$6,000 to Spend

Chris Messineo

Chris Messineo

Veteran
I have an opportunity to shoot a project for work and I have been given a budget of $6,000 to buy some new equipment.

This is what I currently have:

Panasonic DVX100A
Pelican Case
Bogen 503 Head
Bogen 3046 Sticks
Azden Shotgun Mic
Boom Pole
Ikegami Video Monitor
Final Cut Pro
Mac Dual G5 w/ 150 Gig HD, 1.5 Gigs of Ram, and 23 Cinema Display

Here is how I am thinking of spending the money:

$1,700 Sapphire Plugins:
http://www.genarts.com/

$1,500 Lowel DVCreator Light Kit 55:
http://www.dvcreators.net/products/dvck.html

$600 DV Rig Pro:
http://www.dvtec.tv/

$500 4 512mb DDR Memory for the MAC G5:
http://www.macmall.com

$500 DVD Studio Pro:
http://www.apple.com/dvdstudiopro/

$400 Manfrotto Zoom Handle:
http://www.manfrotto.com/product/templates/templates.php3?sectionid=306&itemid=2011

$300 250gig HD:
http://www.MacMall.com

$300 Apple Motion (as soon as it comes out):
http://www.apple.com/motion/

I'm curious what others would recommend instead if they were adding to their "kit", or does the above seem like a good list?

Thanks,

Chris
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

I would invest in some more glass first (Panasonic Anamorphic or some filters like a ND Grad, Polarizer and some effects stuff), after that some more audio equipment would be nice (wireless lavalier set) and then I would invest into more well machined mechanical parts (Chrosziel Mattebox, Rods, Follow Focus). Some lighting would also be nice though...
You see, I am more of a "hardware" guy, maybe the reason being that prices don't drop that drastically compared to computer equipment and that you usually don't have to buy "updates" all the time...
Just my two cents though...
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

why do you recommend an ana adapter if you don't know if they're shooting in widescreen ratio? And why follow focus? does he have a focus puller?

I'd say you def need extra hard disk space, a light kit, and DVD studio Pro.
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

i recommended the ana adapter because shooting in 16:9 is a very valuable solution to get professionally looking results. Especially here in Europe almost everything is shot widescreen these days (from corporate videos to weddings and shorts).
Concerning the follow focus, I found it very valuable even in run and gun situation as it gives you a much more precise tool to adjust focus (not talking about rack focus stuff etc.).
But anyway, as I said just my 2 cents...
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

I strongly recommend more money spent on production audio.

better shotgun ,AT-897, Rycote Wind shield kit, wireless mic or two, Long Vdb boom pole.

:D and at least one more DvRigPro... ;)

Danny Natovich.
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

I would invest in a 'better' lighting kit, a dolly system and a stabilizer if I had $6000.  
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

Yeah, toss the Lowels in the trash and get some better-quality lights (unless tiny size is of paramount importance to you, in which case Lowel is the leader).
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

Thanks for all of the great feedback.

I forgot to mention we do have a very nice polarizing filter and a windscreen for the shotgun mic.

I am deifnitely interested in the anamorphic lens, what is the current price on that and do I need anything to go with it (other than Jarred's $10 focusing guide).

As for the lights, from what I saw at DV Expo in NYC the Lowel lights looked at a decent quality low cost kit. Is there another brand I should check out in that price range ($1,500).

Finally, I would love to get wireless mic's but I think that might be the one item I can't fit into the budget.

Chris
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

The ana adapter is somewhere around 600-700 USD,
in the price range of 1500 USD I see no alternative to the Lowels,
concerning wireless mics, check out the new Sennheiser G2 kits,
you can get a decent setup for around 700 USD.
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

Of those I would get a Sanken CS-3, and an Oktava, all with propper mouting and wind protection, a wired Lav if you do interview work shorhanded, and get a VCR for editing. I guess you can buy much better lights with much less money (Check the Rostronics on the lighting page). So that would be 2500-3000 on mics, about 1200 in a DSR-11 and 500 on lighting. The rest could be used to upgrade the Mac, first with more HD, then with DVDSP and the rest on memory.

Since you plan on buying the dvrig I am thinking you do a lot of run and gun? So you can probably get only a cheaper shotgun like a CS-1 or the more expensive MKH-416, and get the dvrig with the money you'll save.

But I think the deck is a crucial thing you seem to be leaving behind.
 
Re: $6,000 to Spend

Everyone, thanks for the feedback, I ordered everything I listed above and added an anamorphic adapter as well as the sennheiser g2 wireless mic.

It's a lot easier to pay for this stuff when your job is footing the bill.

Thanks again,

Chris
 
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