I find it very hard to keep up with the filmmaker's necessities like new digi cams or powerbooks moneywise. Can you all share how you afford to keep up with the technology e.g. how much roughly you put aside every mounth. I've been putting aside about $200 a month but that doesn't seem to go anyway.
keeping up with the tools
- Thread starter victorian
- Start date
I try to own as little equipment as possible and just borrow/rent what I need when I need it. If I have to buy something, I don't buy it till I absolutely have to have it, and then I finance it for as long as is humanly possible.
I think a lot of indie filmmakers fall into the mindset of thinking they need to own gear to make movies. Even with the low cost of miniDV gear, I don't think it's always the best investment. You have to shoot a lot of movies to get a return on investment on $3,000-$5,000 camera, plus lights, plus edit gear, before that gear goes out of style and you want the new stuff. The money I would spend on buying my own gear would cover rentals for a lot of low budget films. Plus, I can usually find ways to rent/borrow things I can't afford to buy like DVC-PRO cameras and good lights.
I guess what I'm basically trying to say is I don't worry about equipment till the time comes to make a movie. If I bought a bunch of stuff, and it was lying around not being used, then I would feel like my money wasn't well spent.
I think a lot of indie filmmakers fall into the mindset of thinking they need to own gear to make movies. Even with the low cost of miniDV gear, I don't think it's always the best investment. You have to shoot a lot of movies to get a return on investment on $3,000-$5,000 camera, plus lights, plus edit gear, before that gear goes out of style and you want the new stuff. The money I would spend on buying my own gear would cover rentals for a lot of low budget films. Plus, I can usually find ways to rent/borrow things I can't afford to buy like DVC-PRO cameras and good lights.
I guess what I'm basically trying to say is I don't worry about equipment till the time comes to make a movie. If I bought a bunch of stuff, and it was lying around not being used, then I would feel like my money wasn't well spent.
I got a nice camera (pana ag dvx 100a) for graduation! And i've always had my computer which i built for gaming in 9th grade(now a freshmen in college), which is also just as good at editing video. So i've kinda had a free ride...
But i've heard its always better to rent if you're broke, and if you can get involved with a filmschool or somewhere that has lots of good AV stuff, you can probably bum equipment
But i've heard its always better to rent if you're broke, and if you can get involved with a filmschool or somewhere that has lots of good AV stuff, you can probably bum equipment
I decided to put just enough money into equipment to get the job(s) done and get creative about the (in my opinion) lesser items.
For instance: I put more into a camera than I intended when I bought the Panasonic DVX100. Even in retrospect I don't regret the decision and I expect this camera to last me a long time, however quickly technologies change.
I put a little money into audio equipment. A cheap shotgun mic that I'm thrilled with. The more I use it the more I like it. My boom kit, on the other hand, is a collection of pole extensions from a local job lot store. Not fancy but good enough to get the job done.
My lighting kit is an odd collection of halogen work lights (two 500w on a tripod, four 250w clamp models) with some home-made diffusers (shower curtains are wonderful material for this.)
For editing, an old and well-worn copy of Premiere 6.5 is sufficient. I haven't found compelling reasons to buy an upgrade. Until there's a really, really good reason for purchasing something else or upgrading, I'm comfortable making do with what I've got.
I won't mention the computer hardware... had that long before I started in movies. But again, until there's a concrete need to upgrade the hardware (or throw another machine on the network) I won't consider spending any more.
One cool by-product of having this equipment is the ability to generate some quick cash with it. Being involved with community theater, I'm becoming the preferred videographer of choice with local groups. I tape a performance and burn DVD's for the cast - unit cost is less than $1 and I charge $10 per DVD.
All that having been said, I guess the simple answer to your question is that I carefully consider each major purchase and ask myself whether (a) it's absolutely necessary; (b) is there a cost effective alternative - something that will get me 80% of what I need for 10% of the price?
By the way, there's a site with handy D.I.Y. tips for low-cost alternatives. Check out http://www.homelessbob.com
For instance: I put more into a camera than I intended when I bought the Panasonic DVX100. Even in retrospect I don't regret the decision and I expect this camera to last me a long time, however quickly technologies change.
I put a little money into audio equipment. A cheap shotgun mic that I'm thrilled with. The more I use it the more I like it. My boom kit, on the other hand, is a collection of pole extensions from a local job lot store. Not fancy but good enough to get the job done.
My lighting kit is an odd collection of halogen work lights (two 500w on a tripod, four 250w clamp models) with some home-made diffusers (shower curtains are wonderful material for this.)
For editing, an old and well-worn copy of Premiere 6.5 is sufficient. I haven't found compelling reasons to buy an upgrade. Until there's a really, really good reason for purchasing something else or upgrading, I'm comfortable making do with what I've got.
I won't mention the computer hardware... had that long before I started in movies. But again, until there's a concrete need to upgrade the hardware (or throw another machine on the network) I won't consider spending any more.
One cool by-product of having this equipment is the ability to generate some quick cash with it. Being involved with community theater, I'm becoming the preferred videographer of choice with local groups. I tape a performance and burn DVD's for the cast - unit cost is less than $1 and I charge $10 per DVD.
All that having been said, I guess the simple answer to your question is that I carefully consider each major purchase and ask myself whether (a) it's absolutely necessary; (b) is there a cost effective alternative - something that will get me 80% of what I need for 10% of the price?
By the way, there's a site with handy D.I.Y. tips for low-cost alternatives. Check out http://www.homelessbob.com
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Lights are lights. I keep a good kit:
A Baby 5k
4 Junior 2k’s
a kino-flo
2 650w tweenies
4 200w peppers
4 china balls
Grip equipment is grip equipment. I own:
6 c-stands
8 assorted flags
8 assorted scrims
4 assorted silks
2 cookies (1 metal - 1 wood)
12 sandbags
6 apple boxes.
A good mic is essential and they never go out of style.
Sennheiser ME66 - well worth the cost.
a painters pole for a boom.
a home made jib
a good, sturdy tripod.
cables, stingers, cube taps, gels, black wrap, bounce boards - all in my kit.
Camera?
They change too fast. If I had to buy each new camera that came out in order to stay competitive, I'd go broke. I always hire a DP with equipment or rent what ever is top of the line.
Though I do own the JVC GYDV500 - but MiniDV is so last year, many distributors are turning their nose up at movies shot on it.
A Baby 5k
4 Junior 2k’s
a kino-flo
2 650w tweenies
4 200w peppers
4 china balls
Grip equipment is grip equipment. I own:
6 c-stands
8 assorted flags
8 assorted scrims
4 assorted silks
2 cookies (1 metal - 1 wood)
12 sandbags
6 apple boxes.
A good mic is essential and they never go out of style.
Sennheiser ME66 - well worth the cost.
a painters pole for a boom.
a home made jib
a good, sturdy tripod.
cables, stingers, cube taps, gels, black wrap, bounce boards - all in my kit.
Camera?
They change too fast. If I had to buy each new camera that came out in order to stay competitive, I'd go broke. I always hire a DP with equipment or rent what ever is top of the line.
Though I do own the JVC GYDV500 - but MiniDV is so last year, many distributors are turning their nose up at movies shot on it.
Although I'm not a big fan of living off credit, it does get you want you want. Just be careful you don't get in over your head.
I don't have a lot of stuff for myself because I use equipment at work. Maybe you could find a job somewhere that has equipment you can use after hours. There's nothing better than having a $20,000 Avid to yourself that you don't have to own.
As far as renting vs. buying, if it's something affordable like miniDV gear, I'd rather buy. We were recently in a jam a work and had to rent a PD-150 and it cost $500 for a week. Screw that! If rates are this high everywhere, then I understand why the indie mentality is buy over rent. For the cost of 2 months of renting, you could own it. That just doesn't make sense to me. But I guess if you only need it for a few days here and there, then I guess I could see the point. But if you buy, you can consider that a partial investment. If you ever want to get rid of the camera because you aren't using it as much, you can sell it. Now you're not going to gell all your money back, but at least you'll get some. If you rent, you can kiss all that green bye-bye.
I don't have a lot of stuff for myself because I use equipment at work. Maybe you could find a job somewhere that has equipment you can use after hours. There's nothing better than having a $20,000 Avid to yourself that you don't have to own.
As far as renting vs. buying, if it's something affordable like miniDV gear, I'd rather buy. We were recently in a jam a work and had to rent a PD-150 and it cost $500 for a week. Screw that! If rates are this high everywhere, then I understand why the indie mentality is buy over rent. For the cost of 2 months of renting, you could own it. That just doesn't make sense to me. But I guess if you only need it for a few days here and there, then I guess I could see the point. But if you buy, you can consider that a partial investment. If you ever want to get rid of the camera because you aren't using it as much, you can sell it. Now you're not going to gell all your money back, but at least you'll get some. If you rent, you can kiss all that green bye-bye.
I own nothing at the moment. But that's because I haven't bought anything yet... but I generally agree with what's been said. The camera I'm buying is a little 3CCD Panasonic - nothing fancy like a PD170 (though if I could afford it, the VX2100 sorely tempts me...)
Anyway, the main reason I'm buying is because I know that if I own it, I can go out and shoot a short almost any time - movies to promote dances at my school, taping sports, etc. For me, that makes a camera worthwhile. Lights are just basic halogen work lights, as has been said, and some gels... nothing fancy, but they do the trick. And they're not several hundred dollars to replace if I knock one over!
At the same time, for "real" projects, I'm renting. I'm shooting a choir in the springtime, and my plan is to rent two cams (PD150 and PD170, respectively) from a Media club I'm a (soon to be) member of. They're very reasonable if you join, and they have editing facilities, etc, all on the cheap.
Back to the title... I don't think "keeping up" is a huge deal, myself. The "good" DV cams are still great cameras - the PD150 is no worse a cam since the PD170 came out. Likewise, a lot of people actually prefer the TRV900 to the TRV950. Though the new HD cams from Sony might hurt the DV market...
But if that pushes something like the VX2100 down, I won't be complaining.
Anyway, the main reason I'm buying is because I know that if I own it, I can go out and shoot a short almost any time - movies to promote dances at my school, taping sports, etc. For me, that makes a camera worthwhile. Lights are just basic halogen work lights, as has been said, and some gels... nothing fancy, but they do the trick. And they're not several hundred dollars to replace if I knock one over!
At the same time, for "real" projects, I'm renting. I'm shooting a choir in the springtime, and my plan is to rent two cams (PD150 and PD170, respectively) from a Media club I'm a (soon to be) member of. They're very reasonable if you join, and they have editing facilities, etc, all on the cheap.
Back to the title... I don't think "keeping up" is a huge deal, myself. The "good" DV cams are still great cameras - the PD150 is no worse a cam since the PD170 came out. Likewise, a lot of people actually prefer the TRV900 to the TRV950. Though the new HD cams from Sony might hurt the DV market...
But if that pushes something like the VX2100 down, I won't be complaining.
I guess because I see myself a more commercial indie, I've always invested in good computer equipment, whilst renting the best camera formats I could afford, for actual productions. The upshot of this is that I have very up to date Mac computers, desktop and laptop, but I've never owned even so much as a camcorder.
As a result of this, I've never shot a film on a format lower than digibeta, but the amount of time and money that has gone into each production has been higher. So instead of making 5 mini-dv shorts in a year, I used to make one or maybe two, shot on higher formats.
This approach has worked for me, but I think each filmmaker has to find their own way of working. I've been specifically working towards running large, professional productions and used my shorts to acquire those skills. If however, you are looking to improve your camera skills and the thing that really turns you on as a filmmaker is getting out there and shooting it yourself, then maybe owning kit is the way to go.
What I find these days, is that there are so many filmakers who go down the "owning the camera route", that borrowing kit is pretty easy. Plus there are lots of organisation who also buy in kit and then have it sitting around doing nothing. I'm 99% certain I could pull all the equipment needed for a two week long shoot on mini-dv for nothing.
Networking is a vital tool of the filmmaker and this is something that we need to do in our local environment as well as online.
I think what is more important than the equipment in filmmaking is having good contacts. With them you can make anything happen, without them it will always come back to solving the problem with money.
As a result of this, I've never shot a film on a format lower than digibeta, but the amount of time and money that has gone into each production has been higher. So instead of making 5 mini-dv shorts in a year, I used to make one or maybe two, shot on higher formats.
This approach has worked for me, but I think each filmmaker has to find their own way of working. I've been specifically working towards running large, professional productions and used my shorts to acquire those skills. If however, you are looking to improve your camera skills and the thing that really turns you on as a filmmaker is getting out there and shooting it yourself, then maybe owning kit is the way to go.
What I find these days, is that there are so many filmakers who go down the "owning the camera route", that borrowing kit is pretty easy. Plus there are lots of organisation who also buy in kit and then have it sitting around doing nothing. I'm 99% certain I could pull all the equipment needed for a two week long shoot on mini-dv for nothing.
Networking is a vital tool of the filmmaker and this is something that we need to do in our local environment as well as online.
I think what is more important than the equipment in filmmaking is having good contacts. With them you can make anything happen, without them it will always come back to solving the problem with money.
Rob a bank! 
Just kidding , We formed a group of like minded people, we all bought one nice piece of equiptment , and share with each other. This way each person only has to update one thing. The other bonus is that you can get the people in the group to help on set. Hope this helped.
Peace,
Toxzy
Just kidding , We formed a group of like minded people, we all bought one nice piece of equiptment , and share with each other. This way each person only has to update one thing. The other bonus is that you can get the people in the group to help on set. Hope this helped.Peace,
Toxzy