One Person Shoot - Technique

If finances and/or the shooting circumstances or duration call for it, as AshG said, do go for it. However, you may want to compare what you're spending in time, money, & energy on being a one man band versus hiring a sound man. With a good sound man, one who is on the same page as you, it should not interfere with your shooting style, in fact it can only make it better.

The sound man I like working with the best isn't even strictly a sound man, he's just another filmmaker who also happens to have spent a good deal of time doing location sound. He sends his portable mixer signal wirelessly to my camera, so that we are not tethered at the hip. For run and gun documentaries in crowded locations, it works out excellent, allowing both of us to stake out the minimally available space, focusing on only our own tasks at hand. I'll take this flexibility any time I can afford it.
 
AshG said:
Just go for it... I shot a doc all by myself that is getting some nice buzz. All on camera mic, no crew but me... you can check out the trailer on the IMDB page:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0439306/

Or watch the first 8 minutes on Ifilm:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2681277





ash =o)
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That's inspiring, good luck with your film. After viewing the clips, it occurs to me that one man band, handheld shooting lends itself to quick edits and lots of cuts, which fits nicely with the pace and content of your subject. It might work for me too, but it's something I've got to think about. Thanks again!
 
Duct Tape Films said:
If finances and/or the shooting circumstances or duration call for it, as AshG said, do go for it. However, you may want to compare what you're spending in time, money, & energy on being a one man band versus hiring a sound man. With a good sound man, one who is on the same page as you, it should not interfere with your shooting style, in fact it can only make it better.
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I have to admit that I'm now leaning towards shooting with a sound guy, in part because I'm a beginner, in part because sound is so important, in part because there are circumstances where I'll need an extra body to do PA work - and besides it's always nice to have someone to work with!

Duct Tape Films said:
The sound man I like working with the best isn't even strictly a sound man, he's just another filmmaker who also happens to have spent a good deal of time doing location sound. He sends his portable mixer signal wirelessly to my camera, so that we are not tethered at the hip. For run and gun documentaries in crowded locations, it works out excellent, allowing both of us to stake out the minimally available space, focusing on only our own tasks at hand. I'll take this flexibility any time I can afford it.
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It would be ideal to work with someone who can switch off with the camera work. I'm curious about your set up for sending the sound wirelessly to your camera - don't you lose something in the signal? Thanks again for your help.
 
Jonathan_P said:
...it occurs to me that one man band, handheld shooting lends itself to quick edits and lots of cuts...
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That would not be universally true, no.
It might of been the case in AshG's case, but DEFINITELY not true as a general rule.
 
i guess I'm coming into this late, but I agree that you're much better off with a sound man if you can afford it.
I've shot so much as a one man band and if theres anything I would kill to have it's a soundman. Much of my shooting has suffered due to sound level adjustments interupting framing/focusing and even talking to subject (assuming you are directing alone).
If it's your first project, fine, you just need to go out there and shoot it; But you can only worry about being obtrusive for so long if you intend to direct lots of doc material. I'm also a huge fan of McElwee and the reason he comes off so well is not because he is "unobtrusive", it's because he completely acknowledges his own role in the filming and interaction with what he's portraying; he's not trying to do any purist 'verite', he is directly recording his own experience as a pretty neurotic camera man living his life filming stuff. They are very personal stories.
Not everyone can do this and not every story lends itself to this style. I would worry less about your equipment being obtrusive and just spend proper time ahead building the neccassary trust and rapport with your subject and your other crew.
I do believe you can just get away with you and a trusted soundman/assistant, too, but you need to just be realistic about what the films needs are sometimes.

I think it's ulitmately more important AND more effective to just have a good relationship and understanding of your subject than just tiptoing around hoping people won't notice you're filming them, they'll always know; they'll just choose to ignore it when they trust and respect you and know that you're not there to take advantage of them. That makes all the difference in the world.
A few great filmmakers make it look easy and it feels easy when you do a little yourself, but you'll quickly see that great looking shots with even good sound levels AND the needed movement and logistics of handling your gear is REALLY hard and just takes tons of experience. If you can afford it, I'd say find a collaborator/soundperson unless you're shooting something VERY sensitive and/or personal. If thats the case than practice a lot if you're new to camerawork and at least get somekind of shoulder mount or make one (the modern "handycam" designs are horrible for steady shooting you need a brace and a way to look at your subject while you shoot, shoulder is great).
I could write forever about one man band stuff thats most of my doc work, but it's grueling and I'd really rather not do it this way if I had a bigger budget, sound sometimes sucks for it, and will cost a bundle to fix when we're done.
 
Valdez - thanks so much for sharing your experience. There seems to be a strong consensus to use a sound guy if it's at all feasible. Your point about McElwee makes a lot of sense and it's true that I'm not making that kind of documentary. And your advice about establishing trust with the subjects reminded me of similar comments by the great Maysles Brothers.

If you get a chance, I'd love to hear more about your experience with shoulder mounts. Do you use one even when you have a sound person? What do you use? Thanks again!
 
Hey

I'm 6 months into my first solo doc shoot and have made a lot of mistakes in video but the audio is on auto pilot. I use the Sennheiser EVO G2 wireless with the butt plug and a Sanken COS11 lav. The lav shows up clipped to the interview subject on screen on every shot but that's okay for my project. I run the lav hot on CH2 and make CH1 redundant at about 20% lower level for safety. The audio is always great. I do an audio check with headphones before shooting just to make sure but then just watch audio levels periodically on the LCD or VF. No problem. In my case I could use a cable from the lav to the camera and forego the wireless but never do because for a doc, the EVO plus Sanken is plenty quiet enough and the wireless is just so easy. Also, I use the spiderbrace shoulder mount and although primative, at seventy bucks, it does the job,

Hope this helps,
Moe
 
Hey Moe - what kind of stuff are you shooting? Are you shooting in a quiet interior space with good acoustics? I guess I'm wondering if you've pushed the limits of this setup. Do you have any clips to share? Thanks!
 
Jonathan_P said:
Hey Moe - what kind of stuff are you shooting? Are you shooting in a quiet interior space with good acoustics? I guess I'm wondering if you've pushed the limits of this setup. Do you have any clips to share? Thanks!
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Hey, Jonathon, thanks for your interest. I'm gathering interviews of foreign visitors (tourists) in the southwestern U.S. national parks. It's all exteriors except for the expert interviews. Best to remember that docs are "reality" and so a mic showing, background dialogue, a car door shutting or whatever is not going to sink a doc.
 
moe_snodgrass said:
Hey, Jonathon, thanks for your interest. I'm gathering interviews of foreign visitors (tourists) in the southwestern U.S. national parks. It's all exteriors except for the expert interviews. Best to remember that docs are "reality" and so a mic showing, background dialogue, a car door shutting or whatever is not going to sink a doc.
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Cool. I'm not so concerned with the mike showing, etc., I just don't want viewers to work hard to understand the dialog. Bottom line is I've got to get out there and start experimenting to see what works for me. The consensus still seems to be that a sound guy is really valuable if you can swing it, but I'm really happy to hear that there are people making it work as a one man band, particularly since I know there will be circumstances where that's the only thing that will be feasible.
 
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Valdez raised a very important point about logistics, "...you'll quickly see that great looking shots with even good sound levels AND the needed movement and logistics of handling your gear is REALLY hard..."

My background is in documentary filmmaking, mostly shooting alone or with local/non-professional assistance. Normally I work in remote locations and in villages. Recently I worked on a shoot in the city and I found that filming alone along with managing permissons, phone calls, gear and transport was too much.

Especially if you are working in unfamiliar territory, an assistant with local knowledge can be invaluable. In spontaneous "verite" situations, it can be really useful to have someone with you who can smooth-talk officials or protect you from curious bystanders while you continue to follow the action. If you are lugging a tripod or other bulky gear to your location, an assistant is an extra pair of hands so you can shoot on the move. And an extra pair of eyes to save you from walking backwards into lamp-posts, people, traffic.

If you don't have a budget, aspiring filmmakers may agree to work for the experience or in exchange for help with their own project.

I am not a trained sound recordist but I can offer a few simple tips. Choose an on-camera mic carefully. Shotgun mics have great reach and because of their narrow pickup they are good at rejecting off axis sound. However sometimes you will want to hear sounds/voices that are not directly in front of the camera. A hypercardioid mic may be more appropriate, especially indoors, providing that it does not pick up an unacceptable amount of camera noise.

If you have more than one mic you will never need to "borrow" the on camera mic to place it elsewhere. If you are constantly needing to swap one mic on and off the camera you may miss important moments. I carry a second mic and a small Manfrotto tabletop tripod for static situations - it gets the mic close to the source and away from any camera noise. Owning several mics is very affordable with mics such as the Rode NTG1.

An assistant with a hand-held or boom mic can be very liberating for the camera. Points to focus on with untrained mic operators are mics drifting off target or into shot, handling noise and poor cable management (snagging and tripping). These problems are easily remedied by good communication between camera and sound people whilst shooting. In dynamic situations tethering yourself to a mic operator via a cable is usually a disaster.

With the camera person tucked away somewhere behind a camera, your subjects may tend to address the sound person - so the sound person needs to avoid eye contact with the subjects while the camera is rolling.

Having a collaborator can make the demanding filming process more enjoyable and therefore more sustainable.
 
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A few other things. The DVX has the best audio you can get short of running a synched hard-disk recorder but you can't use any camera mounted mic, even a shotgun, even if shock-mounted, if you want good, quiet audio. The DVX makes too much noise, even if recording direct to disk ala DVRack where the tape transport isnt even moving. Try it for yourself or just trust me.

Get good mics. Seriously. Indy-consultant-types all agree that the weak link in getting close-to-hollywood quality on an indy is to invest in quality audio. Double that if one is working on a solo doc. Good mics, softies, cables, wireless etc will give your doc a sharp audio edge and save more shots than you will realize.

A good lav (I have the Sanken COS11) is good enough to record wild sound. On every location I'll walk the lav and wireless twenty feet away from the camera and record ambient. It sounds great. If I feel like it I can place the lav and my shotgun left and right and get true stereo. Not as good as matched mics but good enough and useable because they are both quality mics.

Also, if your subject is a static interview, either interior or exterior, consider investing in a boom cradle (search B&H for "boom cradle). It mounts to a stand that will hold your boomed shotgun just like a boom operator (soundman) would do in a static situation as in an interview. One must counterbalance the end of the boom with a small sandbag.

I have the Sennheiser MKH416PH shotgun and for my interior interviews, I mount the 416 on a C-stand with the boom cradle and then just tape my lav somewhere on the expert's desk for redundancy.

Best advise: camcorders become obsolete every 3-5 years but your audio gear keeps on going so invest as much as you can afford in audio.
 
Russell and Moe - thanks so much for some really concrete, helpful observations and suggestions. The discussions about audio have been particularly interesting - everyone seems to agree that getting good audio as a one man band is tough, so you (and others in this thread) have given me some great ideas to experiment with and figure out my own approach.

Thanks again!!
 
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