Inspire Design Create with David Lee

Apologies for the late episode upload but I had to wait until the full product was delivered before I could release this episode. So here we are! First virtual production and my experience working with the volume wall. We had a curved wall we were working on about 20ft tall by 40ft wide. There was a mixture of video playback occurring on the wall as well as live tracking for one of the scenes. Overall I had a great experience with volume technology and I can certainly see it's application over green/blue screen but like everything when it comes to technology there will always be issues both on the hardware and software side of things which I talk about in this episode.

Link to the BTS images and videos:

https://atdavidlee.com/breakdowns/

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

What's good friends! Today we have a long one but it's an interview episode I was on with the good folks Aaron and Chaz from Story Over Everything:

Link to their Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/story-over-everything/id1437280815?l=en

Link to their Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f6PL89RJ7jL8Eey6G3yIN

Aaron ask's a lot of great questions when it comes to pitching, production, post production and client relations with regard to Branded Documentary projects. If anything you can hear me rant about things for an hour as well if you fancy that!

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

When the client/agency says, "Do we need all these people here today?" you look without hesitation and say a big, "YES". I'm sure you've been in that position at least once in your career, it's an awkward place to be because you feel inclined to defend your reasoning for why you have the amount of crew you have. We all know it's not about flexing, especially since we're dealing with money, it's about ensuring that everything the client/agency needs is captured on the day and that means efficiency. Without the proper crew on the day you have to sacrifice something (amount of shots, amount of ads etc). In today's episode I wanted to talk about ways you can tackle these conversations on the day as well as during the pre-production phase so that we can get the crew we need based upon business goals for the client.

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

I was having a conversation with someone recently and the topic of, "how do I find more work?" kept reoccurring. I felt it would be a great topic especially with a brand new year underway so here we are! For the most part, networking is still the best way to continually get work. The hard part is building your network first, and that takes time. What I wanted to do in this episode is provide some insight on how I built my network, the tangible things I did that led to a desired outcome.

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

It's that time of year again, although i'm late by a few days, with the end of the year review for 2022! I'm going to cover my income numbers, days on set, most used equipment, least used equipment and some lessons learned from 2022.

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

Not directly related to Cinematography but an important toolset to have when working with talent. Whether it's a narrative project or a commercial these are 3 of the best tips i've learned when working with actors that can support you through getting the lighting you were hoping for as well as ensuring both the director and talent can work in your favor to achieve the pre-production plans you made.

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

Bit of a random question but what jobs do you like taking as an owner/operator? Do you enjoy camera operating a lot and take a good amount of those jobs throughout the year? Perhaps its Gaffing or being a 1st AC? I remember when I first started out I was taking anything job I could get my hands on. As my career progressed and working more as a Cinematographer there were still jobs coming my way. Even to this day i'll take select camera operating jobs and gaffing jobs when I feel I could be useful to the production as well as increasing my yearly income. So my question to you is what jobs do you like and why? Don't feel bad if you're ALWAYS working as a DP because that day will come. Instead find two or three roles you enjoy and mix them all to keep your financial goals steady as well as growing your skill set.

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

One of the most important questions a owner/operator can ask of him/herself is, "How do I increase my rates?". When I first started out making $200/$300 to shoot AND edit a project was huge! However, we all know we can't realistically stay in that space forever especially those of us who are looking to make cinematography our specialty and thus a career for ourselves. How do you start increasing/upgrading your rates? In today's podcast I attempt to answer that question with one of those most important elements to know in our business - talk to your clients with a business mindset first and not a creative mindset. Listen to the podcast for the whole story though!

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

Celebrations are in order as my latest commercial "Mentor for Change" took home Best Commercial at the Oniros Film Awards of New York AND at the Cannes World Film Festival! On top of that I'm grateful that we also won Best Cinematography at the Oniros Film Awards, that definitely so great to have industry recognition for a commercial piece of all things. That being said I'm breaking down the commercial for you all and hopefully you can take some of these tricks I use to better your pre-production, cinematography and add to your own lighting arsenal. 

Link to the commercial: Mentor for Change

Website for Still Images: https://atdavidlee.com/breakdowns/

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee 

Not it's not click bait but a practical way to use a longer focal length as your wide shot. There's times when you're stuck with a not so ideal location or perhaps having to shoot at the worst time of day and you need a wide shot for a particular scene. One trick I picked up on last year which I used was to use a longer lens, bring the camera back and have more options for shaping light. Think it's BS? Try it out, you'll find that many times you'll be able to get away with better lighting options which in the commercial realm can make a huge difference. 

If you enjoyed this episode please rate it and let me know how i'm doing! Follow the podcast if you're loving the content and share it with your friends!

www.atdavidlee.com | www.legendarymediahouse.com | Instagram @atdavidlee | YouTube www.youtube.com/atdavidlee