ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

9 years, 6 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

'Documentary' is very broad, from talking head vox pops to long luxurious mood pieces. Content will drive the broadcastability somewhat - we still regularly see 16mm newsreel of WW2 being broadcast without anyone saying 'go back and reshoot it in 2k 4:4:4' because what it captured is compelling and irreplaceable. I would suggest not sinking a heap into a fancypants camera and then having an unbalanced production, but get AND LEARN TO USE a half-decent DSLR, and get a suitable lighting kit and zoom handy H2 (or similar) to record separate sound close to the source.

But no matter what they get/buy/rent/borrow, it is ALL about the access and content.

9 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

These sort of questions, so often posed here, are of the 'how long is a piece of string?' variety. Entirely agree with Paddy but sometimes specific circumstances make having your kit to hand over a longer period of time essential, which usually rules out hiring kit. Documentaries come in an almost infinite variety of methodologies. With almost any type of film the first consideration has to be; 'why am I making it and who is my audience?' Probably the most common answer to that is 'I have a strong desire to tell a story in as compelling a way as possible to the highest production standards available and that can be screened on as many platforms as possible' If in this case the above scenario fits then the technicalities are clear. The production ought to be to EBU HD broadcast standards or as near as damn it. Officially there's no camera much under about £4,000 plus VAT that meets that standard, It's the minimum of 50mbps, 3 x 1/2" chips or full frame super 35mm sensor that's required. Let's not even consider the rapidly dominating 4K issue.

There may be some used kit about but I doubt even £2,000 would be enough right now. However, within the class of 'as near as damn it cameras' such as the Canon XF300 and XF305, which though only 3 x 1/3" CMOS chips at 50mbps, are on the BBC's compliant list, there is just one camera that can be bought brand new for £1,700 including VAT (another £250 with the 4K firmware upgrade) which is the Sony PXW-X70 that offers much of the PXW-FS5's capabilities but with a fixed zoom lens and a 35mm sensor that doesn’t, yet, officially quite meet EBU specs on paper, but quite frankly very much does on the screen. It would be surly beyond reason if this camera is deemed unacceptable by TX gatekeepers for a broad range of HD production.

Sound is an essential part of production, however it's not so much the kit that makes the difference as the skill to use whatever is available to the best potential. I've had over 50 factual programmes broadcast on UK terrestrial TV using some very simple and basic sound kit, where many times I've been a one man crew. A good short shotgun mic plugged directly into the XLR inputs of the camera is able to provide all the broadcast sound quality required, provided one knows what one is doing!!!!!

9 years, 6 months ago - David Graham Scott

John's right about the shotgun mic but my radio kit has saved me on many occasions. You can plug it into the other XLR input thus giving you 2 channels of sound recording to choose from.

9 years, 6 months ago - Oliver Cohen

For that price you might be able to find a second hand Canon 305 or Sony PWM 200. (They're not large sensor cameras)

These cameras are lightweight and relatively simple to use. They both record at 50Mbps and meet the HD broadcast requirements I think.

Don't forget to think about the cost of cards and batteries too.

For sound, get some quality headphones like the Sennheiser HD25s and listen all the time. Rode make decent but cost effective shot gun mics. For set up interviews this mic should / could be placed on some kind of stand above the person talking. (I like to use a Boom Buddy and / or personal mics) Microphones need to placed reasonably close for quality audio and constantly monitored. The classic / annoying amateur mistake is to have the dialogue distorting or pushing the inbuilt limiter too much. Best to set to manual too, just keep the peaks from distorting.

With the

Good luck.

9 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

As I said hereto above; it's doubtful that a good used Canon XF300 or Sony PMW200 can be found for even £2,000 so be very suspicious if you do. The Canon XF300 enjoys a special concession on the BBC 1K HD compliant list but because of its 1/3" chips is not EBU compliant, The PMW200 has 1/2" chips and is fully EBU compliant, Since they're similarly priced I imagine that the Canon might soon suffer increased depreciation in the used market.

9 years, 6 months ago - Oliver Cohen

I just found out yesterday that Alan Roberts has give the thumbs up to the Canon XC10 as a broadcast approved camera.

This is what Canon had to say, "The XC10 joins several of Canon’s high-end professional broadcast cameras in meeting the criteria defined by the European Broadcasting Union"

http://www.canon.co.uk/about_us/press_centre/press_releases/consumer_news/digital_cinema/xc10_ebu.aspx

It might not be the ideal camera but for just shooting video I'd personally choose this over a DSLR for documentary work. It's really incredible that this is an HD broadcast approved camera. With that in mind it's great that you can get one brand new for under two grand. I heard the other day there was a price drop too.

http://nofilmschool.com/2016/01/canon-xc10-price-cost-drop

9 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

The XC10 might be EBU compliant though it's 1" sensor would seem to point to those EBU specs having recently been adjusted to also benefit other 1" sensor cameras, which suggests to me just how tech specs can be hypothetical compared with the MK 1 Eyeball, (see above opinion re CCD's on the Z1 compared with CMOS's on Z5 and Z7). The XC10 may have jumped over better cameras that aren't compliant on paper but cost a lot more for a reason. No balanced line audio and not that well received by users in terms of pictures, build or ergonomics. It is significant for being cheap though.

Here's another review. https://www.cinema5d.com/canon-xc10-footage-first-impressions-and-review/

One asks oneself how frustrating it might be to shoot ones proverbial investment bolt and then be found to be a sandwich short of a picnic.

9 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

If anyone needs further opinions on the Canon XC10 watch this amusing video where according to these two reviewers the XC10 is pretty much damned to hell. It manages to be the worst stills camera, the worst video camera and be permanently affixed to the worst lens.

https://www.slrlounge.com/apertures-new-finehd-monitors-daily-roundup/