FS700 in Southern Haiti

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DM_rider

Veteran
Originally, I was going to do a daily recap. But, with no internet, that was not possible. So, I'm going to try my best to put together a trip recap, bear with me.

For the past 10 days, I have been traveling the Southern Coast of Haiti to start shooting for a documentary.

I am not sure I would bring the FS700 on a trip like this again. It was great to have, but I had a few moments where I was sure I was about to trash the thing... but what kind of a trip would it be if you weren't doing stupid stuff to get a shot?

Of course, our journey starts with a cancelled flight due to weather over PAP (Sandy). We flew over Haiti, landed in Montego Bay, then flew back to Miami. Always fun sleeping at the airport.
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Our main method of transport in Haiti
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The first day of shooting, we had to get into these boats with our gear to get out to an island... I was a bit nervous to say the least, these things were tippy!
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My sound mixer, Nick
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Home made sail, old wood boat. The look on my face was that of skepticism.
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The fearless captain
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There was a lot of hiking into locations. So, we had to travel somewhat light. I got my gear down to an F stop bag, hi hat, carbon legs, and the camera.
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Spelunking, exploring a cave at the top of a mountain. We had a river crossing, and then a long hike up.

We had to cross this river with all of our gear. A backpack full of lenses, and an FS700 crossing a rushing river had me on edge. 15 people had died at the same crossing a few days earlier during hurricane Sandy, that was comforting...
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Into the cave we go. Miles away from help, at the top of a mountain, muddy, slippery/sharp rocks, tight quarters, not the best idea.
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Dirty FS700
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Lots of dust. The FS700 will be going to Sony for a thorough cleaning.
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Late nights of syncing sound
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A few frame grabs. Did a quick pass on color.
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Thanks for looking, feel free to ask questions. Stay tuned for more.
 
DM_rider,

Great shots! I'm curious to hear you views about using the FS700 as a Documentary camera.

How did it hold up? Both, the actual build of the camera and the footage.

Thanks!
Miles
 
MJH said:
DM_rider,

Great shots! I'm curious to hear you views about using the FS700 as a Documentary camera.

How did it hold up? Both, the actual build of the camera and the footage.

Thanks!
Miles
Click to expand...

The camera held up fine. It was a little bit tougher to run and gun with it, but I managed. I used a Nikon 17-55 a lot, good lens for that.
 
Great post! Really informative and entertaining! I love seeing how people use their cameras under extreme conditions! Im using my cameras under extreme conditions almost most of the time. It really great to see how cameras build quality holds up.
 
Spartacus said:
Nice write up! Can you tell us a little more about the doc?
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The doc is about the southern coast of Haiti. We traveled from Port Au Prince, to Port Salut over 9 days. The idea is to show the other side of Haiti. The beautiful, non feed the children images. There's so much more to the country than people realize. Along the way we were interviewing locals, visiting locally owned businesses, taking a look at things that people never get to see. Somewhat of a trip documentary, we'll see what it turns into fully once we start the post process. We have a ton of interviews we need to have translated and transcribed to English, they were all in Creole, so that should be a fun little task.
 
Khachik Mkrtchyan said:
Great post! Really informative and entertaining! I love seeing how people use their cameras under extreme conditions! Im using my cameras under extreme conditions almost most of the time. It really great to see how cameras build quality holds up.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it was quite the test for the 700. I would probably opt for a GH3 if I were to do this again. The 700 was nice to have, but the size slowed me down a bit. Also, a smaller camera would have helped keep our profile low. Walking around small towns where white people don't go, you quickly draw attention to yourself, rumors start to circulate that you're there to make money (the standard thought process of white people with cameras in Haiti). A smaller camera would have really helped minimize our presence.
 
Those frame grabs are gorgeous.
Great work - can't wait to see the full piece.

(and by the way, that HPRC case in your first shot is one of the best travel cases I own. Isn't that thing perfect?)

:)
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Those frame grabs are gorgeous.
Great work - can't wait to see the full piece.

(and by the way, that HPRC case in your first shot is one of the best travel cases I own. Isn't that thing perfect?)

:)
Click to expand...

thanks

Yes, love it. Holds a tripod, clothing, and everything else you can squeeze in quite nicely.
 
Nice writeup. That's a lot of gear, I was in South America and I got a lot of attention being the only white guy walking around small towns with a 5d2 and a sling pack for a couple lenses - I think I'm going all M43 or Nex next time just to be a little less conspicuous. Great job though, please let us know how this project progresses.
 
Awesome read! Thanks for sharing. Did you use multiple picture profiles for the shoot? What are you favourite settings?
 
DM_rider said:
The camera held up fine. It was a little bit tougher to run and gun with it, but I managed. I used a Nikon 17-55 a lot, good lens for that.
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dm_rider-

thanks for the write-up, very informative.

i wonder what the fs700 offered that your previous camera, the fs100, couldn't.

(i know the obvious is the internal nd filters but i was wondering if you had additional thoughts.)

as always, thanks for the sharing.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
Nice photos and a good read. I look forward to the end result so keep us posted There is a very large Haitian community up here in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec and I would suggest you keep in mind a version for international distribution when you cut.
 
robfilms said:
dm_rider-

thanks for the write-up, very informative.

i wonder what the fs700 offered that your previous camera, the fs100, couldn't.

(i know the obvious is the internal nd filters but i was wondering if you had additional thoughts.)

as always, thanks for the sharing.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
Click to expand...

NDs was definitely a big one for me. The majority of what I shoot is "doc" style, however you want to interpret that. Being able to flip a stage of ND is incredibly helpful when you can't stop the action at hand. The alternative, dropping in a 4x4, definitely takes more time and can really make a difference when you're expected to be rolling on something as it happens, which is often un expected. I still use certain 4x4s, but the quickness of the built in NDs is incredibly helpful. Brings me right back to the DVX/HVX days.

So what it comes down to is function. I could make the FS100 look great, but the 700 offered that much more functionality wise. Don't get me wrong, I bought the 700 for it's improved image as well, but it still came down to functionality for me. Hope that answers your question.

Also, I quit believing in fader NDs a while back, they suck.
 
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This looks extraordinary - if you can put up and sample motion clips, I'm sure we'd love to check them out. Love the frame grabs and the color grade you've chosen - just your framing and shot choice shows off a lot of skills.

One thing, if you were looking to go lighter, couldn't you a) have shot some with the little NEX that you have for stills b) dumped the mattebox and rails - do you feel the mattebox is essential?
 
I've been sorting through footage the past week. Wanted to post one more shot, I really like this one. Thanks for the positive feedback, looking forward to sharing the finished piece.
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Great looking frames. Really liking some of the composition and colours. Would love to see some video as well.
 
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