Best Camera to Use? Best Areas to shoot film Documenting someone's Life

[Cedric Perry]

I am interested in doing a film over a person very close to me. The film itself is going to be very personal, and I want to be able to know which areas would make the film give its vibe. Her life has been good, but of course, she has had troubling times.

What areas could give off a serious vibe into this documentary? What type of camera would you use that would be most fitting for a documentary?

 

[Drew Ott]

The camera doesn't play a huge part in giving the film a "vibe"-- that has more to do with your shot selection, style of operating, lighting, set decoration, etc.

The smaller the camera, the less the she will notice it and 'feel' it when she is being filmed. Or if you choose a large camera, perhaps that would make everybody take the project more seriously and and thereby be more open and trusting.

I don't know exactly what you mean by "areas," so perhaps I'm not understanding your question fully.

 

[steve4505]

I am interested in doing a film over a person very close to me. The film itself is going to be very personal, and I want to be able to know which areas would make the film give its vibe. Her life has been good, but of course, she has had troubling times.

What areas could give off a serious vibe into this documentary? What type of camera would you use that would be most fitting for a documentary?

I like to film with an interesting background behind anyone I interview. In many cases if you are careful you can shoot in a room in their home. That's usually where most folk are the most comfortable, especially when you realize to do a good interview you need lighting (usually 3 lights), camera, tripod, and sound (mic(s) and recorder). Each of these pieces of gear quickly begin take away the feel of intimacy (no matter what location) because of their size and volume. Many if not most folk don't like being recorded either. For instance my Mom closes her eyes for long periods of times (which is pretty much a worthless take when she is interviewed). Some tips I've learned is its absolutely necessary to be very very prepared. Small stuff like plenty of batteries is critical. Have your interview questions pre-prepared and rehearsed by the interviewer. If you are a one-man-band you have a big shoes to fill. I found watching sound, recorder and doing an interview isn't natural and takes practice. When you shoot in a room its best to shoot at a diagonal. Lighting and sound are extremely important. If you have never done it before try recording yourself and look and listen to the results. The smallest detail can quickly ruin all your time and you may not get a second chance to get what that person said.

If you are trying to get a particular "vibe" there may be private sentimental locations which also could work. However, if its outdoors you are increasing the difficulty significantly. In doing corporate documentary I've recognized people still act like they are at work and they are usually pretty guarded.

Every camera has its pro's and cons for documentaries. There are suggestions all over this forum. The hacked GH2 is probably the cheapest with decent quality. I personally just have a $300 Cannon SX260HS and I can record an interview with that but I would need a decent sound recorder to get sound. The results off something as inexpensive as my SX260HS are just worthy for youtube and family type DVD's but not for anything which would be broadcast. In general even the GH2 might not be broadcast worthy (unless its a B-roll and/or not a major network). If you are talking Film as in something for broadcast the Cannon 5d Mark II/III are being used all the time for that work. In the right conditions the Black Magic Camera will perform equally or better to the Cannon 5d.