HELP Newbi...

[Castro]

Hi guys, im a very... very new guy in all of this filmmaking thing, but since i was very young i have always been interested and almost obsessed (some excuses coming up) but no time, no money made me give up on all that. Last night i decided screw it... im going to start and even if i only go through with one project than it will be worth it, that where you guys come in, i want to do a kind of documentary on my family but what i was thinking is i would interview every member like a one on one, but like i said before i konw nothing of filming, lighting audio, i kind of have the basics on editing or at least some one wo can help me put with that (at least till i get the hang of it) but in regards to cameras lighting and audio equipment i need to know what to buy, im in a tight money situation but never the less i feel i relly need to do this so the most inexpensive equiment that give me more bang for my buck i read abour the T2i for camera but
since im starting from scratch any ideas as to where to begin and what to buy...Please

 

[that1guyy]

ooh wow.

Well it sounds like you're really young and so I suggest just borrowing a cheap camera from a friend or someone and going out and having fun. Just focus on telling your family's story well instead of expensive equipment for now. There'll be time for that later. You might want to look into a mic eventually as well, and a tripod.

 

[Alcove Audio]

Documentaries - at least most of them - are all about research and prep.

Define what it is about your family that you want to document. Interesting history? Professions? Overcoming adversity?

Whom do you want to interview and why? Where are they? What do you want to ask them?

What is already available to you? Pictures? Home movies/videos? Diaries? Collect everything you can collect as a part of your research. (Ancestry.com and similar sites can be a huge help as can FaceBook, etc. Even do a Google search of your last name with qualifiers like "heritage", "ancestors", "family tree" and the like; you'll be amazed what pops up.)

You should end up with notebooks full of notes that answer the above and a lot more, such as your own musings and lots of additional questions.

Once you have all this put together it should help determine your budget, a part of which is your equipment needs. Besides the equipment you may need to do lots of travel, which, of course, includes car/bus/train/air fare and lodgings. As far as the equipment you may only need to do audio interviews and back them up with home movies/videos and pictures. Or you may need a camera, three point lighting and a complete audio kit to interview the unique characters in your family. The project dictates the budget, the budget dictates the equipment.

Good luck!

 

[Castro]

tnaks guys...
im actualy kind of old but anyway, i really want to avoid borrowing, and going on what
that1guyy said maybe i should buy a camcorder (a regular one) but in that case witch one do you recomend, and what if in the future i want to maybe re edit the video wont it have a low resolution?

 

[directorik]

If you buy a high definition (HD) camera in the future the video
won’t have low resolution. For many reasons a DSLR camera like the
T2i isn’t the best option for a documentary. But it’s a fine
camera. the audio is poor so you will also need to buy an audio
recorder in addition to a microphone which adds to the total cost.

but in regards to cameras lighting and audio equipment i need to know what to buy, im in a tight money situation but never the less i feel i relly need to do this so the most inexpensive equiment that give me more bang for my buck

You can buy a $600 camera (Canon HF M31) or a $300 camera
(Canon FS200) or a $1,500 camera (Sony HXR-MC50U). You can
buy a Rode VideoMic or a Sennheiser MKE 400. For lighting you can
use a simple work light, a paper lantern and some black wrap.

 

[Tinalera]

Cameras and Video editing software are pretty easy to come by these days at affordable prices, as has been said. To do a documentary, one around the household is cool! You're going to make mistakes, we all do-it's part of the process. You'll find that after you film and edit your very first footage, you'll notice things that you could differently, lighting, sound, whatever. My Camera was under 200 dollars, and I got a Shure Microphone for around 60 dollars-good quality microphone for multipurpose.

And any questions feel free to ask, a lot of great people around here who have a wide range of experience