Documentary on a budget, what to bring in the field

[drt]

Hi Guys, I got my HVX200 last week and I want to shoot a documentary in Indonesia.
What would be the best accessories set to do this.

I've bought these.

- Audio technica BP4029 shotgun stereo mic.
- Few extra batteries.
- A Senheiser HD250 headphone.

I'm on a tight budget right now.
Do you guys have good equipment to recommend?

light and protective gear,bags.

What do I have to take with me on this journey?
My fellow man said, that I shouldn't forget a white paper to do the white balance.

Thanks in advance.

[Stephen Mick]

Define "tight." And how light do you want to travel?

--SM

[VictorS]

Make sure you've got enough money for storage later on.

[Pierre Petit]

I can speak indonesian pretty well so if i can ever be of any help. I will be there for 5 weeks this january.

The equipment you need will depend on what kind of documentaire you will be doing.

Try to avoid bags or cases that are easily identifed has carrying expensive equipment. Especially if you stay at cheaper hotels....

Get a rain slick for the cam.

You can find external hard disks in indonesia so if you run out of space it wont be a problem.

Wich part of indo are you traveling to? What are your plans?

-Pierre

[drt]

Well as light as possible offcourse. I've bought a lowpro roller backpack and a b+w protection filter. should I remove the lowpro logo? I want to film monuments, art and offcourse the beautiful nature paradise over there. I think about capturing some traditional dances. So culture is the main target.
I'm mainly doing JAVA Jakarta,Bandung, Yogjakarta, Surabay and Den pasar Bali.
Ok I still need a rain slicker then. I was looking for a on camera light but the only good one are only available in the US hehe :).
I have 300euro left to spend on equipment.
Thanks in advance you guys.

[Pierre Petit]

I got the petrol rain slicker, it helped me a lot and its cheap. The slicker is especially usefull in the rainy season.Thats when everything is green and very eye pleasing, making use of the 422 color compression of the hvx.
The lowpro is not as obvious as a pelican case...you should be fine. It will get dirty very fast anyway.
Do you have anything for support? Tripod?
If you need any tips or question on bandung send me a pm, i have been going theyre for the last 15 years and know pretty much the city in and out. I even build myself a small house there and will get married soon to a bandung girl.
West java has some amazing natural sites like volcanoes, pine forests, rugged mountains, tea fields and amazing friendly people. In bandung you wont get hassled as you would in other parts of indo. I'm talking about touts selling you stuff.
The arts in bandung is also very interesting.
Anyway i could think of a million things i want to say.

Learn some indonesian if you can. Its not hard and so much worth it.

-Pierre

[Justyn]

i love the lowepro backpack... it's a great case and it looks like a hikers pack so you'll be cool and it doesn't scream expensive camera... and it should be able to fit your laptop in there and some harddrives as well. I'd say a couple of bus powered harddrives might be nice...


but in addition, for your remaining cash... I'd get:

Monopod which is good for some steady stuff and defending against the natives...
More batteries..(can never have enough)
Polorizer filter, maybe haze filter, ND filters.
Cleaning microfiber for lens,
compressed air.
mini DV tape to give out in case you get busted and have to leave a location and then you can pretend to give up the footage you just shot...



have some fun

[drt]

Ah Pierre that's wonderfull news that you get married to a bandung girl. :)
My grandma lives in cidadap Bandung. I can speak indonesian a little bit no too technical but I can ask for anything. I'm going this friday to indonesia and will stay there for 3 weeks.
Basically I want to travel light. But since my Backpack weight is about 17.6 pounds only with a SLR and the HVX thats already pretty heavy for a handbag :)
Do you have a good adres in Indonesia for buying accesoires?

Ok I have got a microfiber for cleaning the lens.
I'll buy the compressed air over there because they would take it at the airport.

Justyn you make me lauch :D I'm imagining to kick people asses with the mono stick ;)

Ok so I tripod and rainslicker is necessary.
I can buy more batteries over there I think. They are quite heavy.
I'll check for that today.

Thanks for the tips.
I'll let you know what I've bought.
Cheers

[Pierre Petit]

Mmm, getting the battery in jkt would be possible. You have to count waisting a full day because of traffic tough. Get it before you leave. I would not now were to get a panasonic battery in bandung. For regular photo accesoires go to kamal photo on jalan braga. Just before the braga city walk or circle k.

I bring a manfrotto 503 with a very short set of legs. I remove the head so i can fit both in my suitcase. I check that suit case in. You can do much more with a tripod, timelapse for example. But it is more expensive and bulkier than a monopod.

Amuse toi bien!
Mon email au cas ou petitpierre@videotron.ca

Pierre

[esperman]

lots of P2 cards, a laptop and a RAID LOL

Will you shoot to tape?

[drt]

ok that very clear to me :)
well I managed to get my RainSlicker from Camrade.

Ok thanks you guys.
I hope to post some nice screengrabs.

[Pierre Petit]

any update on your trip? Im in bandung right now getting ready to leave on a motorbike journey with my hvx....

[rogha]

:)
Do you have a good adres in Indonesia for buying accesoires?

Ok I have got a microfiber for cleaning the lens.
I'll buy the compressed air over there because they would take it at the airport.

Justyn you make me lauch :D I'm imagining to kick people asses with the mono stick ;)


You can check http://www.jpckemang.com, it's the store and it's in Jakarta. They speak English.
Or if you want to rent, there are several people who rent their equipment around the place. Just PM me what you need other than rain slicker and tripod.
But, if you want travel light, grab the Lowepro backpack with the laptop insert. It will be helpful for the ingest in the middle of nowhere and it doesn't look like a heavy equipment.

[rogha]

any update on your trip? Im in bandung right now getting ready to leave on a motorbike journey with my hvx....

Are you on certain project in Bandung?
I just noticed in the website that you made footages in Bandung and Papandayan.

[Cinemandrew]

mini DV tape to give out in case you get busted and have to leave a location and then you can pretend to give up the footage you just shot...


Wow, that's amazingly good advice. I'm gonna remember that one.