Category Archives: Product reviews

Reviews of filmmaking products or services that I’ve personally used.

A New History of Documentary Film

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As I’ve immersed myself in documentary films over the past 3 months, I’ve gotten more curious about the history and tradition that informs the films being produced today. I found myself wondering, who made the first documentary film? Where did cinema verite come from? How come Canada has a national film board that supports documentary filmmakers and we don’t? So I picked up a used copy of A New History of Documentary Film, which is written for classroom use, by a pair of academics, Jack Ellis and Betsy McLane.

After reading this book, I’ve got a solid picture of where documentary film came from, who the major figures were and are, and why documentary developed differently in Canada, Great Britain and the US. It’s a young medium, really, when you consider the first feature-length documentary ever made, Nanook of the North by Robert Flaherty, was released in 1922. What’s really cool, is that very first film is still in print – I was able to request it on Netflix and I’ll be screening and reviewing it next week.

I also picked up a raft of new names that I’ve added to my “must see” list: filmmakers like Dziga Vertov, John Grierson, Pare Lorentz, Colin Low and Wolf Koenig, Robert Drew, Jean Rouch, Pennebaker and Al and David Maysles. I’m also now planning to screen films by Frederick Wiseman, Ricky Leacock, Les Blank, Nick Broomfield, Rob Epstein, John Else, and many others.

It was fascinating to discover just how much successive generations of filmmakers have been influenced by each other’s work. For example, Michael Moore was influenced by filmmaker Tony Buba, who began making films in a similar personal style about similar subjects as Moore, in similar part of the United States (and in fact Moore hired Buba’s editor to work on his first film Roger and Me).

The book reads like the college textbook that it is, so you won’t find particularly colorful or impassioned or entertaining descriptions of anything – it’s just the facts, presented simply and briskly. It’s a fantastic jumping-off point for further reading, with additional books referenced at the end of every chapter. Further, there’s a fantastic suggested viewing list of films at the end of each chapter as well.

Sound for Film and Television review

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I chose to skip film school and get straight to making documentaries of my own. But that doesn’t mean I’m skipping filmmaking education. I’m opting to learn by reading, by doing, and by watching great instructional materials like Sound for Film and Television. This 2.5-hour film by location sound professionals Barry Green, David Jimerson and Matt Gettemeier can be summed up in 2 words: audio bootcamp.

Whether you know nothing about recording location sound for your films or are working on your second documentary, as I am, you will learn something from this DVD. What’s more, you’ll enjoy learning it, as Jimmerson and crew put a lot of effort into making the sections entertaining as well as informative. There are just two hugely important techniques that will solve 80 percent of your location audio problems, and you’ll learn them in the first few minutes of the DVD. Then you’ll have them repeatedly drilled into your head through the rest of the film, so that by the time you reach the end, you know exactly what it takes to get great audio on your next film.

Topics include:

  • Avoiding common mistakes
  • How to choose the right mic for interior vs. exterior shooting
  • How to use a boom pole
  • Sound kit basics
  • Choosing great locations

Key takeaways for me:

  • When recording dialogue, a good recording level is -20db to -12db; never higher than -6db.
  • Octava MK-012 mic is an excellent, inexpensive mic for interior booming.
  • A hypercardiod is the best type of mic for interior booming.
  • Countryman B-6 is a good tiny lav that’s easy to hide.
  • Avoid clipping at all costs – it destroys the audio usability. Better to keep levels too low than too high (same is true of video highlights)
  • In typical video situations, you can split the signal so you’re recording two levels simultaneously, one lower than the main. If a spike happens, you can substitute the other channel in post
  • Hardwood floors, parallel walls, tile floors, open glass windows – all are warning signs that bad audio may result.
  • Odd angled walls, carpeted floors, soft furniture, window treatments such as drapes – all good signs that place is good audio environment.
  • Listen to the sound of a room through over-ear earphones before recording. You’ll pick up tiny details like refrigerator hum, and can correct it before beginning to record.
  • Always record 30 seconds of room tone without any other sound, for use in post.

    My only critique of the film is that it’s all about narrative film, and some of the techniques describe overlook the fact that as documentary filmmakers, we can’t always control the set. But ultimately the techniques are the same, and there is a good deal of time spent in this film on how to get the best sound from lav mics, which is what I use all the time (they recommend not using them for narrative work, which I agree with – but they’ll save your ass on docs).

    If you’re considering making a documentary and don’t have experience recording audio beyond what your camcorder can do, this film is required and enjoyable viewing.

    Documentary Filmmaking dvd offers tips from the trenches

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    Last week I ran a fairly extensive Google search for films about how to make documentary films. Guess what? The market isn’t exactly crowded. In fact, I could only find this one, Documentary Filmaking: Tips from the Trenches, a 2008 educational film made by Brooke Barnett and Katrina Taylor. So I oredered a copy off Amazon, where it retails for $30 and, sat down to watch it after breakfast this morning.

    The film is almost entirely a series of interviews with 30 documentary directors, most relatively obscure ones, but I was thrilled to find a few legends like DA Pennebaker, Marshall Curry and Ross McElwee.  To call it a low-budget production would be an understatement – most of the scenes appear hastily lit, and shot on low-quality video with occassionally distracting backgrounds. But I give Katrina Taylor and Brooke Barnett major props for making this film, which I would recommend to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the documentary form.

    The film structures the interviews into 6 sections:

    1. Introduction
    2. Story
    3. Shooting & Editing
    4. Legal Issues
    5. Ethics
    6. Financial & Distribution

    Introduction

    The film starts out with what to me is a tedious question: what is a documentary film? Luckily more than one director agreed with me and said as much in the film, and we soon get past that into the good stuff. Marshall Curry explains how he taught himself how to make documentary films by watching his favorite films over and over again, breaking them down scene by scene, writing down how long each scene in the film lasted, and recording the role it played in the film. If this sounds like hard work, it is. That’s why most people don’t do it. And why most people don’t have their first film nominated for an Oscar, as Curry’s was.

    Story

    You should be able to describe your film in one sentence – if you can do that, you may have an interesting story, said one director interviewed in the film. DA Pennebaker stressed the importance of frequent practice: If you were a painter, you’d be painting every day. You’re a filmmaker, so you should be shooting every day. That’s how you improve.

    On how to find a good story, Curry put it this way: “If you point a camera at people who are interesting, you’re going to have an interesting film.” And look for stories that have a narrative arc – that makes it easier.

    BBC has two rules about stories they tell: Any project they undertake must:

    1. Entertain
    2. Educate (optional)

    But if it doesn’t entertain, it does the opposite, and you never get the chance to educate. Many filmmakers agreed that it’s better to “uncover” a story than it is to script it. The story section concludes with one great piece of advice: Commit. It’s tempting to try and cover everything about a story, but you’re better off covering one person deeply. When you come to a filmmaking fork in the road, take it.

    Shooting and Editing

    Tip: Don’t use zoom – get close instead. Too many shots live in the “dead zone” of middle focal length, said one filmmaker. It’s better to be either wide or tigh. Also, and this is advice I got from Zach Levy at his workshop last week, HOLD your shots for a 10 count after you think they’re done. If it’s dangerous or exciting, use a 20 count (because you’ll be counting faster than normal).

    Focus on what you have, rather than what you don’t have. It’s important to use the technology you have fully. Play to the strengths of the equipment you’re working with. It can be a good thing rather than a limitation – and good filmmakers see it this way. One example provided is the film Tarnation, made over a 20 year period entirely with consumer grade equipment.

    Remember to get stock shots of your subjects in various moods, without them talking – just sitting and looking pensive, or happy, or whatever. You will need these in the edit.

    Tip: To improve your filmmaking skills, watch your favorite films with the sound turned OFF. This takes you out of the story, so that you can fully concentrate on what’s happening with the cinematography, editing, etc. And it’s a reminder that your doc will only be as good as the sound you get to go with it.

    A lot of the directors in this film agreed that the role of editor is essentially of equal importance to role of director. Pennebaker suggested that you approach editing little by little, and the story will tell you where it wants to go. Curry agreed, saying that for him, editing is “months of trial and error” in which you try some things out, show them to people, and keep modifying until it works. McElwee stressed the importance of showing your film to test audience (of people who are not your friends or family), and asking them direct questions about what worked and what didn’t, as part of the editing process.

    Legal

    There was widespread agreement among directors that you should get releases when you can, but they also stressed that there’s lots of grey areas. One director said his rule of thumb is to obtain a release for anyone who speaks in the film, but not if they simply appear.

    The concept of “Fair Use” was glanced on, without much clarity emerging on this foggy topic. Some directors said they wouldn’t use anything without it being “cleared” while others said it was fine to use news clips and other archival footage if they helped advance your story. For example, a song by a major artist might be fine to include if your subject is playing it on radio, but not if you use it to cut across multiple scenes as background music. Also you’re on firmer legal ground if you use only part of a news clip instead of the entire clip.

    Ethics

    Trust is the currency of documentary filmmaking. As such, you have to earn it and build it, and you begin to obtain that by observing a simple rule: do what you say you will do. So if you say you’re going to be there filming on Sunday at 3pm, you be there. Also, important to let people know you’re rolling – tell them, “if I’m here and the camera’s out, assume it’s rolling.” One filmmaker stressed that you will also be renegotiating access throughout the story, and it’s important to keep the camera rolling especially in difficult situations, because you might not get a chance to come back to it later. You can decide what to leave in and out of the film in the editing room, but if you don’t record what’s happening, you don’t have the option. So get it.

    Financial & Distribution

    A large number of directors said they worked day jobs while making their films to support their filmmaking. You have to have another source of income, they said, to maintain your independence. Others said grants are possible but generally only after you’ve established a track record. One gave this quote by Ghandi: “Find a vision, and the means will follow.” They concluded with the advice that funding organizations will be much more comfortable if you can show that they are part of a group of other organizations that are also funding your project, rather than the only one. And I love this bit of advice: “I’m a small business owner first, and a filmmaker second.” The government certainly sees you this way, so it makes sense to remember that.

    Everything is changing with regard to how films are distributed, most filmmakers agreed. Self-releasing is becoming a viable option. One filmmaker even pre-sold $12,000 of his DVDs before his film was released using the net. And the festival circuit is essential to build a pedigree for first-time filmmakers, McElwee said. On that, Slamdance is taking over the role that Sundance once held as a means of identifying truly indie films.

    Glidetrack shooting tips

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    Glidetrack arrives from UK in a securely packaged tube

    When filming things that don’t move, it’s sometimes nice to set the camera in motion. The opening sequence of my first film Shine, for example, is a tracking shot of a crowd made using on a dolly at Fremont Studios here in Seattle. The smooth motion creates a sense that you are taking the audience on a journey, that the story is beginning to unfold. Since then I’ve had my eye out for a way to achieve this effect that doesn’t require a small army of technicians and a fat bank account.

    What's in the tube

    So when I read about Glidetrack, I was intrigued. After doing a bunch of research, I ordered one just before Christmas (I like to think of it as a gift to anyone who watches my future films). With FedEx shipping, the only option provided, the total was $355. I also considered a Pegasus Carbon System from Cinevate, but it costs $850 configured the way I wanted it. The difference between $350 and $850 is – for me – the difference between actually making the purchase and thinking about it. Although I’d sure love to get my hands on a Pegasus some day.

    The Glidetrack arrived via FedEx in a 4″ diameter tube, into which the Glidetrack was carefully packed for overseas shipping from the UK, where they are made by Alistair Brown. Taking it out of the packaging, it’s immediately clear that this is a really solid, simple device: a 1-meter-long piece of aluminum with some channels for the slider, which is already attached, and holes for mounting it on a tripod.

    Assembly is a snap

    It’s a snap to put Glidetrack together using the included hex wrench – you simply bolt the end pieces on, and you’re done. The end pieces have soft rubber feet that allow you to use the Glidetrack as a table dolly, or on a nice hardwood floor, without leaving any scratches. The big question in my mind: is it possible to mount the 1-meter long Glidetrack on my tripod from a single point in the middle and have it be stable enough? Or would it require two tripods, one mounted under each end piece?

    Good to go

    I tested out the Glidetrack by making a short film starring the chandelier in our upstairs media room (which I’ll post later – you can see another film I made with it below). I mounted the Glidetrack on the quick-release plate of my Manfrotto 755XB tripod, which has a 501HD fluid head (which FYI I’m replacing with a 701HD head – the 501 is too heavy for use with this tripod and makes it top heavy). The Glidetrack felt stable once I mounted it to the tripod, although I had to really crank the quick-release far tighter than normal to keep the  Glidetrack from slipping from side to side while using it.

    Tip: Use a ball or fluid head

    The gliding platform of the Glidetrack contains a standard 1/4″ mount which you could twist your camera onto. But that would mean you’d have to adjust your tripod legs to tilt the lense. Ideally you’d mount a small fluid head on this. I used a Manfrotto ball head, which does the job fine for under $40.

    I mounted up my JVC GY HM-100, and tested out the stability by sliding the camera all the way out to the edge of the Glidetrack. It does dip a bit from the weight of the camera, maybe a half inch total. And, I found that my already top-heavy tripod almost began to tip when the camera reached the end of the rail in some angled positions – I think this will improve when I swap in a lighter head.

    Tip: use rubber band for silky slow movement

    I pushed the camera from one end of the track to the other, and the first thing I noticed was the sound: it’s a noticeable swish, but not loud. The faster you push, the louder it gets. But slowing it down, it’s almost inaudible. This would be a problem if you plan to use a shotgun mic to record audio while you’re filming. But for this type of shot, it’s common to use externally recorded audio or track the shot over music, which is what I did. The small noise factor is a tradeoff I’m willing to make to have such such a small, portable, inexpensive piece of equipment (if quiet operation is of critical importance, check out the Cinevate Pegasus carbon fiber system I mentioned previously).

    Now for the fun part. I positioned the tripod and Glidetrack under my chandelier, and took my first shot by starting the camera, then pushing the track from one side to the other. The unit slides easily and uniformly. I noticed, however, that my first movements were not perfectly even, resulting in some very slight jerkiness. So I resorted to a trick I learned for smoothing out tripod pans: using an elastic band to pull the handle rather than by touching it directly. That way, the rubber band absorbs the small jerks and the whole thing moves smoothly. I’m afraid I have shakier than normal hands, so I have to use this technique as standard procedure. Works great.

    You can see the results in this short film I made using the Glidecam:

    A couple of filmmaker tips I learned while producing this:

    1. You can actually do some interesting, crane-like shots with the  Glidecam by turning the tripod head and thus the Glidecam track, while at the same time pulling the slider down the track. However, it’s difficult for one person to manage both with perfect smoothness.

    2. To make the unit rock solid, you will want to mount it on two tripods, one under each foot. It’s solid with just the one center mounted, but I had to wait for minor bouncing to subside after moving the camera all the way to the end of the track before starting a new shot. I’m willing to put up with a little instability for the added range of motion and ease of repositioning that comes with using a single tripod.

    3. You have to move the camera REALLY SLOW, slower than you think, to produce silky results. You can use the elastic band tip (mentioned above) to accomplish this without jerkiness.

    I’m thrilled with the results of my first Glidecam shoot. It’s a tad long for taking everywhere, perhaps why the unit is available in a half-meter length. But I like having the full meter of runway to work with. I also like that Glidecam appears to be an indie product, produced by a guy with a name whose Twitter account I can ping to say: Thank you, Alistair Brown, for a producing a solid, affordable tool that puts smooth tracking shots within easy reach of documentary filmmakers.

    JVC HM100 – perfect for low-key documentary filmmaking

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    My 7-year-old niece can handle the HM100

    Back when I was a professional photojournalist in the mid-90s, I preferred to be invisible when I was taking pictures. I was always after moments of truth, and recognized that the presence of a camera changed the way people behaved. So I kept my cameras small and my profile low. At that time, it would have been nearly impossible to have taken the same aesthetic into filmmaking. But today, thanks to cameras like the JVC HM100, it is becoming possible to shoot in full HD with a camera that’s smaller than the largest drink you can buy at Starbucks.

    While working on Shine over the summer with co-director Ben Medina, I learned to appreciate quality optics. Ben owns a Panasonic HVX200, which is the workhorse of the indie filmmaking world. We used it for all the interview footage. We were also able to work a deal with Sunshine Whitton of AbsoluteTech, who rents a Red package, that allowed us to shoot quite a bit with this amazing – but very bulky – camera (the dreamy soft-focus opening sequence footage of Shine was shot on a the Red, which is why it looks so dreamy).

    But when I got ready to buy my first camera specifically for documentary filmmaking this fall, I was looking for a camera that could accommodate my preferred shooting style. The Red was far too big, not to mention expensive at roughly $50k for a complete kit. I also ruled out the HVX200 as being too big for me, and I hate the Panasonic workflow (which uses tape, or expensive proprietary cards, or REALLY expensive and temperamental FireStore drives) that all have to be laid off and ingested into Final Cut before you can review the footage (more about that shortly).

    When I learned about the Canon 5d and 7d from the outstanding blog of British filmmaker Philip Bloom, I thought I’d found the perfect documentary camera for me. The shallow depth of field and incredible optics available in a SLR-sized package was very tempting. Those cameras offer at least some of what the Red provides, for a fraction of the price and with a much smaller footprint. But after a lot of research, I concluded that the audio capabilities just aren’t there yet, at least not without strapping on a lot of extra things like external digital audio recorders or pre-amps. And I knew that I would end up lugging a ton of glass with me everywhere if I was depending on a DSLR as my primary documentary filmmaking camera, a thought I didn’t relish.

    What I needed was a camcorder that included a fast zoom with a full range and professional audio capabilities, all in a package not much bigger than a consumer camcorder. And a tapeless workflow that used inexpensive SD cards would be nice, too.

    I found the camera I was looking for in the JVC HM100. I first learned about it from this outstanding JVC HM100 review posted by Philip Bloom, which contains a short film he made in London using the camera. What immediately got my attention about this camera was its small size and its streamlined workflow. First of all, it’s tiny. It weighs barely 3 pounds. It’s got a quality Fujinon fixed zoom that gives you the 35mm equivalent of a 37mm – 390mm lens. It packs two XLR jacks that allow you to use it with a wireless or shotgun mic (and a cheap but functional shotgun mic is included when you buy the camera – but I recommend you do what I did and upgrade to something at least as good as a $200 Audio Technica 875 as fast as you can).

    But here’s the thing that made the decision easy for me: this camera records data onto two SD cards at 35mps – not in some funky codec that has to be ingested before Final Cut can read it – no, it actually writes the file natively in .mov format. Translation: when you’re done shooting, you can simply pop out the card, drop it into a card reader on your computer, and drop it straight into a timeline on Final Cut. One word: awesome.

    The camera does have a few shortcomings. Most notable: to get the small size, JVC equipped the HM100 with 1/4″ CCD sensors. That means you can forget using it for shallow depth of field of any kind except at the long end of the zoom range. That makes it not so great in low light. My second biggest complaint is that the iris controls are a bitch to use when shooting manually. You have to fiddle with a tiny lever at the back of the camera to change iris, rather than spinning a ring on the lens, which is what you’d expect to find on a professional camera. But I gotta say, aside from a few nitpicks like having to hunt through a long menu to turn optical image stabilization on and off (which I do frequently when using it with my Steadicam Merlin), that’s where my complaints end.

    One of my favorite things about the camera is the ability to remove the handle, which contains the audio jacks, and go guerrilla. It’s entirely possibly to pass as just some schmo with a cheap camcorder, rather than a filmmaker. I did this a couple weeks ago on a film I’m making about a Seattle street artist, Ryan Henry Ward. He went to Home Depot to get some supplies, and I decided to film him there. I figured I’d film for as long as possible until getting kicked out. (The adage I learned in journalism school, “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission,” applies equally to documentary filmmaking.)

    As it turned out, they didn’t even notice I was shooting for nearly 20 minutes. When the inevitable security guard finally show up with “Excuse me, sir, you can’t use that in here,” he actually allowed me to talk him into letting me continue shooting. And I’m certain that was due to the fact that the camera did not look professional, hence in his mind I was just a shopper wanting to record the beginning of his friend’s art project. That, and Home Depot has some cool security guards.

    Bottom line: This is a storyteller’s camera, a camera for documentary photographers who prefer a low-profile approach that allows them to keep their attention where it belongs: on their story, rather than on their equipment.

    I purchased my HM100 from B&H Photo in this kit that includes a well padded Kata/JVC backpack that I actually use, and one 8gb SD card, for $3,500. No regrets!