Pre-Production Unit - Investing In New Equipment
Panasonic Lumix FZ330 DSLR
One of the major investments on my part for this year is a DSLR camera of my own - I felt this would be necessary at this point in the course not only for the benefit of both my pre-production unit and major project in the Spring -- but also going forward, having a professional camera of my own (capable of 4K video recording) will prove to be incredibly useful even after graduating from the course.
I conducted some research into what sort of camera would be appropriate for what I needed it for, as well as remaining within my budget. Given that the camera will be used during the major project next year, both George N and Alex B were kind enough to allocate a total of £75.00 of the project budget towards the purchase of this camera. We looked at several cameras within my price range including the Lumix GX800, GX80 and the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 Bridge Camera.
We also discussed the advantages and disadvantages that going with a bridge camera would provide and decided to go with the FZ330. We thought this would suitable given that it is capable of shooting in both 1080p 60fps, and 2160p (4K) 30/25fps. We wanted to ensure that the camera shot in native 3840x2160 given that the rest of the production will be shot at the same resolution - meaning there would be a noticeable drop in clarity between footage captured on a camera incapable of 4K recording.
Furthermore, in regards to my pre-production unit, having a high quality camera of my own like this will allow me to rely less on the kit available at the studios and provide a comforting safety net should there be any issues in acquiring necessary equipment. Though fortunately due to the nature of an opening sequence, audio equipment will not be required during the shooting of this piece with the focus being on the score.
Rode 3.5mm Shotgun Mic (Audio)
Another piece of equipment that we agreed upon was a Rode Shotgun Microphone -- with a 3.5mm jack it is compatible with the FZ330 and will help provide a much clearer audio clarity during the production of our major project in early 2019. This is not a priority for me right this moment due to the aforementioned comments regarding the audio in my pre-production unit - however I am planning to purchase one of these by Christmas, in time for principal photography in the Spring.
Being in possession of a professional microphone to accompany the FZ330, it will open up the possibility of capturing clearer audio for use during the post-production phase of the major project. For example, in the event that someone of importance were to be present during my filming, I could get some some of their thoughts and perspectives on a topic, utilizing an interview style format, with which we could then potentially use in the documentary itself should any of us deem it worthy enough of inclusion. In this respect it allows us as much possibility for additional and relevant footage as attainable during production.
Sandisk 128GB SDXC Storage Card (80Mb/s write speed)
One of the other noteworthy purchases made this week has been a large-capacity SDXC storage card for the FZ330. 4K video capture requires significantly more space due to the increased pixel count within the files being recorded. Therefore I knew that a 32GB or even 64GB card wouldn't necessarily be enough for a day's worth of 4K shooting.
For this reason I went with a high-speed 128GB storage card - thus allowing me to record over 3-4 hours of high resolution footage without having to worry about running out of room on a shoot day, this purchase was also alongside an additional battery purchase from the company that sold me the camera (SLRhut) - ensuring I have an additional battery to hand during intensive shoot periods. With both a 1400mAh and a 1200mAh battery, I should have no issue with recording for several hours in a row without having to recharge batteries.
I conducted some research into what sort of camera would be appropriate for what I needed it for, as well as remaining within my budget. Given that the camera will be used during the major project next year, both George N and Alex B were kind enough to allocate a total of £75.00 of the project budget towards the purchase of this camera. We looked at several cameras within my price range including the Lumix GX800, GX80 and the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 Bridge Camera.
We also discussed the advantages and disadvantages that going with a bridge camera would provide and decided to go with the FZ330. We thought this would suitable given that it is capable of shooting in both 1080p 60fps, and 2160p (4K) 30/25fps. We wanted to ensure that the camera shot in native 3840x2160 given that the rest of the production will be shot at the same resolution - meaning there would be a noticeable drop in clarity between footage captured on a camera incapable of 4K recording.
Furthermore, in regards to my pre-production unit, having a high quality camera of my own like this will allow me to rely less on the kit available at the studios and provide a comforting safety net should there be any issues in acquiring necessary equipment. Though fortunately due to the nature of an opening sequence, audio equipment will not be required during the shooting of this piece with the focus being on the score.
Rode 3.5mm Shotgun Mic (Audio)
Being in possession of a professional microphone to accompany the FZ330, it will open up the possibility of capturing clearer audio for use during the post-production phase of the major project. For example, in the event that someone of importance were to be present during my filming, I could get some some of their thoughts and perspectives on a topic, utilizing an interview style format, with which we could then potentially use in the documentary itself should any of us deem it worthy enough of inclusion. In this respect it allows us as much possibility for additional and relevant footage as attainable during production.
Sandisk 128GB SDXC Storage Card (80Mb/s write speed)
One of the other noteworthy purchases made this week has been a large-capacity SDXC storage card for the FZ330. 4K video capture requires significantly more space due to the increased pixel count within the files being recorded. Therefore I knew that a 32GB or even 64GB card wouldn't necessarily be enough for a day's worth of 4K shooting.
For this reason I went with a high-speed 128GB storage card - thus allowing me to record over 3-4 hours of high resolution footage without having to worry about running out of room on a shoot day, this purchase was also alongside an additional battery purchase from the company that sold me the camera (SLRhut) - ensuring I have an additional battery to hand during intensive shoot periods. With both a 1400mAh and a 1200mAh battery, I should have no issue with recording for several hours in a row without having to recharge batteries.
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