Q. I am filming a documentary and I need to know what sort of camera and what kind of sound equipment I need to purchase. I also need to know if this equipment is easy to train people on, or if it would be smarter to try to hire people who already have experience and training with this sort of equipment. If so, where do I find these people? What is the most basic sort of camera I can use and what is the most advanced, and what difference would that make? I plan on making this a professional looking documentary that I can enter into film festivals. Thanks!
A. It depends on how picky you are, what sort of audio is being recorded and where the audio is being recorded.
For example, audio captured live during a drag race or other noisy environment will have different mic needs than if the audio is captured inside a room where there is little noise.
Another example has music recording - as opposed to just talking heads or recording the noise a cat makes when purring.
Does the equipment need to be portable? Is a 2-channel field recorder (like a Zoom H4n) enough or is a 16 (or more) track board required along with a Digidesign/ProTools set-up and computer interface?
Shotgun mic, lavalier, handheld dynamic mic... wired or wireless... stereo or mono mics... the list is endless.
We don't know anything about the project, your budget or where you are. The complexity of the project can dictate all these things. If you think this is complex, then see if the local community college has a media or audio-for-film class - and meet with the instructor.
As for cameras... well, if you have to ask, then you might want to be taking the classes...
Consumer cameras and camcorders have small lenses and small imaging chips. They cannot do well under low light conditions. They have few manual controls - and those that are available are usually accessed through a menu. As the cameras and camcorder increase in price the lenses and imaging chips get bigger and the commonly used manual controls move to the outside of the camcorder/camera. As well, at the low end, the video compression is very high - this results in low quality video. As the cameras/camcorder increase in price, the compression goes down and the video quality goes up.
If the lighting is ALWAYS good (bright, sunny daylight, outdoors), them pretty much any camcorder will do - assuming you are not very picky. In my opinion, the *least* I would use would be a Sony HDR-FX1000. Low compression HDV format. Most advanced - for your needs probably something from Red (Epic, One, Scarlet). HDV records only 1080i video. Red cameras can capture 4K video at very low compression. And any in-between (like any from the Sony HDCAM/XDCAM or Panasonic Varicam areas... or the Canon XF300 series... Some would even suggest a good dSLR that happens to capture good high definition video as "convenience feature".
But when all is said and done, someone with experience and skill using the least expensive camera available can produce awesome content - and someone with no experience and skill using the most expensive/best gear available will generally turn out not so awesome content.
Where are these experienced people? They are trying to make a living being independent audio engineers and cinematographers. There are near or recently finished from film school. They are at community colleges teaching - or are wedding videographers hoping a compelling script comes along. Maybe they have regular day-jobs and have been doing this sort of thing for a LONG time but it can't pay the bills... Or they work at corporate AV companies or hotel AV departments... they are lots of places...
For example, audio captured live during a drag race or other noisy environment will have different mic needs than if the audio is captured inside a room where there is little noise.
Another example has music recording - as opposed to just talking heads or recording the noise a cat makes when purring.
Does the equipment need to be portable? Is a 2-channel field recorder (like a Zoom H4n) enough or is a 16 (or more) track board required along with a Digidesign/ProTools set-up and computer interface?
Shotgun mic, lavalier, handheld dynamic mic... wired or wireless... stereo or mono mics... the list is endless.
We don't know anything about the project, your budget or where you are. The complexity of the project can dictate all these things. If you think this is complex, then see if the local community college has a media or audio-for-film class - and meet with the instructor.
As for cameras... well, if you have to ask, then you might want to be taking the classes...
Consumer cameras and camcorders have small lenses and small imaging chips. They cannot do well under low light conditions. They have few manual controls - and those that are available are usually accessed through a menu. As the cameras and camcorder increase in price the lenses and imaging chips get bigger and the commonly used manual controls move to the outside of the camcorder/camera. As well, at the low end, the video compression is very high - this results in low quality video. As the cameras/camcorder increase in price, the compression goes down and the video quality goes up.
If the lighting is ALWAYS good (bright, sunny daylight, outdoors), them pretty much any camcorder will do - assuming you are not very picky. In my opinion, the *least* I would use would be a Sony HDR-FX1000. Low compression HDV format. Most advanced - for your needs probably something from Red (Epic, One, Scarlet). HDV records only 1080i video. Red cameras can capture 4K video at very low compression. And any in-between (like any from the Sony HDCAM/XDCAM or Panasonic Varicam areas... or the Canon XF300 series... Some would even suggest a good dSLR that happens to capture good high definition video as "convenience feature".
But when all is said and done, someone with experience and skill using the least expensive camera available can produce awesome content - and someone with no experience and skill using the most expensive/best gear available will generally turn out not so awesome content.
Where are these experienced people? They are trying to make a living being independent audio engineers and cinematographers. There are near or recently finished from film school. They are at community colleges teaching - or are wedding videographers hoping a compelling script comes along. Maybe they have regular day-jobs and have been doing this sort of thing for a LONG time but it can't pay the bills... Or they work at corporate AV companies or hotel AV departments... they are lots of places...
What type of camcorder would I need for this?
Q. I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical after high school to go to the Gaza Strip or Syria or Yemen or Mali to make a documentary of one of the wars going on there. I'm going to get a GoPro HERO3 Black that I can put on a helmet mount in case I need to set my big camera down. For my actual camera I'm considering the Sony HVR Z1u because thats what they used to film Restrepo. Would this be a good camera? I'm planning on filming at chest level and buying a better shotgun Mic.
I basically need something thats rugged, easy to carry, and can automatically switch from high to low light.
I basically need something thats rugged, easy to carry, and can automatically switch from high to low light.
A. Hi, young Scion racing fan:
Firstly, yes the Sony Z1U is a good camera (I've shot with one for years, and a documentary buddy of mine has traveled the Middle East and Asia with one for many projects). It's now a discontinued model (the Z5 and Z7, and the S270 are newer models), though you can find many good ones on the used market, or a new one that a Sony dealer has left over.
But other than "auto-iris" for varying levels of lighting conditions, you won't find any good camera that's fully automatic for an untrained amateur out in the field. There are 3-step Gain switches and built-in ND filters on pro-level/prosumer cameras like the Z1U and its "big brothers"; and you'll need to spend quite a bit of time practicing with any decent pro-level camera to know all the settings and menus for good footage.
And since you are familiar with "Restrepo", keep in mind that co-director/videographer Tim Hetherington was killed by Libyan shelling less than a year after the release of his award-winning film on the Afghan war. You might re-think your first big project subject matter if you wish to make it to age twenty. (The two guys who made "Restrepo" had 20-30 years more life-experience & journalism 'chops' than you.)
Save up for lots of rechargeable camera batteries (the good ones are not cheap), and possibly a fold-up solar charger, since you can't "just plug-in anywhere" in a war zone. And take some time during your "sabbatical" to learn a helpful foreign language like Arabic or Hebrew (Middle East) or French (West Africa), or you won't have the full respect of the locals.
[Reminded of "Friends" character Chandler Bing at the airport exclaiming "I'm going to Yemen!"]
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
Firstly, yes the Sony Z1U is a good camera (I've shot with one for years, and a documentary buddy of mine has traveled the Middle East and Asia with one for many projects). It's now a discontinued model (the Z5 and Z7, and the S270 are newer models), though you can find many good ones on the used market, or a new one that a Sony dealer has left over.
But other than "auto-iris" for varying levels of lighting conditions, you won't find any good camera that's fully automatic for an untrained amateur out in the field. There are 3-step Gain switches and built-in ND filters on pro-level/prosumer cameras like the Z1U and its "big brothers"; and you'll need to spend quite a bit of time practicing with any decent pro-level camera to know all the settings and menus for good footage.
And since you are familiar with "Restrepo", keep in mind that co-director/videographer Tim Hetherington was killed by Libyan shelling less than a year after the release of his award-winning film on the Afghan war. You might re-think your first big project subject matter if you wish to make it to age twenty. (The two guys who made "Restrepo" had 20-30 years more life-experience & journalism 'chops' than you.)
Save up for lots of rechargeable camera batteries (the good ones are not cheap), and possibly a fold-up solar charger, since you can't "just plug-in anywhere" in a war zone. And take some time during your "sabbatical" to learn a helpful foreign language like Arabic or Hebrew (Middle East) or French (West Africa), or you won't have the full respect of the locals.
[Reminded of "Friends" character Chandler Bing at the airport exclaiming "I'm going to Yemen!"]
hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
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