Produced By - Insight #16 - Josef Kader Agha: Cinematographer’s Introduction into Shooting Film vs Digital
Episode Date: August 4, 2023Josef Kader Agha is a Prague based cinematographer, currently studying at the renowned FAMU and working on his way into the industry. A few years ago, Josef moved to London to study film at the univer...sity where after trying various roles he found his passion for cinematography. In the second year, Josef participated in Erasmus and moved back to Prague to study at FAMU, one of the oldest and best film schools in the world. There, his interest in cinematography intensified and his goal was to continue developing those specific skills. His final year at the university in London was impacted by the global pandemic but he managed to successfully graduate and even got accepted into FAMU to study bachelors in cinematography. Now, progressing through the final year Josef shares his experience of studying at this prestigious school as well as being a filmmaker in Prague. Listen to this episode to hear a comparison between studying film in London and Prague, get a deeper introduction to FAMU and find out what famous filmmakers studied at this university. Connect with Josef: https://www.csfd.cz/tvurce/525820-josef-kader-agha/diskuze/ https://instagram.com/josef_kaderagha?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= https://vimeo.com/josefkaderagha Episode quotes: “I didn't have any experience and I was afraid. That's the truth and that's why I wanted to start with the basics.” “My goal was to move from my home country and to broaden my horizons, which I think London made perfect for me.” “We managed to get everything done but it was quite a hell and we didn't have any summer.” “That was quite nice. It's a different experience when you film on film because you don't know what the outcome is going to be. You don't see the image and you have to be precise in the exposure.” Connect with the podcaster: https://tomasloucky.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/ https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/ https://twitter.com/TomasLoucky Follow the podcast: 🌐 Website: https://produced-by-podcast.com/ 🔗 Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by 💬 Contact: https://produced-by-podcast.com/contact 📷 Instagram: https://instagram.com/produced_by_podcast 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5LHnM6YCaeVzIr0WatOsw ✉️ Email: podcast.produced.by@gmail.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/produced-by/id1684669642 🎙️ About Produced By Podcast: Produced By brings you exciting stories of brave people who set out to build careers in competitive fields despite often challenging circumstances. Whether you are interested in creative industries, personal development or want to have some fun, enter the spotlight along with our guests and get inspired. Listen to people coming from all parts of the world, diverse fields of expertise and different levels of careers. So join us to follow their journeys, learn from life experience and embark on a great adventure. 🤩 If you enjoy listening to the podcast, please, leave a review on your podcast app, subscribe or share it with your friends. You can also send us a message and share any feedback, advice and tips for guests. 📭 Subscribe at https://produced-by-podcast.com/subscribe so that you don't miss out! #producedbypodcast #producedby #enterthespotlight Enjoy! Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLouckyStan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_byNewsletter: https://producednewsletter.substack.com/The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
So how did you find those exercises? Did you enjoy it or was it challenging?
It was challenging because we filmed like six of those camera exercises and all of them, except one, were on film.
On 16mm. So that was quite nice.
It's a different experience when you film on film because you don't know like what the outcome is going to be.
You don't see the image. You really have to be precise in exposure.
so that was kind of stressful at the beginning.
I was going to ask if you could do a little introduction of the difference between film and digital and these terms
for someone who doesn't know anything about it.
So filming on film is that you use film material and digital is basically any digital camera.
And the biggest difference, I mean now you have some technologies that can make it more seamless,
but the way they sound it usually were that you didn't see the image, the digital image.
So basically the O.P., the cameraman or camera woman, were the only one who saw the image.
And also the first AC, the focus puller, also didn't see the image.
And they had to measure it by tape.
That was, I guess, the biggest difference.
And also directors, they didn't see any monitor, but they saw the actors.
like only what they thought were the actors.
So that was the biggest difference, I would say.
But now, digital you have monitors and most of the stuff got easier.
But, yeah, I got lost of it.
That's sorry.
No, no, is it still being used in today's film industry?
I think in Hollywood, they use it quite a lot.
For example, Quentin Tarantino is one of directors who still wants to film on film.
So, yeah, they use it quite a lot.
but on a bigger set, I would say, because the film material is quite expensive.
And also, after you film it, you have to develop it in laboratories,
and then you have to scan it, or you use the copy, but usually they scan it after that,
and then you do the post-production on computers.
It sounds that it's quite difficult, and there are some quite challenges.
So what is the reasoning?
Why would you choose it over the digital?
One is technical aspect, like the image is really, really nice.
You have like a natural gray.
It's really hard to replicate in digital.
And also the colors from films are really, really beautiful.
So it's the image, I would say.
It's one of the biggest reasons why people choose film over digital.
And also, yeah, the image, it's softer a bit.
And they're like these aspects that makes the image, I would say just nice.
That's it.
And when you watch your film, can you break?
recognize whether it's digital or film?
I would say mostly yes, but sometimes the grading is so good that you can't really tell.
But mostly, yes, I'll recognize it.
And what about your personal preference?
What do you like more and why?
I mean, I really like the film because as I said, like the film grain and the colors are really, really beautiful.
But also it's from a practical point of view.
It's really expensive.
if you don't see the image quite properly as you would see on digital.
So also it depends on the project because some films are better to film on film and someone better on digital.
But my personal preference is film, definitely.
And is it up to the director or the OPE to decide?
I mean, up to them is usually when the budget is quite high.
But when it's not, it's usually on the production, I would say.
if they have the budget for it or not.
And what was the reason that you didn't try it at the Olympics?
Was it because of the price?
I mean, we didn't have even the cell cameras
and we didn't have the film material.
So they weren't using film technologies at all.
But at FAMU we have film cameras
and the schools buys every year
35 millimeter film and 60 millimeter film.
So it's not your choice you have to film on film.
Some exercises, not everything.
everything, but some you have to film on film.
What is the difference between, as you said now,
35mm and 60 millimeter?
The 60 millimeter is the size of the film material.
So 35 millimeter is bigger, and you have bigger resolution,
and the grain is also different.
And 16 millimeter is a smaller sensor.
It's 60 millimeter.
I think it's similar to micro-third, like the one from Blackmagic.
and 35 millimeter is similar to APSC,
which is normal 35 millimeter sensor like Alexa Mini, for example.
Yeah, I guess not many people will understand what you just said.
Yeah, in an easy way, a 35 millimeter is bigger, so you have bigger resolution,
and 60 millimeter is smaller, and because small resolution and smaller size,
you also have more visible gray.
So is it again what suits more specific project or it comes to price or why would you choose
one over the other?
Both.
But price is I would say the biggest.
I mean 60 millimeter was originally for amateurs for filming home videos and then and then they
use it in documentaries.
35mm was the standard for films.
But nowadays there's a lot of music videos and even short films.
shot on 60mm and the reason is the visual aspect of it.
So what is it different but usually before that people use 35mm for films and 60
millimeters for documentaries or on videos or like an amateur's project or shooting under the water
for example. Just out of interest can you say what is the price just like a comparison
of digital versus film?
What's like the price ratio, if it's like a double more expensive just to get an idea?
To be honest, I really don't know.
Only year it is very expensive, but I don't know.
You leave it up to the producer and the production to get the budget and sort it on.
I think you can get the price from Kodak.
And also during the COVID, it got like ripple more expensive than it was.
Really?
So yeah, that's also one of the reason why FAMU may be.
won't be filming on film because it got really, really expensive.
But also, like, that point is that if you film on film, you have the hard drive,
which are also not that cheap because you have to back up the files.
Though they say that it's cheaper to film on film,
but then when you have like 11 takes and on film you have all the three takes of the same action,
I wouldn't say that it's oh but true.
But that's one production.
But you said that the film got more expensive during the COVID, right?
it? Yeah, that's true. But shouldn't it be the opposite since the productions got stopped? So I would
assume that it wasn't used that much, so there would be more of film. So it should be cheaper so that
productions use it more or not? I think it got more expensive because of shipping. Okay.
It's complicated. But I'm not sure, to be honest.