Nightmare workflow issues, what can I do better to complete jobs faster?

C

Cgrinbaum

New member
Team, I don't know if this post is being written in the correct forum, so if it wrong I apologize in advance.
I just wanted to share my recent nightmare workflow experiences on my most recent business video film shoots so that perhaps I can help someone else not go through what I have or others can share with me their experiences and how they got better at managing shoots and workflow. I can use some inspiration right now.
The following is what happened.

The Assignment: Film a local well loved dentist to make a video for his website. I volunteer to film this for free in order to build a reel that will inspire confidence.
I usually film with my Sony NXCAM HX5U but it is in shop at Sony and I am beginning to believe that while camera is in shop either they will tell me they cannot fix it or just as bad, charge me more $ then I can afford or as much as camera is worth in order to fix.
I miss the days of my old Sony NXCam HX5U where I could put the XLR's in direct and monitor sound, have an adjustable zoom button etc.

I show up this location with a rented DSLR Canon 5D with fixed lenses, a 50mm and a wider lens.
I think this was my first mistake as having to change the lenses back and forth was not convenient.
I wanted the 50mm because the little I know about DSLR cameras I know that it offers nice depth of field. I thought this DSLR would give me a significant improvement in picture quality over my last camera.
For sound I brought a Beachtek xlr input device and plugged it straight into the camera. I would soon find out I did not have the levels properly calibrated.
I rented this Canon for this free shoot because I wanted to produce something that would be beautiful, but because I am not overly familiar with cameras, it was hard to reach beautiful.
I brought a mechanized automatic slider with stands
Lights

I filmed the dentist inside his office which was cramped, the more I filmed him interacting with his patients, the more nervous he got.
The sound came in to loud and was over the amount allowable for decent sound, the slider mechanization was off and did not work 100%
In the end when I got home I noticed the sound clipping,
I've since watched other examples produced by companies doing this service longer and have noticed new workflows I can update, but man that was a days worth of work and not to mention the post work involved in trying to salvage a bad day of filming.
I have learned and am learning and if I can help ANYBODY not go through what I did I feel like this would have made this experience a little bit better on my conscience.
 
Cgrinbaum said:
I show up this location with a rented DSLR Canon 5D with fixed lenses, a 50mm and a wider lens.
I think this was my first mistake as having to change the lenses back and forth was not convenient.
I wanted the 50mm because the little I know about DSLR cameras I know that it offers nice depth of field. I thought this DSLR would give me a significant improvement in picture quality over my last camera.
For sound I brought a Beachtek xlr input device and plugged it straight into the camera. I would soon find out I did not have the levels properly calibrated.
I rented this Canon for this free shoot because I wanted to produce something that would be beautiful, but because I am not overly familiar with cameras, it was hard to reach beautiful.
I brought a mechanized automatic slider with stands
Lights
Click to expand...

I attempted a shoot with a camera I was not familiar with... in fact, it was the HMC 150, when it had just been released, and the rental house along with Panasonic had a special discount rental deal...

I did rent it for a 'long weekend', so I did learn a couple of things before showing up at the shoot... but all I can stress is 'never show up with a camera you have no experience with'.

There are a couple of things, and really these don't strike me as 'workflow', but 'production setup'.

1) One needs to know what the sensor dimensions are, to understand what is a 'normal' what is a 'wide' lens on a given camera. Since I done have a Canon 5 or 7D... I'd have to find that out.
2) Location scouting... When the Wife was doing her wedding business full time, we would 'scout' a new venue, often with the couple. And then we would know what to expect, and have some ideas about how to get shots that 'looked good' given the location, time the couple had to devote to pictures, etc...
3) For us, we ended up with two lenses, a 24-120 zoom, and a 16-35 zoom, for our 35mm cameras. We mounted the 2 24-120's on our respective camera bodies, and the 16-35 on a third camera body. Since the Wife was more likely to shoot in cramped quarters, she would have the 16-35 zoom along with her standard. I would shoot the ceremony typically with a Hasselblad, 250mm lens from the back of the church. She would not change the lens on her Hasselblad, which was an 80mm lens. I would change between the 250mm, 80mm, and a 40mm depending. My shots were usually table setups, architectures, etc. When we switched over to 'mostly' digital, the only use the Hasselblad had was for the formals. The shots most likely to be 'blown up'...

Back to moving pictures.

Everyone accepts the fact that DSLR audio sux. The usual method is to use an official two system sound setup, and some people use some form of software to match it up, while others use the tried and true 'align by eye'... In that regard the DSLR sound becomes a reference trak.

I recently had the opportunity to look at a NX5U, and the lens has the same problem for me that other 'video' cameras have, that is a fair amount of distortion at the 'widest' angles. Also, it doesn't seem to have a waveform display, for making sure the video signal is what one expects.

The DSLRs don't have waveform monitors... (well I don't think they do...)... but one can typically get very good optics, provided one knows the camera...
 
It's more than camera familiarity - you need footage familiarity... you often learn a lot about the camera (and its audio capabilities) in editing.

Things like sliders, cranes, HMI's - you need to get familiar with their idiosyncrasies in advance as well.

The fact you didn't bring a field recorder of some kind for a DSLR shoot surprises me - surprising that you came into the gig with no knowledge of an issue that's just been discussed to death around here (and likely has several sticky posts with workarounds).

On the plus side, it's a heck of a learning experience, getting burned this badly. But the situation you went through isn't really a workflow issue at all. Workflow in this situation would be all about being prepared to shoot quickly and unobtrusively. I assume a big part of the subject's nervousness came from him picking up on your nerves or distress.

But hey - you're a ballsy guy, going in with unfamiliar gear. Keep learning and you'll know where self confidence helps and where it hurts. But for a shoot involving other people's money or time, you have to have your gear mastered to where it's all second nature. You can never test and experiment enough.
 
To OP. You already learnt some valuable lessons I think. Preparedness is your best friend. I try not to shoot anything I havent seen before the actual shoot. Location / camera / sound set up, same applies for all three. IF its not working correctly before the shoot - its probably not going to come together for the shoot.

I wouldnt beat yourself up over it. Learn the lesson and move on.

Did he commission the work or was it you who approached him? If the former - the issue I see lies in the fact - youre creating product he'll benefit from however you dont see any value in that - not even to cover your hard costs. Then you've met with some problems and had to stress to correct it. ALL FOR FREE.

When renting on a one man band style job - you need to undertake your own 1st ac duties. Test rental gear at the shop.
 
Thanks for responding guys it means alot to me. I'll get better, I will continue to go out there and tighten my workflow. I approached him and offered my service for free and in the end due to long editing hours he will have videos that will work well for him and I will have had the experience and growth. I will get this process down to a science. Thanks again for your support. Means the world.
 
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