Upcoming Video Projects: Technology
I shot and edited a documentary once before so I’m not entirely new to the process but I’m certainly no veteran. The doc I did previously had a final running time of just over twenty minutes and was edited down from about ten hours of source footage. In comparison, these projects will have running times of twenty minutes, one hour, and sixteen hours. I’ll probably come back from Africa with somewhere around 130 hours of source, shot over a period of about six weeks.
I come to video production from a background in computer animation and photography. I took two video editing classes in school and have used Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere. I’ve animated in Lightwave, 3D Studio, After Effects, and Avid Media Illusion so the post-production is really where I’m more experienced and most comfortable.
I have no formal training in shooting or sound recording, so it’s the hands on, nitty-gritty of getting good source footage that I’m most concerned about.
I would be glad for thoughts and feedback on the approach I’m planning to take.
The Haven of Hope Documentary
I want to shoot on miniDV tape with a two man crew. Whenever Brian is available that is — otherwise it’ll just be me.
Camera: Panasonic DVX100B, PAL version. Tripod would be a Manfrotto 756B with 503 head. Of course I’ll need lots of batteries and tapes! I’d really like to get a graduated Neutral Density filter to help get some well-exposed shots of the Nigerian plains — don’t want the sky to come out all white. I don’t know if I should get a matte box to hold such a filter or if I should just go with the screw-on variety. I also want to get a power inverter so we can charge batteries in the Landrover.
Sound: Rode NTG-2 with Rycote Full-Softy wind protection. Boom or pistol-grip mounted when Brian is available to help, camera mounted otherwise. I’m thinking about getting a used mic preamp with a headphone amp so Brian can hear what he’s getting and position the mic and tweak it’s input level accordingly. I’ll also use a Sennheiser EW 112-p wireless lav kit for a few formal interviews and probably more applications such as unobtrusively getting a mic close to villagers in the marketplace. I want to get some adapters to use the lav mic as a wired mic for situations where it doesn’t have to be wireless — this should give the best sound — one of our potential suppliers, H. Preston in the UK, say they can make an adapter like this for me. So, all this kit seems to be the most economical route to high quality sound. I have no idea what kind of mic preamp or mini-mixer to get — they are so expensive! Update: H. Preston can supply us with an ART ProMIX for £125 which is much more affordable than the ‘low-budget’ standard-bearer of field mixers, the $670 Sound Devices MixPre. These are really in diffent leagues and don’t deserve to be compared, however, the ProMIX does offer what I need — a level control for the mic and a headphone amp. It doesn’t have a good preamp like the MixPre and can’t even supply 48V phantom power but since the Rode NTG-2 mic can be self powered this potential deal-breaker is not an issue. Another interesting option that Andrew Stewart of Australia pointed out to me is the $65 Rolls PM50 sOB which is a headphone amp but has no level control for the mic.
Lighting: I’d like to produce these videos at a reasonably professional level — ideally, the experience for the viewer would be just as good as a creative, well-executed TV show or low-budget film documentary. I know that lighting plays a very important role in crafting the esthetic of any photographic medium so I want to give adequate attention to it. Lighting, however, is where I have no experience at all. I know enough about it to know that there is lots to get wrong and that the video will not “light itself”. My plan so far is to get two very small lights with stands that can take 300-650W bulbs, and a reflector with its own stand. I think I’ve found the ideal products in the Ianiro Gulliver and Lilliput lights and a collapsible reflector from Lastolite. The Ianiro lights are fairly simple, open-faced (as opposed to lensed) lights. The Gulliver is focusable and has a dimmer option (230V only?) but apparently only accepts 300W bulbs. The Lilliput is fixed-focus but has the option of taking bulbs up to 1000W and it costs less. I’m thinking about getting one of each. It appears that they both run on 120/240V which is important because, although Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo use 220-240V, It will be good to be prepared. I’d also get a set of barndoors for controlling light spread and some gels for adjusting the light temperature for situations where I need to match my lights to daylight coming in windows. I think it would be good to have a battery powered on-camera light for situations where available light is not sufficient and either I don’t have the other lights with me or don’t have time to set them up. I know it’s going to be tough to fit lights into my luggage, but they will make a huge difference in the final quality of the work.
Post-production: Apple has good pricing on Final Cut Studio for non-profit organizations so we were able to take advantage of that. So editing and sound mixing will be with Final Cut and Soundtrack. I’ll need to do some reading and figure out the best way to log and keep track of the sixty-plus hours of source footage that each project will have. I think I should get a good PAL/NTSC production monitor so I can get a good idea of how the video will look on a typical home television and adjust the colors and brightness accordingly — can’t trust the computer monitor. I will probably do some voice-over recordings and I’d use one of the mics from the sound kit above and record directly into Final Cut or Soundtrack. All the sound would be mono split to the left and right channels except that I might use some music and that would most likely be stereo.
Distribution: I’m planning to use Apple’s DVD Studio Pro and Compressor to make PAL and NTSC DVDs. Here is where it gets interesting. I’d like to shoot 16:9 at 25 progressive frames per second using the DVX100B’s digital-stretch to accomplish the 16:9. I believe I can then edit this natively in Final Cut. When I make my DVDs, I’m under the impression that I can actually put my 25fps, progressive, 16:9 video on the DVD and that the end-user’s DVD player will decode it and add the fields at the right frame-rate and the correct letterboxing, if needed, so that it plays correctly on their TV. If this is true, then it seems like some kind of magic. The only difference for the PAL/NTSC versions would be the image-size — 720 by 480 for NTSC and 720 by 586 for PAL. I could be way off on this (I hope not!), but this is how I understand it so far. This is still a long way off but I should probably get into the manual for DVD Studio Pro and figure this out as it could influence other decisions further upstream.
The Emmaus Corrector Training Series
Camera: I’d like to shoot the training sessions with two cameras. The main would be the DVX100B, focused on the teacher, and camera two would be my own Sony handycam, focused on the students and operated by Brian. I’m planning to shoot this in PAL 4:3 interlaced. One potential problem is that my handycam is NTSC so it might not be very smooth to put video from the two cameras on the same timeline.
Sound: The training will be in a classroom setting. The only additional sound gear I’d like for this is a Sennheiser plug-on transmitter so I can use a handheld XLR mic to record the students questions to the teacher. The teacher would have a wireless lav.
Lighting: I hear that we’re not sure we’ll have electricity at all our locations so lighting could get really interesting. When we have electricity I’ll just try to get the speaker evenly lit and use daylight if possible, with the little lights on stands to even out dark areas so that the contrast on the speaker isn’t too high.
Post: Same as above except I’d be editing 4:3 rather than 16:9.
Distribution: Interlaced PAL DVDs. Togo might be using SECAM equipment, but I wonder if they actually use SECAM DVD players there or if standard PAL gear there can output SECAM signals. Perhaps web distribution would be useful in the future.
Well, that’s it! Or at least most of it. This stuff can be made very complicated — I’m trying to keep it simple, but to go for as much quality as I can afford. I’d be glad for advice from someone who’s been there.
Well, I don’t have any advice but just writing to give you encouragement/support. Looks like you have it all under control
. I know how it is to dive head first into something you know almost nothing about and also how much prayer and perseverance it takes to forge a head and turn the “fear of failure” into a job well done and valuable experience.
Hey, thanks Michelle. Well, looks can be deceiving
don’t think I’ve quite got it under control. That will keep me on my toes though — or, better, on my knees. I’ll be glad for your help come June.
I’m just glad you won’t be doing the editing on my computer until four in the morning. I didn’t get much sleep that night.
Hello Louis! I like the clean and simple look of your website. Very nice. Sounds like you’re in for some fun video projects here in the very near future!
Michelle and I worked together on some video projects in Indianapolis, where I was in charge of the A/V Department, and she recently emailed me and pointed me in your direction. Even though my training is mostly in enclosed environments vs. out-in-the-field shoots, I thought I might share a little with you from my experiences.
“Of course I’ll need lots of batteries and tapes!”
Very true! And remember, lots of batteries won’t do you any good if they aren’t charged (You’ll not regret getting that power inverter). The important thing with getting lots of footage is organization. Make sure every tape is accurately labeled and properly stored. Without a good labeling scheme, your post-production process could turn into a nightmere.
“I’m thinking about getting a used mic preamp with a headphone amp so Brian can hear what he’s getting and position the mic and tweak it’s input level accordingly.”
Excellent thought. I’ve learned the hard way that you can never be sure that a mic is picking up well unless you’re monitoring it with headphones. Don’t use it “in the dark” if you care the least bit what the sound quality will be.
“I’d also get a set of barndoors for controlling light spread and some gels for adjusting the light temperature for situations where I need to match my lights to daylight coming in windows.”
A reflector will help you a lot. Barndoors will help you a lot. Adjustable light temperature will help you a lot. Can you get some kind of screen to put in front of the light to diffuse it? We always used to use cheese cloth.
Great! I think the key to good lighting is learning how to control it. Light has to be diffused in some way before it reaches the subject or it will appear much too harsh. Sometimes this simply means pointing it up at a white ceiling to be defused before reaching your subject. You don’t want raccoon eyes or any kind of deep shadows unless you’re planning on doing a sci-fi movie or something like that.
“I should probably get into the manual for DVD Studio Pro and figure this out as it could influence other decisions further upstream.”
I agree with you here. It always pays to think ahead. I’m actually an Adobe guy myself but this is no place for a Premiere/Final Cut argument.
I’m glad that you’re putting all this thought into the project before you actually arrive on the scene and find out that it’s too late to make changes. You won’t regret it later! One thing to remember: always be prepared for the worst — if something can go wrong, it probably will. “Commit your way unto the Lord and your thoughts will be established”. May God bless your project!
Hey Robert, I very much apprecieate you taking the time to add your thoughts. Must be a good sign if nothing stood out to you as being way off the mark.
So, for lighting, I’ll have to look around for some thin material to use for diffusion — Ah, and I guess clothespins would be the high-tech way to secure that to the light?