Camera Advice Needed

F

Fxguy

Member
Hello everyone!

I need some advice for a special project that has come up. My gandmother has recently been diagnosed with cancer and given a poor prognosis. While she is still relatively healthy, I'd like to interview her and record the interview in a documentary style. I'm primarily doing this to preserve our family story and history for generations to come. I'd like to record her telling what it was like to grow up, how she met our Grandfather, etc...

I'm looking for advice on what kind of equipment I'll need to do all of this. I know its a tall order, but I am primarily interested in capture and storage. Editing can come later, but right now I need to get as many of the stories clearly captured and safely stored while I still have the time. I am entirely Mac based and have Final Cut Studio Pro 2 for editing and compressing. For storage I plan on saving the raw files to a RAID storage system for peace of mind.

I'm primarily interested in a camera suggestion. I know I will need a camera with XLR inputs that will allow me to record better Audio. I don't have much to invest in this financially so I am really trying to find a solution for under $2000, if at all possible. So for $2000 what is the best or most ideal setup to preserve her memory with the best quality?


Thanks !
Tim
 
My two cents…

Find a local shooter and hire them to shoot it for you. If you pick the right person, you'll get all the camera you could need, and with them running camera, you'll be freed up to focus on the interview itself, and getting the stories and memories you want captured.
 
Yeah, I would look at hiring a shooter, will be much less than $2000 and you should get a great result! focus more on the interview, as said.
 
I think it'd be weird to hire someone to shoot it for you, since it's a personal issue that's driving the project. I'd recommend getting a DSLR like a T3i with a kit lens and sticking a Rode Videomic on top of it. A rig like that would cost you $1200 at the most and the video/audio from would be decent.
 
Having been a fan of the HVX, I have noticed some decent used HVX's for under $2000. This being a personal project I would definately like to keep it in the family so to speak. I understand the concept of hiring someone, but this is going to end up being a long term project over several months. Since she does live 2 hours North of me (she lives near Chicago) I plan on making the trip each weekend and setting up and recording this over several weekends.

Any tips on interviewing / getting her to talk? I mean she is a talkative one to begin with and young (only 69) for a Grandma. I know I should ask some standard questions, but right now the plan is to just set her in her favorite chair, set the camera up in front of her and ask her "Tell me about..." and just capture what comes out.

So the DVX has XLR input? I must of missed that in doing my initial research last night.


Tim
 
Well Lo and Behlod is does have XLR input! Pansonic's site is a little misleading under the specs tab for the DVX100. My only concern with using the DVX100 vs the HVX200 would be shooting in standard def, especially with High Def being so common nowadays.

Tim
 
A DSLR with a mic mounted to it is WAY the wrong way to go.
For one there is a record length issue as the camera can only record a certain amount of time before it stops due to file size issues with its operating system. and I am sure some of the stories your going to record will be well above 12 minutes long.

second , a microphone mounted to the camera IS the worst place that you could possibly mount a microphone to capture decent audio.

Get a real Video camera with audio inputs and get a decent wired lavalier mic, and perhaps a second if you wish to record yourself asking the questions as well.

there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to do this for under $2k. a pair of decent lavs will set you back say around $400 leaving you with $1600 for a good decent used cam that can deal with the mics.

hope this helps.
 
You're probably going to shoot in close-up or medium close-up, so standard def should give you all the detail you would want (perhaps even more than Grandma would like). The audio would be at least as important as the visual, so use a good mic with XLR connection, and use a camcorder that doesn't compress the audio too much. (HDV compresses audio more than good old standard def DV.) A DVX100 sounds like a good idea to me.

Ken
 
recordingwhiz said:
A DSLR with a mic mounted to it is WAY the wrong way to go.
For one there is a record length issue as the camera can only record a certain amount of time before it stops due to file size issues with its operating system. and I am sure some of the stories your going to record will be well above 12 minutes long.

second , a microphone mounted to the camera IS the worst place that you could possibly mount a microphone to capture decent audio.

Get a real Video camera with audio inputs and get a decent wired lavalier mic, and perhaps a second if you wish to record yourself asking the questions as well.

there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to do this for under $2k. a pair of decent lavs will set you back say around $400 leaving you with $1600 for a good decent used cam that can deal with the mics.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

This project of his isn't going to film festivals, it's a personal project that he's shooting for the purpose of documenting his family's history. Onboard audio through a mounted Rode Video Mic is not only sufficient, it's probably going to be indistinguishable from audio recorded via XLR inputs to the people who will eventually watch it.
 
Hey Tim,
The DVX is great, but SD. The DSLR's are great, but have some audio and time constraints that require monitoring. If it were me, I'd want a simple package that will just work the way I need it to.

I love the Panasonic HMC-150 for this project. A used camera will eat up the full $2k budget though. However, the nice thing about the HMC is that the price will be $2k for quite some time. What I'm getting at is if there is any way to add a little more money (like $500) for a wired lav and a "good enough" tripod, you can sell the camera whenever the project is over for essentially the same price you paid.

In a project like this, you probably anticipate shooting your grandmother mulitple times right? An hour or two a day for anywhere from 5-10 days. If it were me, I wouldn't hire someone -- the experience of doing this with my grandmother would as valuable as the footage itself. Just remember to have someone take production stills.

The HMC uses SD cards. I buy mine from macmall.com. Transcend 32gb cards are approx $60 a piece and get 3 hours of footage. I'd say buy 2 or 3 of them and you are good to go. Transfer the footage at the end of the day and reformat the cards. I always try to keep a backup drive as well (a $100 external drive is fine for the emergency backup).

Get a wired lav for $200 AND a used shotgun mic on top of the camera for another $200. This will give you the backup audio you'll want just in case you get clothing rub or peaking levels on the lav that will be tough for you to monitor while conducting interviews. The lav will definitely be your best bet for the interviews, but if you have any desire to shoot b-roll or docu-reality, you can just run the shotgun of your grandmother doing grandmother things (like looking at pictures, cooking with children, having a meal with the family, etc), and know you're getting good audio.
Lastly, pickup a used set of sticks for $200 for the interview.

Once the project is completed (if it ever feels complete), you can sell the camera for $2k and all the audio for half of what you paid.

Not the best solution given the budget, but an option definitely worth exploring.

I hope you get the answers you are looking for. Good luck.
 
You could also try the HMC 40 or 80. Those are a bit cheaper for a 150. I'd also recommend a lavallière mic for interviews, but if you must use a boom mic, get a Rode NTG 2 or 3.
 
Cameras

Cameras

WOW, first of all I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. It looks as though my decision is going to be a tough one. Right now I am eyeing several auctions on e-bay for used HVX's and DVX's. It looks like I can score a decent used DVX camera for $750-$1,000 and the HVX is running $1,500 - $2,000. If I were to go the HVX route, I'd have to save some money and would have to wait 2-3 months prior to purchasing where I could purchase the DVX right now.

I'd like to ask everyone if they could comment on the Pro's and Con's of the DVX vs the HVX for a situation like this. I would definitely like to record family get togethers and holidays and would need decent to good low light coverage. I will also be editiing on a Macbook Pro and a Mac Pro tower using Final Cut Studio (all of which I already own). It looks like I have a tough decision ahead of me. I'd love to get the HVX because it is more versatile and I'd be able to use it for some other things as well (like our mission trip to Guatemala that is coming up) that the DVX might struggle with. Any other advice?

Tim
 
yeah the hmc40 looks like the way to go (maybe with the xlr add-on). If the quality of the image is that of the hmc150 (the cam I've been using for 2 years), you have more than enough horsepower for an interview. Also remember to look for a nicely lit place. I've shot lots of this kind of interviews (not like the case of your grandma, but old people leaving their memories for the future) and many times we couldn't use lights (as per their request), so we tried to find a nicely lit spot, lighting is key when trying to improve the quality of the image.

Other than that keep on with the project, you will always remember it as a fulfilling experience!
 
Another quick question.

Storing the original footage... should this play a factor in my decision? For example, if I go with the DVX, the only option I have is Mini-DV tapes, which I would purchase plenty and just save, but if I went with the HVX, I would most likely erase the P2 cards after transfer and record again. Is there a big concern / difference between storing on Mini-DV vs P2?

Tim
 
Fxguy said:
Another quick question.

Storing the original footage... should this play a factor in my decision? For example, if I go with the DVX, the only option I have is Mini-DV tapes, which I would purchase plenty and just save, but if I went with the HVX, I would most likely erase the P2 cards after transfer and record again. Is there a big concern / difference between storing on Mini-DV vs P2?

Tim
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Tha'ts where I believe a panasonich hmc150, hmc-40 or amy other camera that records to sd would come in handy. The codec creates files that are considerably smaller than those of the p2 cards. And you can even buy various sd cards (waayyy cheaper than p2) and once full, download and store it in one of those slick sd card pelican cases (well protected even from a blaze)...pop in a new sd card and keep on filming. This is something I've done in various projects. As you can store up to 3 hours in a 32 gig card at full HD wonderful quality (at least for the kind of project you are going to take on).
 
Fxguy said:
WOW, first of all I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. It looks as though my decision is going to be a tough one. Right now I am eyeing several auctions on e-bay for used HVX's and DVX's. It looks like I can score a decent used DVX camera for $750-$1,000 and the HVX is running $1,500 - $2,000. If I were to go the HVX route, I'd have to save some money and would have to wait 2-3 months prior to purchasing where I could purchase the DVX right now.

I'd like to ask everyone if they could comment on the Pro's and Con's of the DVX vs the HVX for a situation like this. I would definitely like to record family get togethers and holidays and would need decent to good low light coverage. I will also be editiing on a Macbook Pro and a Mac Pro tower using Final Cut Studio (all of which I already own). It looks like I have a tough decision ahead of me. I'd love to get the HVX because it is more versatile and I'd be able to use it for some other things as well (like our mission trip to Guatemala that is coming up) that the DVX might struggle with. Any other advice?

Tim
Click to expand...

I have the DVX100, and my plan was to upgrade to the HMC150, which came out a few years ago, and should be now on the used market.

For your project, and probably for future projects, I think the HMC150 would be good for your purposes.

As it is, in the time between using the HMC150, and getting the money to buy, the DSLR's really came up in capability, and so, I bought the GH-1. For my purposes, that is 'non-interview' or limited interview use, it is a great camera.

Oh, yeah... I hate tape... so that was a big negative about the DVX100. But you can use Firewire and capture directly to your computer, at least with one that has firewire interfaces, and appropriate software, like "Adobe's On Location", or there may be some other packages that are lower cost...
 
get an hv40 used for 400.00, and a used rode videomic for 100.00. this will give you excellent results. hd, you can even grab a wide angle lens for it for around 100.00. use the rest to take gramdma out for a nice dinner each time you visit her to shoot. thats more important than any 2,000 camera.
 
What is everyone's opinion of the Sony HVR A1U?
Xlr Inputs - Check
High Def - Check
Withing budget - @$1250 average on Ebay - check

Seems like it might be a good fit for this project. What does everyone else think?

Tim
 
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