Shoot a LONG interview?

[Guillaume Tremblay]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if some of you shot some long interview with the EPIC. I'm planning to shoot one in FRANCE that will last maybe 2 hours. Is it OK for the camera to do that. Do I have to worry about a heating / heat issues? I heard that the FAN is only working when the camera is in stand-by mode. So what about when it's recording?

Thats'it...

Regards,

Guillaume

 

[Bob Gundu]

I would get a small fan to gently cool the camera.

 

[Tom.Wong]

set the fan for 50% for recording. and it should be able to keep the camera cool enough. the fan can be set to work at whatever percent you want when you want. 75% is normal for standby mode and it sounds like a rocket engine. but it cools the cam off very quickly.

and as always, always test before you go into it. but 50% fan should do the trick in a relatively cool environment. as for how loud the fan is, that's how to you and the sound person to determine if it's too loud or not. but a quality shotgun mic should do the trick.

 

[Jake Bastian]

What Tom said. I shoot a lot of this type of interview (long, long takes) I've found 40% fan is enough to keep your camera cool for long takes (I've filled an entire 256 card in one take) and is quiet enough not to interfere with audio.

You'll be fine. Just make sure to set the fan to Manual and not Auto. I've had the fan pop on during a take when set to Auto and there's no audio fix for that roar

 

[Kevin Wild]

Personally, if I were you, I would feel much better breaking up the files into at least 2 parts...maybe 4. It wouldn't take long to hit stop and start recording again. Surely the interviewee will need a break at some point, if even for a drink or something.

We often do 30 minute interviews without a hitch, btw.

Kevin

 

[Paul Russell]

breaks are good for the interviewee. I regularly do interviews with an EOS 5 as a B-camera. 12 minute limit there. Not many people can be rivetting enough to keep the camera on them for half an hour.

 

[PatrickFaith]

I do a bunch of reality/corporate stuff that can last over 10 hours (i.e. artists painting, etc) ... and dual system record is a life saver (i.e. recording to something like a 744t). Often I'm not pointing at the right thing even when I'm filming - lot goes on in artists studio or a work place. I just leave the sound going all the time and mix in the sound on pickup/background shots -which i think actually add's interest[i.e. I try and not have these long "talking head" things]. This is also a life saver on camera screw ups, since you can always overlay something with the sound.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I would use multiple cameras (at least 4), and shoot with 2 at a time, then overlap with 2 before you fill up the drives. Maybe even through in a 5th camera like a Canon 5D just as a double-secret backup. I would avoid reusing drives or cards unless you're certain the backups are good. Shooting on just one camera will cripple the shoot from a visual point of view, in my opinion, and will also be a huge limitation on editing options. Get the camera operators on headsets so that the director can quietly reposition the second camera when necessary.

Hands down, I would absolutely use double-system sound, a good mixer with multiple tracks available, preferably a wireless for everyone involved and also an overhead boom (or two), or possibly a discrete desk-mounted mike, depending on the acoustic circumstances.

Don't forget that people are human. You need breaks every 30-40 minutes just to let people get a drink of water, powder their noses, collect their thoughts, and otherwise take a breather. 2 hour continuous is very rough, even on experienced people.