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Would you film a Documentary in Honduras on Your RED as a Solo OP?

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Michael Wahba

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Hi,

Long post made short:

I am going to Honduras for a documentary project. 5 minute final deliverable.

I am sort of unsure if I should shoot the entire project on my RED Gemini, for reasons mainly related to ease and speed, as well as limiting my risk.

I have no crew, just me, and an assistant (which is just along to help carry stuff really).

What are your guys feedback on this? Would you do it? It's either I go RED, or keep it light and simple and stick to my Sony mirrorless setup.


Open to discussion.

Thanks all for helping me walk through this.
 
Hello,

I would say it depends on your rig :

- are you used to shoot alone with your rig (fast setup, focus, downloads)?
- can you pack it on two backpack (the other for your friend AC) and transport all of it in the cabin (including lenses and charger).
- how do you do sound? In camera mic or double system?
- can you shoot in the street with a professional setup without having troubles? (From police to thieves)

I’ve been shooting a lot in difficult places like in gold mines 300m under to the Rain Forest with an Epic and a Weapon with great success.
Why using a lower quality camera if the quality of the subject ask for the best pictures?
Patrick

Ps:
I’ve also shot documentaries with Sony A7’s in places where shooting was problematic. Mainly due to police restrictions. I often take both cameras as the Sony doesn’t take much place and I use it also for gimbal work. Here my setup :


 
As a rule of thumb i'd say highest image quality is the goal and wouldn't sacrifice that. I shot a week long short doc in Haiti with a RED Weapon Dragon and uncoated superspeeds and loved the size/weight combo. If you throw a small evf on you are about as small of a cinema quality build as you can get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibSkbHetqvY
 
brian hanson said:
As a rule of thumb i'd say highest image quality is the goal and wouldn't sacrifice that. I shot a week long short doc in Haiti with a RED Weapon Dragon and uncoated superspeeds and loved the size/weight combo. If you throw a small evf on you are about as small of a cinema quality build as you can get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibSkbHetqvY
Click to expand...

Brian man, great work, that was fucking awesome!
 
Our crew just recently went to Nicaragua and was stopped at customs for the film equipment. Ultimately we had to get permits and official escorts but it was a very limiting experience. Nic is just south of Honduras so I don't know if you'll have the same experience. Some advice...

1. Travel with backpacks. No pelicans. Try to look like a tourist and not a professional.
2. Get a portable SSD like the Samsung T5 or Sandisk for fast transfers
3. Travel with an assistant AND a translator
4. Bug spray... oh god lots of bug spray.
 
What Tom Van said.

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K + SpeedBooster XL 0.64x + Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS II USM + Canon EF 11-24mm f/4.0L USM.
 
I shoot doc stuff all the time on my RED, mostly off-road racing. Not the most cinematic stuff most of the time since its run and gun but when the racing starts having a red is worth it. I have no issues. All my stuff fits in a backpack. I see no reason to not shoot RED.
 
I wouldn't risk it. I would go with a smaller footprint like the GH5 or BMPCC 4K. I have a Gemini and just picked up a 4K Pocket Camera. Its pretty damn amazing. I picked up a set of Voigtlander Nokton 0.95 lenses for an ultra lite rig. They also look great on a GH5.
 
Good advice all. This has helped me walk through the decision. Going to stick with my Sony rig for this one. Honduras is not the safest place, and don’t want to have issues with customs or authorities. For other docs, I think bringing the RED would be fine, but for this one, I think I’ll play it safe.

Sony can still make a pretty decent image!
 
I shoot all over but am based in Panama and so quite a bit in Peru, Colombia and the DR. 2 years ago I did some shooting in Tegucigalpa and I was fine, but I definitely was far more careful than I would be in a 'normal' Latin American city. I was DSLR based then but would probably take my Eva1 now if going. However, I would have a smaller B-cam and would only use larger setups when I was properly escorted. It really matters what you are going to do, and whom you are going to be with while there. Myself and one other person were able to walk around the supposedly dangerous old city with a GH4 and a small drone, but we moved quickly, had access to a ruined building that could be locked on the bottom, and there were a lot of people around. For the customs side, definitely go low-key, backpacks not pelicans, etc. For security, really know the locals you will be going with. If you aren't going with locals don't take it. I am thinking Tegus or San Pedro Sula, not Roatan with all of this. Honduras is worse than almost anywhere in Latin America just because there are few insulated neighborhoods from insecurity.
 
Stuart Hooper said:
I shoot all over but am based in Panama and so quite a bit in Peru, Colombia and the DR. 2 years ago I did some shooting in Tegucigalpa and I was fine, but I definitely was far more careful than I would be in a 'normal' Latin American city. I was DSLR based then but would probably take my Eva1 now if going. However, I would have a smaller B-cam and would only use larger setups when I was properly escorted. It really matters what you are going to do, and whom you are going to be with while there. Myself and one other person were able to walk around the supposedly dangerous old city with a GH4 and a small drone, but we moved quickly, had access to a ruined building that could be locked on the bottom, and there were a lot of people around. For the customs side, definitely go low-key, backpacks not pelicans, etc. For security, really know the locals you will be going with. If you aren't going with locals don't take it. I am thinking Tegus or San Pedro Sula, not Roatan with all of this. Honduras is worse than almost anywhere in Latin America just because there are few insulated neighborhoods from insecurity.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the comment Stuart. With all of the issues going on in Honduras right now, definitely sticking with a small Sony setup for this one. I will be sticking with a low-key backpack setup with my F-stop bag and a Tenba backpack.

Wish me luck fellas. Hope I make it back alive....and with good footage... :)
 
I wish red would make a line of "derelict"-style accessories to hide the camera or make it look shabbier when traveling in conflict zones..maybe take the "weapon/bomb EVF" branding off and make "SONY" stickers instead lol
 
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