Documentary Equipment Question

[Mike Pflueger]

Hello everyone,

I am teaching overseas next year with a group of 10 people and we want to make an observational documentary about the educational system of the country we are in. My question is: what equipment should we be planning on taking with us? Here is a general idea of what I am thinking so far.

Camera/Lenses:

Canon DSLRs
Prime Lenses
Zoom Lenses
Tripods
Shoulder Mount

Audio:

Rode Camera Mounted Mics
ME66 shotguns
Boom pole and shock mounts
Zoom H4ns
Headphones

Lighting:

Light reflector

We are going to mostly be interviewing students and teachers outside in the school yard (A few interviews in classrooms too). We're looking for the simplest setup to capture interviews of the students and teachers. The two big questions I have right now are:

1. Are DSLRs are the best choice for cameras so far as quality for dollar value, or should I be looking at any other types of cameras?

2. Is realistic to try to do everything with shotguns on boompoles and/or rode camera mounted mics or should we be splurging for wireless sennheiser setups?

Let me know what you all think, what else should I be thinking about?

[Roy Feldman]

I would have at least 1 Lav, wireless or corded and a couple small inexpensive battery powered LED's

[Brian David Melnyk]

An xa20, or xa10 would be handy for quick shooting, so you don't miss a shot. Stable, in-focus video with quality audio, plus better resolution and less moire for wider shots.

[Jerry Porter]

I have a full 5D3 kit and LOVE it, but with what you have noted above I would take my PMW200 for this kind of work. Much faster, easier and not much heavier. It also produces some very nice images.

[Mike Pflueger]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice. Some good thoughts there. What's the advantage of the xa20 over the xa10?

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Mike Pflueger

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice. Some good thoughts there. What's the advantage of the xa20 over the xa10?

Late reply but thought I'd chime in.

The XA20 has 20x zoom, shoots 1080 50/60p, better stabilisation, improved touch screen, and an upgraded image processor. Worth the extra money in my opinion, although the XA10 is still a fine camera.