Well, Samhain was supposed to kick off the documentary but as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men...
What it boils down to is that I had intended to film people from my local area first and then begin foraging all over the state for others, some of whom have already volunteered. Imagine my surprise to find out rather recently that it has been summarily decided by the group of people I had first intended to film, that my camera is not welcome, even though the same group voted unanimously earlier this year to allow it.
I don't blame people for being camera shy, I really don't. I try to be as responsible and reasonable as I can to accommodate anyone who might be filmed in ensuring their privacy but I can't deny that this was a blow to me...almost a crushing blow.
Fear is prevalent in our community. I won't deny for a moment that it doesn't affect me too. Being out as a Druid where I work can be really difficult for me because even though I cannot be fired, nobody can stand up against scrutiny if they want to find something to nick you for. I get that. I have a family and a roof to provide for and a vehicle payment so I can get to the place where I work to pay for them. The idea of potentially losing my job sometimes twists my guts up.
I also know that regardless of what I do to pay the bills, the future is what I am fighting for in everything I do from Druidry to Documentary, it is all for this community and I am disappointed that fear alone has carved a substantial portion of my immediate community out of this project.
However, the show must go on. I have refocused upon the goal of this documentary. I don't really think that I need to do something that demonstrates the web of connection this community shares. Instead, I feel that perhaps it is better if I focus upon how the people here connect to the land, as opposed to try and demonstrate how we are connected. The reality is, to me anyway, that we are connected through the land and to demonstrate the one is to demonstrate the other.
So, a little bit of a change but for all the right reasons as I see it. In essence, the focus of this documentary is going to change from large groups and ritual to the small daily practices of groups and individuals that wish to show us all how they connect to the land. So I need volunteers to be filmed. I'll take all comers, anyone who wants to be filmed. I will spend a day with you, observing your practice and filming it. Everyone who wants to be interviewed, I will find a way to do so. At major public events (Beltane at the Beach springs to mind) I will film from far enough away that individuals cannot be identified and then interview individuals who are interested in talking about what the event means to them, etc.
From North to South, East to West, Maine is a place of Magic. It has everything from Desert to Ocean, Mountain to Valley, lakes, streams, rivers as well as an abundant variety of wild life. We are blessed to walk this land and I hope to show anyone who wants to watch this completed documentary, exactly why.
I will also be starting up a gofundme campaign for community fundraising. I still need a few pieces of equipment that will help the documentary but I am basically going to beg and borrow anything I can to do this from anyone I can to do this.
Many blessings upon us all and a heart felt thank you from those who support this project.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Moving forward!
It has been 6 months since I posted here about anything to do with the documentary. The truth is, I haven't had much to update that was uplifting. My plan to create mini-documentaries has been counterproductive with the footage from Beltane on the Beach being rather limited, little time in my schedule to fit in interviews of the organizers and Druid College on nearly every weekend that the TotFD had their monthly meetings made it exceedingly difficult to actually engage in a manner that allowed filming.
Add to that complications with my own personal finances falling short of expectations at this point in time, I've had little money to put into the equipment I want to make the project shine. However, I need to be realistic about how likely it is that I can do a community fundraising effort that will net $5,000 for this project. Nobody I know in our community has a lot of money to give away and I have seen a number of crowd sourcing efforts for other projects fail or be near misses for much less. That said though, the show must be filmed in order to go on and so I still intend to film, albeit with limited resources.
It may mean that I can't be at every event I had planned on attending or traveling quite as far and as wide as I had originally intended but I have a year and a day of filming ahead of me and public Pagan events don't happen every single day. I have a camera, a nice camera and a few other tricks at my disposal. I don't expect this film to go up on every screen in America, if I can send out a thousand DVD's of it to interested people, I would be happier.
I will probably begin a kickstarter or gofundme.com campaign on October 31st, 2014 just to see if I can supplement my fuel bill as travel is likely to be costly. I may be looking for people to hold camera's, microphones, give me a couch to crash on if I am in the area, a hot meal on my way through town, etc. That, honestly, is better charity for this project than a $20 bill in most cases. If anything, a crowd funding effort will be to reimburse me for travel expenses and the few pieces of equipment I may end up needing to get this done. I will also be purchasing a membership with Vimeo.com which will allow me to upload my film(s) to a High-def online streaming video source so that all can see them. I have never intended to make a profit on this in any way.
As for the other, smaller projects, they are still underway. If I combine the 2013 and 2014 footage I took of Beltane on the Beach, I have plenty, I just need some interviews. The TotFD is more open to me now that I am in my Ovate year of Druid College where I am not travelling South every 6 weeks. So, stay tuned for those.
As always, please feel free to contact me to donate time or services, ask questions, lend support in the form of written encouragement or for any other reason. The email address is:
wheeloftheyearinmaine@gmail.com
Add to that complications with my own personal finances falling short of expectations at this point in time, I've had little money to put into the equipment I want to make the project shine. However, I need to be realistic about how likely it is that I can do a community fundraising effort that will net $5,000 for this project. Nobody I know in our community has a lot of money to give away and I have seen a number of crowd sourcing efforts for other projects fail or be near misses for much less. That said though, the show must be filmed in order to go on and so I still intend to film, albeit with limited resources.
It may mean that I can't be at every event I had planned on attending or traveling quite as far and as wide as I had originally intended but I have a year and a day of filming ahead of me and public Pagan events don't happen every single day. I have a camera, a nice camera and a few other tricks at my disposal. I don't expect this film to go up on every screen in America, if I can send out a thousand DVD's of it to interested people, I would be happier.
I will probably begin a kickstarter or gofundme.com campaign on October 31st, 2014 just to see if I can supplement my fuel bill as travel is likely to be costly. I may be looking for people to hold camera's, microphones, give me a couch to crash on if I am in the area, a hot meal on my way through town, etc. That, honestly, is better charity for this project than a $20 bill in most cases. If anything, a crowd funding effort will be to reimburse me for travel expenses and the few pieces of equipment I may end up needing to get this done. I will also be purchasing a membership with Vimeo.com which will allow me to upload my film(s) to a High-def online streaming video source so that all can see them. I have never intended to make a profit on this in any way.
As for the other, smaller projects, they are still underway. If I combine the 2013 and 2014 footage I took of Beltane on the Beach, I have plenty, I just need some interviews. The TotFD is more open to me now that I am in my Ovate year of Druid College where I am not travelling South every 6 weeks. So, stay tuned for those.
As always, please feel free to contact me to donate time or services, ask questions, lend support in the form of written encouragement or for any other reason. The email address is:
wheeloftheyearinmaine@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
So it begins!
So...my first project will commence this weekend when I begin filming for the Druid College. It is a wonderful and eclectic group of people and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
As I have mentioned, it is not a "Documentary" in the literal sense. Realistically, this is what you might call a "puff piece", something that will give the founders of the Druid College a video they can put out for folks who may have questions regarding what it is all about and the same thing applies to the other two short pieces I'll be doing over the course of April and early May. So, the next month and a half are going to be very busy indeed and then there is editing. I am hoping to have a rough cut of the Druid College piece done by Early June so that I can screen it for my fellow students but it will be important to me not to present something that is rushed either.
All in all, I do need to make sure that all of these smaller projects are well and truly completed by the time I begin filming "Wheel" in late October because I will need to concentrate on that. In essence, my present plan of attack will be to edit each piece, each interview and each event as soon as possible into a rough cut that I can then easily splice together once the Year is complete. I may even do "exit interviews", testimonials about the previous year and the experiences of different people in interacting with the community, etc. that I will then tack on to the end to wrap it all up. Ideally though, I do not want filming to occur outside the dates I have set for myself and it seems to me that the month of October leading up to Samhain, 2015 will be a good time for me to be on the road doing that.
Once I have a rough cut of all the material, I can then look at trimming things back, adding a soundtrack, overlaying footage and really developing the narrative element. I am already getting a lot of folks who seem interested in contributing and I am excited about that.
When you stop and consider everything, most of the "strangeness" and "concern" over Paganism in general is the byproduct of more mainstream religions and spiritual paths. I have not observed anything in my community that does not have a direct correlation in any of the other faith systems I have observed personally or otherwise. I am doing this project because I feel that it can be of legitimate value to my community. Perhaps though, just perhaps, this will allow people who don't understand what our spirituality means to us a bit of comprehension...I can hope!
So, the batteries are charged, the cameras are ready, the equipment is organized and the notebooks gleam with fresh, virgin paper. There have been a few instances lately where I seem to scrape through the excitement a little and realize what a huge undertaking this is and my heart rate quickens a bit and I get a little sweaty. I am an awful procrastinator at times but I feel I have been fairly organized thus far and I realize too that this will take on a life of it's own if it's going to be any good...which is part of what excites me about it!
As I have mentioned, it is not a "Documentary" in the literal sense. Realistically, this is what you might call a "puff piece", something that will give the founders of the Druid College a video they can put out for folks who may have questions regarding what it is all about and the same thing applies to the other two short pieces I'll be doing over the course of April and early May. So, the next month and a half are going to be very busy indeed and then there is editing. I am hoping to have a rough cut of the Druid College piece done by Early June so that I can screen it for my fellow students but it will be important to me not to present something that is rushed either.
All in all, I do need to make sure that all of these smaller projects are well and truly completed by the time I begin filming "Wheel" in late October because I will need to concentrate on that. In essence, my present plan of attack will be to edit each piece, each interview and each event as soon as possible into a rough cut that I can then easily splice together once the Year is complete. I may even do "exit interviews", testimonials about the previous year and the experiences of different people in interacting with the community, etc. that I will then tack on to the end to wrap it all up. Ideally though, I do not want filming to occur outside the dates I have set for myself and it seems to me that the month of October leading up to Samhain, 2015 will be a good time for me to be on the road doing that.
Once I have a rough cut of all the material, I can then look at trimming things back, adding a soundtrack, overlaying footage and really developing the narrative element. I am already getting a lot of folks who seem interested in contributing and I am excited about that.
When you stop and consider everything, most of the "strangeness" and "concern" over Paganism in general is the byproduct of more mainstream religions and spiritual paths. I have not observed anything in my community that does not have a direct correlation in any of the other faith systems I have observed personally or otherwise. I am doing this project because I feel that it can be of legitimate value to my community. Perhaps though, just perhaps, this will allow people who don't understand what our spirituality means to us a bit of comprehension...I can hope!
So, the batteries are charged, the cameras are ready, the equipment is organized and the notebooks gleam with fresh, virgin paper. There have been a few instances lately where I seem to scrape through the excitement a little and realize what a huge undertaking this is and my heart rate quickens a bit and I get a little sweaty. I am an awful procrastinator at times but I feel I have been fairly organized thus far and I realize too that this will take on a life of it's own if it's going to be any good...which is part of what excites me about it!
Friday, March 14, 2014
Letters
This week has been a flurry of sending out letters and notices to the organizers, founders, participants and organizations I will be working with (in some cases hoping to work with) for all of my projects. The weight of what I am doing is starting to make it's presence known. I am basically doing this without any guarantee of financial support and dedicating the next two years of my life to directing, producing, filming and editing plus Community organizing and event planning with the EMPPA. When I finish principle photography on "The Wheel of the Year in Maine" I'll still have 6-9 Months of editing to complete before I have a workable film. To say the least, it's daunting.
I don't fear that I have bitten off more than I can chew. There is no real fear for me other than that I want what I am doing to have value. I want it to draw together my community, my tribe, in a manner that is positive and cathartic for everyone involved.
For the last 18 months, since I really became involved in the Pagan community here, I've been searching for a way to contribute something. I started out wanting to be a Bard. Well, not really "a" Bard, more like "the" Bard. I had kept my ear to the ground and found that there were not that many folks claiming any kind of "Bardic" title so I figured that was my niche.
I love showmanship, singing and poetry. It seemed like a good fit but stepping into that role I discovered that I did not need to be special to be valuable. I did not need a title to contribute, I only needed to be myself and that was a catharsis in and of itself.
There is also the possibility that people will not want to be a part of things. I have a fear of that as well. For the most part, people in the community have seen me, met me. I think most folks who have interacted with me can tell I am genuine but I can't blame people who don't know me for potentially being a little skiddish about the idea of letting me put them on camera doing "Pagany" things. Paganism is a fringe element in many ways and a long history of oppression from more mainstream spiritual paths is why many people who are Pagan choose to remain out of the spotlight.
One of the things I really want to do with this documentary is demonstrate how our community/tribe is vital and important. It is nice for me to imagine how solitary practitioners might see this film and realize that even if they wish to practice alone, there is a large community of people with which they can share their experience.
One very exciting thing that I find about this project is the chance to meet and interact with people I have not yet met. I can only imagine that there are potentially hundreds of people I have yet to meet and spend time with and these projects are a bridge to new relationships and a chance to learn new and exciting things, share ideas and further strengthen the connective tissue of our Tribe. Sally forth!
I don't fear that I have bitten off more than I can chew. There is no real fear for me other than that I want what I am doing to have value. I want it to draw together my community, my tribe, in a manner that is positive and cathartic for everyone involved.
For the last 18 months, since I really became involved in the Pagan community here, I've been searching for a way to contribute something. I started out wanting to be a Bard. Well, not really "a" Bard, more like "the" Bard. I had kept my ear to the ground and found that there were not that many folks claiming any kind of "Bardic" title so I figured that was my niche.
I love showmanship, singing and poetry. It seemed like a good fit but stepping into that role I discovered that I did not need to be special to be valuable. I did not need a title to contribute, I only needed to be myself and that was a catharsis in and of itself.
There is also the possibility that people will not want to be a part of things. I have a fear of that as well. For the most part, people in the community have seen me, met me. I think most folks who have interacted with me can tell I am genuine but I can't blame people who don't know me for potentially being a little skiddish about the idea of letting me put them on camera doing "Pagany" things. Paganism is a fringe element in many ways and a long history of oppression from more mainstream spiritual paths is why many people who are Pagan choose to remain out of the spotlight.
One of the things I really want to do with this documentary is demonstrate how our community/tribe is vital and important. It is nice for me to imagine how solitary practitioners might see this film and realize that even if they wish to practice alone, there is a large community of people with which they can share their experience.
One very exciting thing that I find about this project is the chance to meet and interact with people I have not yet met. I can only imagine that there are potentially hundreds of people I have yet to meet and spend time with and these projects are a bridge to new relationships and a chance to learn new and exciting things, share ideas and further strengthen the connective tissue of our Tribe. Sally forth!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
More about my camera
The Gopro Hero 3 Black can record in 4K resolution at 15 fps. I doubt I'll bother to use that setting but it also goes down to WVGA @ 240 fps and every step in between. So, it's a pretty damn versatile device. There is a downloadable app for smart phones that allows you to see what the camera is seeing wirelessly through a dedicated Wifi network. It's a little choppy and there is about a 3 second delay but you can set up your shots with it which is sweet. The other option is an attachable LCD screen but that drains battery life pretty drastically. I initially bought it and then took it back when I tried out the app, then reinvested the money in accessories I thought were more important (extended battery, dedicated battery charger and an open frame mount).
I can attach a lavaliere mic via a USB adapter. That will drain battery life but I have (in total) two extended batteries and three regular ones so I should be set for power. I am thinking that down the road I may get a hip battery pack with a USB port since I can hook the camera into it and power it that way if I get low on batteries but for now I should be alright.
What I really like about the camera though is that it is small enough to be incredibly versatile. I can make my own mounts and have already drawn up plans for a mount that will attach to my wrist allowing the camera to sit on the back of my hand allowing me to use my arm as a shooting platform. Another plan I have is for a telescoping pedestal mount which will allow me to put the camera up in the air or at any level I wish between about 4 and 8 feet.
One of the docs I am doing is for Beltane at the Beach. It takes place at Popham Beach and has been an annual Pagan festival for about 25 years. One of my friends has a drone that he is going to take up for me and get some flyby's of the beach while everyone is dancing around the maypoles. Out of the three "Mini-docs", I am most excited about this one because there is a lot of opportunity to really play with the camera. It is also the third one I am doing so by then I should have a decent understanding of the camera's capabilities so I can push it a little more.
The big doc, the yearlong one, has me a little overwhelmed but I'm also excited. The other bonus of the three smaller docs is the opportunity to create some buzz in the community for it and get some more support. The biggest hurdle is going to be cost but what I will really need is people who are willing to help out here and there and I think that the smaller docs will get people interested in doing that. Ultimately, I'd like another Gopro to pair off with this one (you can set it up so that one remote can control up to 50 cameras at once) giving me even more flexibility. I could use people who would be willing to film things from other angles simultaneously or even lock the camera down in one spot while I float about and get the other angles for action shots. Ultimately, it's all about flexibility and versatility which this thing has in spades. For the money I invested, I could have a very good, slightly used DSLR which would "look" the part but be much less useful. Ultimately though, once I divorced myself from the need to have the equipment that "Looked right" I could consider the equipment that would work.
The only problem I have found with the gopro so far isn't with the camera but with the software. At higher resolutions, both the free gopro software as well as Sony Vegas Pro have trouble managing larger file sizes. This may become a problem for long takes, like interviews and testimonials but my plan is to chop them up a little, do them from multiple angles with a couple of cameras. If I'm using the Zoom h4n, then Audio shouldn't be affected if I leave it in place. I'll be playing around with the camera more to see how well this will work. Since I can't afford the h4n right now, (to keep) I'm going to buy one, use it for the first doc, then return it. I have one I can borrow for the other two docs and by the time I get to the big doc I should be able to buy one and keep it in stock.
All in all, things are moving forward and I am excited about that. Early next week, I'll be getting in touch with all of the principles for the first three documentaries and briefing them on what my workflow will look like. One thing I really want to avoid is freaking people out. I am sure that there are people who don't want to be "outed" as Pagan and so I want to make sure that I take steps to protect those people from any anxiety or other concerns they may have. There isn't a lot of point in trying to make a documentary about the Pagan Community in Maine and the network of friendships that hold it together if I am going to make people nervous or uncomfortable about the project. Respect and care will be needed. I do however have assurances from one of my friends a "Bardtographer" that he has never encountered anyone who has been uncomfortable with his photography at Pagan functions. Even though I intend to be as respectful as possible of the potential for some folks to be unwilling to take part, I don't expect it to be an insurmountable issue.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Bonus!
One of the accessories I bought for the Gopro was a wrist mount. When I did the research, I did it on the camera itself, noting available accessories and focusing more upon the extended batteries than the mounting accessories. It wasn't a terrible mistake, I knew enough to know that there are many options, especially with the readily available mounts that can be attached to nearly anything. So when I went to buy the camera I saw the wrist mount and thought to myself "THAT could be pretty useful!". Unfortunately, upon getting the camera home and trying the wrist mount out I discovered in short order it would be anything but useful in the context of what I intended to use it for. Unless I want to walk around looking like I am pretending to hold an invisible shield in the ready position with the camera pointing outward, that wrist mount is not going to be of much practical value.
Also of limited value was the LCD screen. Not only does it drain battery power, but an available app allows me to connect wirelessly via a smart phone, tablet or PC allowing me to observe what the camera sees so that I can set angles and whatnot. If I am going to be doing action shots in an environment that could be potentially damaging to my tablet or camera, then the LCD screen would be of greater value. Presently, I don't suspect that is the case. Eventually I will probably go ahead and get one but now doesn't seem to be the time.
So, having purchased both of these accessories I took them back. With the money that was returned to me, I bought an extra extended battery, a battery charger (so that I don't need to charge batteries solely via the camera) and the open frame mount. The open frame mount will give me to access the ports in the camera that allow me to attach external equipment like microphones or power supplies. This will be vital for filming testimonials and the like. The limit is that I cannot attach both, which means that I will need to ascertain quickly while on the fly which will be more important and why. The fortunate part is that because I am doing three mini-documentaries first, I'll be able to experiment with the process enough to learn what is the best for varied scenarios.
Essentially, I am even more excited now than I was two days ago. I've been playing with the camera a little bit. I downloaded and tried out the App that allows me to stream video to my tablet and that worked pretty well. There is a lag but nothing that will be an issue.
There are two more pieces of equipment I think will be useful but I intend to fabricate them myself rather than purchase them. One would be a mount on a long pole or extendable pole of some type. This would allow me to get the camera high overhead and observe the surroundings from that angle. The other is an over-the-shoulder, or what is generally referred to as a "3rd Person" camera mount. It's likely that the pole mount will be more useful for my upcoming projects than the shoulder mount but essentially, I have the things I need to fabricate it and it may be useful so why not? Buying them would be a bit ridiculous under the circumstances. I can't fabricate a camera but given a bit of ingenuity I can fabricate both of those items very inexpensively.
From here on out I am going to be looking for methods to do this inexpensively. I am, at times, going through sticker shock on the price of the camera and it's associated accessories, even though those accessories were not prohibitively expensive in comparison to other options. I came very close to buying a Sony camera with interchangeable lenses, it would have worked well for these projects but it wasn't as versatile. Out of the box, that camera was $600. With all of the equipment I have presently I exceeded that. To buy any accessories for that camera, I would have had to shell out much more than I did for the Gopro.
My only worry with the Gopro was actually removed today. In order to get a wider field of view the Gopro utilizes a "Fisheye" lens. In viewing, it appears a lot like the world is slightly distended which can be problematic for a documentary. However, my fears were allayed when I looked on Gopro's website. Lo and behold, the downloadable software has a way to remove the "Fisheye" effect and render the video as flat...bonus!
However much this blog is not intended to be an equipment review page, I am willing to express my excitement over things and so, here is my excitement!
Also of limited value was the LCD screen. Not only does it drain battery power, but an available app allows me to connect wirelessly via a smart phone, tablet or PC allowing me to observe what the camera sees so that I can set angles and whatnot. If I am going to be doing action shots in an environment that could be potentially damaging to my tablet or camera, then the LCD screen would be of greater value. Presently, I don't suspect that is the case. Eventually I will probably go ahead and get one but now doesn't seem to be the time.
So, having purchased both of these accessories I took them back. With the money that was returned to me, I bought an extra extended battery, a battery charger (so that I don't need to charge batteries solely via the camera) and the open frame mount. The open frame mount will give me to access the ports in the camera that allow me to attach external equipment like microphones or power supplies. This will be vital for filming testimonials and the like. The limit is that I cannot attach both, which means that I will need to ascertain quickly while on the fly which will be more important and why. The fortunate part is that because I am doing three mini-documentaries first, I'll be able to experiment with the process enough to learn what is the best for varied scenarios.
Essentially, I am even more excited now than I was two days ago. I've been playing with the camera a little bit. I downloaded and tried out the App that allows me to stream video to my tablet and that worked pretty well. There is a lag but nothing that will be an issue.
There are two more pieces of equipment I think will be useful but I intend to fabricate them myself rather than purchase them. One would be a mount on a long pole or extendable pole of some type. This would allow me to get the camera high overhead and observe the surroundings from that angle. The other is an over-the-shoulder, or what is generally referred to as a "3rd Person" camera mount. It's likely that the pole mount will be more useful for my upcoming projects than the shoulder mount but essentially, I have the things I need to fabricate it and it may be useful so why not? Buying them would be a bit ridiculous under the circumstances. I can't fabricate a camera but given a bit of ingenuity I can fabricate both of those items very inexpensively.
From here on out I am going to be looking for methods to do this inexpensively. I am, at times, going through sticker shock on the price of the camera and it's associated accessories, even though those accessories were not prohibitively expensive in comparison to other options. I came very close to buying a Sony camera with interchangeable lenses, it would have worked well for these projects but it wasn't as versatile. Out of the box, that camera was $600. With all of the equipment I have presently I exceeded that. To buy any accessories for that camera, I would have had to shell out much more than I did for the Gopro.
My only worry with the Gopro was actually removed today. In order to get a wider field of view the Gopro utilizes a "Fisheye" lens. In viewing, it appears a lot like the world is slightly distended which can be problematic for a documentary. However, my fears were allayed when I looked on Gopro's website. Lo and behold, the downloadable software has a way to remove the "Fisheye" effect and render the video as flat...bonus!
However much this blog is not intended to be an equipment review page, I am willing to express my excitement over things and so, here is my excitement!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Score!
I've been doing a lot of research over the last few weeks on what I wanted to do for a camera. It is rather unfortunate that a good working professional camera is more or less out of reach in some ways and in other ways it is an enormous boon to me. After all, people are filming documentaries now with camera phones because the technology has been miniaturized to the point that you can get really high quality video out of small devices. However, as much as this is possible, I have a desire to make certain that the video quality of this documentary is very high. Since having a professional camera is out of the question, I need to add an audio capture advice anyway which allows me to focus more upon video quality.
I looked at a lot of cameras and read a lot of reviews. Even though I will likely buy a Digital SLR camera at some point, for the nonce I decided to get the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition. This camera is incredibly tiny and lightweight and comes with a waterproof case. Because of it's size, it is not intimidating at all the way a larger camera might be which might make it easier for people to focus on me for interviews and forget the camera is even there.
I made one purchase with the camera that I may regret and that was a wrist mount. It is literally a strap around your wrist that mounts the camera much like a watch face. I somehow had it in my head that I would have more options on how to angle the camera, perhaps even sitting it up and facing my hand so I could point my hand in the direction I wanted the camera to go. Not so. This is $40 I may have wasted although I can take it back if I wish and I may.
One of the things that I really like about the Gopro is that it is very adaptable to several situations. I can buy a pole for it and get shots that are far above my head. I can utilize a wireless connection to view the footage in real time so I can get my angles straight. I can mount the camera to nearly anything. There is a camera mount for it that is simply a strong plastic clip and the camera can be pointed at nearly any angle.
While I still want a DSLR camera at some point, if I never get one I can still film my documentaries without it. If I can borrow the recording device I need (I have a couple of options there) then I can jack that into the camera and skip part of the workflow if I buy another mount that is an open face rather than the watertight case and do plenty just with that alone. A DSLR is, by all accounts, far superior to a large professional video camera for filming all sorts of things because it is small enough to be manipulated more functionally. If that is the case, then the Gopro should be far superior to even a DSLR.
Another advantage of the Gopro camera is that it is "Cheap". They retail for $399.00 which is a bit of bread for me right now (thank you federal government for returning the extra money I gave you) but our tax return helped a lot. The point is that next year, I could get another camera or I could even save up for a second camera over this year and then I would have multiple options for filming different angles. That, however, is not necessary at this point, it is simply an option. The included remote will operate up to 50 Gopro cameras simultaneously.
Another great feature of this camera is that I can shoot in several different film qualities up to 60 frames per second allowing me to adjust for slow motion. This might be a particularly fun option if I am filming ecstatic ritual where there is a lot of dancing or gyration. It will be really cool for the drumming during Beltane at the Beach and the footrace as well. It just seems to me like this is a phenomenal option.
I also dug out my old Flip camera which also takes hi-rez video. I had stuck it away because it ceased working well but apparently time does heal all wounds because it seems to be working now...I'll take what I can get!
Between these two cameras, plus my canon point and shoot, I think I am set to begin. Unfortunately, because of the setback I mentioned in the last post, I will be filming all three mini-docs in a 6 week time period which means a LOT of work on the editing deck. The real question now will be if my software can handle the video quality I'll be working with and whether my computer will need an upgrade. I think it should do alright but I'm still crossing my fingers.
The camera is now fully charged and I will begin playing with it tomorrow to learn the ins and outs. I won't lie though, the investment in this camera means there is no turning back. I cannot just invest this type of money (all the necessary accessories I bought cost money too) and then let it sit on my shelf like a toy or make cute films of my son playing and say "Good, that was useful!".
The good part is that if this works (and I believe it will as it has worked well for others) I have a top notch camera for this project and a way to make this documentary that will not kill me financially. I still plan on doing some sort of crowd sourced funding but that will likely end up being more about covering travel expenses which makes the amount I will ask for more realistic a goal. However, I do want to spend some time working the ins and outs of the camera over the next week or so to ensure that I have a reasonable idea of how well the software and hardware I have will handle the video quality because that will effect my bottom line.
I am understandably excited. I've already begun listing some of my other things online in an effort to defray the cost...stuff I don't really need.
Another advantage of the Gopro camera is that it is "Cheap". They retail for $399.00 which is a bit of bread for me right now (thank you federal government for returning the extra money I gave you) but our tax return helped a lot. The point is that next year, I could get another camera or I could even save up for a second camera over this year and then I would have multiple options for filming different angles. That, however, is not necessary at this point, it is simply an option. The included remote will operate up to 50 Gopro cameras simultaneously.
Another great feature of this camera is that I can shoot in several different film qualities up to 60 frames per second allowing me to adjust for slow motion. This might be a particularly fun option if I am filming ecstatic ritual where there is a lot of dancing or gyration. It will be really cool for the drumming during Beltane at the Beach and the footrace as well. It just seems to me like this is a phenomenal option.
I also dug out my old Flip camera which also takes hi-rez video. I had stuck it away because it ceased working well but apparently time does heal all wounds because it seems to be working now...I'll take what I can get!
Between these two cameras, plus my canon point and shoot, I think I am set to begin. Unfortunately, because of the setback I mentioned in the last post, I will be filming all three mini-docs in a 6 week time period which means a LOT of work on the editing deck. The real question now will be if my software can handle the video quality I'll be working with and whether my computer will need an upgrade. I think it should do alright but I'm still crossing my fingers.
The camera is now fully charged and I will begin playing with it tomorrow to learn the ins and outs. I won't lie though, the investment in this camera means there is no turning back. I cannot just invest this type of money (all the necessary accessories I bought cost money too) and then let it sit on my shelf like a toy or make cute films of my son playing and say "Good, that was useful!".
The good part is that if this works (and I believe it will as it has worked well for others) I have a top notch camera for this project and a way to make this documentary that will not kill me financially. I still plan on doing some sort of crowd sourced funding but that will likely end up being more about covering travel expenses which makes the amount I will ask for more realistic a goal. However, I do want to spend some time working the ins and outs of the camera over the next week or so to ensure that I have a reasonable idea of how well the software and hardware I have will handle the video quality because that will effect my bottom line.
I am understandably excited. I've already begun listing some of my other things online in an effort to defray the cost...stuff I don't really need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)