Equipment We Use

 

Our Equipment Philosophy
All of the video and audio equipment we use on Rannoch Documentary Expeditions is professional quality. But, that doesn’t mean that is bulky like the gear you so often see television crews lugging around on the evening news. Our goal is to take advantage of the most recent innovations in electronics and optics that make broadcast quality possible in equipment that is much smaller and cheaper than ever before available. We select equipment that is affordable for serious amateurs. And, we try to hit a couple of price points to show the differences. Finally, all of the gear we will be using can be used by a person working alone.
 
Cameras
We are currently using two camera models, the Sony PMW-EX1 which is a full broadcast quality, native 1080p camcorder, which records to solid state memory cards and weighs just over six pounds. We believe this camcorder, with its sibling EX3, sets a new standard in its class. A review of this camcorder is available at http://www.videomaker.com/article/13683/. If you want to take a video tour of this camera, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbXgSkNB7cw 
 
 We also use the Canon Vixia HF S100 camcorder, which produces a spectacular 1080i HD image and weighs in at less than a pound! It too records to solid state memory cards. The Canon is very unobtrusive, very light and can travel in a jacket pocket. So, in our judgment, it combines the best of portability, stealth and image quality.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoc-eohHwsI
 
Camera Steadying Gear
One indicator of professionalism in video footage is steadiness and smoothness. Steady fixed shots and smooth pans. Traditionally, pros have achieved steadiness and smoothness by using tripods and fluid-filled tripod heads. News videographers use shoulder-mount cameras whose weight alone gives a certain smoothness to their shots. For our lighter cameras, we teach a set of camera-steadying techniques based mainly on the inertia of one’s own body. Of course, we do bring tripods along on our expeditions, but we also have an assortment of simpler professional steadying devices, which can be set up and moved much more quickly that the traditional “sticks.” For an example of this kind of gear, take a look at this YouTube video about the “Fig Rig.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCpBMQp-OpM
 
Lighting
For the most part, on our Documentary Expeditions, we concentrate on making the most effective use of available light. We do however, carry compact, camera-mount pro-grade Lit Panel Micros for situations where we need to supplement the available light. This YouTube video shows the type of light being demonstrated in situations where fill light improves the look of faces. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTM1srUR3TQ
 
Sound Gear
The camcorders described above both have excellent built-in microphones. These are generally quite adequate for capturing ambient sounds such as traffic or room noise, as well as really close-in interviews and other talking heads. But, for better quality speech, we use broadcast-quality Sennheiser wireless (and sometimes wired) microphones. While we do not do a great deal of complex sound work, we will demonstrate the use of handheld, lavaliere (clip-on) and shotgun microphones. Take a look at this video review on YouTube to see the level of sound gear we are using for our expeditions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ypfkXU1RE
 
Editing Setup
We will be using a MacBook Pro and Apple’s Final Cut Pro 6 software to edit our documentary video. This is a high-end, professional level package, which is not what most amateurs would use. However, using Final Cut Pro guarantees that we can do whatever we need and want to do in the final work products of our expeditions. In our Documentary Expeditions, we will not be attempting to teach video editing or the use of Final Cut. But, participants are welcome to watch the editing process and ask questions. And, Final Cut comes in a slimmed down version for advanced amateurs. If you would like to see a short but impressive display of the power – and complexity – of Final Cut Pro, you can spend a few minutes watching this sample tutorial on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGFWh3Ks7F4