Budget Equipment for a Remote Shoot

cameronchapman

cameronchapman

I'm shooting a music video at an abandoned Cold-War-era air force station (with permission). The location is roughly 4.5 miles from the nearest non-private road, and roughly an hour from the nearest real town. There's no power, no lights, and no people around for miles. Access is pretty much restricted to 4WD vehicles with decent ground clearance.

Thankfully, since it's a music video, audio recording isn't an issue. (This is good, as audio recording is my biggest weakness and I have yet to find anyone in my area who's competent at audio recording or interested in learning.) I'll be using on-camera audio for a reference track, as well as my Tascam DR-05 for a back-up reference.

I've got a Panasonic GH1 (and 6 extra batteries), one of those cheap configurable stabilizers, a Flycam Nano DSLR on the way, and a decent fluid-head tripod. One of the guys in the band is going to build a dolly and track system.

As far as lighting goes, I'm thinking my best bet is going to be to shape the available light with scrims, reflectors, etc. For inside shots, I've got four China balls with battery-operated LED lights (I plan to get both cool white and warm white versions so that I can match available light in the room that might be coming in from outside), but otherwise I'm not sure what my best options are.

I may be able to get a generator, but I don't want to count on it. Plus, budget is a big concern. Clamp lights from Home Depot are in budget, 1x1 LED panels probably aren't (unless I can find a sympathetic rental house willing to cut us a deal). Battery-powered options are preferable.

So in addition to lighting suggestions, what other equipment should I be looking at getting? I'm interested in both the big things and the little things. Since I'm not just going to be able to pop out to the store (or back home) to get things, I need to make sure that I'm hyper-organized and ready for anything that might come up.

Space is an issue, since we're going to have probably 6-8 people, plus all the band's gear, plus my gear, to transport, and likely only 3 vehicles in which to do so.
 
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Sweetie said:
Do you have department heads yet? If so, ask them what they think are the best solutions.

It does sound like your best option is a generator.
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No department heads (yet?). I'm acting as DP/camera op, me and one of the guys in the band are co-producing/directing, and as of right now, I don't even have an AD or PAs (I've got a few people in mind, but am waiting until we nail down a date, which will hopefully happen very soon).

I'm planning on a bare-bones crew for the day when we get all the band shots. Basically, me, a PA or three (who can multitask and do a bit of everything), and an AD. The days when we shoot the narrative portion will hopefully have a bit more crew, but it's still going to be a pretty bare-bones setup. Part of this has to do with the location and the potential risks there (it's a really dangerous place). I feel like the fewer people we have, the fewer chances of accidents, etc. Safety is a huge concern for me, and I'm being very particular about who is at the shoot, because the last thing I want is to have someone get injured when we're well over an hour from the nearest hospital in an area with no cell service.

I realize this is a Herculean task for a pretty much beginning filmmaker. I know it's going to take an incredible amount of hard work and organization and I know things will go wrong. But I've got a ton of motivation for this project, for personal and professional reasons, and I'm willing to do pretty much whatever it takes.
 
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I'd suggest getting a generator, though if you don't have the budget for lights, you might barely have the budget to rent a generator, let alone anything to plug into it.

Make sure for the outdoors stuff you get some cheap poly boards and foamcore, some black duvetyne.. You want as much to help shape the light as possible. A big silk/butterfly helps on outdoor shoots, but they're also not always cheap (though I'm sure you could DIY something).

Indoor stuff is going to be harder without lights.. Are there at least windows etc. ?
 
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jax_rox said:
I'd suggest getting a generator, though if you don't have the budget for lights, you might barely have the budget to rent a generator, let alone anything to plug into it.

Make sure for the outdoors stuff you get some cheap poly boards and foamcore, some black duvetyne.. You want as much to help shape the light as possible. A big silk/butterfly helps on outdoor shoots, but they're also not always cheap (though I'm sure you could DIY something).

Indoor stuff is going to be harder without lights.. Are there at least windows etc. ?
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There are plenty of windows in most of the buildings, as well as holes in the walls/ceilings in a lot of them. I'm hoping that by creative placement of the band and supplementing and reflecting the available light, I can get something passable.

Generator will be borrowed if possible. My step-dad has one, and I think one of the guys in the band does, too.
 
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For inside:

Small LED lights are lightweight, can be attached to a camera's shoe or other mount, or onto a lightstand, or virtually anything else with a bit of gaff tape. Lighting for foreground. Lighting for background. Hairlight. Light light. ;) The AA batteries last quite well, but always bring a stash more of course.

I have several of these, for example: linkage

With a small set of gels & diffusion, you can do a lot with these for cheap. They come in larger & smaller sizes, too. Just make sure it has a dimmer-dial on it. Some don't.

Outside:

For about $5 you can get a 2' x 4' foam sheet at Home Depot. Great for use as bounce-boards, leaned up against a spare tripod or lightstand.

Generally:

You have a lot of people at a ruined facility, hours from civilisation. What are the bathroom facilities like? :hmm:
 
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Zensteve said:
For inside:

Small LED lights are lightweight, can be attached to a camera's shoe or other mount, or onto a lightstand, or virtually anything else with a bit of gaff tape. Lighting for foreground. Lighting for background. Hairlight. Light light. ;) The AA batteries last quite well, but always bring a stash more of course.

I have several of these, for example: linkage

With a small set of gels & diffusion, you can do a lot with these for cheap. They come in larger & smaller sizes, too. Just make sure it has a dimmer-dial on it. Some don't.
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I was looking at those and wasn't sure whether they were worth buying. I'll add them to my "to-buy" list.

Zensteve said:
Generally:

You have a lot of people at a ruined facility, hours from civilisation. What are the bathroom facilities like? :hmm:
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We're borrowing from the bears. :yes: ;) This will be made clear to everyone who's going along on the shoot, so there are no surprises... (I honestly wish I was kidding, but there's not really any other option up there. And that's what all the people hunting, etc. in the area do.)


jax_rox said:
And the food/drink situation
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It'll be picnic-style for food. Probably sandwiches. Lots of snacks—fruit, chips, pretzels, granola bars, etc.. Coffee, tea, soda, juice, tons of water. I'll have a small camp stove for heating water. It will still be relatively cold up there in May, so keeping things cold with coolers and ice shouldn't be an issue. I'm going to see if I can get a local restaurant to provide a big discount or free dinner for after we wrap.
 
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