Derek Mindler
Cinematographer
I have been fascinated with the technical creativity of filmmaking since I was a young teenager. Always finding myself behind the camera and being drawn to the process of crafting images, I began to focus exclusively on cinematography.
Overall, my work includes music videos, festival short films, the independent feature film By The Dashboard Light, and a wide variety of projects for clients such as Canon, Foot Locker, USAA, Choice Hotels, and Alcon Pharmaceuticals.
Most recently, I wrapped production as cinematographer on the music videos "So I Can Have You Back" and “Our Anthem” for seven time Grammy Nominated R&B artist Joe Thomas.
Also, when you network and meet people, don't tell them what you want to be. Say "I'm an AC ". People will be very quick to dismiss you if you say things such as "aspiring AC/DP"
Its tough starting out, because if you don't have much work to show and no gear, you aren't nearly as likely to be hired by anyone. On a lot of starter type jobs, you'll get hired just because you have the gear, and then you build your reel with that stuff. With that said, however, I don't think buying an Epic Dragon or Alexa is a good idea unless you have tons of extra cash lying around. Looking into the lower priced cameras such as a BMPCC/A7S/GH4 is probably your best bet.
I currently own a Blackmagic Production Camera, and a Canon t3i, so that covers a lot of bases, and I rent for anything beyond what my gear can do. I don't think I could stand not owning a camera.
The A7S has fantastic low light performance though, and I've seen it used with only candle light. Looks pretty good too!
Internships are definitely good experience. I interned for a public tv station in NYC, and I met some great people. Most colleges have some sort of career center to help you with your resume/look for internships, so if that's available to you I'd definitely take advantage of it. In the meantime, shoot as many things as you can on your own and with friends, so you have more projects on your resume.
The short film footage shot on the M seems a bit less stable than the original Ronin. I would imagine that's due to it being half the weight. Anyone else agree/disagree?