Entire Documentary shot on RX100MkII

S

scoutsbrother

Active member
This entire doc was shot on Sony's nifty pocket camera, for several reasons. One of which was that traveling in the Philippines is a challenge, and lots of camera gear makes it even more difficult. The other is to see just what this little camera is capable of. It also is very unobtrusive when filming in private homes. There was no extra lighting on any of the scenes in the house at night, just one overhead bulb, yet somehow it worked. Please let me know what you think:

https://vimeo.com/104915030
 
Jem, I think that was incredible.
i was utterly immersed.

That had the feel of a GOOD documentary I'd find on a national tv channel.
Your story, your pacing, your edit, and your variation and sophistication of shots was very very good. Especially considering your bare bones equipment.

I personally find shaky hand-held footage increasingly hard to watch, but I accepted it here because you forewarned us this was just RX100, and the interspersed stable shots helped greatly to hold it all together.

WHAT you chose to show us, and WHEN, and at what pace, is ultimately far more important than any technical aspect. And those were the strongest parts of this piece to me.

I don't know if you make documentaries for a living, but you should. This was a powerful piece.
 
Ok, went along to your site.

Is there someplace I can watch The Keymaker in its entirety? I'd love to see it.
 
just incredible imagery here! You say no lighting on the inside. I'm super impressed and from this video will be looking into this camera. This is the type of stuff that will be making it really hard to justify giving canon or any other high end camera manufacturers thousands of dollars for images that are not coming close to the ones of these sub 1k cameras, let alone the video specs and capabilities.

Could you pleas discuss your post workflow. you seem to have gotten very good exposure and produced a very organic texture to your project. By the way great storytelling and pacing as well. Thanks for sharing.
 
Very well done Jem. I remember seeing and being impressed by this project several months ago. You've definitely proven the Sony RX100M2 and now M3 are just, if not more, capable than larger cameras getting all the talk. Until recently, I hadn't used my Sony RX10 for 8 months after purchasing the RX100M3. Also, the f1.8 lens on the RX100M2/3 makes them very versatile for low light.

Many thanks for sharing your impressive skills, and reminding me why the RX100M2/3 are my favorites...
 
Thanks for the support, I'm glad it works as a stand-alone doc, and I continue to use the RX100 although the A7s is now my go-to cam if I carry a backpack on my travels. DPStewart, I do have the Keymaster available as a download, send me your email and I'll send you a link and a password so you can get it, and thanks for the kind words on my doc :) I am trying to do documentaries for a living, but have yet to cross the threshold of a living wage, still challenging...

In post this was really almost untouched as far as color-grading or image processing. Just a basic edit on Premier, and the image you see is what came out of the camera.

If you're interested, here's my newest project in the works: https://vimeo.com/110314105
 
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Very well done Jem, would you mind sharing your approach on audio? I've been eyeing the LX1000 for a travel cam.
 
I actually used a portable stereo recorder for the sound, the Sony PCM-D100, and would just set it up before filming and hit 'record'. Most recently though I purchased the Rode stereo video mic X which actually works really well.
 
Loved it! I think that this speaks volumes about how quality content can be provided with a simple pocketcam and some talent/vision. Thanks for sharing! :)
 
Seriously. I admit that I get caught up with so much gear. At the same time, it's liberating to just shoot and have content produced over thinking about what to shoot with what type of gear. Thanks for giving your insight on audio.
 
Yeah, I definitely have the gear bug, too, but sometimes circumstances can help lead down a simpler road. All that being said, I'm now shooting more with the A7s than any of my other cameras, to the point that my current narrative short is being shot on it instead of my FS700. But I don't want to part with the FS700 either! :)
 
Jem Moore's movie where _less_ (expensive gear) is _more_ (authentic storytelling)

Jem Moore's movie where _less_ (expensive gear) is _more_ (authentic storytelling)

We have watched the movie with my wife on a 720 (HD) TV and the picture looked amazing. This is a nice example that current, even under $1000, video technology/gear is excellent enough that a talented and determined videographer, like You, could make absolutely gorgeous movies/films: a cinema camera in your pocket, brilliant. Honestly, for the kind of documentaries like this, where content is of key importance, the credibility and authenticity would be lost significantly, if it had been shot with high-cost gear and big-budget staff. Of course, I can see a number of user-errors you made during shooting, none of them was because of the camera. But, does these errors count on the story? Not really, Your movie is/was excellent, and a moving story.
I had a look on your other movie The Organic Tribe ( https://vimeo.com/110314105 ) where you use much more expensive gear and more luxurious shooting techniques (aerials, camera movements), but I prefer your down-to-Earth simple approach in Annie's Journey much more. I would apply these spectacular camera moves only when they are really relevant to the message of the movie, if they do not contribute, I'd avoid most of them, even if I had the capability, budget and gear to use/apply them.
Thank you for sharing your work, Miklos
 
Thank you Miklos, I do know what you mean and I am also a big fan of the 'real' experience when shooting these all too human stories. For the Organic Tribe, however, the trailer is designed to help us obtain sponsorships from large organic food corporations and international agencies, and as I'm sure you're aware, they tend to be very conscious of that 'big budget' look when they put their names on something. Different styles for different results, and the Organic Tribe story is one that we're very committed to telling. It will cost a lot more (as a feature doc of 90+ min.) no matter how we shoot, so we decided to try and make it as marketable as possible. Of course when we edit the movie, the 'wow' shots will only show up if they indeed tell something important to move the story along, and if you've seen a couple of my other pieces I think you'll be able to see how important I believe the story is above anything else. Thanks again for the 'like' and the honest critique, I really appreciate both.
 
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