Equipment - Gear You May Need to Get It Done

Equipment
You are going to need equipment to shoot your short film or video. Even if it your cousin’s camcorder, you are going to need something. The more gear you have, the better the odds that you can capture a nicer, crisper, better imagery for your final product.

There are three categories of equipment you are going to need: camera, lights, and sound. The first step is to ascertain what you would like and afford to acquire.

Camera – Many directors prefer to shoot their work on film. Film looks spectacular (when shot correctly), looks polished (when shot correctly), and looks professional (when shot correctly). There are a couple of rubs to using film. First, it costs money. No matter what, you’ll need to rent a film camera. Even if you have favors to burn and can get a loaner camera for free, you’ll still need to buy the film to load into the camera. Even if you know some dude who’s been collecting rolls of short ends over the years and is willing to give you the film for free, you need to pay to have it developed at a processing lab. Even if you know a guy pulling the nightshift at Kodak who’s willing to sneak your film into the batch for another job, you’ll still need to pay to get it transferred from film to digital so that you can edit. Even if…

You get the idea. Film cameras are specialized equipment that is very expensive to purchase and to upkeep so you are going to have to rent a camera. You are going to have to buy film stock to load into the camera. You are going to have to pay to get the film processed. You are going to have to pay to get the film transferred to videotape. For most people, these are going to be hard costs that are hard to get around. Not to mention that film needs to be shot by an experienced cinematographer and loaded with specialized gear and shot using specialized lens’. Film cameras look great but cost money. The decision is yours.

Digital formats (miniDV and HD) are acceptable formats and can deliver good crisp images for the price. Many TV shows and some movies are now shot digitally, so it is possible to get a nice look. The prices are cheaper but can still cost a good bit depending upon the gear you rent. If you choose to rent specialized digital gear, it is good practice to have a knowledgeable camera operator on your crew.

Using film or digital, it is a good hint to rent a set of film lens’ to improve the look. Again, renting lens’ (and a crew person to handle these specialty items) costs money.

It is the opinion of the Pickle that investing in camera gear is one of the smartest ways to spend your money.



Lights – Even if you cannot get a nice camera, it is possible to achieve a better than average look with the careful use of lights. Just lighting as opposed to not lighting will step your work up a notch. Cameras are hungry for light, especially cheaper ones. If you can’t afford the camera gear, throw some dough at a set of lights.

In fact, if you are shooting with film, light is essential. Even if you are shooting in sun outdoors, you will most likely need reflectors and blinds to control the available light. If shooting film, your cinematographer will educate you on what he/she would need to properly bring your vision to life.

On big productions, the group responsible for lighting is called the ‘electric department’. The head of the electric department (the chief lighting technician) is known as the ‘gaffer’. On your small production, the electric department is probably known as ‘Earl’.

Also on big productions, there is going to be more specialized rigging of reflectors, diffusers and blinds. The group who sets-ups and operates this gear is called the ‘grip department’. The head of the grip department is called the grip department. On your small production, the grip department is probably called ‘my unfortunate cousin Karl’








Specialty Gear
If you have the dough, you have the connections, and can pull it off, at this point you may want to consider raising your production value with the use of additional equipment. The following are some of the tools of the trade you may be able to use to enhance your piece:

Dolly – A dolly is nothing more than a platform that you can use to move the camera in space. Simple dollies are nothing more than boards with rubber wheels. Fancier dollies come with track and accessories for an even smoother movement. There is nothing more cinematic than a dolly move. Some have effectively used wheelchairs, shopping carts and skateboards for dollies (the low rent version of the dolly!) but try and squeeze in the equipment if you can afford it.

Steadicam - Another version of the dolly is a steadicam. The steadicam is a special mount that an operator wears that can achieve smooth movement (like stairs and around obstacles). More expensive to use a steadicam because most set-ups require a separately trained operator who has their own gear and works exclusively with it.

Jib arm – The jib is a long pole upon which you mount the camera. The pole will rotate upwards (like a crane or lever) so that you can get sweeping shoots with some height.

Sound – Most productions need to record sound. Do not forget that every final piece is a combination of image and sound, so the sound part is ½ of final product. Quite frankly, many people look at the sound as an afterthought. They pay little attention to it, concentrating on fancy camera moves and lighting. This is a mistake. This is the kind of mistake that amateurs make.

When possible, bring on a trained sound person. A real sound dude generally has his own equipment and is prepared for all contingencies.

Even if you have a professional and certainly if you do not, the key to getting good sound can be summed up in one word: headphones. Listen to what is going onto the recording. Listen to it again after you have recorded it. Make sure it sounds exactly the way you want.

Take the time, energy and effort to make sure you are putting your microphones in a place where you can capture good, clean audio. If you have a conversation between two people, make sure both have microphones.

Do not move on with crappy audio. Make sure the sound is good before moving on. Listen to the playback before moving on. Shall I repeat it?