Help Needed! Equip Recommendations for new studio

[craigom]

We are looking to setup a simple but effective professional video system. Our main usage will be for customer videos involving some in the field recording. Plus we are likely to reach into small commercials with FX, using a small studio setup. We don’t have much experience with video. As a small company from Bosnia we specialize in digital animation, effects and audio creation. But we want to branch out into capturing more of our own content. Two of our team members are active photographers so we have basic knowledge of lenses, apertures, shutter speeds and basic lighting. We have experience with processing audio but not much with capturing it.

So i would really appreciate all your expert input on what would be a good starting setup for these purposes. We are looking to achieve a nice cinematic quality to our video, to be delivered via broadcast but mainly for Internet.

I have pretty much settled on getting the HVX200 with a Red rock adapter. Not sure about lenses though. My main questions are:


What is a decent/budget option for handheld stabilizer for a HVX200 with adaptor? I believe the HVX200 with the M2 35mm adapter weights about 13lbs or around 6 kg. Anything under $2000? The same question applies to a crane/jib?
Is getting an external mixer a good idea for basic dual audio? Any recommendations on versatile quality in-the-field mics that work well for interviewing people? From reading the forums i believe a good option would be to use a shotgun mic in addition to some lav mics and run them through a mixer. Is that correct? Recommended types of mixer?
What kind of lighting would be recommended as a starter kit? What basic lighting would we need in the field and what would be good in studio?
What do people recommend for a budget green screen setup?
Here is my proposed setup. I welcome your comments. What is missing? What else do we need to consider? Bad choices?

Panasonic HVX200
Battery Pack
P2 4GB x 2
MacBook Pro with Final Cut Studio
35mm Adaptor (MicroM2 or Beavis)
External Monitor? Follow-focus?
Canon SLR Lens 85mm 1.2, 50mm 1.2

Kessler Crane
GlideCam?

Shotgun mic and wireless lav setup
External mixer?

EEFX ChromaKey background

Lowell Lighting Kit – DV Creator 44
A 300w max. Rifa-44 collapsible softlight, 500w max. focusable Omni-light, a 250w focusable Pro-light & a 750w max. broad throw Tota-light, with Uni-stands and a handful of light controls

[David Saraceno]

Duel Adapter when latest drivers are released.

EC/34 eSATA or FW card.

External bus powered or power FW or SATA drive.

[wgzn]

i dont know if ANY of the small handheld (or even lower cost body-worn) stabilizers are going to work well with an hvx+adapter+lens+rails. (brevis is the only adapter that doesnt REQUIRE rails)

i use my hvx without 35adapter on a body-worn magiqcam (sort of a poor-mans steadicam flyer). works quite well. im told that the steadicam merlin will work as well. its pricey for a handheld, but if it works as well as their JR model, id consider it quite worth it for budget productions.

IMO, you dont really need a mixer for field work, unless youre doing feature type work or situations with multiple live dialog. the camera has two independent ins.

i use sony ecm77 wired lavs - just because i dont trust wireless ones 100%
an on camera mic isnt really needed unless youre doing ENG work or dont have budget for a boom mic operator. a good long shotgun on a boom pole with a dead cat windscreen would be a great "catch-all"

that lowell kit is ok. but id suggest the 55, that rifa 44 is TINY! you can get cheaper soft boxes but you cant beat that rifa for super fast setup!

depends on what you consider "budget" for green screen. youre not going to put together proper material, lights, backdrop frame and software for less than about $3600. id suggest that foam backed stuff, two 4 foot kinos and a manfrotto backdrop frame.

as far as adapters go, id suggest 2 things. look at the sgpro. form what ive seen its quieter and has less light loss than the redrock. and the brevis is a good choice if your looking for simple and lightweight. as far as lenses go. search the forums of the manufacturers thats a LONG discussion!

[iDV8]

Unless you're getting a great deal on the 4GB P2 cards I would get the larger ones. The new 16GB P2 cards are about $950 (end of May?) and the 8GB are around $650. I'm sure they are more expensive in Bosnia (as they are in Europe) but the price per GB is better the higher you go.

[craigom]

Thank you both for your input. I will research more the 3 main 35mm adapters and then look into what stabilizers might be best. The Magiqcam says it can be used for up to 15lbs - perhaps its an option. We will try and keep our audio recording options simple. Any recommendations on decent, reasonably priced shotgun mics? And yes we will definitely have to get a good external storage system - the eSate drives could be a good bet. Thanks

[panchromatic]

Hello on the other side of the world!
The pre-amps on external mixers are almost invariably better than the ones onboard, the HVX has good pre-amps, but only the best of a bad prosumer bunch.
You will get better sounding audio by taking line in to the camera, no question.
Only problem with using an external mixer is that someone has to work it, but if you have the crew budget, then great. Another good accessory is a boom stand for the shotgun mic, letting you shoot sit down iv's with a one man crew.
I use a sound-devices mix-pre mixer and an me66 mic. The me66 is not very "natural" sounding, but it is clean sounding, and very good value...The mix pre is ultra small and simple, but is good enough for me, you may prefer the next model up.
Personally I would not bother with the red-rock, or any adapter, and make sure you have a good matte-box and 4x4 filters first. Depending on the use and your aesthetic, of course. Shallow d.o.f is all good, but decent filters are so important to getting a good image out of these cameras. Plus an Hvx with a good mattebox on the front looks mean, whearas with a 35mm adaptor it looks plain ridiculous. ( I don't need adaptors to be shallow, as you can see..)
Where is your tripod? I know its not as groovy as a crane or glidecam, but I would not build a kit without one...
For lighting, it so depends on what you are doing. I personally just have three small tungsten lights, and hire when I need something else, however the kinoflo diva 400 does seem to be one of the most popular and diversely useful soft sources arround. I personally love arri made lights, they are super simple, well made and intuitive to use, plus ( again ) look good...The kino-flos are ugly and plastic-crap, but very handy..
My ( some still on the wishlist ) kit....
1x 300w fres.
2x650w fres.
1x800w openface
1xkino-flo diva 400
1x arrisun 1200

Enough ranting anyway, hope some of this is useful...

[Mark A. Beal]

Any recommendations on decent, reasonably priced shotgun mics?

The Audio Technica AT4073a is a mid-priced mic that offers a good balance between cost and quality.

[tannerherriott]

Any recommendations on decent, reasonably priced shotgun mics?

I really like my Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic

[craigom]

This is all great stuff. Much more things to ponder on now. I must admit i hadnt checked the latest P2 card prices. They really are dropping i can see. We will definitely need a good tripod so i will start researching that.

[wgzn]

tripod - i suggest the bogen 526 head on 3193 legs a bit of overkill but it will be fine for everything from simple camera to camera with rails+adapter+mattebox or even a mid sized jib

[Bunch Casseday]

tripod - i suggest the bogen 526 head on 3193 legs a bit of overkill but it will be fine for everything from simple camera to camera with rails+adapter+mattebox or even a mid sized jib

The 516 will work well also, if you're REALLY looking to save every dime :)

[Bunch Casseday]

For a stabalizer, the Glidecam 4000, with the Glidecam Smooth Shooter Support Arm and Vest actually works pretty darn well.

In "2 Spring Mode," it will support up to 18 lbs, and you can get the whole setup for under $2000.

[Ted Spencer]

The indicam stabilizer (www.indicam.com) with the heavy-duty arm option should work well with the HVX and some accessories. It costs just over $2000. Whether it's got enough oomph to handle a loaded-to-the-gills HVX I'm not sure. Perhaps not. But in my opinion you probably shouldn't use a 35mm adapter on a stabilizer anyway. You want a pretty forgiving focus range/depth of field because you're usually moving around the subject. Critical focus in those circumstances is nearly impossible, even more so with a shallow DOF, so the stock lens is probably the better choice for those shots.

[craigom]

These are excellent points. Thank you all very much. I have just placed my order for the HVX and i am reasearching now the products you have all recommended.

[StreetsofPlastic]

I really like my Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic

Hey, the Rode NTG-2 is one of the lowest price shotguns I have seen. How is the sound quality as compared to the other mics (audio technica, senheisser)?

Do you get what you pay for when itcomes to shotgun mics?

I am overbuget as it is so I am looking for ways to save a little money however I want to make sure audio is still top quality

Thanks

[siniarch]

Panasonic HVX200 - great choice. :)

Battery Pack -will definitely need

P2 4GB x 2 - as stated before get at least 8gig. (I suggest 16gig)

MacBook Pro with Final Cut Studio - I'm a PC guy but I hear good things about FCS

35mm Adaptor (MicroM2 or Beavis) -I have the M2. If you want quick setups and less crew. don't get it. (everything gets more expensive.) If you are filming a movie that you want to submit to festival and hope that it will get picked up by distribution, etc... GET IT. it gives a really nice look to the HVX. But adds time and Money and lots of it.

External Monitor? Follow-focus? - you can get the Gateway 24" LCD screen. (about $650 US last time I checked and has RGB inputs) or go with the 7" marshall, or the 7" Ikean (not as good but great price) I'm also coming up with a monitor that I will be selling soon, so keep an eye out. (shameless plug. sorry)

Canon SLR Lens 85mm 1.2, 50mm 1.2 - most people recommend Nikon. great image and easy to find and price for used ones is great. If you have 2 people that are into photography already, why not find out what the have. Personally I think you need a wide angle 24, a mid 50, long 85 or 105, and a tele 180. (you will not want any lens with more than f2.8 unless its going to be in bright sunlight.)

Kessler Crane - not sure about the crane, but I've heard mix feelings about the kessler

GlideCam? - for Stabilizer, I just purchase the FS-Pro 1. I'm not a pro, but its definitely sturdy and well built. I was just in a shoot with at guy who does this for a living and he had a 40,000 unit. I will try to get him to review my FS-Pro so I can better recommend it. but from my test, it is a nice unit and it can handle the weight. Price is awesome too. http://www.fsprostabilisateur.com/english/index.htm

Shotgun mic and wireless lav setup - I have a Senheiser M66. like someone said not the most natural sounding , but for the price super clean sound. I was helping a friend who opted to use the Oktava 102 over the Rode NT. I didn't personally hear the difference, but they preferred it even for shot gun stuff.???
As for wireless, I've been told to only consider Lectrosonic for receivers. as for the mic, I'm not sure.

External mixer? - Audio Devices Pre-Mix

EEFX ChromaKey background - on the cheap end, you can buy green fabric or you can buy paint and paint a wall. the most important thing I think is that the color is consisten and the background is lit evenly and a few fstops darker than the talent.

Lowell Lighting Kit – DV Creator 44 - I can't remember if I have the 44 or the 55, but I bought this also because of the price and I needed something quick. I like it. It doesn't throw as much light as I would like. I'd look into the BluLine (do a search here), Alzo 800, or some HMI or Metal Halide that will use less watts of power per lumens of light. Also they are daylight balanced and since they throw more light, if you gel them to be indoor balanced the light loss from the gels is ok. if you get the lowel kit and you gel that, you will lose even more light. (wish someone had warned me about this before I bought my set)

I think that pretty much covers it.
Good luck.

[Noel Evans]

I'm also coming up with a monitor that I will be selling soon, so keep an eye out. (shameless plug. sorry)

You what in the what now? Sheesh, make sure you keep us posted on that.

[siniarch]

sure ncje. The order for the prototype components is being ordered today. I hope they can ship it today and I can have a working prototype within a few weeks. :)