Hi there,
First, I'd like to say that I have spent many hours digging deep into this excellent forum in search of answers to my many questions. A whole bunch were answered at this stage, and so what you see posted here are those questions I couldn't find answers for, or, am still up in the air about [such as the often seen 16:9 v 4:3 debate].
PROJECT
So, I am going to be shooting a doco, which will feature mostly indoor interviews, however I will definitely be doing outdoor interviews as well. I will also be shooting indoor events in a large convention centre type environment with lots of people etc.
I suspect a lot of it will be a one man show. however I have read enough posts here to rethink this, and where possible, try to get someone else to help and operate camera or sound, depending on their skills. Won't always happen though. As I will be travelling by myself to the US for a lot of it. [I live in Australia]
There will certainly be a run and gun aspect to parts of the project.
I am going to shoot 25p, and would like to see it end up on film for entry in festivals etc. etc. so am wanting to shoot 16:9. more of this later.
BUDGET. You know, that thing which starts at one figure and then once you start shopping quickly doubles, and ultimately has no correlation to the final amount you actually drop for all this stuff! So, my budget is $10,000 Aussie. The gear we are talking about here is often about half as expensive again compared to the prices in the US. I am doing a trip to the States later in the year, and will probably use that as an opportunity to pick up certain items, such as a quality shotgun mike, zoom controller etc.
EQUIPMENT
1. CAMERA - My DVX102BE [That's the PAL version in Australia] arrives in a couple of days. [rubs hands together and grins expansively]
2. The first and most obvious choice after the camera was Barry's book, which will arrive soon, and I can't wait to immerse myself in it.
3. EQUIPMENT BAG - Kata HB-207. tbanucci, another forum member, got me sold on the kata backpacks. He has the BP-502, however Aussie domestic airlines are a little stricter than the US, and we can't take that as carry on. The 207 looks plenty big to me though, and has a million pockets and looks tough as nails.
4. TRIPOD - Not ordered yet. I was going to get the Manfrotto/Bogen 503 head with the 755 sticks. However I am thinking I might fork over the little extra for the Miller DS10 and 1511 combo.
QUESTION - Is it worth the extra $200 for the carbon fibre sticks as compared to the alloy? The weight difference seems minimal.
Also, anyone out there reckon a monopod would be handy to have as well?
5. MICROPHONES - This is a tricky one. We don't have nearly the range of choice you have in the US or Europe here in Australia. And what is here is bloody epensive.
SHOTGUN - I have had the Sennheiser k6/ME66 combo reccomended by the store I'm getting the camera from, however I've read enough posts to think I can do better for similar bucks. Since I will be interviewing indoors and out, and after reading a post by The Yankee, I am thinking I'll wait until I get to the US, and get the AKG Blueline Series, with th SE300B preamp, and the CK93, and CK 98 caps. Then I'm covered for indoor and out.
WIRELESS LAV - Sennheiser EW112P-G2. Pretty much the only choice I can find here in my price range, other than cheaper ones. Is it worth getting the omni-directional mic as well, for a situation where perhaps I want to pick up other people's voices in an interview? [I suspect I know what the answer will be...]
6. ON CAMERA LIGHT - Thinking the vidLED system looks good. I like the fact it's dimmable, low heat and low power consumption.
http://www.vidled.com/ Anyone tried one of these out?
I know I will need more lighting for interviews, however that can be rented when i need it.
7. FILTERS - Any preference of brand here? I see Hoya and Tiffen mentioned a lot.
My store has a Canon set of 3 filters, UV, Polariser and FL for $230 Aussie. I am thinking Canon has gotta be making a pretty decent filter. I will probably wind up getting some ND filters as well at some stage, to help with DOF. This is just my starter pack.
MISC - The Varizoom PFZI zoom controller which also controls focus and iris.
Spare batteries - several of the DVXUser batts.
Now for the million dollar question which I'm sure will have some of you rolling your eyes.... Do I shoot 16:9 or 4:3 and then put bars in post?
I am very, very keen for my finished work to be in the wider format. I know doco's do appear in 4:3 etc etc, but 16:9 just does it for me. I don't want the 16:9 adaptor lens and all the associated problems that will cause for me. So, I am deciding to do it in camera.
Now, before you all start punching me and say "go read the other posts!!!!" - believe me, I have I have!!! And I was really hoping to find a definitive answer. But I always get to the end of the thread still undecided as there are good arguments for and against. And I totally understand the argument about lost resolution if you shoot squeezed. However, since I am shooting PAL, I am getting roughly twice the resolution I believe. So even though I lose res if I shoot 16:9, I'm still ahead than if I was doing it on an NTSC camera right? So, hopefully my finished, film projected image won't look like a mushy pile of mush.
Thanks for your perseverance in reading this far, and double thanks to anyone who has any practical feedback for me.
Cheers
First, I'd like to say that I have spent many hours digging deep into this excellent forum in search of answers to my many questions. A whole bunch were answered at this stage, and so what you see posted here are those questions I couldn't find answers for, or, am still up in the air about [such as the often seen 16:9 v 4:3 debate].
PROJECT
So, I am going to be shooting a doco, which will feature mostly indoor interviews, however I will definitely be doing outdoor interviews as well. I will also be shooting indoor events in a large convention centre type environment with lots of people etc.
I suspect a lot of it will be a one man show. however I have read enough posts here to rethink this, and where possible, try to get someone else to help and operate camera or sound, depending on their skills. Won't always happen though. As I will be travelling by myself to the US for a lot of it. [I live in Australia]
There will certainly be a run and gun aspect to parts of the project.
I am going to shoot 25p, and would like to see it end up on film for entry in festivals etc. etc. so am wanting to shoot 16:9. more of this later.
BUDGET. You know, that thing which starts at one figure and then once you start shopping quickly doubles, and ultimately has no correlation to the final amount you actually drop for all this stuff! So, my budget is $10,000 Aussie. The gear we are talking about here is often about half as expensive again compared to the prices in the US. I am doing a trip to the States later in the year, and will probably use that as an opportunity to pick up certain items, such as a quality shotgun mike, zoom controller etc.
EQUIPMENT
1. CAMERA - My DVX102BE [That's the PAL version in Australia] arrives in a couple of days. [rubs hands together and grins expansively]
2. The first and most obvious choice after the camera was Barry's book, which will arrive soon, and I can't wait to immerse myself in it.
3. EQUIPMENT BAG - Kata HB-207. tbanucci, another forum member, got me sold on the kata backpacks. He has the BP-502, however Aussie domestic airlines are a little stricter than the US, and we can't take that as carry on. The 207 looks plenty big to me though, and has a million pockets and looks tough as nails.
4. TRIPOD - Not ordered yet. I was going to get the Manfrotto/Bogen 503 head with the 755 sticks. However I am thinking I might fork over the little extra for the Miller DS10 and 1511 combo.
QUESTION - Is it worth the extra $200 for the carbon fibre sticks as compared to the alloy? The weight difference seems minimal.
Also, anyone out there reckon a monopod would be handy to have as well?
5. MICROPHONES - This is a tricky one. We don't have nearly the range of choice you have in the US or Europe here in Australia. And what is here is bloody epensive.
SHOTGUN - I have had the Sennheiser k6/ME66 combo reccomended by the store I'm getting the camera from, however I've read enough posts to think I can do better for similar bucks. Since I will be interviewing indoors and out, and after reading a post by The Yankee, I am thinking I'll wait until I get to the US, and get the AKG Blueline Series, with th SE300B preamp, and the CK93, and CK 98 caps. Then I'm covered for indoor and out.
WIRELESS LAV - Sennheiser EW112P-G2. Pretty much the only choice I can find here in my price range, other than cheaper ones. Is it worth getting the omni-directional mic as well, for a situation where perhaps I want to pick up other people's voices in an interview? [I suspect I know what the answer will be...]
6. ON CAMERA LIGHT - Thinking the vidLED system looks good. I like the fact it's dimmable, low heat and low power consumption.
http://www.vidled.com/ Anyone tried one of these out?
I know I will need more lighting for interviews, however that can be rented when i need it.
7. FILTERS - Any preference of brand here? I see Hoya and Tiffen mentioned a lot.
My store has a Canon set of 3 filters, UV, Polariser and FL for $230 Aussie. I am thinking Canon has gotta be making a pretty decent filter. I will probably wind up getting some ND filters as well at some stage, to help with DOF. This is just my starter pack.
MISC - The Varizoom PFZI zoom controller which also controls focus and iris.
Spare batteries - several of the DVXUser batts.
Now for the million dollar question which I'm sure will have some of you rolling your eyes.... Do I shoot 16:9 or 4:3 and then put bars in post?
I am very, very keen for my finished work to be in the wider format. I know doco's do appear in 4:3 etc etc, but 16:9 just does it for me. I don't want the 16:9 adaptor lens and all the associated problems that will cause for me. So, I am deciding to do it in camera.
Now, before you all start punching me and say "go read the other posts!!!!" - believe me, I have I have!!! And I was really hoping to find a definitive answer. But I always get to the end of the thread still undecided as there are good arguments for and against. And I totally understand the argument about lost resolution if you shoot squeezed. However, since I am shooting PAL, I am getting roughly twice the resolution I believe. So even though I lose res if I shoot 16:9, I'm still ahead than if I was doing it on an NTSC camera right? So, hopefully my finished, film projected image won't look like a mushy pile of mush.
Thanks for your perseverance in reading this far, and double thanks to anyone who has any practical feedback for me.
Cheers
