CFA Founders Chat Working with Morgan Freeman, Non-Profit Announcement & The Power of Collaboration

In this podcast episode, we talked about working with the legendary Morgan Freeman, our non-profit announcement, and the power of collaboration.

Our recent journey led us to an AFI tribute honoring Nicole Kidman, featuring Morgan Freeman.

This incredible journey at CFA just got better—we're now an official non-profit! This opens the door to more grants, donations, and educational opportunities.  As a newly minted public charity, we're reshaping the industry's future, one groundbreaking step at a time.

For our listeners, CFA’s teamed up with We Make Movies to get you a discount on production management services, including access to comprehensive production insurance and workers' comp for your next shoot. 

Visit wemakemovies.org/insurance and use code CFA23 on your intake form for 10% off your quote.

Calling all actors! Take 25% off your membership at WeAudition with code: CFA25

Website: www.cinematographyforactors.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinematographyforactors

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cinematographyforactors

Cinematography for Actors is a community aimed at bridging the gap between talent & crew through our weekly podcast & community events. Our weekly show supports the filmmaking community through transparent, honest & technically focused interviews with the goal of elevating the art of effective storytelling.

Transcript

CFA Podcast Update and Plans

Speaker 1 0:00

The CFA methodology worked , and it worked with Morgan Freeman , so that's why I wanted to talk about it . First of all , I just don't want to like gloat that I was shooting something cool . It was more like , because I'm now living proof , I can come back to the community and say like , yep , it does work on bigger things . Okay , it works . Maybe not on everything , but it's starting to , and I trust the process . This is the Cinematography for Actors podcast . More than a podcast .

Speaker 2 0:23

the Cinematography for Actors podcast . More than a podcast , cinematography for Actors is a vibrant community devoted to bridging the gap between talent and crew . Each week , our show offers transparent , insightful conversations with industry leaders . We unveil the magic behind the scenes , from candid discussions about unique filmmaking processes to in-depth technical exploration . Join us in unraveling the intricacies of filmmaking , one episode at a time . It's more than just cameras and lenses . We aim to inspire , educate and empower as we peel back the curtain on the art of effective storytelling . Now on to the episode . Hi everybody , hi everyone , and welcome back . It's just us on the couch today . What a rare sight .

Speaker 1 1:05

We haven't done this in a while we really haven't but we have . We we've decided like we like , took a top sheet for the company and we wrote down all of the things we like and enjoy doing and what we want to move forward with . And obviously podcast was top of that list . But we decided we need to get back to a little bit of , like the founders talk , because there's so much going on here , we're learning so many things and sometimes it can be hard to navigate different interviews and get back to , like the core and foundations . So I think what we're going to try to do and don't hold me to it , but we'll do two founders episodes a month . We'll do a process episode where you get to hear from someone in the community what they're working on , someone that's definitely like amongst peers and like-minded part of our community , and then we'll end it with an interview with someone that we think is special and save that for you .

Speaker 2 1:59

Yeah , I'm excited about it . Yeah , I was listening to some early podcasts of ours and I mean , maybe I'm just about it . Yeah , I was listening to some early podcasts of ours and I mean , maybe I'm just a narcissist , but I really enjoy the episodes when we're talking about us and like building a company and our personal journeys and sharing that with our listeners .

Speaker 1 2:20

Yeah and yeah , like you said , I think it makes it a lot easier for us to keep the podcast on in alignment with what we're doing , because , you know , something we're always saying is like we want to grow together , and a lot of that is grow alongside this community . So , for the community something Haley and I were screaming about earlier in excitement we have great news . Haley , what is what were we really screaming about earlier in excitement ? We have great , hailey . What is what were we really screaming at today ?

Speaker 2 2:48

we found out because indiana decided we should look it up online instead of just waiting for the mail , like , like I wanted to . I was like , let's wait the night , the full 90 days ? And she said absolutely not . And we found out today that our tax-exempt status has been approved by the IRS , meaning we are now a nonprofit entity , a public charity , and that means that one . We'll be able to apply for grants so that we can get funding to bring more programming to our community without having to charge our community which is something I really love and it's so exciting to me and we'll be able to take donations from sponsors that will be tax exempt for them .

Speaker 1 3:38

Yes , that's correct , which is really cool , because it's not money you're not . You know it's not extra money you're spending , it's a tax write-off .

Speaker 2 3:45

So right , those , those corporations , those sponsors , those companies can write off everything that they're giving to up to a certain amount , I'm sure , up to however much tax they owe , I believe , can write it off to a non-profit company and that means it's the taxes they were going to be spending anyway . They're just giving it , or ? To you the art personal contribution so probably I mean like , don't go to court over what I've just said .

Speaker 1 4:14

We're figuring it out , we're learning and this is for , as we're growing , entertainment , what we're supposed to say entertainment purposes .

Speaker 1 4:21

This is not legal advice , it is not or tax advice , but we do know that it means we are going to be able to do even more community-based , peer-to-peer education yes , to help everyone grow with it and so here's our plan and we'll find out more of the logistics , because I do want to put it out to the community that you know , if you have a certain allotment that you normally donate to charitable causes or you're looking to add one , you can add it to the CFA community , because now which is exciting because it'll directly benefit everyone involved free education , sponsored education , um workshops , in-person classes , hayley's building out , um with a special guest , a real workshop for actors it will go towards benefiting our community , which is what we wanted to do from the start . We have done from the start , but now it'll be just an easier way to accept acceptable contributions and then at the end of the year , we give you a receipt , like you would if you went to Goodwill . You'll get a form . You'll get a form that you just put on your taxes and you write that off . So we will find out the details on amounts , values , status , because perhaps what we'll do is similar to AFI , which I like , is you donate a certain amount , you become a different status , you get benefits back which are like an added value , and so maybe we start looking at that .

Speaker 1 5:48

But we also something we want to do is fiscal sponsorship , and something we actually , sorry , don't want to . Now we can do . We can do it for you and for those that don't know , fiscal sponsorship is when you are raising money for your short film or your series or feature , anything like that , and you want your donors to be able to write that sum of money off rather than just giving you money , or being more of a donor rather than an investor , so they don't get back end , you can have them donate money , go through a pass through , so like us , like a fiscal sponsor , and then that money becomes a write-off and we allocate those funds and take a small percentage .

Speaker 2 6:23

The standard is like three to five percent , because we'll give them a form , because basically the reason you wouldn't apply for a 501c3 as just a short film , as your production company , is because it is so much work . You guys , yeah , we put so many hours into this application and making sure that we did everything correctly so that we could make it happen .

Speaker 1 6:44

And then apparently it's quite expensive , which we're gonna find out how much it costs for compliance but it's also , your films are for profit a lot of the time , and so if you make one film and you have a charity , yeah , it just wouldn't make sense .

Speaker 2 6:56

It just wouldn't make sense , but it does make sense for them to be able to write it off so that people sometimes will be to give you the money to make your film , um , and then we're doing that work for you so and that's why that three to five percent is taken .

Speaker 1 7:11

So you know this is all to say that this is . This means bigger things for cfa and it means we're able to support you in a different way . Not only do we have partnerships with , you know , we make movies to help you on discounted insurance . You know you can use code cFA23 for that without sounding too salesy , but it's just . I love discounted insurance . That's so helpful and that's so fantastic . But now we can .

Speaker 1 7:30

We can actually help you with film funding , in addition to the education required , you know , for you to feel more confident on set . So , like , look how well-rounded this is . It's so exciting . If you're interested in any of those things like you're coming up on a short film and you want to , you know , try fiscal sponsorship , or you're looking to have people donate , you can reach out to us always . You can either DM us on Instagram or contact at cinematographyforactorscom . If you end up looking like you want to donate to CFA , which you know , everything , whatever money we make , has to be um , actually it's funny charities have to show what they're making online , so it's public knowledge you'll be able to see . We don't think own the company anymore . Um , the government does yep , and we have a board of people that are exciting and awesome that are gonna tell us what to do with votes yeah , so it's all really exciting , um , and it just supports further what we're trying to do .

Speaker 1 8:27

And so if you're interested in any of those things or you , you know I eventually want I know you want to do like the real workshop and a bunch of stuff , like I do , but I really want to have a film fund so helping people make their short films or features even , or develop concepts beauty of being being able to provide education and build a community is that eventually we see these people , who we have been able to teach through mentorships and peer-to-peer education how to do the craft that they want to do Correct .

Speaker 2 8:57

Then they're finding the people they want to do it with , yeah , and then we'll also be able to provide avenues to get the funding and actually create these stories they want to create . Yeah . It's helping you through every step of the way , which is so exciting and feels very full circle and we're all growing together .

Speaker 1 9:17

So I think everyone who's listening is probably pretty excited about this . And if you want more information , maybe we'll do like a little online workshop or like an in-person event where we talk more about fiscal sponsorship and educate people on it , and also so that you can have that context , because even if you don't do like fiscal sponsorship through us , it's still a good way of understanding how to fund something without having to ask people for money out of pocket because it's a tax write-off also anyone who has worked in these spaces .

Speaker 2 9:50

We're learning , so we're happy to hear from you as we're talking to lawyers and accountants .

Speaker 1 9:56

This is .

Speaker 2 9:57

It's daunting , like we're going to do it because we keep doing the scary stuff , because we're passionate about this , but yeah , any , any advice is welcome and like , how cool is this ?

Speaker 1 10:09

look at where , like , if you're watching the video of this , which can be , is available on youtube . You know we started our podcast at an hourly like pirate studios , which was a fantastic launching place , like like a fantastic place to start , but , like it's been less than two years , I was doing our timeline for our about us on Instagram that we're coming up with and we're like now a public charity . We have thousands of people in our community . We are represented in 41 countries by those listeners and we're also like sitting in our own podcast . Little studio , this is our own backdrop that we painted .

Speaker 2 10:49

You see it a lot . We've made it , we painted that . It's ours . We're really proud of it . We have our own mics and I taped them to the cords , because why ?

Speaker 1 10:58

myself , because we're terrified of any buzzing , and so if anyone does sound on here , that is something we need to learn more about .

Speaker 2 11:12

I'm ap , she's an actor , so advice 13 we need help . It's all to go with that . Yeah , um , also , um , I mean time rackles indiana . Yeah , you got a haircut today . Hayley did my hair , I cut and listen , we do it all . We do it all over here .

Speaker 1 11:19

We're . You know we're just like everyone in la . We are . We're the town of hustlers , and I know you don't love that word LA , we are . We're the town of hustlers , and I know you don't love that word hustler , but we're the town of people who get a lot of things done on a daily basis . Sometimes you gotta .

Speaker 2 11:32

Sometimes I'm not as scared of it anymore . Right , yes , that's what we do . I think we should also take some time to like have a picnic every once in a while . Yeah , but I think I'm just figuring out . To get stuff done , we're're going to have to hustle a little bit .

Speaker 1 11:47

Okay , I'm so excited about that . We're going to have more information on this CFA Institute that's what it's called Legally , cfa Institute . We're going to have more information on how people can get involved , how people can use this as a pass-through for physical sponsorship and all that good stuff . Uh , and that's you know , we'll ramp it up as quick as we think we can do it with our small team , but , uh , but I'm very excited about it also , I don't know if we've sat here and told them about our new podcast not yet .

Speaker 1 12:15

We were going to film a network bumper , so why don't we actually talk about it ?

Speaker 2 12:19

yeah , let's just tell them directly about it . Yeah , hello , aj , come in . Come on in , hurry , you're good , we'll cut that out . We didn't tell you we were doing this , we just decided to start doing it . Yeah , we'll cut it out . So , yeah , let's sit here and tell everyone about our new podcast .

Speaker 1 12:35

Yeah , let's do it . So we have the Indie Wood podcast , which is hosted by Yaroslav Altunin , or Yaro , and we met him when he was the tech editor at no Film School , but he's also a writer , director and I , like we love Yaro because he's the perfect person to talk about wearing multiple hats , and he's creative , he's technical , he's practical and that's all the things that we we vibe with here at CFA and keep talking about Yaro is so technically focused yes , and she is so excited about gear and about how gear works .

Speaker 2 13:08

And while you and I are excited about gear , we do not have the time to get as in-depth about it as Yaro does and likes to do . Yeah , so in order to bring you the best information about new gear and about certain technical programs and things like that , it was such a no brainer , yeah , to bring Yaro in , and it's so exciting that he that he can do a whole podcast about it .

Speaker 1 13:39

Yeah , and he's bringing in a whole network of people that we don't currently have , with a focus more on like every season , so every four episodes , which is a month , obviously , because we're doing it weekly . He's going to be interviewing one guest over four weeks and it'll talk about their career , the many hats of their careers , and then talking to them about stuff they don't specifically know about . So what those questions would look like if you were a director wanting to learn more about editing or if you were an actor wanting to learn more about cinematography

Indie Wood Community Building and Filmmaking

Speaker 1 14:07

. So , really , touching on the idea of , it's called Indie Wood , not because of me , and I really need to make sure everyone knows that , it's because independent cinema .

Speaker 1 14:17

What is his tagline that I love so much ? It's like we all want to be Hollywood , but first we have to be Indie Wood . Wood , yeah , and I think that just speaks to like our community as a whole and our mission of just community building . And you know we have to juggle so many things . Um , whether we're shooting , you know , a huge series or not , we're still juggling and finding balance amongst all the things we're interested in versus the things that feel compulsory .

Speaker 2 14:40

So slightly different format , different host , but so beautifully aligns with our love of learning together and growing together yeah , um amazing .

Speaker 1 14:52

I I did promise we would do an episode on something I recently shot oh my gosh , guys , it's happening .

Speaker 2 14:59

Okay , indiana , indiana , tell us everything . For those of you who don't know , indiana recently shot , will you ? Will you tell it's so exciting indiana shot ? No , don't tell it , I'll tell . All right , all right , I'll be right here .

Speaker 2 15:19

Indy shot a spot not just any spot , though I'm sure everyone of you has seen online at some point because it went viral . You remember nicole kidman's AMC we Come to this Place monologue . That was a viral cultural event for a number of years . And now you go to the theater and it happens and no one's screaming the monologue along with her anymore , but it's still exciting and we all still recognize it . Well , she was honored at the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Awards this year and as a gift to her , her good friend Morgan Freeman decided let's reshoot it and put me in there and guess who shot it ? Indiana Underhill , I did my co host . You gotta tell us everything . You have to tell us everything . You have to tell us , because you told me about it , but you were already a few talks in , right , because it was a secret , I couldn't even know . So by the time it got to me it was like yeah , this happening , and like the ball was rolling , so I want to know from the very beginning how those first conversations went .

Speaker 1 16:33

Yeah , and the reason I wanted to talk about this and I normally wouldn't talk about my work here , but the reason I I wanted to talk about it was it really made my heart melt , because it it really was what CFA is trying to do by bridging the gap between talent and crew . And a lot of people fight us and they say , well , this doesn't apply on large sets and this doesn't apply in this part of the industry and this doesn't apply Like you can't have actors be involved in the process to that extent . And I always was like , ok , that's fine , but what I'm trying to do with Haley is is change the way our industry is advancing , so advance it in a way that feels like it's it's progression and include people in that collaboration and collaborative process . So you know , sure it doesn't apply right now on these huge shows , but I think that there is , if enough of us are learning a certain way of filmmaking , that eventually , when we are on bigger shows , we will employ some of those practices and techniques .

Speaker 1 17:27

And this was one of those things where I was like , look , the CFA methodology worked , and it worked with Morgan Freeman . So that's why I wanted to talk about it . First of all . I just don't want to like gloat that I was shooting something cool . It was more like because I'm I'm now living proof , I can come back to the community and say like , yep , it does work on bigger things . Ok , it works , maybe not on everything , but it's starting to and I trust the process .

Speaker 2 17:49

I don't want to gloat and say that you did that , oh , and say that you did that , oh , thanks . I think we're all very proud of you . Thanks , haley and team . Okay , so , yeah , sorry , okay . So then tell us , how did you apply our CFA methodology ?

Speaker 1 18:02

Yeah , okay , well , your first question was the initial talks . So the way I found this job and this is also actually a proponent of CFA is when I was at AFI in first year . I went up to someone I didn't know at the AFI Warner Brothers building , which is like the main building when you drive up on campus , and I was like , oh , are you lost to that person ? And that person , who is director Chris Merrill , who is the director of AFI production , so he's in charge of AFI Fest , afi Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Awards , and he was . He was not lost . But I did ask him if he was a lost screenwriter in first year and he said , um , no , I've worked here for two decades . And I said , okay , and then we just became friends , um , over a couple of years because , okay , every time his office was on campus and every time we'd run into each other , we'd catch up like how's this is going ? How's this going ? And I'd be like , what are you up to ? How's AFI fest , things like that , and it was just like very casual . And then he hired me for a short film because he also directs outside of AFI , and so he hired me for a , for an incredible short film , um , that I was honored to shoot .

Speaker 1 19:07

And then you know it's been four years , we've known each other five maybe and you know he was producing he , he is in charge of the Lifetime Achievement Awards and he was like we have this last minute spec . Would you want to come on ? I can't tell you who the talent is , but it would be a recreation of her viral ad . And I was like , of course , I want to work with you , let's do it . Didn't know anything about it . And then I got a call from the producers at AFI and they're like OK , cool . So you know , what do you need from us ? You know , here's the budget . We're a 501c3 . Keep this in mind . Blah , blah , blah . What kind of crew do you need ? And so I just , you know , started to work on it and prep it .

Speaker 1 19:42

But this was a perfect example of how technical some shoots are . They still have to be creative and they still have to fulfill their purpose . But this was a recreation and we were shooting it entirely on a stage in green screen , and AMC was providing the footage , the raw footage , and we were painting her , painting over her , painting her out and putting him in . Morgan Freeman , right . And so the reason I say like this is the CFA method , and it's funny that I'm now claiming it's a method method . And it's funny that I'm now claiming it's a method If you're new to this .

Speaker 1 20:18

All CFA is education , community building . We believe that everyone should be a part of the collaborative process because we're here to tell better stories and the way we tell better stories is to include people in the technical , practical and creative decisions we're making . And people will argue saying , well , actors actually don't need to know all that . You'll overwhelm them Like we talk about this all the time because you're an actor and you have heard that on set .

Speaker 1 20:39

When Morgan , mr Freeman and his team arrived on set , I immediately introduced myself , which I always talk about . I say always introduce yourself . So I immediately went up to him and his team and I said , hi , I'm Indiana , I'm going to be shooting this . And they were like oh great , and you know , we made an Indiana Jones joke . And then when we got on set , we had four hours to shoot , I think 18 setups , 16 or 18 setups , which gave us I don't know what the math is it's like under 10 minutes of setup . So it's that there's a 60 in there . So I yeah , yeah , yeah . It's like let's actually look it up .

Speaker 2 21:14

Okay , see , and while you do that , I'm going to like take us back a few steps . Yeah , say that .

Speaker 4 21:20

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Speaker 1 21:54

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Speaker 2 22:13

The CFA method can say , is communication and early interdepartmental collaboration amongst all departments . That's literally our method . We believe that that can happen and we believe that it's important and we believe that that serves the story .

Speaker 1 22:34

Yeah , so 15 minutes of setup , so I had 15 minutes to get each shot . That's wild , which includes , as you know , this includes , um , changing camera placement , framing lenses , lighting um , movement , directing the actor , working with the crew and being polite about it , so giving people enough time to like break or rest or fly off for a few minutes , um . So it was like I have an aura ring and it has it measures my stress , and from the moment , um , mr brie walked on the set until the moment he left , my stress was in the like highest level . Um , it just like peaked and then continued to go across the board . Date up there yeah , yeah , yeah , yeah .

Speaker 1 23:18

And so I had to be as prepped as possible , and you know , I had introduced myself and I had done about two weeks of prep where I looked at the ad over and over again , I took a screenshot of every shot and I started to analyze framing so what focal length we would want , based off of how close , the magnification , of how far the background was from subject , as well as how close she was to camera she was a camera and then the eye light , so where in her pupils or , like on her body , where the shadow was being cast and how soft or hard it was and contrasty . So I knew how to like kind of place my lights . And then camera height as well , and you know movement's a whole other thing , but camera height as well . So how far above eyeline , below eyeline , at eyeline , were we ? Even if it was an inch above ? I took a note , you know , and because you need to be able to paint her out . Also , if we're moving camera , because the shot's moving in the ad , you know that has to be the same because you have to watch for parallax , which you know can be a huge issue . So I had taken technical notes like a like a thesis statement on this .

Speaker 1 24:26

And then when I arrived on set , it was okay because we perfectly executed everything . I had an incredible team . Chelsea Petit was my gaffer and she was smart because she's brilliant , but she was smart on set too . When we had a stand-in , we went through like the first few setups we could while prepping . We got like our base units built and then we moved things in and we checked , you know , for everything . And we got like our base units built and then we moved things in and we checked , you know , for everything . And with the stand-in . We just replicated certain lighting setups with the units we wanted , you know regs . But then she marked on the ground with an X and took notes with a Sharpie on where for setup one , or , like you know , for that shot , where we would move that back , so where we would move that light to , and then the next one we'd pull back to here and it would be on this dimming if it was . You know , we had some tungsten , some HMI , some LED , but it was great because everything was controlled . And then my ACs were fantastic because they took notes . They were like hey , set up , we're 32. , next we're on a 40. , next we're on a 60 . And it's really bringing your community together here .

Speaker 1 25:23

Because I approach sponsors like my not sponsors , I mean sponsors for CFA , but like relationships I have personally I always go with Keslo . Cronenworth shot the original one . So we went . I went to Keslo because I love them , but also Cronenworth works with Keslo . So I just said , can I have the um , the itemized list for that shoot ? And then I copied the itemized list of focal lengths . We needed types of lenses . We used to like the light , simulux , cs and then cameras . So that was great because we replicated both the technical , like tools , as well as the setup , in order to make sure that the creative was a streamlined onset .

Speaker 2 26:02

That is so . I didn't know that you were able to get your hands on that list of gear . Yeah , so great . Were you able to get your hands on that list of gear ? Yeah , so great . Were you able to get everything you needed , or did you have to ?

Speaker 1 26:11

Budget wise I couldn't get everything , but what I did was I made sure I got the same focal lengths and style , because we weren't going to be able to have a huge color thing . So the turnaround was one week until the actual awards . So I had to do a lot of it in camera and also they have completely different skin tones . So I had to do a lot of it in camera and also they have completely different skin tones . So I had to keep that in mind as well . But I just wanted to get placement correct and softness . But back to kind of like why CFA works is and why we're so excited about it is on set . It was my first time working with like kind of an A-lister that big of an A-lister . Directly , he's an A-lister , yeah , yeah , that big of an a-lister . Directly he's an a-lister , yeah , yeah , but like a big like for me , like , yeah , an a-lister um , and you were directly with this man too .

Speaker 2 26:53

It was you . There are photos of you joking with him , like I've seen you guys talking together

Collaborative Filmmaking With Clear Communication

Speaker 2 27:00

yeah .

Speaker 1 27:00

So , in addition to kind of introducing myself at the start which I always say is a good idea , because then people know like who to come to , regardless of who they are they can like be like , hey , is this where I'm looking , is this where I'm like they know who you are , you know and what you're representing . And then on set constantly , I was like , okay , we're gonna go into this setup and you know , chris , the director would work with him on like emotional cues . But I was very like technical and I was like our camera's gonna go here , we're on a 35 , you know , for this eyeline and then I would go stand where eyeline was , eyeline's going to be here , we'll put a mark for you there , and then he would ask questions . We'd run through it . And then there were like a lot of moments where I was like do you think I would you know , rather than treating actors like a piece of equipment or furniture , you know , which a lot of people end up doing just because they're afraid of giving too many notes with the other steps , so it ends up being more directional cues . I was like , do you think this walk like that famous shot where nicole kidman walks into the theater and turns and it's our first line to camera . We had a pullback on a dolly and we had to pan and so that was like our big movement I had to really make sure was correct in addition to the actor , without it's a green screen world , so we didn't have something for them to walk around .

Speaker 1 28:09

Yeah . So I was like , do you I'm going to play this clip for you ? This J is it ? Do you think it's this harsh of a turn ? Do you think it's slight ? And just involving him in that process , he acted it out for me before and I was like , ok , that's perfect , now I can come back , because sometimes it's hard to tackle everything at once , especially when it's not my job . I'm not an actor . He knows it better than anyone else here . He can see that and be like no , it's this . Like I'm not thinking in like character movement terms all the time . I'm thinking about actor camera moves all the time and I try and think about character moves and predict them and talk about it as much as possible . But to go to the person who's going to actually be acting it out and not being afraid of what that communication is was wonderful .

Speaker 2 28:51

That is so great and , honestly , such a gift to be able to give to an actor and for an actor to receive , because there have been moments when I've been called to set and I get there and they're like , okay , we're doing the turn , yeah , and it's like great , yeah , yeah , should we talk about it first ? And but they're afraid , they're afraid , and so you're like , okay , just um , try to do it perfectly , yeah , and no one's talked about it . You haven't , you haven't choreographed , you haven't worked at it at all , yeah , so it's a mystery . And then you shoot it a couple times and then they're like , oh yeah , that doesn't work .

Speaker 1 29:26

Now we're ready to work on it , but there are now there are like feelings of confusion already , and so you just avoided that I just wanted to make sure everyone was included , especially because we have a certain amount of time , and I think a lot of people would see efficiency as we'll just give the cues and expect everyone to be on par with it , and for me it was more like let's give context and let's take the extra minute to give as much context as possible that's relevant and not redundant , and then everyone knows why we're doing that thing , whether it's my camera department or lighting , or I would check .

Speaker 1 29:59

I had a tick in my like a checklist in my brain that was like for every setup , I asked his costume team , his makeup team , I asked , you know , director , I had my crew , I made sure everyone was okay and I made sure that everyone had a voice . And I think that's what CFA , why we started it , because I don't want people to feel isolated anymore and and I don't want to say that this is applicable on every set , but I think you know you'll find certain actors that are very amenable to it and very excited , and this was luckily one of those cases where we had a fantastic working relationship for a short amount of time and I don't expect every you know , larger a-list actor to be that way , but it shows that it is not just like black and white that doesn't work on larger sets with larger , right right , this was a larger set with larger talent and it helps the day move so much more smoothly .

Speaker 2 30:51

Yeah , and we got a better product . We definitely like sold it . You got a great product . People were so excited , thank you , and it looks good .

Speaker 1 31:00

Hey , check it out , it's on our instagram it is and there's a comparison on there where we break down the green screen and , if you like , have any questions about it , you can feel free to DM us of how we kind of really recreated it . But I will give a shout out to CreamSource and DOP Choice , who CreamSource provided a few demo units of their Vortex 8s and then we had we were the first in America , I think , to use the DOP Choice Stefan Lettuce Use the use the air glow which attaches to either two by one panels or one by one panels , depending on the size , but the two by one panel we had .

Networking and Gear Innovation in Filmmaking

Speaker 1 31:34

Um , and it is you . You mount the light that and it shoots vertically up and then you put a balloon . It's an inflatable unit , um modifier .

Speaker 1 31:45

You put it on top , you blow it up with a pump . It takes like 30 seconds and then it bounces into Ultra Bounce and goes through Magic Claw and so it's like a book light , but it's contained onto one stand , which is fantastic for smaller spaces . But also , if you don't want to move a lot of Gak around and you have limited time , you can just put it on some rollers and roll it around with a unit . Obviously that's a really soft light , because you're going to lose like three or four stops of light through ultra bounce and I think maybe three , three and a half stops through ultra bounce . And then magic cloth . But man , magic cloth is like the best rag to use .

Speaker 2 32:20

This is another reason that CFA works , because let's talk about how you ended up getting to use that as the first person , the first production in the united states that got to use that amazing new piece of gear . Uh , as much of our community knows , we love to go to different festivals . We love to go to different . Um , yeah , what is it a convention ? What's a conference ? Um , so , we were at a conference . We were at nab and we were at nab in las vegas . Yeah , and indiana knows stefan from years and years . She was 17 years old . They have inside jokes um , he's the owner of DOP Choice . He's created this stuff . We went over to say hello to him and she saw this piece of gear doing its work and she said that is so cool , can I use it ?

Speaker 1 33:16

And he said , yeah , they found a way to drive it back to Los Angeles .

Speaker 2 33:20

CFA Works .

Speaker 1 33:21

That was a community connection , yeah , networking connection that Indiana had and has been fostering for years , years , and was just able to use this new cool piece of piece of gear yeah , I mean , the biggest thing vendors want is for their gear to be used and so if it can be used in a way that the you know it was either intended or not , but in a surprising way was used , I think you know it's just more power to them .

Speaker 1 33:44

You know it's marketing at the end of the day and and it just makes sense because I that was a tool I needed for that and I felt was really useful and I'm really excited that we didn't just stick to , like you know , having a sky panel or a light matter or an aperture unit that on its own that we're used to having , but we like tested and experimented with an addition to those lights , a new modification , like I think if you can have the time and make the time on set to test a new piece of equipment every time in some way , you know you'll , you'll have a more comprehensive understanding of what you enjoy and what you don't and why yeah , and you're learning about the new stuff and it's I mean , yes , that , yes , it's good for them , but also , that wouldn't have been possible if you weren't getting out , you weren't networking , you weren't yes , you know cultivating this community of people that you like to be around and like , see , you couldn't have just been like any random person and walking up and being like that's cool .

Speaker 2 34:38

Can I use it ?

Speaker 1 34:39

like , yeah , you have to have the relationships , which is we say a lot , yeah , go make them exactly , and I and I you know , I know I'm speaking from a cinematography standpoint and I know there's actors listening who are like I know you guys always talk about networking and going to conferences . But that's like normal for you know dps and crew , but here's hayley talking about how she was at nab and how beautiful those relationships are . So if anything like go to networking events , come to ours , ours , go to conferences , go to festivals , like introduce yourself , I think you know . Yes , if some people are turned off by the fact that you're an actor , I know that happens a lot for actors . They see people like glaze over their eyes glaze over , I think .

Speaker 2 35:20

In places like this , though , where it's not really common to see an actor , it's cool , it's cool , it's cool , I agree .

Speaker 1 35:28

You need to learn about this stuff , because they always talk to you about that . They're always like oh , wow , an actor , like that's awesome , like what , what do you need to know ? Like what can we tell you about ? And we went to road at nab and they like had stuff specifically that was perfect for you , and they actually handed us a road wireless pro . Yeah , go , kit for loves . That would be that's going to be used for .

Speaker 2 35:48

It's going to be so great for self . Yeah , it was just . Yeah , it's really cool , so don't think that these spaces aren't for you . Yeah , um , we actually have a process episode that's going to come out soon that you'll be able to listen to , where one of our community members , who also spends a lot of time going to these conferences we see her a lot she actually has a story about how that has paid off for her as an actor on set . She's worked on having met and knowing these people . So , yeah , it's not , it's not just for people on the crew side it really can benefit you as an actor correct .

Speaker 1 36:26

So yeah , so yeah . That's kind of like with the Morgan Freeman thing , I mean , that's what I really wanted to say is that I don't . I think our industry can change . I think you know us being this public charity now means that we can change a lot quicker and find better ways to do it . You know , we started as an LLC and we still have that LLC , but it'll just be separate , completely separate , and I'm sure we'll end up dissolving it because we'll find that everything is a part of our mission . But everything is going to eventually , yeah , but we're learning , and I think .

Speaker 1 36:59

But one of the key things that you know we are very true , stand by and are true to , is the fact that we are education , community building for a reason that it helps us tell better stories and it helps us be better filmmakers . We could have gotten jobs anywhere , doing whatever we wanted to some extent , but you know like we could have gotten jobs that were a lot easier to make money at . And so why are we in the creative field ? And it's to pursue passion and you know , in that pursuit , if we can do it in a polite and healthy and organic way that enriches your life , why not ?

Speaker 2 37:35

and that's the cfa method .

Speaker 1 37:37

That's the cfa method , hey um hayley , thank you so much for interviewing me oh yeah , and chatting with me back on this couch .

Speaker 2 37:46

I'm glad that we did this .

Speaker 1 37:48

Yeah , I'm always glad when we do that and I will say um , if you have not met us in person yet , subscribe to our mailing list so that you can come to our events and come hang with us and meet our community . Um , subscribe to the podcast . You can hear about all the education and get started , and then you can check out cinematography for actors youtube as well as for the actors , where we do some fun unboxings about gear we like to use , as well as kind of . If you're an actor , we have how to use casting networks , how to use actors access , things like that . And then we also have our courses on there and we hope to get back to shooting those this summer . We have plans . We have plans .

Speaker 2 38:21

We have a lot in the works , so stay tuned . I mean , the podcast is great , the podcast is fun , but use us as much as you possibly can Totally Possibly , can . Yes , use what we have for you because it's all there and we're giving it to benefit you , because it benefits all of us , yeah , so come on out . Come on out , scream and shout , join us , thanks . This has been another episode of the CFA Podcast Scream and shout .

Speaker 1 38:47

Join us . Thanks , this has been another episode of the CFA Podcast . We'll see you soon . Bye .

Speaker 3 38:52

Join us in bridging the gap between talent and crew . Start by subscribing on your preferred podcast platform . Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on vendor discounts , community events and new podcast releases , and educate yourself through our free course releases on YouTube . It all starts at cinematographyfractorscom .