What are you guys' set ups?

[Phillip Ritchie]

I know that many pieces of equipment may be project specific, but there are a lot you that make shorts with little to no budget on a regular basis... What equipment/software do you use? From screenwriting software to cameras to lighting to microphones to monitors to laptops to editing software to, I dunno, software for posters to... yeah. You get what I mean!

I come from a music background and always found it fascinating listening to what other musicians' set ups were... and i don't think i've come across a thread like this. (If there's already one I appologise!)

Look forward to hearing what you guys have to say!

 

[directorik]

Screenwriting software: I use Movie Magic. Final Draft is also standard
and there are free programs like Celix available.

Camera: I started using Super 8, shot my shorts on 16mm and then
moved to Hi-8. Now I use JVC cameras.

Microphone: I use the Sennheiser ME-66.

Lighting: I own a small kit
1 -Mole richardson 10 K fresnel.
1 -Mole richardson 5 K fresnel.
2 -Mole richardson 12 light FAYs (7.8 KW ).
1 -Mole richardson supersoft 4 KWs.
2 -ARRI 2 K fresnel.
2 -ARRI 1 K open face.
4 -ARRI 650s watt fresnel.
2 -ARRI 300s watt fresnel.
2 -ARRI 150s watt fresnel.
4 -Omni 650s watt open face.
2 -lowel 1 KWs open face.
2 -lowel 650s watt open face.
1 - kino-flo (Diva Light 400)
4 china balls

I rent grip equipment. Storage is an issue as well as cost so renting
these items make better sense for me.

Software: I use Final Cut Studio. I have a 17" G4 PowerBook and a 24" iMac.

Software for posters: I use Photoshop.

For a nice beginning light kit I recommend:
A couple of work lights with stands from any home improvement store.

Five or six “scoop lights” - those clamp on work lights with the silver reflector.

Three or four pieces of Foamcore from any art supply store to use to bounce the light.

Two or three paper lanterns that you can get at Ikea. I hook each one to a dimmer
(home improvement store again) to get better control.

Some colored gels (check on line or if there is a small theater in your town they often
have extras) and some black wrap. Check Studio Depot

 

[John@Bophe]

Ok -- so now to offer a contrasting POV to directorik:

Screenwriting software: MS Word...or a pad of paper. We don't write much stuff down.

Camera: We've been mostly using a Sony Hi-8 -- not sure of the model. It's Paul's. Definitely not a professional camera, but it takes pretty decent pictures for our purposes. We have a few other cameras in the group, but they are all consumer variety.

Microphone: We bought a $60 shotgun mic from Best Buy several years ago. They don't still carry it (according to their website). I can't remember the brand name but it wasn't anything fancy. We are also musicians so we have mic stands. Take the pole off the base and its a boom pole.

Lighting: The Sun, 2 x 500 watt halogen work lights on stands, about a half-dozen clamp-on work lamps that we fill with a variety of incandescent bulbs (depending on the strength or color needed). We have occasionally used colored cellophane (from the party store!) to darken/tint the light coming through a window. Also might use posterboard, a sheet, or whatever else we can find to bounce/diffuse/redirect light.

Software: For video editing we use Sony Vegas Movie Studio. Charles is our sound guy and he uses a variety of programs for that...not sure of the list. Editing is done on Windows PCs.



Graphics/posters/other designs done in either Paint Shop Pro or Fireworks.

 

[spinner]

I have a very small set up of good pieces:

1 good digital camera (panasonic dvx 100a)
1 small pansonic 3 chip handicam (purchased for playback and use until the heads die)
1 good shotgun mic (audiotechnica AT 835)
1 bogen/manfrotto tripod
1 macintosh powerbook G4 (tricked out as far as I could afford)
1 bypass card (because you don't want to save your footage where the edit system operates, they're cheap)
1 Final Cut Pro HD edit system (I don't shoot in HD, but it does what it should)
1 320 gig external hard drive (which I fill up with almost every project, then reluctantly purge)
1 tape rewinder


I want a terabyte so I don't have to purge my hard drive for longer periods of time, eventually, I'll do what knightly suggests and just store the projects instead of dumping them.

I purchased professional grade digital tape stock from Data Media. They are holding up to my blacking the tapes, but I will be purchasing some new stock soon I hope.

The secondary handicam I bought as playback because a cheap playback deck will cost you at least $1000, which was the price about a year or so ago when I was pricing them. I got the camera for two reasons: 1.) if you can avoid it, you don't want to use an expensive camera as a playback or vcr because it will wear down the heads. Better to destrory a $500 dollar camera than to destroy a $4000 dollar camera; and 2.) until the heads wear out, you have 2 cameras. You use the small one as an overall wide shot or whatever seems good, I usually call it my "drummer cam". Or else I try to just get a good secondary angle.

I use the "big" camera for everything important. Main shots, interviews, etc. The picture is better, the sound is better.

I hope to purchase:

1. on camera light
(since I like ambient light, I have been lucky, but I have also not been able to shoot on occasion because my camera light wouldn't work. That sucks!

1 new tape rewinder that will also fast forward
1 monopod (so that when I am in the crowd, I can still have some kind of stability)
1 terabyte of hard drive

Dream item: 1 wide angle lens for DVX. I don't want anything too over the top, no fisheye lenses. Just let me get a wider shot than I am presently getting. I don't have $600 to drop on a lense, but I'm okay for now.

You can get away with just a: camera, shotgun mic, computer with good edit system and external hard drive.

Hope that helps

-- spinner

EDIT:
posters: make the posters in a photoshop program or whatever you have. Make one exactly the way you want it, take it to KINKOS. By the way, it took me a little while to acquire all this stuff, but I have it now....I almost forgot: a friend gave me a mic stand that he used to use in his band, clip my shotgun mic to it and I have a makeshift 'no-hands' boom.

 

[knightly]

ok...I'll start with the computer end of things and work towards the people end of things:

1 2x2.5Ghz G5 Power Macintosh, 2Gb RAM, 500Gb Disk (2 x 250Gb SATA internal)
0.75 Tb of lose storage (mostly 180Gb EIDE bare drives connected through a WiebeTech drive dock)
-as I complete projects, I keep them on the drive for backup
dual monitors for editing and a dv bridge through my old JVC GR820DVL to a vcr/dvd combo and a crt tv for preview

I write using Celtx ( www.celtx.com ) - free,
I edit using Final Cut Studio
I effect using Shake
I graphic using Gimpshop (a photoshop interface hack on top of the GIMP)

Camera: Canon XL1s with an ma100 XLR mic input doohicky
Mic: Sony ECM672 shotgun microphone upgraded from an ATR55 (waaaay better sound)
Lights:
-8 x ACDelco clamp lights with GE Softwhite CFL bulbs
-6 x Craftsman 500w halogen worklights
-5 x foamcore bounce cards/flags/backgrounds in various colors (white with silver spray painted other side, white/gold, black/white, white/blue, white/green) - various sizes
-various mic and low-end light stands + a tent pole that bridges two of my lighting stands to make a frame to hang lights/scrims
-black scrim (fabric store, sheer black fabric from wedding section)

People:
I know a bunch of actors, some writers (I'm good at ideas, not writing), some good friends who help out with the pre-production end of things...all in all about 20-30 folks.

A drive to create things and the ego to finish no matter what anyone says (or perhaps because of the criticism )

A love of cinema as a holistic art form that can possibly make the artist money while they are still alive.

 

[DeceptionA]

I do more corporate/commercial stuff than short films.

Screenwriting:
I don't write stuff typically. If I do, it's in Final Draft.

Editing:
After Effects - I love After Effects.
Premiere - If I'm doing something simple, and I know I am using a lot of after effects
Avid Media Composer - Primary editing software. I learned on it, and every professional place I worked at uses it.
DVD Authoring - Plethora of software. Scenarist for simple stuff (because I suck at Scenarist), Encore usually for trickier stuff.

Camera:
(2) Canon XL2
(1) Sony HD Z1U

Mic:
(3) Wireless Seinheisser packs
Audioteck(I think) shot gun mic
(2) hardwired lavs

Lights:
1k HMI
(2) 1k arri's
600 arri
300 arri
couple flags, bounceboards, etc.

People:
I have a google spreadsheet of names, contact info, wages, and specialties. I met them through various projects I worked on.