List of must have equipment for a documentary

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dualman7

Member
I recently started grad school. Up until very recently, I was having alot of trouble because I didn't feel like I was grasping everything being taught and to top it off, I have had trouble organizing competent crews.

I decided to purchase my own camera, and while doing research I stumbled upon this site. I purchased Barry Green's book, Hollywood Camera work and I've been reading the forums on a daily basis.

Honestly, I learn more here than I do from my professors.

I will be filming my thesis documentary the entire summer (mostly interviews). I was hoping you guys could recommend some items I should purchase in order to get it done.

I currently have
•DVX100A + crappy tripod and no lenses
•MACBOOK PRO with Final Cut Pro.

I would like to purchase a shotgun+fishpole and use it for interviews. Since most likely I won't have a helping hand, should I purchase a c-stand(s)? Do I need more than 1?

My school has lihgting kits, but I'm considering getting my own.

I want to be able to take my equipment and be ready to shoot anything. My hope is that experienced documentary makers can suggest items I should purchase. My budget is 1,000 dollars.
 
I dont exactly do documentaries, but I do corporate interviews that I guess are doc-like :) At $1000 here's what I'd get to further outfit your kit.

oktava mic + bbg + kssm - $500ish for everything (i think - search oktava in the audio forum)
25' mic cable - $30?
sony md7506 headphones - $100
mic boom stand - $50 at guitar center
UV filter - $70
extensions cords - $100
Color gels - $50

C-stands with boompoles are great and very versatile but you just ate $400 of your budget with a mic stand. The oktava mic has incredible bang for the buck and excels indoors. You could lav them as well but the oktava will have a more "real" sound. The sony phones are the standard for monitoring and made a huge difference in my work. I used $20 sony "studio" phones for a long time and loved them (lightweight, cheap, sounded good) - the 7506s blow these out of the water. You can hear every nuance in the sound with these - get them. Get a UV filter - its cheap lens protection. Dont take it off. Stick with your school's lighting kits. A good kit for interviews is out of your budget. You could probably put something together for really cheap, but it would probably give you trouble in the end. Cheap parts break quick and many times are hard to use. We did just pick up a Lowell DV 44 (or something like that) for about 1700 the other day. Its got 5 decent lights and all sorts of accessories. Havent really used it yet but it looks very versatile. I would get some colored gels (whatever colors you like) to throw some light up on the background with. A red slash here or a blue wash there can change a boring white room really quick. Mic cable and extension cords are just thrown in for fun :) As long as your tripod doesnt fall over or something I'd stick with it and lock it off. Nice tripods are good to have but you pay for it too.
 
Hi there

well I work for a media access centre in scotland and we provide kit like your looking for so here is a few ideas.

get yourseldf a decent tripod vinten if you can stretch to it, it will last you a lifetime and there built like a tank without the weight.

from the point of lighting if your thinking of investing i cant recommend enoght DEDO lights there light weight , run cool and come in a handy padded bag and weigh a fraction of the normal lights and are espcially good for docs and interviews , they fully dim as well and use a fraction of the power of a traditional blonde.

get yourseld a decent shotgun mic i would suggest you get a sennheiser they are great .

hope this helps and good luck

Iain
 
Depending on the style of your documentary, and the type of stuff you'll likely be shooting, some basic things to keep in mind if I were in your position would of course be audio, light, and picure.

For the audio, a short shotgun would probably do the trick, the Rode NTG-2 sounds fantastic for the price, around 250 if I recall correctly. This could be camera mounted for run n' gun style shooting (not ideal) or you could purchase a boom pole if you'll have an audio guy to come along with you. Some other audio things to think about would be a field mixer, such as the sure FP-33, or the more expensive Sound Devices 302. Both of these mixers have high quality preamps to feed your DVX, and will give you better results than going straight into the camera. If you're recording second system, look at the solid state recording offerings from Marantz. For headphones, check out the various offerings from Sennheiser. The good news is that their lower end 20 dollar ones are great! I know an established sound designer who uses them and swears by them. They're light, comfortable, tough, and cheap.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/267853-REG/Sennheiser_HD202_HD_202_Circumaural_Closed.html

For more noise cancelling, check out the HD 280's, I have a pair and love them

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/240764-REG/Sennheiser_HD280PRO_HD_280_Pro_.html

As for the lighting, you can actually get by without much in an interview setting. Check out Pyramid Films online, http://www.pyramid-films.com/ they have a great inventory of used equipment. Get a couple c-stands, as they will help a lot if you have to hang a mic out over your interviewee, or hang a light from above, or just about anything else. Now, for the actual fixtures, you could do a number of things. My suggestion would be to get a 650 watt fresnel, maybe an Arri, and use that for your key light. You could bounce it, diffuse it, or otherwise just blast it full on, depending on your mood of course. Also, pick up some gels- namely CTB in 1/4, 1/2, and full for those instances when you need to cool it down, or match to daylight, say from a window coming in. Also, invest in some pieces of foam core for bouncing light. Another, more expensive option would be to check out the Kino Flo "diva" lights. They're compact, cool, and great for soft interview lighting. These would probably blow your budget though. I am a firm believer that you can get by with 1 or two lights for interview situations. You also might consider going to the fabric store and picking out some back drop material, or else painting some pieces of wood with matte finish paint for a backdrop.

Picture, you've got the camera, now all you need is a tripod. For locked down interview stuff on a budget, you realistically don't need much. Check out the Bogen stuff, the 503 head is great for this type of thing.

For some great interview footage examples, check out a show called "operation homecoming" by The Documentary Group. Hope this helps!
 
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