Cinema Empower – Mister Gemba

Is This the SECRET Weapon of Indie Filmmakers? (SIRUI 50mm Review)

Mistergemba — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 15:14:19 +0000

SIRUI Venus 50mm T2.9 1.6x Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens

Today we’re taking a look at the Sirui Venus 50mm T2.9 1.6x Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens.

This is the first anamorphic lens I’ve tried out on the channel and so I’m looking forward to seeing how well it performs, and if it can produce that cinematic look that a lot of people want to achive.

Disclaimer

This was very kindly sent to me by Sirui to try out but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unboxing

So what do you get in the box?

Inside you’ll find of course the 50mm lens itself

and a Pouch

(You’ll also find a mounting bracket for the lens)

Focal Length

So as mentioned this is a 50mm lens, however, as this is an anamorphic lens, it features a 1.6 squeeze factor.

You will need to de-squeeze the footage in post and this gives you roughly a 32mm horizontal field of view

Crop and De-Squeeze

The 1.6 squeeze will change slightly the closer you get to the minimum focus, here you will have slightly less squeeze at roughly 1.51

In order to help you correctly frame and see your image during production, I’d recomend using an external monitor.

Now some cameras you’re using may have an anamorphic desqueeze built in, however, it may not offer you a custom option for 1.6

If you are filming on a full-frame camera like me you will end up with a 2.84.1 aspect ratio

In post you will need to crop the frame slightly to bring it back with range of cinemascope.

Focus

Now this is quite a sharp lens from critical focus to even wide open.

If it’s perhaps too sharp for you, maybe consider adding some filtration to soften up your image.

The minimum foucs distance is 0.75m/ 2.5 ft, so you’re able to get relatively close to your subject but it’s definitely not a macro lens.

If you’d like to get even closer, I’d recommend using a diopter.

Bokeh

This lens features 10 aperture blades which gives you that oval bokeh look.

One of the easiest ways to spot if something was shot on an anamorphic lens is by the shape of the bokeh.

This is often one of the reasons a lot of people choose these lenses, as they produce a nice oval shape.

Lens Flair

The other reason a lot of people like to shoot on anamorphic lenses is because of the flair they produce.

The flairs with this particular lens have a nice blue/teal tone.

This may not be perfect for every situation, so it’s worth considering how you control this when filming.

Build quality and Specs

In terms of actual physical specs for this lens, it has an all-metal body but even so, it’s not overly heavy at 1kg / 2.3 ibs

It has an 82mm filter thread and it comes in Sony E mount, L mount, canon rf and Nikon z mount

It has geared iris and focusing rings, which makes it incredibly easy if you want to attach a follow focus.

and markings are in feet and meters

Final Thoughts

This is a solid lens. If you’re looking to try out shooting anamorphic for yourself without breaking the bank, I would definitely recommend considering this.

I think the 50mm focal length is a great choice because once it’s de-squeezed and you get roughly 35mm. This gives you enough room for wide angle shots, at the same time you can get some great close ups as well. I would say it’s a very versatile choice if you are just working with one prime lens.

As always if you have any questions let me know in the comments and if you’d like to see more videos like this, you can carry on watching one of these or subscribe here

Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time!

Beginner Video Creators, Watch This

Mistergemba — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:16:12 +0000

Here’s a concise, numbered run‑through of “Beginner Video Creators, Watch This.” (≈25 min):

Mindset Over Gear
Don’t wait for the “perfect” camera or lens—master the fundamentals first. Your creativity and vision matter far more than specs.
Start with Story
Every video needs a clear purpose: define your audience, craft a simple narrative arc (hook, middle, payoff) and outline key beats before you roll.
Plan & Pre‑Pro
Even a 1‑minute clip benefits from shot lists, basic storyboards and a quick location scout. Planning saves you time in the edit and keeps your footage focused.
Audio Is King
Invest in a budget mic or recorder and always monitor sound. Clean dialogue and ambient beds disguise a lot of rough visuals—bad audio, by contrast, ruins everything.
Keep Lighting Simple
Learn one or two go‑to setups (e.g. window‑light key plus bounce fill); avoid chasing fancy rigs until you’re comfortable shaping light with minimal gear.
Edit with Purpose
Tell your story in the cut—trim dead space, match your B‑roll to your narrative rhythm, and don’t over‑style until pacing and structure are solid.
Consistency & Branding
Release on a regular schedule, use uniform intros/outros, and develop a visual “look” (color grade, type treatment) so viewers immediately recognize your work.
Optimize & Share
Craft clear titles, thumbnails and descriptions; use tags thoughtfully and post across platforms. Engage with comments to build community and learn what resonates.
Learn by Doing
Launch a 30‑day challenge: make one short video a week. Seek feedback, iterate fast, and gradually upgrade skills instead of waiting for a big break.
Network & Grow
Collaborate with peers, study tutorials and reverse‑engineer videos you admire. Real‑world experience and constructive critique will outpace any course—so get out there and make something.

How I’d Get a Film Education if I Was 18 Again

Mistergemba — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 21:20:22 +0000

Here’s a concise 8‑point run‑through of Luc Forsyth’s “How I’d Get a Film Education if I Was 18 Again” (19 min):

Skip the Ivory Tower
Film school can be pricey, slow, and often teaches outdated gear—so Luc argues you can get a richer education on your own.
Build a Self‑Directed Curriculum
- Film Canon: Watch a curated list of classics and modern landmarks across genres.
- Theory & Craft: Read a handful of core texts (think art‑of‑editing, mise‑en‑scène, documentary storytelling).
Learn by Doing
- Monthly Projects: Commit to shooting and finishing a short film or scene every month—experiment with narrative, doc, and hybrid forms.
- Rotate Roles: Work as director, DP, sound recordist, editor—so you understand each department’s language and challenges.
Leverage Free & Cheap Resources
- YouTube & Podcasts: Follow channels like Every Frame a Painting, Film Riot and Luc’s own tutorials.
- Online Courses & Masterclasses: Pick one or two paid courses for deep dives (lighting, sound, editing), but don’t get bogged down.
Reverse‑Engineer Your Favorites
Break down films you love—shot for shot. Recreate scenes to understand camera movement, lighting ratios, pacing, and performance direction.
Find Mentors & Crew
- Set Experience: Volunteer as a production assistant or grip to soak up real‑world workflows.
- Peer Network: Join local film clubs, Reddit communities or university workshops—your fellow filmmakers are your first collaborators and critics.
Assemble & Iterate Your Reel
- Quality over Quantity: Only showcase your best two or three shorts.
- Festivals & Feedback: Submit to micro‑festivals, screen for friends and mentors, then hone your next project based on their notes.
Treat It Like a Career, Not a Hobby
- Daily Discipline: Block out “office hours” for watching, reading, writing, shooting and editing.
- Long‑Term Vision: Map out where you want to be in one, three and five years—then reverse‑plan the skills and projects that’ll get you there.

By combining structured study, relentless hands‑on practice, community feedback, and real‑world set experience, you’ll cover in a few years what a traditional film degree might stretch over four—and you’ll own every lesson along the way.

13 Mindblowing Video Editing Tips

Mistergemba — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 21:34:27 +0000

DOWNLOAD CAPCUT

With CapCut on desktop?

We honestly couldn’t believe how good it was.

Most people have no idea CapCut even has a desktop app.

Much less a good one.

Much less a free good one.

We were just as surprised as you, but check out the video and honestly tell us you don’t feel the same way.

That’s why we teamed up with CapCut to give you 13 of our most mindblowing video editing tips…

…in no particular order.

Skin Tone Protection

CapCut has a built in Skin Tone Protection feature.

Just activate it on your clip, and you can get as extreme as you want on your color grade, while automatically preserving your skin tones.

One-Click Noise Reduction

If you have noisy, grainy footage for any reason (especially because you shot your clips in bad lighting, you can use the one-click noise reduction feature to easily remove a lot of the noise for you.

Just turn it on, and as a bonus, you can turn on the Image Enhancement feature to improve image quality even more.

Faux Dolly Zoom

Made popular by films like Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, a dolly zoom is where you dolly the camera in towards your subject, while simultaneously zooming out (or vice versa).

You can digitally recreate the same effect by taking any clip smoothly moving away from your subject, and then going to the beginning of that clip and adding a keyframe to ‘Scale’.

Then go to the end of the clip, and increase the scale until your subject is the same size in the frame as it was at the beginning of the clip. This will automatically create a new keyframe for you.

You can also do the exact same thing in reverse.

Auto Captions

Roughly 50% of people on social media watch videos with the sound off, so captions are important if you want to maximize your potential reach.

They can be extremely tedious though. Luckily, CapCut has an Auto Caption feature.

Just go to ‘Text’ in the top left toolbar, click ‘Auto Captions’, then just select the language you want.

That’s it.

You can also add any effects you want to your text, or change the look and style.

Creative Effects

If you’re looking for effects in any video editing software, you almost always have to look for something third-party.

CapCut surprisingly has some really amazing built-in effects, from transitions, overlays and text animations, to voice effects, and even animated stickers, which are perfect for social media.

Transition Combos

The stock transitions are also amazing, but one of the coolest things you can do is create your own Transition Combos.

A Transition Combo is when you use one type of transition at the end of your first clip, and a different, complimentary transition at the beginning of your second clip.

This essentially gives you an endless combination of transitions you can create, with the click of a button.

Collage Shot

This is an easy way to add a ton of visual interest to a shot, which works great for music videos, social media content, fashion films and more.

Duplicate a clip of a subject multiple times and stack them one on top of the other.

Then mask out different sections (simple shapes like rectangles, circles and triangles work best).

Add wildly different color grading and effects to each of the masked out layers, and you can also adjust their size (or even rotation) if you’d like.

This will create a stunning collage effect. For bonus points, you can even slightly animate movement into the different masked layers using keyframes.

Animated Letterboxes

This is one of our go to tricks to give our projects that ‘wow’ factor.

Select your clip, and under the ‘Video’ tab, select ‘Mask’. Then click ‘Filmstrip.

Set a keyframe on ‘Size’ where you want the animation to start.

Then go to where you want the animation to end, and drag the edges of the letterbox out of the frame.

Just like that, you have a stunning animated letterbox effect that’s perfect for major or impactful moments in your film.

Thumbnail Hack

If you’re lazy (or you just want to save time), you can actually create really good thumbnails right inside your edit.

Just press the ‘Click to Edit Cover’ button to the left of your timeline, and select the frame of your video you want to use as your thumbnail.

Press ‘Edit’, and you can add a ton of creative text and effects right there in the pop-up window.

Then, when you export your final project, CapCut will automatically export the thumbnail you created as well.

Dope.

Cloning

This is one of our favorite effects. In fact, we made an entire music video for Lion El Aton using this exact technique.

Just duplicate a clip of your subject, and place the duplicate clip above the original in your timeline.

Then, with the duplicate clip selected, go to ‘Cutout’ under the ‘Video’ tab. Then select ‘Auto Cutout’.

This will automatically remove your subject from the background on this layer.

Click on your viewing window and drag the cutout to where you want it to be in your shot.

Then duplicate this cutout layer, and drag the subject of this duplicate to a different area of your screen.

You can do this as many times as you want, to create some really trippy or surreal visuals that will definitely get your viewer’s attention.

Split Scene

If you already have an edit or scene you need to cut back into individual shots, you can use the ‘Split Scene’ feature.

Just right-click on your clip, and select ‘Split Scene’.

That’s it.

CapCut will automatically cut your video back into individual shots in a manner of seconds.

Text-to-Speech

Most text-to-speech is horrible. CapCut’s is pretty good though, and it’s only going to get better.

Just add some text, make sure it’s selected, and then click on the ‘Text-to-Speech’ tab.

Then just select a voice you like. It’s that easy.

Remove Filler Words

If you’re a seasoned veteran (like us), you can probably record all your dialogue without ever saying filler words like ‘um’ and ‘uh’.

If you’re a padawan to voice recording though, or you’re editing a podcast or interview clip of someone else that you need to clean up, you can use CapCut to remove all the filler words.

With any audio selected, just click the scissor tool above your timeline.

A new pop-up will then appear with a transcript of all your audio.

You can then jump between tabs showing all your dialogue, ‘Pauses’, ‘Repeats’, and ‘Filler Words’.

You can just select which pauses, repeats or filler words you want to remove, and click ‘Delete’.

Just like that, CapCut will automatically remove all of them and re-edit for you perfectly.

This one alone is a total lifesaver.

Honestly, we were blown away by everything we were able to do in CapCut, so even if you have a go-to editor, it’s definitely worth trying out. You may find yourself using it more and more, just like us.