Kind of a long one this week (@ 10 minutes), but I think it’s a worthwhile viewing experience.
Our friends at Stillmotion have produced this piece on packing light for shooting in remote locations, in this case the Kalahari Desert in Namibia. Many of the items these guys took to Africa are ones that we are using in the program, such as the C100, Sennheiser wireless mics and Manfrotto Monopod (full gear list here: http://stillmotionblog.com/less-gear-case-study-namibia/).
The key takeaway is that one has to think through the project and figure out exactly what you want your shots to look like. You can’t spare extra pounds of unneeded gear when you’re taking a light aircraft into the bush, or hiking a ridgeline in the Gorge, for that matter. I also like what these guys can accomplish for relatively little cost. They don’t have a massive crew, nor tons of expensive gear. They’ve got the skills needed to pull beautiful images out of just about any environment with minimal equipment, which is something we cash-strapped grad students should be striving for. The story is the thing; the rest is just icing on the cake.
Over the last couple of years I’ve acquired more gear than I know what to do with. Much of it is meant to help in our studio environment, but occasionally we pack it up an head out to external locations (offices, or conference showrooms), and every time we do that I just wish I could carry less gear.
At a certain point I grew dependent on some of the gear that I had picked up, and for each piece of gear we go on location with, that is more support that is needed. Once you have access to a high level of equipment, it is difficult to wean yourself off of it. I envy folks that are able to know exactly what they need, and how they will use it, and the problem solving that comes with having only what you can fit in your backpack. It is something that I need to really consider as I move to a more mobile non-studio or controlled production format of video shooting.