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Old September 18th, 2012, 03:43 AM   #1
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Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

So I filmed this for the Rode Rockumentary competition that has been advertised here.
Essentially you have to make a documentary in under 2 minutes that features a Rode microphone somewhere in the footage.

As the prize is based on a music documentary, I decided to make my entry a music documentary too (to prove I can handle the format; or to prove that I can not)!

I made a music video for a local artist called Bomboy a while back, so I got in touch with him and commissioned a new song with his music producer. I then filmed the making of this song in the studio, along with some interviews. I decided to revolve the story around the democratizing effect of low cost technology (something Rode microphones can relate to). Essentially these days in audio and video we can build studios at affordable prices, especially with the low cost of software (something that was unthinkable 20 years ago in the hardware heavy days). This especially has had an impact in 3rd world countries like Uganda, where the cost involved would have traditionally prevented many people from breaking into the industry.

I filmed this with a Canon T3i and vintage Nikkor lenses. The Interview audio recorded with a Rode NTG2, and a Roland R-26 Recorder. The song was recorded on a Rode NT1 microphone at X2 Studios, Kajansi, Uganda.

Edited in FCPX, and graded with Magic Bullet Looks.

I had major audio issues with this projec; but I managed to get workable results using a free program called Audacity (I used it to clean the background noise).

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Old September 20th, 2012, 10:47 PM   #2
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Simon,

Great stuff, well done.

Al
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Old September 21st, 2012, 02:16 AM   #3
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Yes indeed, Simon's entry was a favourite with the judges and just missed out being in the top 10 ...

RDE Rockumentary! Vote now

Cheers.
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Old September 21st, 2012, 02:37 AM   #4
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan Black View Post
Yes indeed, Simon's entry was a favourite with the judges and just missed out being in the top 10 ...

RDE Rockumentary! Vote now

Cheers.
Hmm...if thats true then thanks for letting me know (do you have some inside info on the competiton)?

Sounds about right though - the story of my life thus far! My epitaph will simply read "Simon Wood - Close, but no cigar".

Fair dues to Rode though; its really fantastic that they ran a competition that was open to the whole world; usually these things are geographically restricted, so we had a good fun running with it here in Uganda.

Cheers.
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Old September 21st, 2012, 10:11 AM   #5
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Really enjoyed it. The location definitely allowed you to do something a bit different.
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Old September 21st, 2012, 02:55 PM   #6
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Melville View Post
Simon,

Great stuff, well done.

Al
Cheers Alan, thanks for watching!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Piechura View Post
Really enjoyed it. The location definitely allowed you to do something a bit different.
Thanks Joe!

Yeah the location was pretty unique. The studio was set up in a little house on a dirt road (literally 3 small rooms, the green entrance where we filmed the interviews, the actual studio and booth (which could sit about 3 people in total), and a bedroom where there was a small charcoal stove for cooking meals!

The nightclub where we filmed the launch of the song was also pretty insane. As soon as Bomboy came on stage everyone went crazy and started picking up candles from tables and waving them in his face. One guy pulled out a balaclava and put a candle in his mouth (don't know why; but it looked pretty good on camera) while someone else got some road flares from somewhere and lit them up. The stage kind of became a ruck and it was pretty hard to film what was going on (though he sang the song 3 times meaning we got a lot of coverage).

I wanted to do the filming as low key as possible, so I used a DSLR handheld and went with it; it was a real run-and-gun shoot in the end.
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Old September 22nd, 2012, 10:32 AM   #7
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

That was one of the reasons I bought a DSLR actually. I don't really want to be attracting too much attention (well no more than usual). People just assume I'm a tourist (which is bad enough).
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Old September 23rd, 2012, 03:37 AM   #8
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Yeah; they are great for filming in public places. I also have a shoulder mounted camera which attracts all sorts of attention. Often at events the big camera can actually act as a back-stage pass as people kind of wave me through and grant me access. But it causes a lot disruption in public places, and I often find people act different in front of it.

Once you get over the shortcomings of the dslr it opens up lots of potential. The only thing I find is that outdoors at daytime I really need a loupe to actually focus with (plus a variable ND filter to control the DoF).

I'd really like to get my hands on a 1DC (though I would be unable to justify the cost). The idea of being able to grab a dslr, a lens, a pocket full of batteries and media, and then shoot in 4K is so tempting....
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Old September 25th, 2012, 10:34 AM   #9
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

Rode contacted me today to say that they have decided to give a Rode VideoMicPro to everyone who entered the competition!

So, so a very cool (and completely unexpected) result from this competition.

Thanks Rode!
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Old September 25th, 2012, 04:13 PM   #10
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

So you got a win after all Simon :) Congratulations to all who entered.

When you receive your VMP, don't forget to log on to Rodes site and register your VMP for its free 10 year warranty.

A note for others, because Rode offers a free 10 year warranty, it's only for Rode mics. If you bought a pre-loved Rode mic,
you can transfer its existing warranty registration to you by logging onto ..

RDE Microphones - Register For Warranty

There's one case recently of a buyer who bought one off ebay, transferred its free warranty and found out it has 2 years still remaining,
another plus for him.

Cheers.
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Old May 11th, 2015, 05:25 AM   #11
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

So, we entered the original Rode Rockumentary back in 2012, with our documentary called Soundcheck. Now in 2015 the same team decided to come back with a new story. Though, in truth we couldn't come up with a new story, so we decided to remix the original story, and remix the original song. And the result is Soundcheck - the Remix.

Back in 2012 we based the story around technology enabling artists; the case in point being Rode microphones who make good quality equipment at affordable prices.

This time we decided to focus on tradition, rather than technology. Our Ugandan musicians went back to their roots and reconstructed the original song with traditional instruments, which we then brought back into the studio and made a remix fusing the old and the new.

We wrapped filming last week, and we're currently editing the project at the moment.

We have some behind the scenes stuff at our Facebook page; please like us if thats your thing!

https://www.facebook.com/SoundcheckRockumentary
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Old May 19th, 2015, 04:36 AM   #12
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

So the new videos can be seen here:

Soundcheck - The Remix #?MyRodeReel?

If you want please vote by clicking the Vote button, and clicking the next link (through Facebook or Google + etc) - its quick and easy and requires no info.

Thanks!
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Old May 23rd, 2015, 11:32 AM   #13
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Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp

When I saw the first version of this video I didn't watch it all the way through. It was good but it played like a commercial. In my opinion this version is much better.

After viewing this version I went back and viewed the first one in its entirety, still no comparison. The second version is much more of a human interest story.

They are both good but I think this version is much better.

Keep up the great work.
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