The Indie Dispatch - Don't Leave Home Without... What?

 

Never Leave Home Home Without... What?

We all like to be prepared before leaving home. For me, the list includes my 15” Powerbook, cell phone, umbrella, and travel mug. These items are all I need to stay connected, dry, and caffeinated during the course of the day on the mean streets of Boston. I also have a plan, which may be as simple as riding the subway to and from work, or as complex as orchestrating meetings, conference calls, and deadlines. With my travel mug and a plan, I just feel better when I leave home for the day.

 

Video professionals also prepare for every day, making sure they’ve included critical items in their production package, and made a shoot plan for the day. In this week’s column, I talk to two pros – a corporate videographer and a film and TV cinematographer – about how they ensure they are ready for anything on a shoot.

 

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Jay Duchin of Lynnfield, MA (duchinproductions.com) has been shooting video for over twenty years, and like many event and corporate videographers, he’s a MacGyver-type who epitomizes the DIY mentality.  He customizes cameras in his own workshop, manufactures and sells camera mounts and jib arms, and finds solutions to production challenges that don’t break the bank.  He’s also a strong believer in the importance of quality audio. "I've always believed audio is just as critical - if not more so - than video when it come to shooting.  If your camera fails, you can still insert photos or graphics, but with bad audio, you're pretty much stuck." In that vein, Jay’s top-five list is built around ensuring that he always leaves with material he can work with – even if his primary camera fails.

 

 

1. A back-up camera that will interface with your microphones.  “Camera motors generate a lot of noise, and making focus or aperture adjustments is noisy too.  On-camera mics pick up all that camera noise, not to mention the fact that they’re just not that great. My Panasonic DVX-100 has XLR inputs that accommodate all my external mics, but so does my backup Sony DSR PDX-10.” 

 

2. A good dynamic microphone.  Condenser microphones capture great sound, but they can be expensive and require either phantom or battery power. In many situations, a decent dynamic mic will get the job done. Jay never leaves home without his trusty Shure Beta 57.  “It sounds great, and you can hammer nails with it (not recommended).  Condenser mics sound wonderful, but they require power which means batteries that can die.”

 

Jay Duchin in the field.

3. Ground lifting devices.  “Line buzz” is a constant danger on a shoot, and if your cables are not faulty, that annoying hum you hear in your headphones may be caused by a ground loop. “I carry three kinds: an XLR ground lift barrel with pin three cut, an instrument direct box that has a switchable ground and changes high impedance, unbalanced line level to balanced mic level, and as a quick fix, a basic two-to-three prong AC adaptor.” 

 

4. Audio and video adaptors.  “The more adaptors, the better.  I bring everything from 1/8-inch splitters, in case a producer wants to monitor audio, to barrels that let me connect two XLR cables together. With enough adaptors, you’ll be prepared”

 

5. Great headphones.  “There's no substitute for great closed-ear headphones.  You can easily miss a buzz or hum in your audio signal with cheap Walkman-style ear warmers, not to mention the fact that it just looks unprofessional.” When selecting headphones, it’s vital to select a pair with a closed-ear or “closed-capsule” design that minimizes external audio leakage. Jay uses Sony’s popular MDR-7506 studio monitor headphones, which are durable and produce very good sound.

 

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Thomas Burns is an award-winning cinematographer based in Los Angeles with credits in both the fiction and non-fiction worlds. His work has aired on PBS, The Discovery Channel, ESPN, The History Channel, and film festivals across the nation. He’s also someone whose work I know well; Thomas was the Director of Photography on ZuluHoops, the film I co-produced in South Africa.

 

Thomas’s top-five list reads quite differently from Jay’s. Rather than equipment, it focuses on laying the groundwork for a shoot. “My job as a cinematographer is to help develop and execute the director's vision for the project,” he states.  “It's my job to translate the film that's in his or her head onto the screen.” Making this happen requires more than just the right equipment:

 

1. A good relationship with the director.  “However you choose to do it, whether it's through storyboarding sessions or three-martini lunches, establishing a healthy and trusting relationship with the director before you begin production is critical.” 

 

2. Intel about the location.  “There is so much gained from doing a tech scout. In documentary production, you don’t always have this luxury but you should always push for it, even if it's just a five-minute walk-through... Will you need a daylight or tungsten lighting package? Is the location up five flights of stairs? Do you need to put a light on the roof next door? There are so many variables in production we can't control and the intel gained from a scout can make or break a shoot.”

 

3. The right team.  “Filmmaking is collaborative, and good films come out of crews that are really greater the sum of their parts. It’s not just a question of experience or technical proficiency—a person's attitude on set is just as important…when everyone’s tired and crises are coming at you from every direction, a crew needs to stick together, stay positive and keep perspective. A cinematographer is only as good as his or her crew.”

 

4. Trust in yourself and your abilities.   “Easier said than done, especially when you’re starting out. Shooting is a combination of instinct – what your gut is telling you – and reason – what your brain is telling you. Finding the right balance is the trick. Sometimes you need to put the light meter away and let go.”

 

5. Know your gear.  There's knowing how to set up your equipment, and then there's really understanding what it is capable of. This is especially important with video cameras because every model has its own strengths and weaknesses. “How many stops can I underexpose and still retain information in the image? How well does the camera deal with flesh tones under fluorescent lighting? I like to think of my equipment package as a set of tools for working through a crisis. You can only get really creative in your problem-solving when you know what your gear can deliver, and what it can’t.”

 

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No two film and video professionals prepare the same way, and every shoot has its own inherent difficulties. Jay Duchin and Thomas Burns provided very different responses when asked about five keys to preparing for a shoot. But there is one axiom they would both agree on: Plan meticulously…and be prepared to deviate.