Prevarication frenzy

S

scrimmage

New member
As a board newbie the first thing I want to say is greetings from the land of PAL in Norwich, UK. Then I'd like to ask for your expert opinions...

I'm in a band (www.fielgarvie.co.uk) that has been given a bit of cash (>$7000) by our label to make two promo videos in the next two months; we can either spend it on a) getting someone else to do it or b) do it ourselves. I'm not a complete video/film newbie - I did a documentary masters and am familiar with 16mm and sd dv origination/workflows and I'm a veteran Mac user. So option b) has some appeal!

Inevitably we want the promos to have that film feel so I'm leaning towards an HD camcorder shooting in progressive mode with a 35mm lens adapter (redrock micro) to try and ensure we crack that filmy depth of field thing. And we want to shoot in 16:9.

The outlet for our promo is mainly going to be european broadcasters; I doubt we'll ever have to print to film (!).

We have moderately powered G4s and hard discs coming out of our earholes; we use them to make our albums. The two most relevant ones are a 1.25mhz, 17" Powerbook and a dual 1.25mhz silver door G4. We don't have the cash to go out and get lovely new quad G5s just yet. I've got Final Cut Studio 5.03.

Whatever money we have got we want to spend on getting good stuff in.

1. The HVX200 is very alluring but bearing in mind that all we want to do is make a pop promo for tv is it overkill? Can we get away with a DVX100 or one of the Sony HDV camcorders? Is the DVX100 pretend 16:9 squeeze function too ropey to use for broadcast?

2. Will our Macs realistically be able to cope with editing the highest quality output from the HVX200 anyway?

3. What format should we looking at to deliver the final promo to the likes of MTV, BBC etc?

Any light you can shed on any of this will help me a lot.

Big thanks,

Adam
 
Adam,
Is this image your livelyhood, or just a project. If it is the first I'd advise getting a pro to do it. Just as you have spent years creating your art as a musician, so to the people you hire have perfected the art of imagery. You could easily eat up your 7000.00 in making a few rookie mistakes. I think you'll come out way ahead hiring a pro.

However if you should decide to go at it yourself, theres a wealth of knowledge here in this forum. You will likely come out money ahead by renting ratherthen buying. For instance if you buy the HVX nearly all your money will be gone and you have no lighting, or lighting control. The odds of you getting any good footage with out proper lighting is pretty slim. How far will your money go. Well I can't say in the UK but I just did a full day of pick up shots for a movie. We shot from 5 pm to 5 am with the minimal crew and body doubles so we wouldn't have to bring the cast back. We spent $7500.00 I would think you could get about two music videos done in the same amount of time.

Now if your going to be an ongoing production company then the economy of owbership may change, but for two videos I wouldn't buy.

Hope that helps
 
Yes it helps - thanks.

The backstory to all of this is that I also collaborate on the occasional documentary (16mm) - some of which have been screened at minor festivals. I suspect with the right kit I may make a few more!

The lighting issue is pretty well covered as I often work with lighting cameramen from the regional TV company which is based in Norwich. So plenty of access to expertise and kit.

Does any of this change things?

Btw, I have absolutely no issue with paying professionals to do their job and make the promo for us. I'd just like to use the opportunity as a springboard to get going with (guerilla) video/filmmaking again.
 
If thats your desire go for for it, join us crazies who give up any sembalance of a normal life to cut a piece of film. The HVX will be an excelent camera at the price (so it sounds, we won't know for sure till it hits the field). The last features I worked on were shot on the Varicam with excellent results. The HVX will be capable of delivering the same results within the limits of the fixed lens (which shoudln't be too much of an issue on a music video just watch the contrast) BTW some of the best film makers I know were once musicians or comedians, seems its a timing thing
 
My 2 cents here:

7 grand is nothing when it comes to buying film gear. sure, you can get a camera and couple other things, but it takes a ton of stuff to make a great product. Not to mention you in addition to that ton of stuff you still need money to bring production value to the project.

If this is important than spend the money of pros that have their own kits and will work for cheap so you can still spend something on produciton value.

If the product isn't important that start buying gear with it and do as best you can with no budget and friends helping you out.
 
scrimmage said:
Does any of this change things?
Click to expand...

Sure, because it seems as if your lighting needs are now covered and it's always good to have that off your back. I'd say now what matters is your passion for film and a possible career alternative to music. If you just like playing around with video gadgets, then renting might be best (new and better cams always come out). If you have a real passion for and want to pursue big dreams in film, buying might be the better option.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top