Pandora's Can of Worms
Hey guys, so I had this idea a while back to make a documentary and I've finally started doing a bunch of research and planning on it. There are some bumps I've run into that I'd love to get some advice about before I jump in head first. First some info about the project:
The idea is a documentary about karaoke enthusiasts. My research so far has consisted of scouting for potential 'stars' at the karaoke bars (luckily this is chicago and there are enough places where one could go every night of the week without hassle, I'm actually trying to find those 'regulars'), as well as scouring the internet for forums/groups etc to give me some insight into the 'culture' if there is one.
Question #1:
I've seen a lot of people on here say that making an outline helps with a docu, also, having a question to answer. I'm having trouble coming up with more of a question to answer than 'what makes someone be a karaoke enthusiast?' I realise this question(and it's subquestions) might be enough, but any advice for taking it further/getting something like that outlined would help. Does anyone have an example of a docu outline that they wouldn't mind sharing?
Question #2:
This is a legal question. I don't plan on filming anywhere without getting the owners permission. Anyone who doens't sign a release will not be in the film or will be blurred if absolutely necesary. But what about the songs? Do I go to the owner of the original music, or would getting permission from the owner(as in the manufacturer/copyright holder) of the karaoke disc be enough?
Question #3:
SOUND. You'll probably want to know what equipment I have first, so here you go. I've got a Cannon Vixia HF200. As far as sound equipment I've got nothing. My bf does have a small mixer and recording setup, but although it's small, I'm concerned about it's portability and general usefulness for film http://www.roland.com/products/en/BR-600/ also he's got one standard mic like you'd use for singing.
If those wouldn't work, do you think this setup would be sufficient for indoor(mostly bars)/outdoor recording?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beachtek-DX-A2S...bles_Cords?hash=item33596e699c#ht_4034wt_1165
and
http://cgi.ebay.com/SGM-X-Shotgun-M...ultDomain_0?hash=item5d25582f73#ht_8708wt_939
And one more sound question(for now, teehee): When recording the folks singing onstage, should I try and get permission to hook directly into their system to get the pure sound of just their voice/music, or should I try and capture it from the audience?
At the moment I'm not too worried about lighting, I plan on filming only in bars where the stage is well-lit already, and for interviews I'll either get some worklights and make softboxes or else just do it in the daytime in well-lit rooms. Is that a good plan? Feel free to shoot it down
Sorry about the super-long post, and any response would be greatly appreciated!
Sammi
Hey guys, so I had this idea a while back to make a documentary and I've finally started doing a bunch of research and planning on it. There are some bumps I've run into that I'd love to get some advice about before I jump in head first. First some info about the project:
The idea is a documentary about karaoke enthusiasts. My research so far has consisted of scouting for potential 'stars' at the karaoke bars (luckily this is chicago and there are enough places where one could go every night of the week without hassle, I'm actually trying to find those 'regulars'), as well as scouring the internet for forums/groups etc to give me some insight into the 'culture' if there is one.
Question #1:
I've seen a lot of people on here say that making an outline helps with a docu, also, having a question to answer. I'm having trouble coming up with more of a question to answer than 'what makes someone be a karaoke enthusiast?' I realise this question(and it's subquestions) might be enough, but any advice for taking it further/getting something like that outlined would help. Does anyone have an example of a docu outline that they wouldn't mind sharing?
Question #2:
This is a legal question. I don't plan on filming anywhere without getting the owners permission. Anyone who doens't sign a release will not be in the film or will be blurred if absolutely necesary. But what about the songs? Do I go to the owner of the original music, or would getting permission from the owner(as in the manufacturer/copyright holder) of the karaoke disc be enough?
Question #3:
SOUND. You'll probably want to know what equipment I have first, so here you go. I've got a Cannon Vixia HF200. As far as sound equipment I've got nothing. My bf does have a small mixer and recording setup, but although it's small, I'm concerned about it's portability and general usefulness for film http://www.roland.com/products/en/BR-600/ also he's got one standard mic like you'd use for singing.
If those wouldn't work, do you think this setup would be sufficient for indoor(mostly bars)/outdoor recording?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beachtek-DX-A2S...bles_Cords?hash=item33596e699c#ht_4034wt_1165
and
http://cgi.ebay.com/SGM-X-Shotgun-M...ultDomain_0?hash=item5d25582f73#ht_8708wt_939
And one more sound question(for now, teehee): When recording the folks singing onstage, should I try and get permission to hook directly into their system to get the pure sound of just their voice/music, or should I try and capture it from the audience?
At the moment I'm not too worried about lighting, I plan on filming only in bars where the stage is well-lit already, and for interviews I'll either get some worklights and make softboxes or else just do it in the daytime in well-lit rooms. Is that a good plan? Feel free to shoot it down
Sorry about the super-long post, and any response would be greatly appreciated!
Sammi
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