Hey Everybody,
New to the forums, though I don't know why. I've been involved in film in some capacity since I was twelve, now I'm making the transition into professional AC/Writing/Directing work. But this place seems great so far, and I'm happy to have joined a community where there seems to be a large quotient of serious know-how.
The reason I'm writing is because I need to figure out what the best type of rig will be to shoot an upcoming project. It's feature length, Cinéma vérité-style (note: I mean realistic, not shaky), and we plan on running two cameras. It's a fictionalized combat doc where the protagonist is doing the brunt of the filming, so he should have a practical, flexible, and lightweight setup. Cheap would be good too. I'm not saying sub-2k, but keep in mind, we're trying to keep the TOTAL production cost around (preferably below) 50k.
My first thought initially ran to a DSLR ENG Rig, but there will be a lot of movement as necessitated by the plot and action, and shutter roll seems unappealing. Also, the fact that you can just shoot as much tape as you can carry without having to import until post is appealing. We want the production to be as agile as possible, because it'll be by the seat of our pants. The production will be supplemented by weapon- and helmet-mounted GoPro Hero Cameras.
I'd love to see what the consensus is for the ideal set-ups. The alternate camera rig will likely be appearing on-camera frequently, so we want it to be operable by actors if there are certain shots that mandate them being in there with a live camera. The DP will, of course, set up aperture/stock/lens settings, but if we need to put it in an actor's hands we want to be able to say "GO SHOOT!" They will be briefed on cinematography and opping in pre-production.
As far as the rigs go, we're looking for flexibility over beauty, but banding, shutter roll, etc. isn't going to be acceptable.
So there we go. All comments, input, and suggestions welcome and appreciated.
Thank you all very much in advance.
Respectfully,
--Buster Blakeney