[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: For years we’ve heard professionals say nothing is stopping you, you can use your phone and shoot a movie? What are your thoughts on shooting a movie with your phone?
Illya Friedman, Founder of Hot Rod Cameras, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Podcaster: I think that’s a little disingenuous. There’s a lot of things stopping you from making a movie and it has nothing to do with the phone, it has nothing to do with the technology that’s involved. Sure, you can use a phone and you can make a feature film. You can make a short film, you can make a commercial. I don’t think that’s really the point. I think the point for filmmakers out there is to have a point of view and some intention and want to make an emotional attachment or emotional connection with the audience. There’s so many people out there taking their phone and dragging it through a puddle and saying I’m a filmmaker. I think there’s some problems with the terminology of the vernacular of being a filmmaker because it’s almost meaningless these days. Anyone who does anything with a camera can be a filmmaker and I suppose that’s a good and maybe a bad thing. But I think you need to use a few more words to describe what it is that you’re doing. If we’re talking about films, if we’re talking about narrative or documentary and you want to have that emotional connection with an audience, it’s never been the technology. Although in the past I think it really was. In the past I think if you go back to the era of film, it was a massive burden but we’ve surpassed that burden right now with adequate technology…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
Illya Friedman is an entrepreneur, inventor, cinema technologist, studio builder, podcaster and producer. A renowned camera technologist spanning the eras of film, video and digital cameras, he worked on the team that invented the world’s first 4K cinema camera. Illya got his start working professionally in the camera department in Hollywood in the early 1990s, and is the inventor of camera, lighting and optical products used by filmmakers of every level. Upon opening his company, Hot Rod Cameras, Illya became widely credited as a pioneer in the ‘DSLR Filmmaking Revolution’ and his L.A. based brick and mortar store sells cameras, lenses, lighting, grip and workflow tools to professionals and aspiring professionals alike. Hot Rod is a primary supplier to both the traditional entertainment industry, the new creator economy, and even performs full studio build outs. Along with co-host Ben Rock, Illya created the weekly Cinematography Podcast, which features interviews with hundreds of cinematographers, directors and filmmakers. Notable guests include Academy Award-winning DP’s, such as Robert Richardson, Linus Sandgren, Robert Elswit and Vitorrio Storaro. The show also features prominent directors like Ron Howard, Antonie Fuqua, Ruben Fleischer and Randall Einhorn. Many guests of the podcast are also clients of Hot Rod Cameras. Occasionally, Illya produces feature films, his most recent is a fictional story about young skateboarders in Los Angeles, entitled Concrete Kids. It’s streaming on Amazon Prime, Vudu, Roku, Tubi and other platforms.
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