Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

I sometimes think Optus sales reps will say almost anything to make a sale or get the customer to commit to another two-year mobile phone contract.  You know the people I mean, the ones that call you offering to make your mobile plan cheaper (why call -  just do it!), or sell you a plan for a wireless adapter/dongle thingie for your laptop, that sort of thing.  I’ve had unpleasant experiences with them in the past.

Promises Promises

This time around a sales rep called and offered to waive the last five months of my two-year mobile phone contract and send me out a new phone if I commit to another two years.  Nothing wrong with that, so I accepted.

But he also talked me  out of waiting for an iPhone and into getting a Nokia N97 on the promise that the new v2 Operating Software for the N97 was great.  The sales rep even claimed to own an N97 himself and to have upgraded the OS, and praised all the cool new features v2 offered.  Since I already own an iPod Touch, I went for the Nokia N97.

Delivery

Well, the phone arrived, and it’s a great unit, plus the 3G coverage out where I live is vastly better than my old phone’s reception.  So I have no real complaints with the phone itself at all.

BUT there is no upgrade to software v2 available for it in Australia under Optus — not by using the PC application, and not using the phone’s built in updater.  This kind of deception (dare I call it lying?) to make a sale leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.  And it’s so pointless — there’s nothing really wrong with the current OS on the phone, but I was sold the new OS, and was delivered the old one.  It’s basic customer service — If I pay for X, don’t deliver Y.  It’s made worse when watching a video that shows the significant differences between the two versions:

My phone runs like the one on the left of screen in that video.  My attempts to get an answer out of Optus about why the firmware isn’t upgradeable is an exercise in futility.  They connected me to “Nokia Australia” in the end (the nice lady at Nokia “Australia” had a mild Indian accent, but maybe she was in Australia), and after a ten minute circular conversation she eventually put me on to the local Nokia Customer Care Center in Brisbane.  Now those guys responded very quickly to my email, but all they could do was inform me that, yes indeed, the upgrade is available to generic N97s, but not the Optus ones.

So the score is Optus 0, Nokia 1, Me 0.  Perhaps Nokia should let Optus know they have sales reps making promises the Optus network can’t deliver (yet).

Not The First Time

Almost a year ago I had a similar annoying experience where an Optus sales rep called me and promised to send me a wireless dongle but to also lower my mobile fees by the same amount as the internet service attached to the dongle – effectively making the wireless plan free.  Of course I said yes, but shortly later someone else rang to confirm the deal and they denied that such a generous offer was possible.  So I withdrew my acceptance (which they weren’t happy about), but the dongle arrived anyway.  I wasn’t home to receive it, so it went back, and after a couple of confusing calls I later did get a call apologising for the mix up.

They also assured me that the sales rep that made the “generous” invalid offer no longer worked there.

But after today, I’m not so sure.

Many people (not filmmakers) wrongly assume that a film set is always an exciting, dynamic place, where artists of equal standing share and contribute to the making of the film as the shooting unfolds. The public often imagine a director calmly chatting with their actors and department heads about the set design, or the lighting, mulling over issues of form and colour, drama and performance. They assume that the shoot is both a creative and democratic process.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Read the rest of this entry »

Something for Nothing?

When the day comes for you to cast your ultra-low budget film (short or feature), you’re faced with a problem. You’ve already decided that you can’t afford to pay your actors (we looked at the ethics of not paying in the article Not Paying – coming soon), yet despite this you naturally want the best possible actors for your project. Read the rest of this entry »

To Each Their Own?

I’m going to talk (or maybe rant?) about something close to my heart – the false distinction too many people (especially students) make between the technical and the creative areas of filmmaking.
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At short film festivals and student screenings I quite often hear audience members talking among themselves. More often than I would like, I hear comments such as: “That short film looked great, but it’s a pity about the sound quality, I could barely understand the actors”. On low-budget short-films, there often isn’t enough money or time to spend on fixing the sound. But a surprising amount can be achieved with just a little expense and a bit of patience.
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An understanding of “stops” is essential for anyone who wants to be involved in film making, especially in the areas of cinematography and lighting. Stops can seem confusing at first, especially since the word is often used in slightly different ways in different contexts (”stops”, “f-stops”, and “t-stops”).
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Corporate documentaries are an avenue for creation and income that many beginning film makers overlook or ignore. Some don’t feel comfortable with the genre, others actively dislike the whole idea. Yet these films have the potential to offer far more challenges and rewards than, say, your average wedding video – as long as you are comfortable within the genre.
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White balance is one of those video functions that separates the weekend camcorder user from the more dedicated video maker. Casual users don’t understand this function, so their images often have an inappropriate orange or blue tint to them. The more experienced or interested users do care about this feature, and their images usually have more natural and life-like colours. So what is white balance?
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Ever watched a film or video sequence (perhaps one of your own) and it just doesn’t cut together right? It can be painful to watch (especially if it was one of your own). There could be a number of reasons for the edit not working, but in this article we’ll be looking at just one cause – crossing the line.
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Most beginning film makers know that lighting is important to film and video, but most don’t know where to start. If they bother using lights at all, their lighting kit usually consists of a couple of lights which they place without a clear idea of their effect, and they spend too much time on set moving and adjusting them before they are happy with the results. Perhaps you’ve got a built-in lamp on your camcorder – and although it lets you film your friends at night, you’ve noticed that the light is bland and makes your subjects look like they’ve been caught in a hunter’s searchlight.
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What is it about the sound in many student or amateur films that makes them sound so… well… amateur? Even if the fidelity or clarity of the dialogue is good (see my article on ADR), there is often something empty or thin about the rest of the soundtrack – the action lacks depth and realism. The answer could be that the film makers did not add Foley to the soundtrack.
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Lighting – without it the camera cannot create an image. Yet with it comes a host of questions and potential problems – Where do you place the lights? How many of them? What type? What filters and coloured gels do you use? In this article we’ll take an introductory look at the basics of lighting, by defining a few terms and examining a few key concepts. When you’ve finished this article, you might want to check out my other one on three point lighting.
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