Ryan Ivy

Friends of wisdom’s past, I once again humbly come before you to inquire what you have learned along your journeys on what gear to bring for traveling overseas for documentary/interview shoot. It might end up being 3 of us or just me as a one man crew in the Middle East and a few parts in Europe. What do you wish you would’ve brought and totally left at home when you embarked on your destination shoot? What really made or broke your documentary/interviews stand out? Are there a preference for lights for travel, 4ft or 2ft Nanlites, litepanels, etc? What other lighting, camera, and audio accoutrements were worthwhile while overseas? What are some great second hand tripods that can hold about 15-22 lbs of gear and won’t ruin your spirit every step of the way of your trip? Or is this even possible? Any other tips you would recommend? Many thanks in advance to anyone willing to weigh in on this! -Ryan

David, I owe you a beer. Next time that you’re in Bend, OR, hit me up because wow. Thank you for the wealth of knowledge, insight, and perspective. I really appreciate your model recommendations for different set ups. I had a solid belly laugh when you started throwing shade at my zoom h6 🤣😂. I have been deliberating over the f55, Varicam, and now the fx6/fx9 because you recommended it. Is the f5 or f55 even worth considering if it isn’t to the external axs-r5 recorder? The media is pricy on those recorders, so I’m up in the air as to what might make sense, or if I should appropriate eggs to other baskets at this point and time. I’ll go ahead and cross the f35 off my candidates 🤣 and am now deliberating over if vintage nikkors would be worthy candidates to offset lighting and audio costs, or would the sentiment of “buy once, cry once” make sense in context of the information you gave me and invest in some versatile lenses? Thanks again for your responses.

Wow. Thank you. Joel’s previous sentiment of “carriage before the horse” rings even louder in your explanation. I am grateful for the many voices of reason, experience, and wisdom that have weighed in on my question. It has helped me rethink my process and approach to production. This comment broke a folding chair over my head. 😆 I hope to carry your advice with me forever. Thank you.🤝🙏

Are there any particular brands to avoid? As far as LED lights go, are there anything that stands out and makes for an excellent investment? I generally like to buy quality used gear so I’m willing to spend more on lights that really make a big difference. I appreciate your insight about learning how to work around professional workflows. Are there any books or people to study in regards to workflows, lighting, framing, etc that have heavily influenced or inspired you and your philosophy on your work?

I have seen some videos on the Cooke Kinetals, are they even worth looking at for something like the s1? Or would those even fit? If you had to choose 3 or 4 focal lengths, which would you have? I have been eyeballing the FD’s after a video I watched comparing them to the k35’s but didn’t know what sensors or mounts they would work with or could adapt to. There’s so much information out there and not all of it seems to be in one place. Hehe.

I’ve seen a handful of people discuss the S1. How do you like to rig your camera? Would you opt for something else right now? What type of lenses do you like for it? Thanks for all of your earlier comments. Also, any suggestions on g&e for must-haves or big difference makers?

Teach me your ways, sensei. You are a treasure trove of insight, thank for imparting your wisdom. I saw a couple of other people discuss lighting and g&e earlier and I’m beginning to see a theme. I have been totaling neglecting my lighting kit. I currently have 2x 650 and 2x 300 arri fresnels, corresponding barn doors, and more scrims than I know what to do with, 2 Mathew’s c-stands, and some decent manfrotto photography light stands. I have about a dozen large rolls of various warming, cooling, and diffusing gels at the moment. What would you think are some affordable (or great used deals) options that could add to my kit to really add to production value? Would they be different suggestions for documentary, field work, or studio? What are excellent investments that just make a big difference in your experience? And are there any deals you’ve seen a trend on lately that people shouldn’t just walk away from because of their value?

Great to know on M1 chips in Apple. Thank you. How would you stack something like the R5 against something like the F55?

Currently, there are 3 of us that want to familiarize ourselves with professional workflows and form factors with equipment features that can be used in a professional setting. However, we are all adult students (had previous careers and are going back to school) and want to earn our stripes, put in our time, and apply our motivations to make beautiful work. This is currently personal work. We are wanting to tackle documentary at the moment, but end goal is narrative for when we have talent. Audio is essential. We are each musically inclined, but field recording is where I lack knowledge. I have an h6 recorder, but suspect we need to appropriate funds for audio to have a dynamic production. Lens/accessory/body costs and justifications are where I am deliberating over what percentages (40/50/10? 60/30/10? Etc.) makes sense for budget regarding lenses. 4k would be nice, but the f35 produces jaw dropping images, so, to me, resolution is secondary to image capture, but I’m not sure if I want to hulk around deprecated equipment if there are viable other options. I definitely want to go for a cinematic look and am keen on investing in the appropriate equipment to put me in the ballpark. Size is a good question. What factors have you found to be useful when deliberating over form and size? The voice of reason. I have been guilty of being a dirty park raccoon fixated on shiny objects that lead to my demise. I appreciate the grounding reminder about the bigger picture and not just what might look good on paper. I was thinking of the other elements that go into production as an afterthought and I am grateful for this insight. I do need to be more mindful of the ENTIRE package. Thank you!! What about older equipment that can still produce beautiful images at a fraction of the value it was a decade ago? I feel so limited geographically to not having a rental company nearer than 4 hours away plus a return trip. I have been wanting to learn the ropes and hone my craft on something that I could develop through experience and practicing workflow while not having the latest and greates. I have a couple of mirrorless bodies and lenses, but don’t feel the same excitement for them as something that I could use EVF with. Good to know, thanks, that removes a lot from the equation. Thank you for your response and weighing in with your wisdom. I am excited to throw myself into this all and have neglected to ask myself many of your questions to develop a vision for what I want. The “know when I get there” mentality likes to rear its head of inexperience when I get excited about anything and I often will make mistakes when I can’t take a dimensional step back and see the bigger picture. Thanks for the reminder, Tyler! 🤜🤛

You are a wizard. Good grief you have read my mind. This is what I suspected but didn’t think I could speak confidently enough to know and understand it. This. Bless your soul. This is what I wanted to hear exactly. The next time that you are in Bend, OR, hit me up and I owe you a drink. I have been trying to convince myself to pull the trigger on this, but have been deliberating over whether or not it would make sense or hold up against the exact other devices that you mentioned earlier. What would you consider a great deal on something like the f55? I want to get the external recorder but the media is >insanely< expensive. Oftentimes I feel like I’m trying to squeeze water out of rock in trying to get the most bang for my buck. Aye carumba. This is the type of information I’m trying to compile to build an effective budget. You are speaking to the heart of what I’m trying to understand. I don’t need the latest and greatest, but the things that are timeless, can be found for a bargain, and add to the pleasure and experience of filmmaking. Thank you for all of your insight.

You’re staring into my soul. Story. Of. My. Life. The voice of experience. I appreciate this angle and aspect that should be more heavily considered. This is exactly the information that I’m looking for. Thank you. Scalable business models. Aye carumba. I can totally see my hungry a** not rationing my supplies and dying from exposure and self-indulgence. This makes so much sense. Thank you. Currently we have a crew of 3. We have each had successful careers in other industries before going back to school to search for what we love, which probably explains for why we are so motivated to make something and apply ourselves in every possible way. Right now we are wanting to tackle some documentary work to familiarize ourselves with higher end form factor equipment so that we can feel confident enough to expand to shorts and features. As far as look for documentary, I was impressed with Macgregor’s The Mauritania Railway. Any suggestions for films that have stood out to you? We want a beautiful and powerful documentary. We currently have an h6 zoom field recorder, two mirrorless cameras (Fuji xh1), and a variety of glass because of our past interest in photography, but we don’t think that is quite enough for what we want and are looking for something that can produce more cinematic and beautiful imagery (within our budgetary constraints, hence the look at older equipment). We understand the sentiment of “use what you got” and we also want to invest in ourselves with equipment that helps push ourselves deeper into the rabbit hole of production. We live in a relatively remote area away from rental equipment (~4 hours east of Portland) so it is hard to make 8 hour trips plus gas regularly, otherwise we would be game to rent and see what we like. We all have technical minds and want to push ourselves so we can earn our stripes, establish ourselves in our area, and expand. We know there are a lot of moving pieces and we are each prone to self-flagellation and grueling challenges, so, we are chomping at the bit to make something that we can be proud of. Thank you for your insight. It is exciting to see so many technically driven minds in this industry and I appreciate you holding a torch for us by weighing in.

This is such a great way to explain this! That really makes sense of it, thank you the analogy. This is where I am trying to decide over decade plus bodies and then putting more money into lenses while accounting for follow focus, matte box, or upgrades in tripods, sliders, or other tools of the trade that add to the signature of a quality production. I see so many hairs being split between differences and ask myself what makes most sense in the long scheme of things. Kind of like, an 80s Toyota Land Cruiser utility functionality and durability over a Land Rover Disco series II or the likes. Basically, I don’t want to have to reinvest in everything each time something goes kaput. Friends have affectionately dubbed my desire for finessing the right balance to a Goldilocks disorder of controlling and getting everything. 😅

Thank you for your insight. I value experience over specs any day. I own a 4 piece Arri fresnel kit and lightstands , a couple of c-stands, gels, diffusers, etc. nothing too extravagant, but on a small budget seems workable enough. From what I’ve gathered, lighting seems to be an after thought, so, I appreciate you reinforcing the value and added perspective of g&e.

I am at an impasse. I have approximately ~$14k to get used lenses, a used camcorder, and all other corresponding accoutrements. However, I have a very hard time allocating funds because I lack the experience to understand what makes big differences in production/enjoyability due to my location not having rentals. I know that I want to have EVF and have seen a variety of older camcorders that seem suitable for feature/documentary use, however… Where do you prioritize your expenses on equipment? What is the best advice you’ve received about equipment? What systems would you never use again? Thank you in advance for any responses. -Ryan