Shooting in remote locations

[Alex DePew]

Hello Everybody,

I recently went hiking with an organization that aside from leading hiking expeditions takes groups to various locations around the world (Africa, Brazil, Croatia and other locations). I got to speaking with one of the co-owners of the company who happened to be leading my group and mentioned that I am a videographer. He was very excited to have video added to his website. I told him that I could definitely accomplish it, but was honest and said I had not yet shot any nature footage. I didn't discuss much more beyond this, especially not costs. We mainly chatted about hiking and nature and such. I want to go into this meeting with some solid information about the realities, difficulties, necessities, requirements and anything else that would be part of shooting footage of hiking in remote locations. They have tour groups that go to Africa to help monitor and protect the elephant population there. They do all kinds of outdoor gigs.

Well, the guy has contacted me asking to meet and discuss getting this done. I can't tell you how excited I am at the prospect of getting this job! A little background on my equipment. I have a DVX100b, 1 G2 wireless mic, 1 Rode NT-G2(no wind protection yet), Manfrotto MBV2 tripod (12lbs or so), boom pole, Nikon D40 still camera with 18- 55mm 3.5-5.6 DX.

I would appreciate any advice, from what would be required to what would be ideal. IS it possible to do this as a one man army or is that asking for trouble? I'd love to hear stories of things that you needed that you didn't realize until you were out in the field. Just looking for people who have done this and have a good story to tell as well. Hopefully I will be able to add my own stories about traveling for my job soon!

Thanks,
Alex

 

[SimonCreations]

Sounds like fun to me! Are you going to be hiking to get to your location, or while you be able to drive/ride there? If you are going to be carrying all of your equipment you may want to look into getting a lighter tripod. I don't know that you will need a boom pole for anything outdoors..

I would also bring plenty of cleaning supplies so that if you camera gets dirty out in the field you will be able to take care of it. Also, bring a hat and lots of water too - you'll want to stay hydrated.

 

[sailor]

The boom is obviously your most challenging luggage.

Do not forget your battery planning. Some form of recharge system is probablly mandatory unless you have a very large number of batteries. Check the power available where you are going or look into an alternative charging system like one that works off a auto cigarette lighter 12 V system.

 

[Lensmith]

I shot an entire season for a Spanish language travel show in Central America last year, all one man band, using my DVX.

Dump the boom.

Buy another wireless. Mostly to have a backup if/when the one you have has problems.

That kind of work can be done by yourself since the deadlines are "extended". You're not having to rush to turn a product day-of.

Keep it simple. As little gear as possible but, as mentioned above, your battery management is crucial. I'd suggest you have three or four batteries in your kit on each trip.

I usually worked as the photog for Spanish and English language network news jobs in Central America but the travel show was fun. You get to see a lot of stuff as well as not lug as much gear. You can be creative and the subject matter is usually very positive.

I'd encourage you to explore it. Maybe a single light kit of sorts. I'm not talking about a light on top of your camera. I'm talking about a light on a stand, light weight. Have a long extension cord along with a variety of adapters so you can plug into different style plugs. Get a light which accepts both 110 or 220 bulbs. Lowel has several models. That way your light will work no matter where you end up in the world.

The idea is for you to be compact. Travel with as little equipment as possible and be able to move quickly. Especially on hikes. You will want to have action pass you, then rush to get ahead for more footage. These are just more reasons for you to not bring the boom mic along. It's a waste of time. Bring your tripod but...figure out some way to carry it easily. Or make sure the one you have is really light weight. I rigged a shoulder strap on my little sticks so I could have it with me when I needed it even when we trekked on foot into some pretty remote places or climbed up to the top of Aztec ruins. It's so nice, once you get to the remote spots, to be able to take some nice steady shots, so don't ditch the sticks. Make them usable and portable. More so than they are already.

A good reflector can be a life saver too. Not hard to carry and, when you need it, fairly easy for someone to hold for you, or prop against something, to make your video stand out from others efforts.

For what it's worth, here's a shot of me shooting for the show in Guatemala. My tripod is laying on the ground at my feet but you can see I believe in traveling light.