Shooting first feature this fall, need equipment advice.

abalex

abalex

Well-known member
Hello everyone

I'm shooting a feature this coming fall, the budget is 30k + some sponsorship from local companies(gas money, food, etc) I have a gh2, my dp has the canon 7d and another friend of mine is waiting for his blackmagic 2.5k. I have senheisser sound system, h4zoom, an arri lighting kit, small LED units, etc.

I guess I need some opinions because I'm a little confused and don;t really know which camera use as main camera or just use all of them and mix them in editing.

What are other items/gear that are a MUST HAVE for a feature?

hope all this make sense

thanks
 
How are you fixed for exploiting the various cameras? For example, with the BMCC you will need lenses, but also you'll need storage both during production and a very strong post production package, because you'll also likely be able to grade the footage more. The 7D has an overheating issue, but some people feel that you get better skin tones right out of the camera compared to GH2. The GH2 has more lenses available for use compared to the 7D, and has less of a moire and no overheating issues. So, there are plusses and minuses to all of these. I'm sure you could intercut all these cameras, but that's extra work both at the shooting stage and in post. The BMCC and the GH2 would be natural allies in this scenario compared to the 7D, because both are m4/3 and you could share lenses, so you could shoot on the BMCC and have the GH2 as a b-cam. However, using multiple cameras is as much an artistic choice as it is a production choice, because you'll block and often light differently for a multi-cam shoot. My instinct would be to shoot on the BMCC and use the GH2 as a backup in case there's an issue with the BMCC or there's moire which the BMCC can't handle.

As to other gear, it depends on what you're shooting and on artistic choices, so for example for some productions a steadicam/stabilizer would be essential while for others it would not, and so forth. I'm sure if you provide more production details, folks will chime in with gear suggestions based on their experience of shooting similar productions.
 
@OLdCorpse
thanks for the suggestions. This is a coming of middle age movie about sibbling going back home for a weekend and reconnecting and dealing with past issues. There's going to be a lot of handheld and steady shots. I want to buy a small jib, suggestions? I have a glidecam 2000 perfect for the gh2 or 7D. We will have several car scenes where there's going to be dialogue involved. for these scenes I want to be able to install the cameras inside the car and just let the actors roll with it. I wont be monitoring the shots, only after the actors are done driving and acting. What else?....Oh! I was thinking about buying the BMpocket cinema camera, but its only 1080p BUT the dynamic range is crazy good. With the money I have I could probably buy two and some lenses...
 
I certainly hear you on the BMPCC, but I'd suggest waiting just a beat until the cam actually comes out and is in users hands - we might find something wild, like f.ex. horrible moire and jello (my fear), which makes it impractical; so at this point I wouldn't build my pre-pro around the BMPCC until it comes out and has been tested. This is particularly the case if you are going to be doing a lot of handheld; the BMPCC is tiny and untested - for handheld, I'd go with the GH2, if it were me.

Re: jib. Honestly, I'm not sure it's worth it, for the following reasons. The two best of the portable and affordable jibs are:

1) Kessler Pocket Jib Traveler

2) Aviator Travel Jib

Now, both have their fans, but basically they are best used in a pinch - not exactly rock steady. You can always go up to better jibs, but at that point you are paying above $1K... is it worth it? How many shots are you going to use it for? If you really need it, it's better to rent for the day(s) you need it - it'll be way cheaper for a better jib. But frankly, are you 100% sure you need a jib? I bet you can do almost all you want with the steadicam; of course if you have very specific shots that absolutely need a jib, then yes - but maybe rent one.
 
And if you have done a bunch of shorts already, you'd have a pretty good idea already on what you need. A feature uses the same equipment as a short just for a longer period of time. But if you are attempting to do a feature and have no experience doing a short............ Good luck.
 
Since you are not shooting till fall, you have plenty of time to run tests and see which camera works best for your situation.

Also what is the whole point to making this movie?

Some people use "making a feature" as an excuse to buy gear, rather than renting what is needed and putting the needed budget back into the movie and paying talented crew members who will honestly make a difference in your film.
 
Why don't you ask your DP? It's his job to choose equipment, know how it works and educate all members of the crew on how to use it should they need to need to learn.
 
unclebob6958 said:
Why does everyone insist on buying everything? Rent what you need or hire someone who has the gear!
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What's more, why not forgo getting involved in film making, and just send some money into a kickstarter project that sounds sort of like what one may want to make, and get a free t-shirt, or something like that.

If the OP was talking about using an ARRI or a RED, I'd agree with rent, and hire an operator... When the discussion is GH2/7D/BMCC... buying at least gets one the opportunity to learn what the camera can do, since in all likelihood there is no 'operator' other than the respective camera owners...

I do of course object to the frequent designation of 'DP' for someone who is simply the 'camera owner'...
 
Yeah, I think it's a bit harsh to automatically recommend renting all gear. If you are talking about something like a GH2, it's worth owning - it's not that much money, it is totally capable of delivering what you need, and it's a fantastic tool to learn on. Why would you recommend renting a RED or Arri for a ton more money? It's BS. Sure, a professional DP will do a much better job, but two things: first, you may not be able to afford one or wish to ask one to do it for free (unless s/he's a life-long friend), and two, you may want to learn something about lighting, which I actually think is valuable. Of course, some clown will jump in and say 'if you can't afford a full crew and all the amenities, don't make the film' - and I've seen that repeatedly on these boards - but to that, you only say "thank you very much for your advice, now please go away and don't contribute nothing but noise". Renting absolutely makes sense if you are talking about an expensive piece of gear that you might only use a few times - like the jib example I gave - but you choose your battles. Not everything is black and white. The mistake I see is when folks buy an inferior piece of gear because that's all they can afford, when they could easily afford to rent much better gear for less money that would much improve their final product. But again, it all depends - are you somewhere where renting is practical, or are you shooting in some BFE where it's all impractical? Everything is in the details.
 
Doc Bernard said:
But if you are attempting to do a feature and have no experience doing a short... Good luck.
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+1

If this was my project, I would pick a few scenes from the feature to shoot as a short to test out your gear and your work-flow, to be 100 percent certain you are going to get the look you want for the feature film.
 
abalex said:
What are other items/gear that are a MUST HAVE for a feature?
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This isn't gear, but things you absolutely definitely have to have for a feature film are:

* A clear and realistic idea of what type of festival (A-List, Fantastic or Underground) will want to program your film.
* Knowledge of what genre your film is, what people expect from that genre, and a plan on how you will deliver to them.
* A realistic and effective marketing budget and plan.
* A realistic distribution plan that doesn't involve "make the film, then look for buyer or sales agent".
* An understanding of who your buyer (distributor) is, and what their business is.

I mean, I'm sure you know what you're doing, but these are mistakes I made myself.
 
TheDingo said:
+1

If this was my project, I would pick a few scenes from the feature to shoot as a short to test out your gear and your work-flow, to be 100 percent certain you are going to get the look you want for the feature film.
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I did this. Actually, I'm wrote about this very thing today on my blog about making and selling MARIANNE.
mariannemovie.tumblr.com

I know I've been nagging about that blog a lot recently, but I think it might be really helpful for anyone making their first independent feature. I'm going through the entire process in detail of what happened and how I did what I did, including the mistakes I made and the effects that had as they came.

My pilot was three scenes from the second draft of the screenplay and some montage images, and that was back in 2009.
 
Jawa Ex Machina said:
I'm going through the entire process in detail of what happened and how I did what I did, including the mistakes I made and the effects that had as they came.
Click to expand...

One gear-related lesson from this is: don't buy a junk car, and expect to put hundreds of miles on it without a problem... it's a junk car for a reason - don't use it for long trips with a lot of tight deadlines and tons of equipment to haul. Also, if something breaks down, resist home-made repairs unless you know what you are doing - you could burn down the car and hurt yourself or others. Finally: some colors just don't belong on a car, such as vivid green on a golf VW :)
 
I think the Old Corpse answer was very good.

One issue about shooting in a car.

" for these scenes I want to be able to install the cameras inside the car and just let the actors roll with it."

If this is daytime, then the exteriors are probably going to blow out and look bad if you don't use the BMC. Strategically placing them according to the sun and lighting the car somehow, or gelling the windows, might help.

Love the BMC, but stability is needed. Test a stabilizer if you want to run around like a madman. It can Jello.
 
OldCorpse said:
One gear-related lesson from this is: don't buy a junk car, and expect to put hundreds of miles on it without a problem... it's a junk car for a reason - don't use it for long trips with a lot of tight deadlines and tons of equipment to haul. Also, if something breaks down, resist home-made repairs unless you know what you are doing - you could burn down the car and hurt yourself or others. Finally: some colors just don't belong on a car, such as vivid green on a golf VW :)
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Not disagreeing with any of this, except for one thing: an unusual color on a car makes you remember it vividly. If that same color is tied to one particular character, like it is in my film, seeing the car will immediately associate it with that character. That's a good thing.
Other than that, yeah absolutely. If you have the money at your disposal to spend on something that isn't a junkheap, you should.
 
thanks everyone for your two cents. I been looking into renting lenses like the nokton 50 f0.95 or rokinon 85 f1.4, anyway, I'm going to try to use as much of my own equipment as I can. My DP own a 7 D which I think works better in low light situations than the gh2, so we would switch from gh2 to 7d when shooting night scenes and IF we get the BMC then we can use it as our A camera and the rest falls under B and C camera. I know a guy who's friends with the junkie kid from breaking bad and I asked him(last week) if he can get me in touch with this actor, he was very positive about it. SO if this works out and IF he likes the script I might have to become sag, SAG INDIE to be precise.

Here is a little more about me and my work:

www.georgeavillalba.blogspot.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2506760/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

again thanks everyone for your advice.

g.
 
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