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Why Do You Need a Director’s Viewfinder?

2 Comments Published by Matthew Jeppsen July 27th, 2011 in Cameras, Featured Content, FreshDV, Lenses, News

Back in May, I was DoP on a music video Directed and conceived by our very own Kendal Miller. We shot it on Red MX, and had very specific storyboards and angles of view that we had to execute throughout the three-day shoot. Along they way we made a quick, candid video about why you might want a Director’s Viewfinder on your next set. Watch below.

DirectorsViewfinder720pH264.mov

2 Responses to “Why Do You Need a Director’s Viewfinder?”  

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  1. 1 Marko Aug 9th, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    Been looking into getting one of those myself. May I ask which one you are using and how you like it?

  2. 2 Matthew Jeppsen Aug 10th, 2011 at 1:43 pm

    That is the el-cheapo Cavision viewfinder. There are better options available now, FilmTools sells some as well as others. Generally they start at around $200 ish and go on up to thousands, depending on what you are looking for.

    Another option is an iOS app like Artemis. It’s expensive, and a little cumbersome to use on-set…but gives you the option to snap images of your frames on your iPhone, which could help in storyboarding. Just be aware that it’s very annoying to use in low-light, and less useful for quickly checking a frame when you are moving fast on-set. It’s much easier to grab the viewfinder dangling from your neck and quickly spot what the camera position should be, than going through the Artemis app, selecting all it’s myriad settings and features. But I can see why some would prefer the app in certain situations.

    -MJ