I am thrilled you are visiting the website, and I hope you find it useful, thought provoking and maybe even entertaining. Creating this website establishes a new phase in my career. And though I haven’t retired completely, I’m beginning to have more fun making tutorials, teaching at the University and simply put, sharing what I know with you.
I am very fortunate to have begun my career in the 1970’s where I was able to witness all of the exciting new technologies of that time. Faster color film stocks and lenses made all kinds of new shots possible and filmmakers of this era took great advantage of their newfound photographic freedom. Lighter and more powerful lights both daylight and tungsten made location shooting a more attractive option, far from the confines of studios AND meddling studio executives. And lets not forget the debut of Motion Control, the Steadicam, lightweight camera bodies and smaller, sharper and faster Zoom lenses. Screenplays and shot making became more liberated than ever before and audiences noticed. Worldwide, it was a new era in the art form, and a time when some of the most important films in cinema history were produced.
I look forward to sharing some of those memories in this section of the website very soon.
Now, lets fast forward to present day and our digital revolution! I can’t believe the speed with which the transition from photochemical imaging to chip based cameras is occurring. And by the way, I’m all for it. Affordable, lighter, faster, high image capacity cameras are great for our industry. Now, photography and motion picture production is more accessible to all. And if you own a high end DSLR you can shoot both and very impressively too!
My goal is to help you with some of the artistic, technical and logistical hurdles in this medium, so you can UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVE POTENTIAL! Also, by relating some of my personal experiences with the business and social aspects of our industry, you may learn to avoid some of the mistakes I have made along the way.
Once again, welcome to the website, and I’m really looking forward to talking about the old and the new with you. This is a fantastic time for all of us!
Mark Vargo, ASC
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