanks for taking your time reading my posts. I would like to know what do you think?  Give me some feedback! Give me your two cents. I want to know what are you all itching for.