Since i was little i have always been into film. Through high school and college i have taken many photography classes and i have found a new love for film as well. I have a Lumix G2 and i love this camera. Im going to film school next year and i wanna start to build a rig for my camera, but i really dont know where to start. Im in college so i dont have a ton of money, but i also dont wanna buy anything cheap that is gonna break on me. I want a shoulder mount rig that will fit a DSLR camera and that i can attach a follow focus and microphone to. I would love any advice you have and im excited to see what you guys have to say.
New to film. Need Help.
- Thread starter fssykes
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recordingwhiz
Well-known member
Best advice I can give, is to tell you NOT to get the mentality that the accessories are the answer to making Great Movies. yes a shoulder rig helps, but before you sell yourself on feeling like you MUST have it i to rent or try out different rigs for yourself, or try DIY to see what features are important for you and not just hype, especially with follow focus units, this stuff is NOT cheap and it sure feels crappy when you get something and never hardly use it.
and about the mic, well there are very good and helpful parts of the forum that will help you on that, hint (the camera IS the worst place to mount a mic).
keep reading, and read alot because every system out there has their fans and their detractors. there is TONS of gear that is a waste of time , Im sure you will figure it out.
and about the mic, well there are very good and helpful parts of the forum that will help you on that, hint (the camera IS the worst place to mount a mic).
keep reading, and read alot because every system out there has their fans and their detractors. there is TONS of gear that is a waste of time , Im sure you will figure it out.
wgzn
Veteran
i'll add to the dont get drunk on rigs advice. ive owned a bunch of shoulder, rail followfocus stuff. from $100 up to $3000+ and none of them is perfect. at any price.
the zacuto stuff is an absolute joy to behold. but since budget is a concern - dont even think about it. you wont get into even a basic rig for under about $2000.
as far as the "budget, but not half-assed and goofy" realm. you might look into stuff from:
indisystem:
http://www.indisystem.com/
ikan:
http://www.ikancorp.com/
both have good and bad points. but as far as getting something functional for your dollar. they are reasonable choices. i have owned or currently own bits and pieces from both companies. and they do what they are supposed to do. nowhere near as well as stuff that costs 2X, 4X or moreX. but quite well enough to get the job done.
oh. here's something else:
http://www.dynamicmotionvideo.com/products/index.php
they have a super basic shoulder rig that i think is one of the most under-appreciated pieces of gear ever. and now they make a companion mount for DSLRs. it doesnt do much. but if you just want to steady your camera on your shoulder. its hard to beat for the money!
the zacuto stuff is an absolute joy to behold. but since budget is a concern - dont even think about it. you wont get into even a basic rig for under about $2000.
as far as the "budget, but not half-assed and goofy" realm. you might look into stuff from:
indisystem:
http://www.indisystem.com/
ikan:
http://www.ikancorp.com/
both have good and bad points. but as far as getting something functional for your dollar. they are reasonable choices. i have owned or currently own bits and pieces from both companies. and they do what they are supposed to do. nowhere near as well as stuff that costs 2X, 4X or moreX. but quite well enough to get the job done.
oh. here's something else:
http://www.dynamicmotionvideo.com/products/index.php
they have a super basic shoulder rig that i think is one of the most under-appreciated pieces of gear ever. and now they make a companion mount for DSLRs. it doesnt do much. but if you just want to steady your camera on your shoulder. its hard to beat for the money!
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...First off, a few questions:
- What lenses do you have for your G2 ?
- Do you have any audio gear ?
- What do you want to shoot ?
A good shoulder-mount and a good follow-focus can be fairly expensive. Make sure you've got all the other bases covered before you start thinking about these two items.
In order of priority, here is how I would build a camera kit:
1- Camera ( Your G2 is fine to start )
2- Lens ( Used manual Nikon AI-S lenses from eBay + body adapter is cheap. Nikons can be adapted to many different cameras, and they hold their value when you go to sell them )
3- Audio ( Zoom H1 recorder $100 + K-Tek KZH1 Windscreen $30, it's cheap and produces good sound if you boost the low frequencies with Audio EQ in Post. GoldWave is a great $20 Audio Editor for Windows or Mac )
4- Support ( Low-budget Starter Tripod Fancierstudio FC-270 $170, Low-budget Stabilizer HaloRig Mini $130, My Favorite Video Monopod Manfroto Video MonoPod 561BHDV-1 $290 I use this video MonoPod all the time, it's my favorite piece of video support gear. Not cheap, but very portable and produces solid smooth shots )
5- Lights ( If I had little money to spend I would go D.I.Y. and repurpose consumer and industrial tungsten or fluorescent lights )
...If I had any money left, I would look at replacing the G2 body with a GH-1 body that B&H Photo Video are currently selling for $400. The GH-1 shoots better video, and there is a free and very powerful hack/utility for this camera made by Vitaliy Kiselev, that lets you raise the data-rate to shoot extremely high quality video. GH-1 Hack Wiki
...One last thing I forgot to mention, microphones need to be within 2-3 feet of the people being filmed, so you DO NOT want to mount your microphone on the camera, but rather have it just out of shot ( on a boom pole ) or hidden out of sight or just plug-in a LAV mic to your Zoom H-1 and hide the LAV on the person speaking. You will still want to record the crappy G2 camera audio to make it easy to synch the audio from your Zoom H-1 with the video you just shot.
Samuel H
Major Contributor
lots of wise advice in this thread already
I'll just add that you can wait till you're in filmschool to see what you can borrow there, what each thing does and how important it is, etc
in the meantime, try not to get too carried away; a couple of lenses, some ND filters, a cowboy shoulder rig, and a couple of cheap lights or even just a reflector, should get you shoothing through the summer
I'd try to leave the audio thing out of the picture until you know what you'll need; mistakes there can be very expensive, and it's not a place to go cheap
if you weren't going to filmschool, where I guess you'll learn all this, I'd say the audio and lighting DVDs by barry green are a great investment; plus they can save you big money in terms of mistakes buying gear that's not suitable for what you need
http://dvxuser.com/articles/dvxshop/SoundDVD/
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/dvxshop/LightDVD/
just one mor thing: before you catch the glass virus and spend all your money on lenses, read this:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/lenses-dont-collect-the-whole-set
I'll just add that you can wait till you're in filmschool to see what you can borrow there, what each thing does and how important it is, etc
in the meantime, try not to get too carried away; a couple of lenses, some ND filters, a cowboy shoulder rig, and a couple of cheap lights or even just a reflector, should get you shoothing through the summer
I'd try to leave the audio thing out of the picture until you know what you'll need; mistakes there can be very expensive, and it's not a place to go cheap
if you weren't going to filmschool, where I guess you'll learn all this, I'd say the audio and lighting DVDs by barry green are a great investment; plus they can save you big money in terms of mistakes buying gear that's not suitable for what you need
http://dvxuser.com/articles/dvxshop/SoundDVD/
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/dvxshop/LightDVD/
just one mor thing: before you catch the glass virus and spend all your money on lenses, read this:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/lenses-dont-collect-the-whole-set
Isn't a lot of the point of going to film school having access to equipment? If you have to bring your own camera, what exactly are you paying so much for? Just get something cheap to practice the fundamentals. You need to learn how to frame, light, direct and put images side by side to say something; not how to buy nice stuff.
CPM Camera Rigs
DVXuser Sponsor
No matter where you buy don't be afraid to ask if they have an educational discount. We offer 25% off Military and Educational discounts on all our gear. Most rig manufacturers do as well. But also I agree with Cassius, unless you have a course syllabus and a list of the items required (other then books). I would suggest you hold off and see what might be required as opposed to ‘suggested’. On the other hand, if it’s more to get a jump on the idea of DSLR film making then my suggestion would be to select gear that can grow with your education.
Steve
Steve
jambredz
Veteran
I agree. gear lust is no joke...especially when ur broke. since u have a camera already id just recommend a decent tripod. and a reflector. Shoot it up for the summer and depending on your style and when u get to film school you will know more about what u will need. I do alot of handlheld so a good shouldermount was a must for me. but everybody shooting style differs.
David W. Jones
Veteran
+1 on the tripod. You don't need all that jazz to learn how to tell stories.
Good Lucl!
Dave
Good Lucl!
Dave
Efexone
Well-known member
get a cheap (and small) camera that can shoot in 24p, and records to SD cards.
learning to shoot first on a digital-8 and later on, a 3-CCD ENG camera was the best thing that ever happened to me. it was all 29.970 and 1/3" sensors, DOF non-existent. if you can make compelling work with that, you should line yourself up for a more serious financial commitment in gear.
learning to shoot first on a digital-8 and later on, a 3-CCD ENG camera was the best thing that ever happened to me. it was all 29.970 and 1/3" sensors, DOF non-existent. if you can make compelling work with that, you should line yourself up for a more serious financial commitment in gear.
HDSLR's are good, should ground you a bit since the similarities to working with film are bigger than with "normal" video cameras. (I just assume you actually mean film school, and not just some media course in videography).
Of course it has. You're pushing it if adding sharpness in-camera. Was some guy posting footage from Af100 recently using cp.2 + sharpness all way up, hideous moire, now that on the Canons... tune down your sharpness, embrace the softness with these cameras, because the initial reason you are (should) be using them is cus they look soft and filmic. For true, sharp HD, get a GH13, GH2 or even better, AF100 (or the new Sonys).
Of course it has. You're pushing it if adding sharpness in-camera. Was some guy posting footage from Af100 recently using cp.2 + sharpness all way up, hideous moire, now that on the Canons... tune down your sharpness, embrace the softness with these cameras, because the initial reason you are (should) be using them is cus they look soft and filmic. For true, sharp HD, get a GH13, GH2 or even better, AF100 (or the new Sonys).
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