So I’m at the stage now where I’m procuring equipment for the main shoot in mid-late July. Over the last few days, I’ve purchased about $1,500 of hardware. I’m hoping to keep the final costs to under $5,000 – including costumes, travel costs, and a constant stream of food to keep the volunteer-actors happy.
The biggest expense was on today’s item: an HD camera. The camera I chose is the Panasonic HDC-TM700, which seems to be the spiritual successor to the Canon HV20. Among the qualities I needed was its ability to shoot at 24 frames per second, good low-light handling, and solid state memory.
When I’m not looking at hardware to get, I spend the rest of my time editing the script. I finished the first draft, and I’m now cutting down and editing superfluous bits that are expensive to shoot in order to cut down on the time required to organize everything. I’m also paying particular attention to the dynamic of the scenes, and making sure that they’re the right amount of time. Some of them were too short, others irrelevant or too drawn out.
As a side note, I can’t call the movie “Rice Tea.” I need a title that gives a better idea as to what the movie is about; something that’ll make the target crowd (geeks) more interested in seeing it. Do you have any suggestions? I’m all ears.
Comments
5 responses to “Rice Tea: Camcorder Purchased & Need Name for Movie!”
I just posted my suggestion on Facebook; however, if you’re interested in drawing the geek crowd,. just call it…
“Boobs”
Tagline: You haven’t touched one yet, but god dammit, you love to look at ’em.
Disclaimer: This film does not contain actual nudity. Unlike Surrogate Stars, which contains far too much.
Excellent choice, Julien.
I strongly suggest a digital recorder for the audio, however, because this camera does not record audio the best and you’ll want to get good micing. Either that or you’ll spend a month+ making everyone foley their lines. 🙂
And of course, a solid tripod. Please.
Thanks guys.
Jason, I’ve always been scared of using external recorders because I’m afraid of introducing syncing issues during mixing. I realize it’s probably an unfounded fear.
When you talk about recording quality, are you talking about the quality of the camera’s built-in mic, or the quality of the camera as an audio recording device?
I’ve been planning on using an external directional mic + shock mount and wind screen. I’ll test it out with the camera before I do anything though, and see how well it captures dialog. I won’t be using the internal mic at all.
I agree 100% on the solid tripod. And something to work as a kind of steadicam.
Jon… I like the sound of “Boobs.”
I’m talking about the quality of the camera’s audio recording device. But yes, do tests (GOOD tests) and see how it all performs. Otherwise, like I said, you’ll be spending the next month making people repeat their performances inside your house inside a room with foam on it.
Thanks! ^_^