Using a Flip Video (HD) for shooting

A

AnthonyPapillion

So as many of you know, I'm starting my first project soon. It's a documentary about homelessness and extreme poverty in rural America and I'm really excited about the potential for it. This is where I really feel I 'need' to be in my film making.

I know I want to shoot in HD simply because, well, the quality has to be there. But I also don't want to invest a lot of money in this first project if I don't have to. Part of the reason for this is because I don't want to spend a lot of money that might be wasted and part of it is because I want to be forced to learn the art and technical sides of it and if I have a bunch of equipment that does stuff for me, I won't.

I'm thinking about using a couple of Flip UlltraHD cameras for the entire film. While I know these would be crap for normal films where fast movement, effects, etc would be an issues, I wonder if this would work well for my film, which will mostly be slow pans and a lot of fixed camera interviews?

What are your opinions on it?

Thanks!
Anthony
 
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AnthonyPapillion said:
I know I want to shoot in HD simply because, well, the quality has to be there. But I also don't want to invest a lot of money in this first project if I don't have to. Part of the reason for this is because I don't want to spend a lot of money that might be wasted and part of it is because I want to be forced to learn the art and technical sides of it and if I have a bunch of equipment that does stuff for me, I won't.
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You seem to be contradicting yourself here - the quality has to be there but you don't want to invest much money. I think you need to decide what matters more to you. If you want to learn the art and technical aspects, you'd be better off getting an older SD camera with manual controls. The Flip will do everything for you - expose, focus, and adjust sound levels. The latter would probably be the greatest concern with the Flip; you won't be able to get decent sound out of it with no mic input or way of controlling levels manually.
 
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Chilipie:

I suppose what I mean is I want to focus on learning the creative side of film making as well as the technical side. Being a techie, the technical side will come fairly easy to me. The creative side will be more difficult. Using the Flip will force me to plan my shots better, focus on proper lighting, understand what needs to happen in post, that sort of thing.

On the other hand, I don't want to get *so* bogged down in fiddling with the camera controls that I pay little attention to the movie itself. I want a balance where I can learn the art and slowly learn the technical as I go.
 
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Don't expect to put together amazing films with an HD Flip Video. I would love for someone to proove me wrong...I mean it is HD...but I bet 99% of what you find online is shaky handheld work...

Build a redrock mount for it, and I'll retract my comment.


My wife and I have the SD version...and we use it for web auditions and behind the scenes...but it's pretty crappy quality.

:)
 
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I whipped up a DIY Halo rig and it makes a HUGE difference in the quality coming out of the flip HD. Basically the camera is too light and wobbly. adding some weight and spreading out the hand holds brings it to a manageable level.

Thanks
 
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I keep meaning to try and film something with it as an example.
But its OUT FOR RMA.

I do have to give kudos to cisco. The do have a GREAT return policy. I bought the cam used on ebay, it broke. I called them, jumped through a few hoops, tried a few technical support fixes, and boom, Iv got a new one in the mail!
 
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I can say that the shakiness is definitely one of the things I run into. You simply can't hold the camera steady enough to get a good shot most times. Of course, sometimes, you *want* that hand held effect (I just did an interview that I'm using it to add a 'raw' feel to it) but, most times, you don't.

I have learned to always use a tripod. Still, I don't expect amazing quality, but then again, I'm not Steven Spielberg. I'm experimenting and, so far, the FlipHD hasn't been *too* bad, yet.
 
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It will capture whatever is directly in front of it well enough, so ALL of your image control has to be done with lighting, set design, and camera placement (don't use the digital zoom). And you can't change your lights during a shot or the camera will adjust and make your shot look amateurish.

Build a $14 steady cam with a 1.5 lb weight and some plumbing pipes to steady your handheld work, or always put it on sticks.

I'm not sure I'd want one for documentary work because that involves a lot of running-and-gunning and constantly changing lighting situations. I'd stick to something where I could at least lock the exposure.
 
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