A Query up Tom's Alley...

[Rubber Bullets]

...though please feel free to chip in with anything useful.

A couple of years ago I made a video of a student practical assessment to be used as a training aid for assessors. I made it with my own bog standard video camera and put it together with Premier on my PC.

It was fine, and did the job that it was designed to do, but the format of the assessments has changed and I need to do another one. Although the first one was quite adequate I would like to improve it.

Basically 2 areas could do with improvement (the most). The sound and the lighting. The sound is just down to the crappy mic on the camera, and off camera ones are not something I want to get into, at least not if it's going to cost anything. I wouldn't even know where to start.

The lighting is also an issue. These have to be shot in windowless X-ray rooms and so are entirely under artificial lights, and could look a lot better.

So the question is how can I improve these things on basically a very very low budget. I no longer work for the University and so they are paying me for my time, and may be able to pop for a bit of hire equipment I guess, but I have no idea if anywhere locally hires this stuff out anyway, and a quick Google hasn't shown anything.

I guess I would be willing to buy cheap stuff on eBay and sell it straight way after. I should get most of my money back that way, may even make a small profit. But I'd need some advice on what to buy.

Any suggestions welcome, not just those straight from Tom's alley.

RB

 

[Chilly]

If you are working for a uni, just ask if you can borrow their kit? surely they will have a drama/journo dept with decent recording gear. Depending on room size, you might only need a few decent floorstanding lights and a couple of mics on a boom or stand somewhere.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

If you are working for a uni, just ask if you can borrow their kit? surely they will have a drama/journo dept with decent recording gear. Depending on room size, you might only need a few decent floorstanding lights and a couple of mics on a boom or stand somewhere.

This is a possibility, and is being looked into. Like I say I no longer work there and so can't do the asking, we also have no contacts in that department and would have to transport the stuff quite a few miles off campus. We'll see what they say.

In the meantime there are some cheap lights on eBay I may go for.

RB

 

[Tom]

Keep out of my alley

Get the university to hire any equipment you need.

You will also need public liability insurance. If you don't have it and someone trips over a cable, or bangs their head on a lamp, then you'll be in trouble. Get the University to sort that for you, as well.

Presuming you're working alone - for lighting, I'd recommend a Kinoflo Diva. The Kinoflo is preferable since its extremely lightweight.

The light is very nice and diffuse, the colour temperature is daylight. Its a nice light to use because the shadows will be nice and soft, and you won't have to arse around with pockets of light. Its basically like having your own window in a dark room.

Don't bother with a portable lighting kit if you're alone (4 lamps in a box). Its too dangerous for an inexperienced person to be working alone with, its too heavy, too much to carry around. Although if you're working with someone else, then a set of Dedo lamps might be nice.


As for sound, if you need to do interviews hire a couple of 5 metre XLR cables or whatever audio inputs your camera has, and a Sony ECM-77B. Its a lapel mic that clips onto the shirt, you hide the wire down their trouser leg, and away you go. Nice and simple.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Thanks Tom,

How's the best way to find somewhere to hire from?

RB

 

[Tom]

Where do you live?

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Torquay

 

[Tom]

Blimey. No idea, Bristol is the nearest big centre for telly stuff.

Try here:

http://www.fatcat.co.uk/index.html

 

[old.user4556]

Where do you live?

in a thread about "tom's alley" ... ?

Well, you guys enjoy your home moving making . Just let me know the address too ok?