Are my plans practical or misguided?

[Xavian]

Hi. Quick intro before I get into it (sorry, I should have done this first): I'm in my mid 30's and just getting into filmmaking, but have spent the last 20 years in music, audio engineering and a little voice over. A lot of this gear I still have (mics, cables, recording equip, mixers, EQs, software, etc.) and a lot of what I learned in other facets of entertainment I hope will prove useful in film. But, with so much to learn about filmmaking, my head is spinning. I could use some advice.

Here's where I am right now:

Since I've never had an issue recovering investements on quality gear I've invested in with other pursuits, I want to try to take the same kind of approach to buying gear in filmmaking, i.e., pro or semi-pro gear that that is popular with filmmakers and will yield a good resale value should I either want to bail out or upgrade. I ultimately want to aim for a cinematic style eventually, rather than documentary or television, and I'm sure that makes a difference in what gear I start off with.

Actual film is beyond my means right now, so considering that I'll be looking at DV or HDV, I'm thinking about starting of with the DVX100b, a Manfrotto 516 fluid head and a sturdy tripod, then turn my attention to lighting, then towards the endless money pit of all other goodies drooled over. I already have Vegas Pro, but am considering switiching over to Premeir down the road at some point.

With so much to learn, I figure I can spend the next year or so just reading everything and anything film related, from screenplay to camera techniques, see what I can and can't do in editing and soak up the learning curve of the gear I buy now.

My question is this: Does it sound like I'm laying out a reasonably good approach, or are there other things/gear I should first take into consideration? Any advice you might have would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cibao]

Sounds to me as you've thought about the whole thing, and are working in the right direction. A lot of the gear issues are opinions...pick what's best for what you want to do (and there are plenty of threads already on site that you can reference...use the search function).

Scriptwriting is very important. A great director/filmmaker can't make a great film without a good script.

But as I said, it sounds as if you're on the right track. Good luck and welcome to Indietalk!

Chris

 

[spinner]

I did exactly this 5 years ago. If you want it, go for it

About the equipment. I'll tell you what my set up is:

2 cameras: 1 panasonic dvx 100a for all primary shooting; 1 panasonic handicam for overall shots and playback because I have never and will never use my dvx as playback. If you have a handicam this is a good idea. A playback deck is quite expensive. My dvx is not HD, but I love the footage I get from it and it does well in low light. The second camera for me was lucky.

1 tripod: bogen/manfrotto with a fluid head, and I always recommend that you get a tripod system so that all you will have to worry about is attaching the head. Otherwise you will be buying the tripod legs, and the head and the handle, and the 'feet' for the tripod.

1 good mic: AudioTechnica AT-835 shotgun mic that can be mounted on the camera. There are better mics, like Sennheisers, but I couldn't afford that. The mic I have is pretty good though, I am happy with it.

1 mac powerbook g4: you don't have to get a mac if you already have a computer. Many people use Sony Vegas or Adobe Premier edit systems that run on pc, but I use Final Cut Pro so needed a mac for that edit system.

I do documentary films so right now, I have no lighting, but I will be looking into that asap. But for the time being, I am doing okay.

Many people get bogged down in all the equipment, etc. It is possible to do what you need to with just a few essential pieces. So you don't have to go overboard on what expensive things. Now you have to look at little things. Batteries, battery charger, tape rewinder, tape stock.

Pretty much if you have these things, you have just enough stuff to cause some damage

-- spinner

 

[Xavian]

Thanks to the both of you for the feedback so far.

2 cameras: 1 panasonic dvx 100a for all primary shooting; 1 panasonic handicam for overall shots and playback because I have never and will never use my dvx as playback. If you have a handicam this is a good idea. A playback deck is quite expensive.

I'm glad you mentioned this because it was something I didn't even take into consideration. I actually like the idea of a second cam rather than a playback device.

Come to think of it, how is footage transfered from cam to computer? I've done it with cams that had a digital memory, but never tape.

1 tripod: bogen/manfrotto with a fluid head, and I always recommend that you get a tripod system so that all you will have to worry about is attaching the head.

Will do.

Did you need anything extra to marry the B/M fluid head and DVX together?

Now you have to look at little things. Batteries, battery charger, tape rewinder, tape stock.

Another thing I haven't given much thought to. I know the DVX doesn't come with the shotgun mic that's in the advertisement photo and that I'm going to want a few extra batteries, but is there anything that doesn't come with the camera that I'm going to immediately need just to use it? Like at least one charger and battery or something else?

 

[cibao]

Extra batteries and a shotgun mike are really important to have.

The second camera is important too...usually a cheap one. I always like running both at the same time from different angles...you never know when you need a second shot, and it's nice having it just in case. Sometimes you can even pull some audio out of it too. As a matter of fact, I use mine as a deck, as well as a voice recorder. I do voiceovers on it as I love the sound that my shotgun mic pulls out. I've ended up losing two of them in the last few years (one to water, the other just died) but together, they still don't come close to the price of my main camera. Keep the costly one safe, and risk the cheap one.

Transfer to computer is easy...you plug in the camera to the firewire port (or USB if you don't have firewire), and hopefully your computer editing program recognizes it. You put the camera on VCR, press play on the camera, and record on your computer program. It is 1 to 1, so as long as it took to shoot, it will be that long to transfer it.

Chris

 

[spinner]

I'm glad you mentioned this because it was something I didn't even take into consideration. I actually like the idea of a second cam rather than a playback device.

Come to think of it, how is footage transfered from cam to computer? I've done it with cams that had a digital memory, but never tape.

Your small camera most likely have an output that says "DV" which is where you connect your firewire.
Or a UBS output which should look like a three branched "tree". By the way, I hear the memory cards on the handicams are not so great, so if you have it great, if not don't sweat it. If anyone has had a good experience with a memory card, I'm sure they will post.

Did you need anything extra to marry the B/M fluid head and DVX together?

Nope. That's why I suggest the tripod "system". everything comes with and all you have to do is follow the directions in the box. Check out bhphotovideo.com and you will see what I mean.

Another thing I haven't given much thought to. I know the DVX doesn't come with the shotgun mic that's in the advertisement photo and that I'm going to want a few extra batteries, but is there anything that doesn't come with the camera that I'm going to immediately need just to use it? Like at least one charger and battery or something else?

A battery: Panasonic Li-ion battery. It might say 8 hour battery, but noooooo. However if you look for the "features" of the battery -- again, go to bhphotovideo -- look for these letters: mAh. They will follow four numbers. My battery says 5400mAh. What that means is my battery is about five hours and fourty minutes in power. I have one that says 1600mAh, a little under an hour or two. Don't trust the package, read the battery itself. They are expensive, $100 apiece, but I have 3 and have used them for the last 4 years and they are still holding up. See if you can find a used one, they still work well. Get at least one, you'll have 5 hours of power before you need to charge it.

Battery charger: try to get one that will both plug into the wall and into your cigarette lighter in your car. That saved me on a couple of occasions. $30-$50 relatively cheap for everything else.

Tape rewinder: just what it says. About $30-$50. You don't need to get the big expensive rewinder or charger, I have a cheap one and one not so cheap, they work the same.

Make sure your mic comes with the mount for the camera. You have to attach it somehow! It will screw into the side of the handle on top of the DVX.

-- spinner

 

[Xavian]

I always like running both at the same time from different angles...you never know when you need a second shot

Are there only very particular situations in which you would parse together clips from these different cameras in post? I would imagine the quality difference is noticable, but could forsee some situations where it could be useful to achieve a certain effect. I'm just curious about the kind of creativity you've come up with in doing this.

Transfer to computer is easy...you plug in the camera to the firewire port (or USB if you don't have firewire), and hopefully your computer editing program recognizes it. You put the camera on VCR, press play on the camera, and record on your computer program. It is 1 to 1, so as long as it took to shoot, it will be that long to transfer it.

Sounds pretty straight forward. Thanks.

look for these letters: mAh. They will follow four numbers. My battery says 5400mAh. What that means is my battery is about five hours and fourty minutes in power. I have one that says 1600mAh, a little under an hour or two. Don't trust the package, read the battery itself.

Thanks Spinner. I love little bits of information like this. Just knowing what mAH means has probably saved me from many possible frustrations!


On a side note, I've been talking to an old friend who has been in the business for a while now. He works on larger budget films at this point, but tells me that even at my level I need a DoP and an Editor when I get around to putting something into production.

I know I'm getting way ahead of myself here (I'm a studious planner), but I'm curious about what kind of crews you've all started off with when the goal was to produce something that goes beyond putting up clips on youtube and passing out copies to friends and family. I suppose I'm just curious as to how many hats I can realistically wear and in what ways I'm going to really need someone else's help when I finally decide to throw my hat into the film festival circuit.

Your experiences?