Solo Travel Videomentary

[garyyyyt]

Hi guys, I finally got my Panasonic GH3, which I have been dying to get because of the great reviews on it's video taking capabilities. 

 

I'll be going to Taiwan for 9 days on my own and I want to make some videos of the trip. Basically the idea is to have two point of views, one on me and the other on everything else. 

 

I'm kind of new so I'm not sure what kind of equipment I should have prepared.

 

What I already have 

Panasonic GH3

Pansonic 25mm Prime Lens

2 batteries

Edelkrone Pocket Rig

Edelkrone Modula 3

 

What I'm planning to get

Dot Line Hands-free Video Stabiliser

Tripod

Microphone

Go-pro

Tons of memory cards

 

So here's my idea with the whole project. I've already been to Taiwan before and it's not much of a new thing. It's pretty much a mixture of shooting a project and also documenting the experience. Since I'm going to be alone all the time, I can get all goofy and do silly stuff which I'm hoping will be great on camera and something to tell the kids in the future. 

As for the list above, I'm thinking out loud the things that I may require if it really comes down to it. 

Things like a tripod is think is essential because of touristy shots (although there's things like selfies now so I have to get a stick which I have found, Quikpod), microphone is a must since I'm going to be talking a lot to myself :/, memory cards because I'm not planning to bring my laptop on this trip (going to stay in hostels so I rather be safe than sorry).

 

Hope that the professionals here can help me out! Thank you very much

[jonpais]

ND filters

[Daniel Acuña]

I think a zoom lens would be better for you, specially if you are shooting a documentary type of video and if you are alone. A zoom lens will give you more versatility for your shots (wide => telephoto) , primes are more for a controlled situation.

[garyyyyt]

I think a zoom lens would be better for you, specially if you are shooting a documentary type of video and if you are alone. A zoom lens will give you more versatility for your shots (wide => telephoto) , primes are more for a controlled situation.

Hmm Icic, how about shots that is mostly portrait?

[garyyyyt]

ND filters

Good call, it'll make those touristy shots look good.

[Daniel Acuña]

Hmm Icic, how about shots that is mostly portrait?

 Well if you are doing portraits 50mm and 85mm should be good, unless you are trying to achieve a special effect like deform a little bit the face then you should go with wider lenses.

[rndmtsk]

 Well if you are doing portraits 50mm and 85mm should be good, unless you are trying to achieve a special effect like deform a little bit the face then you should go with wider lenses.

 

And I think Daniel is talking about a 50mm and 85mm equivalent. Your 25mm should be fine for portraits but I would second the zoom lens. ND is essential. Try and use it for everything outside instead of increasing shutter speed. Your shutter speed should stay approximately double your frame rate. So if you shoot 24p then shutter at 1/50.

 

Also, I don't see why you need three shoulder rigs, especially if you value traveling light. Personally I would just stick to your pocket rig and maybe think about something like a Zacuto Z-Finder Jr instead of that dot-line. But yeah, I would say prioritize a zoom lens above all. A kit 14-140 is relatively inexpensive, especially the old f4-5.8 version. It's not the best piece of glass in the world but I think you'll appreciate the versatility. Just stick to the 25mm inside.

 

And yeah if money is a concern I would put the lens above the go pro but that's just me.

[garyyyyt]

And I think Daniel is talking about a 50mm and 85mm equivalent. Your 25mm should be fine for portraits but I would second the zoom lens. ND is essential. Try and use it for everything outside instead of increasing shutter speed. Your shutter speed should stay approximately double your frame rate. So if you shoot 24p then shutter at 1/50.
 
Also, I don't see why you need three shoulder rigs, especially if you value traveling light. Personally I would just stick to your pocket rig and maybe think about something like a Zacuto Z-Finder Jr instead of that dot-line. But yeah, I would say prioritize a zoom lens above all. A kit 14-140 is relatively inexpensive, especially the old f4-5.8 version. It's not the best piece of glass in the world but I think you'll appreciate the versatility. Just stick to the 25mm inside.
 
And yeah if money is a concern I would put the lens above the go pro but that's just me.

I'm still new on the technical stuff of shutter and aperture for video, but I'll definitely try your recommendation of doubling shutter speed. For travel I'm going to bring the pocket rig. The shoulder is staying at home. Although a steadicam feels like a good investment.

The dot line is mainly for free hand operation since I'll be going alone and won't have anyone to shoot for me.

Definitely will get a zoom lens above the GoPro.

[rndmtsk]

Steadicams are awesome. Personally I've never been very good at weighting them, which totally ruins your results, but if you get that down you're golden.

 

The shutter speed thing is just a good general rule unless there's a specific aesthetic you're going for. It isn't as important if there isn't much motion in the shot, but you'll even start to see it in grass or branches blowing in wind. Higher shutter speeds just render motion really choppy and staccato instead of nice and smooth with proper motion blur. So while you have shutter speed to control the amount of light coming in for photography, it really shouldn't be touched for video accept for slow-mo, in which case you should double respectively.

 

Found this example which might make it a little clearer: 

[Michael Ma]

I hear the GH3 hot shoe is very fragile.  If you're planning to put a gopro or a rode videomic on it, make sure you don't grab the attachment as a ways of grabbing for your camera.

 

It sounds like you're getting a lot of new gear before your trip.  Try to familiarize yourself with your equipment as much as possible before getting there.  Make a test documentary of your back yard to test the audio to see if the audio quality is satisfactory, that there is no buzzing or static that can't be removed, and that wind won't be an issue.

 

 

Any shots where you're walking and recording will probably have to be done via GoPro only if you're only using the 25mm lens.

[5mars]

I made this type of work during 15 days in Sicilia, with the GH4.

 

Here's the equipement I used:

 

 

The little Asus with 500Go was very useful, as well as the Nextodi storage (500Go) to empty my SD cards.

The Manfrotto 391RC2 is light but not very useful for panoramic shots.

 

You can read more infos here:

http://www.5mars.com/2-trepied-et-sac-a-dos/

 

Here's my video "The Sicilian March":

https://vimeo.com/94922357

 

Enjoy your travel!

[garyyyyt]

I hear the GH3 hot shoe is very fragile.  If you're planning to put a gopro or a rode videomic on it, make sure you don't grab the attachment as a ways of grabbing for your camera.

 

It sounds like you're getting a lot of new gear before your trip.  Try to familiarize yourself with your equipment as much as possible before getting there.  Make a test documentary of your back yard to test the audio to see if the audio quality is satisfactory, that there is no buzzing or static that can't be removed, and that wind won't be an issue.

 

 

Any shots where you're walking and recording will probably have to be done via GoPro only if you're only using the 25mm lens.

 

Yea, I'm getting a ton of new stuff because it's going to be my very first time doing something like that. The other times that I've ever done video were without these equipment. 

 

I'll definitely try them all out before I go. 

 

I made this type of work during 15 days in Sicilia, with the GH4.

 

Here's the equipement I used:

 

 

The little Asus with 500Go was very useful, as well as the Nextodi storage (500Go) to empty my SD cards.

The Manfrotto 391RC2 is light but not very useful for panoramic shots.

 

You can read more infos here:

http://www.5mars.com/2-trepied-et-sac-a-dos/

 

Here's my video "The Sicilian March":

https://vimeo.com/94922357

 

Enjoy your travel!

 

That video was pretty spectecular! I only can wish to do something that amazing. Thank you for sharing! 

[garyyyyt]

Hi guys, it's been a couple days since I've posted my request for advice and I've received many good tips on two fronts, here and my local photography/videography forum Clubsnap.

 

So far these are what I've planned to bring on the trip, both existing and new equipment that I'm so excited to utilise. 

1. Panasonic GH3 with 25mm f1.4
2. All Sports Pro 3rd Person View Rig
3. Edelkrone Pocket Rig
4. Manfrotto 190XPROB with 498RC2 ball head
5. Z96 Led Light

And I'm planning to get the following

1. Panasonic 14-45mm or 14-140mm (what would be more versatile in terms of travelling?)
2. GoPro Hero 3+ 
3. GoPro bag of mounts
4. Rode shogun mic
5. Zoom H1 
6. Lavalier (if budget allows)
7. Most importantly a camera bag!
8. Variable ND (I haven't found one that is really great and I'm confused because of the filter size, the 25mm I have is a 46mm and from what I see there aren't any ND filters of that size)
9. Pico plate or the like (I have a Edelkrone Monitor/EVF Holder and it sports a 15mm rod that I can attach more equipment to. I need more plates cause they only provided one.)
10. Honu Cage (considering this because of all the add-ons that I'm using like the mic, LED light. But I won't be able to mount it on the 3rd Person View rig.)
11. External battery source (I posted on a separate topic asking for advice on this.)
12. Weifeng Fancier WF717AH Fluid head (this will replace the Manfrotto ball head from the trip)

Before I fly off, I'm going to try and digest the GH3 Shooter's Guide, hopefully I will level up in the use of the camera. 

 

It seems like a bit of an overkill? I'm not sure but I definitely want to be prepared to shoot anything. 

[JBraddock]

I would check Varavon 815FH. As far as I can see, it is the new version of the one you've chosen. There is a review here.