Africa Doc w/my HVX - How do I do it?

[Vern]

I'm going to Malawi, Africa with a group called Water Wells For Africa (WWFA (http://www.waterwellsforafrica.com/)) for 3 weeks, to document them putting water wells in remote villages. The schedule is something like 2 days in town (electricity, etc) then 4 days out in the middle of nowhere for about 3 weeks.

I need to figure out what my workflow is going to look like. How to shoot. How to dump. How to recharge. Etc.

This is what I'm working with now, and I should have a small budget to beef it up:
HVX-200
(1) 16gb card
Mac Book
150GB USB Powered External HD
Senn ME66
4 of the big batteries
VidLed light
Shock mount
And I'm not sure if it's worth taking my nice set of sticks.
I also get an Asst. Cameraman.

I have no idea how much I'll be shooting, but I'm guessing around an hour and a half at most per day. Some days maybe next to nothing. They want a "story of a child" kind of thing also, so I should probably be ready to shoot hours if need be.

They will have a generator in the field, but not all the time.

Basically I can't rely on anything other than what I bring.

Also, remote lighting? Compact, battery operated, LED???

Any suggestions will help. Thanks everyone!

[MikeGunter]

Hi,

Ouch. The real problem would seem to be electrical power throughout the work flow, and that's just repeating the obvious.

I would add one cheap option to your kit, a power inverter - for a car's cigarette lighter. It won't cost much and it won't supply much either, but it could charge a battery while driving to a location.

There are plenty of solar chargers, but I'm not enough of a gear-head to know if they will do the trick. I doubt it. I think you'll need more current than they will provide. Unfortunately, I think you're going to need a dedicated generator which is going to mean fuel, too.

I've spent a great deal of time in remote spots far from electricity, but there were resources that were on hand to put generators and fuel on the locations - something I'm not sure that will be available to you.

Hopefully, someone can chime in with some really useful information.

[heavyG]

Hey Vern (always wanted to say that).

I just came back from a 2 camera (HVX) shoot at Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I faced some challenges that are similar to what you may face - remoteness, and lack of power... We were gone 24 days, with 4 days were we had no access to power - of course those were the shoot days.

First off take the sticks - I know that on these remote travel jobs every pound counts (at the airport) and every inch of space needs to be accounted for, but don't leave anything behind that you would normally need.

For batteries, we were 4 days away from power; there were / are solar panels available at base camp but they wouldn't charge the batts in a timely manner (I tested before going, and had been there before) so we carried enough power to shoot without re-charging. 7 Panasonic long life & 2 Anton Bauer 10k Elipz batteries.

The Antons were rock solid, I'm so glad they were in my kit.

There are also solutions so you can use 12v battery belts with the HVX, I had two of those along as well.

You are probably going to need more cards, we had 3-32gb, 2-8gb, and 2-4gb... This allowed us to shoot without dumping in case we couldn't power the computer / hard drive combo. It was a good idea, because even though we had back-up batteries for the computer it did come close to running out and I didn't dump the last day of shooting until we reached a 'stable' power source.


Portable gennies are really dirty - power spikes, variable power, not true to 60 (or 50)Hz and if you don't 'own' (control) it then you can't rely on it. Solar sounds great and gets thrown around a lot, but not quite there yet as far as reliability / speed / cost. Reliability is a huge issue when people are depending on you to get the shot.

Sounds like a great job, I love those remote shooting opportunities.

G.

[heavyG]

P.s.

What about that assistant cameraman? Maybe I have -I mean he has some kit to offer?

G.

[Vern]

I'm a little disappointed you forewent the obvious yet classic:
"Know what I mean Vern."

That was actually, just about exactly what i needed to hear. 3 - 32gb's is music to my ears but screams at my budget. Good point about the genie spikes. Luckily, I don't think we'll be in as remote/extreme a situation. The inverter in the car my be a good option, and I can just get an extra battery charger -- charge two at once.

I need to look into that power belt. Who makes them?

Any suggestions for light? We're talking just in case, battery operated something-somethings. Maybe the grittyness will even be better.

I'm meeting with the producers tonight, so I'll know more of what I can and can't get away with.

[manglerBMX]

get yourself a good sized bescor battery belt and you can run camera and light with that thing. bescor.com. they don't have the best website so maybe looking at b&h will be more helpfull.

[heavyG]

There is a place here in Toronto that makes / sells the adapter to use a 12v battery belt with the HVX. http://www.imagegearinc.com/

If you have a vehicle the inverter will be great, you can at least have stable power for dumping footage into the hard drive.

G.

[MediaCrafter]

... and I can just get an extra battery charger -- charge two at once...

Vern,

Make SURE you have at least 2 battery chargers...they do fail. I found that out the hard way in Senegal and had to have a replacement flown in...:-BlackEye(DBG

[MikeGunter]

Hi Vern,

The inverters come in many varieties. Some big, some small, and prices vary. Match what you need to what you have with wattage and amperage, and don't go overboard. If you can charge up a couple of batteries during some down time while the generator isn't available to you, you'll have made some pretty good use of them.

I've burned up a few generators, too, but that's another story, and another time. I was able to get my equipment replaced, and it wasn't terribly critical.

I would consider taking my own small power generator and finding gas for it there. I think it would be a real pain, but it would certainly be a plan that would work better than a lot of alternatives. I doubt that you're backpacking in anywhere, so transportation shouldn't be a problem. You could leave it there and not hassle with bringing it back. It's something I'd look into doing.

[Justyn]

Vern,

For lights. I simply love those camping ring lights you can get at most travel supply stores, maybe even a walmart. They have them here in orlando at a supply place and for 10 bucks, you get a round dome LED light that runs off 3 AA's for days and days. They produce a great amount of light. You could pick up like 5 of them and hang them around the subject.. I often just hold them out to the sides and shoot like that. You can get the mikelight from online for 150 bucks that's color balanced, but these cheap camping lights are awesome


Cheap. lightweight.. runs for ever and bright... The other thing you might want to consider for power is a couple of Tekkeon batteries.


cheers and have a great trip.

[Daniel.Valle]

I'd take a rain cover for the camera, not only will it allow to shoot in the rain, it will protect the camera from dust, which depending on what part of Africa you're going there will be lots of.

[Vern]

"For lights. I simply love those camping ring lights you can get at most travel supply stores..."these sound good, and i don't have to worry about them getting broken/lost/stolen... although I couldn't find any info about that "mikelight" you were talking about.

I actually will be doing a bit of backpacking/hiking. From what it sounds like, we will be roughing it for those 4 days at a time, so I can't take a gennie and even a battery belt sounds like hell. I'll probably just take an inverter or two and a COUPLE (thank you Media Crafter) chargers and have to be on them.

All great stuff. Thank you everyone.

[MikeGunter]

I actually will be doing a bit of backpacking/hiking.

Oops....

I'm a retired Infantryman, who, if my count is right, slept (if you can call it that) under the stars more than 4 1/2 years in 5 continents. Much of my travel has been by boot leather, so my soles sympathize.

If your accommodations can somehow manage a small Honda generator, I still think it would be worth packing in - at least considering. I do realize that might be asking far too much - I don't know if you'll have pack animals or if the burden will fall upon yourselves. Of course, fuel will still have to be considered, too. Again, it may just be too much a drain on all resources.

One of the things you'll probably want to do is divide the actual amount of time you'll need to recharge and download the content and need the Macbook and such while you're out and make a real assessment of need. Keeping battery use to a minimum will likely be a key component to your success.

Good luck!

[siniarch]

vern,

Get some extra batteries. I'd take 10 at least and 4-6 chargers. you can find these batteries for about $24 - $39 each, so its not that much and you'll be sure to be able to power the camera for 4 full days. maybe even more.
The chargers you can get for about $12-15.

For lights I'd get some LED if you can hack it or go with the camping lanterns.

Also, don't forget to take some miniDV tapes. (for backup)

Definitely more P2 cars (3-4) 32gb.

And if you are getting an inverter: 1st don't go over 800watts, it could kill your car circuitry, 2nd I'd spend the extra dough for a Pure Sine rather than a Modified Sine Wave. (it will help give you smoother power for laptops and charging batteries. and take 2 of those)

If on a pinch when you are half way, you can get a marine deep cycle battery and connect the inverter to it and power your laptop and also your batteries.

And those Tekkeon batteries are great. You can power your camera, laptop, cell phone, etc.. with those.

good luck.

[Vern]

Perfect. I don't think i'll be able to get all the cards/batteries I'd like, unfortunately. But I'll just explain to my producers that it will directly affect how much I can shoot.

As far as dumping goes... i should probably do a search for a thread, but I've just been going straight from camera to my hard drive through my mac. Just dumping the Contents folder onto the drive and that's it. Is there a better option? One where my AC could take a card out, go dump it, and I can keep shooting...

Thanks for the great feedback.

[heavyG]

You could always find someone who is willing to AC, and bring along their own gear...

G.

[FatDaddy]

I take a small reflector and small slik to shoot with. Get good at natural light interviews (take them outside or use a window as the light source, watch the time of day for best interview light, etc.). You can also use a shower curtain to block the sun as a diffuser (takes help to manage it). I have also run into trouble with power outages in remote places, so car adapter could work or generator if possible (make friends with people who might have a generator and pay for gas, etc.).

General cleaning of the camera should be done daily (at least a look see). Photography air blowers work well (the ones that look like rockets). Filters such as a polarizer and more ND goes a long way to making things look better.

Lastly, create a shot sheet. Surprising how easy it is to think through things back here and when you get there you are trying to adapt to the environment and sometimes you need to remember what you want this thing to look like. you can even work through this on the plane over. Also, energy bars, pepto chewables and travel toilet paper.

[Glen Gustafson]

Katadyne pocket water filter or similar
Immodium tablets (never needed them but somebody else has every trip)

Also I'd be curious to know if these can work. Seems like peeing in the ocean, but it might get you a few minutes more a day:

http://www.leathermanstore.com/brunton47.html