I’ve spent the last six months preparing for my first solo documentary project that will begin filming in five days. I’m a big believer in throwing your hat over the wall and this experience has only strengthened that belief. Having a large amount of pressure on my shoulders has made me learn very quickly. I wanted to thank this forum and those on it like Kholi, Tom, Frank, John and many, many others who have been gracious enough to share their time and knowledge. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this (or at least do it decently) without you.
Anyway, I leave to shoot for two weeks on Sunday and I thought I’d share the creative choices I’ve made for this project so far. It’s pretty late in the game to make any serious changes, but I would love to hear comments, criticisms or any witty insults. I would also REALLY love to hear any suggestions and experiences people on the board have had with similar cinema verite style documentary projects. Or, just general advice with the BMCC in the circumstances I’ll be using it in. I’ve done my homework and conducted my personal tests, but it never hurts to hear it again.
I’m writing this post to receive some feedback, but also as a starting point for others who may come along with a similar goal in mind. The free guidance I’ve received on the Internet has been invaluable and I hope to pay it forward.
This post is going to be pretty long, so I’ve decided to chunk it out into segments for those who want to skip to a certain area. Right now I’m just going to be sharing my gear, but eventually I’ll be updating this with the story itself, preparations, building my own computer, filming and post-production experiences. I guess this will pretty much be a production diary for this project. I hope it’s useful to some of you.
TL,DR: I’m making a documentary, this is how I’m doing it.
The Gear:
Here is the gear I’ll be using for the project and some of the reasoning for my choices. I do video work for my day job and would like to be able to use the same gear for future projects, so renting wasn’t an option for me. I’ll also be doing everything myself, something that affects every decision I make.
BMCC: For the money I had to spend and the quality of the picture I wanted, the BMCC stood out as my top choice. I knew I would need a lot of flexibility in post, so the 10-bit ProRes was the main deciding factor. Of course, the look is what really won me over. I’m too green to really understand what “filmic” truly means, but something about BMCC’s color science really does it for me. The C100 was a bit out of my range and DSLRs weren’t going to give me the flexibility in post that I wanted (there was no way I was going to deal with Magic Lantern RAW file sizes.)
I chose the BMCC over the BMPCC because I liked the idea of a smaller crop factor, 2.5k for other projects, cheaper media, more weight for greater stability, a bigger lcd screen and more accessories. Of course, many of the weaknesses of the BMPCC have been countered by accessory companies, but at the time of my decision this wasn’t the case. I’ve been very pleased with my choice so far. I even picked it up used from another member on this board, Rick Darge. Go check out his current project’s website zendogmovie.com and watch some of the BTS stuff, very entertaining. I went with the EF because I have friends letting me borrow three lenses for this project that are all EF mounts.
Power: There are many things that need to be addressed with this camera to make it functional and power is a big one. In my searching, I was looking for something that was easy, cheap, light and as out-of-the-way as possible. That led me to the Switronix BMCC PB70 battery. It’s main selling point is it’s simplicity; it was made to attach easily onto the bottom of the BMCC. Great for swapping on the run and no mounting gear needed.
It has a pretty solid battery life of about 3 hours and 20 minutes according to my tests. Switronix likes to stretch the truth a bit and claim it quadruples battery life. Not the case with any of the three I’ve purchased. I’m not upset though, I really do like the batteries. They are bulky, heavy and take forever (4-5 hours) to charge, but what are you going to do. They’re also a bit pricey at $300 each. And for some stupid f&^*ing reason they charge you an extra $45 for the charger. I got lucky with the first two I purchased and got them thrown in for free, but that deal ended at B&H when I got my third. Pretty sketchy if you ask me.
For powering my audio recorder and wireless transmitter/receivers I went with Maha Powerex 2700 AAs. They last an incredibly long time, are reasonably priced and are reusable. In my tests, they’ve powered a Sennheiser G3 transmitter for 11 hours, receiver for 14 hours and can power my Zoom H6 with four lavs hooked up and giving phantom power to my shotgun for about 7 hours. Very impressive. I charge them with MH-C801D chargers from Powerex. A bit pricey, but they have an option to condition the batteries too, which is nice.
Media: I have two 480gb sandisk IIs I’m going to be using. I bought them before I realized they were a bit skinny for the BMCC mounting area, but they still work perfectly. I’ve let them run all day multiple times to test for dropped frames or overheating or anything and have never had a single problem. I’m going to be shooting in ProRes so I’ll be able to fit just under six hours of footage on each one. Nothing to complain about there.
Cage: I could have gone for a cheaper one, but I decided to splurge a bit in this area and get the Contineo cage from Viewfactor. A bit pricy at $300, but I really liked the look and feel of it. I’m mounting some handles on the sides and a shotgun on top, so it’s been great for that. It’s also had the surprising side effect of getting rid of the awkward form factor of the camera. I now have a good place to grip on all sides of the BMCC.
Handles: I bought some cheap grips and a couple of L joints at home depot and made my own for $30 to film any walking scenes. The thought of spending $200 for Blackmagic’s version chapped my a*&. They also function better because with Blackmagic’s version I would have had to deal with the bottom of the camera where my battery and my monopod would have been in the way as well.
I bought the Blackbird stabilizer to use for walks, but it was just too much. Too much money, too much hassle and most importantly, too much weight. I’m a relatively in-shape guy, but with no vest I was only able to get reliable shots for a couple of minutes at a time. I thought I would spare myself and just stick to handles, even if it’s a bit shakier.
Shotgun: I went with the Rode NTG3 because of it’s value and slew of compliments. I may have some issues with interior shots because it doesn’t handle echos well. That’s ok, though, because everyone I’ll be talking to indoors will have lavaliers on them. I like it for backup and a bit of ambient noise. I’ll also need it in case anything unplanned happens and I don’t have a chance to mic people up. I have it mounted with a Rycote INV-HG MKIII which uses the lyre system and works quite nicely. I also have a Rode WS7 dead cat in case it gets windy.
Lavaliers: It was pretty easy to decide on a wireless lavalier setup. The Sennheiser ew112 G3s are workhorses and a great value at $540 per used pair. They have great range and clarity. The mics that come with them are pretty solid, but I really wanted to step it up after hearing from so many people how crucial audio is. I settled on the Countryman B6 because of it’s teeny-tiny form factor, super-thin wire, great sound and cables that resist handling noise. These lavs are a godsend. The small size won out over the better-sounding, yet bigger, Sankens because there may be some stealth recording during this project.
Lav mounting: This is a bonus section because most people don’t talk about this too much. It is absolutely critical to get your lav placement down if you want to hide your mics (which I do). I’ve found two methods that work for me. One is with the viper cable clip for the B6. I just pierce it through the thick part of the neck line on the inside of most t-shirts and have perfect sound that will stay put. If the person isn’t wearing something that I can pierce or if they feel uncomfortable with me mounting their lav, I’ve found that Rycote stickies work very well, too. I tried them with the undercover and overcover materials, but found that they still made a lot of noise. What I do instead is sandwhich the b6 between two stickies with the head of the mic sticking out one millimeter. I then peel one backing off and let the person stick it to the inside of their shirt at their sternum or neckline themselves. If they need to remount, they can just unpeel the other side and use that. Very simple and very effective.
Recorder: I enjoyed the Zoom H4n, but was very excited when I found out the H6 was being released. Zoom really outdid themselves with this version. The BMCC is s*^t for sound, so I knew I needed a solution. I really tried to make the BMC388 from JuicedLink work, but the inputs and sound quality of the H6 won me over. I can always use plural eyes for sync. The H6 has four xlr inputs with an option to expand to six. There are points where I’ll have 4-5 people hooked up to lavs and a shotgun on the camera, so these inputs were crucial. The screen is bright, colorful and simple. Battery life is much improved, and I can actually put out phantom power without killing my batteries in 20 minutes like with the H4n. The manual knobs on the face are a very nice touch as well. They’ve quieted down the pre-amps in this version and the sound coming out of this thing is killer for the price.
Lens: With a limited budget and considering the realities of a documentary, I decided to go with the Canon 17-55mm. It’s a nice workhorse of a lens with a very usable range for the BMCC, image stabilization, a constant 2.8 aperture, relatively small size and very good reputation. I have been very pleased with the IS and the overall look I’ve been getting out of the lens. It has a bit of a reputation for flaring, so I’ll try to watch my shots with the sun. The 2.8 is needed because of the BMCC’s poor low-light capabilities and the constant aperture is critical for zooming on the fly. I’m also lucky enough to have some friends who are letting me borrow some lenses as well: the tokina 11-16 for big landscapes and car interiors, a 300mm for some stealth distance filming and the canon 70-200 to round out the rest of my zoom range.
Filtration: I wanted to have the ability to keep a narrow depth of field during my outdoor shots, so I decided on the Tiffen Variable ND. I know that Heliopans have better reviews, but the Tiffen holds it own, and was actually in my budget. I went with a variable because I didn’t want to be fumbling around with multiple filters on the fly. I paired it with a Tiffen T1 infared filter to take care of any ir contamination. I like both so far, with the apertures I plan on using I haven’t noticed any weird vignettes or x patterns on my picture. It definitely makes the image a smidge softer, but nothing too crazy.
Loupe: I like the idea of a monitor, but the bulk and the weight on an already heavy rig turned me off. I also was running out of money, so there’s that. I tried getting a Hoodman hood at first. It was alright, but still left me wanting. So, I ordered a Grid 5.0 loupe. It took a bit of prodding to get the company to send it (they’re based out of South America), but boy was it worth it. It’s got a great magnetic hold that’s tight, but easily flips off. It completely blocks out the sun and magnifies the screen as well. An absolutely indispensable piece of gear for outdoor shooting.
Monopod: I went back and forth for quite a while deciding how I was going to support all this gear. Handheld was out because the whole rig is quite heavy and the same goes with a stabilizer. I couldn’t swing for a vest set-up because that was a bit out of my budget. I toyed with the idea of a shoulder rig, but there were a lot of things I didn’t like about it. Bulkiness, shoulder strain from all-day shooting and price all turned me off. I also didn’t like the idea of standing out any more than I had to. It also limited a lot of creative angles that I could be getting as well.
So I ended up settling on a monopod. Seeing what the Stillmotion crew could do with them really helped me finalize my decision. I followed their lead for the model, too: the Manfrotto MH561BHDVI. Secure segment locks, a smooth head, supporting feet and smooth motion from the base have all won me over.
That’s all I got for now. If I have any extra time before I leave I’ll try to post some more. Like I said, I’d really appreciate any advice for using the BMCC in a cinema verite style. I’ll be following a man as he goes camping with his children for a few days for the first half of the story. He’ll then be going from person to person in various cities in Colorado investigating a quadruple homicide that happened 40 years ago. I’ll share more details soon. I hope this helps anyone out there who’s doing their own research for a similar kind of project.
Wish me luck!