its been like a whisper on the wind the last few years, "film is not dead. film is not dead...." just when you got comfortable and invested a few (or a few times 10) K into that shiny new digital gear, all of the sudden you realize, to your chagrin, the cat came back. in fact, it never went away. film is the strking old tabby with at least 9 lives, and her orange fur is more vibrant and attractive than ever.
why? there are a lively handful who did their part: jose villa, elizabeth messina, and lisa leftkowitz among others, all remained true to their first love, film. even when the digital mistress flounced her fanciest tricks, their loyalty to the art of film held strong. there was also that other guy--the jolly, and rather outspoken one, described as a "racial chameleon," by some (my personal favorite of his avatars being that of a filipino santa claus) --he's the one who took film from the level of artform to the level of all things awesome, who grew it from a medium into a lifestyle and drew like-minded souls to him from all around the globe--the king of film, the papa of an entire FIND (film is not dead) family, and the tabby cat's owner, jonathan canlas.
in the mouth of canlas the whisper on the wind, became a shout from the rooftops, "FILM IS NOT DEAD! FILM IS NOT DEEAAAAAD!" and more and more common folk tried to climb up on the roof with him.
but there was a little problem.
they had no real instructions on how to climb. canlas had forged the path, but it was hard for those of us down below to see, and to a dedicated family man like canlas, time was precious. answering thousands of questions on his formspring page was not enough. holding FIND workshop all over the US and even outside of the US was still not enough to meet the growing demand of those wanting to learn how to properly shoot film. Those who had caught the passion for film like a fast spreading disease, but had no knowledge to cure them. So now, in response - canlas took things one. step. further.
He wrote a freaking all inclusive guide to shooting film.
And its pretty freaking sweet.
And its pretty amazingly easy to understand, even if you don't even know enough about to film to spell it.
And most amazingly, this said "film guide," is available to you, me and the entire world, for pretty gosh darn cheap.
warm fuzzy, warm fuzzy, warm fuzzy.
the filipino santa just dropped off christmas in the best possible way.
say what? you thought film was too intimidating, too inaccessible, too difficult to understand? uh uh. not anymore friends. canlas tells you absolutely everything you need to know IN just under 100 pages. my personal favorite part? the BEE-YOOOT--I-FUL imagery and examples all throughout. no more trying to decode those old books from the seventies--- canlas pours out all of his passion, all the best parts of his down to earth self in one cohesive guide to help you chart the course.
perhaps most respectable about the entire film guide, is that it is tangible proof canlas is in it for the love of the game. ie he doesn't want to keep film to himself. he wants you to know about it, love it, and use it (properly) too. so buy up this guide and do it do it do it. you won't be sorry you did.
(click on the text "learn to shoot film," to get your very own, shiny, new film guide!)
p.s. in the interest of full disclosure, i jumped, double gainor backflipped, at the chance to help promote this guide, and if you do buy, it, i do make a few bucks.