![]() ![]() #One man band video freeIt would’ve been nice having a free hand. ![]() I will still keep the pistol grip for the mic in my bag, but only bust it out when I need it. I should of had it mounted to the camera. I did have my shotgun microphone on a pistol grip, but it really wasn’t necessary this time. I’ve gone over the choices, and I think a Cinevate DSLR Camera Grip is the way to go next time. It worked, but it really wasn’t suited for the job. What will I do differently next time? Well, this time I used my Joby Gorillapod as a makeshift pistol grip for the camera. ![]() Several Target employees passed by our aisle as we shot, but I just looked like a dude with still camera. We just went in, found our location, and started shooting. My on-camera subject was already wearing a wireless mic as we stepped into the store. This is where having the DSLR untethered from the audio really paid off. In the parking lot I grabbed a shopping cart and put my location audio bag inside of it, and covered up the gear with our coats. We just went in guerilla style and shot it. We didn’t have permission to shoot video in the store. This was really the first time I felt the true power of the non-attention-grabbing DSLR form factor. We shot one scene in a local Target store. If I had to climb into a manhole cover, or run across the desert with the Taliban shooting at me, having my audio bag on might have been a bit too bulky. My main reason for doing this was that I was borrowing a Nikon D90, which doesn’t have an audio input. I shot double system (I didn’t plug my sound rig into the camera). Since my bag is small and light, I just strap it on with my harness and get to work. #One man band video portableOftentimes solo shooters will skip the field mixer and just plug their audio directly into the camera, or into a portable audio recorder. I opted to use most of my location sound bag for the shoot. I learned a few things about shooting video this way, and you can bet that the next time I take a project on, I’ll do a few things differently. I wasn’t being shot at with IED’s exploding at my side, I was mostly filming in a shower curtain design studio. #One man band video tvI was shooting a reality TV application video. Thankfully, the one-man band DLSR production I embarked upon last week was the furthest thing from being on the battlefield of Afghanistan. It was shot by Danfung Dennis who was armed with a Canon 5D mkII, a Beachtek XLR adapter, a shotgun mic, and a Sennheiser wireless system (his portion starts at 1:38): If you have any doubts, check out this first five minutes of this Frontline footage. It allows documentary to squeeze in where it hadn’t fit before, and its high-def resolution plunges the viewer deeply into that world. To be able to capture HD footage with excellent sound with a completely inconspicuous amount of equipment is nothing short of revolutionary. It shows you the raw power of this production approach. I originally read about Undercity on Philip Bloom’s blog, and I was impressed with this piece. The power of this production technique was highlighted again this week with the release of Andrew Wonder’s Undercity documentary. It’s hard work to do everything yourself, and it’s totally amazing that it’s even possible. Shooting as a one-man band isn’t something that should be frowned upon by the production community. When a production company can afford a crew, they should have enough experience to know that they’ll have a better project if they put a good crew together. Cutting costs equals shrinking crews, and ultimately you’ll have one person doing everything. Being in charge of sound, picture, and subject is tricky stuff. ![]() I’m fairly new at shooting HDSLR projects as a one-man band. ![]()
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