doublehamm
Member
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If you were given a budget of $150,000 to make a
music video what kind of equipment would you be looking for (not just
cameras, anything to help with the entire process).
But to start, for cameras, what would be recommended with this kind of budget?
Any other "must have" equipment that the ordinary wedding vidographer would not have in his/her studio.
Anything besides equipment I would need to think about? Mainly what % of the total budget would you cap on equipment?
Johnboy
Member
You do realize that you will be getting all sorts of opinions.....
Having said that, as far as cameras go, I am partial to the Sony EX1r.
Charles Schultz
Adobe Host
The big question is how much of that budget can you spend on gear? If you have quite a bit, I would get the Red Epic with all the lenses, about $80,000 for the whole shooting match. You would probably do well with some HMI lights and some good microphones and sound mixer.
doublehamm
Member
First I am trying to find out what typically would be a good ratio for gear in this scenario.
Red Epic is tempting, but it might be overkill...but would be fun! Not sure exactly when the Scarlet will be ready, I would think about that route and get a couple of them for far less than $80,000 and still have some $ left over for lenses. I am a little disappointed that all the videos on the Scarlett were estimating it to premiere at around $6k, but looks to be closer to $10k.
EX1 would be ok, but I would think that would be too similar to my Z5s, and would would probably want something with a little more cinematic feel? NEX-FS100 or an F3 anyone have opinions on those? The scarlet would actually come in cheaper than the F3. Maybe a mix of a good broadcast quality cam and a cinematic cam?
doublehamm
Member
Thanks for the replies so far, this is a very unexpected turn and opportunity I have come across! VERY new to this type of budget and shooting.
grinner
Member
I'd shoot it on a 5D, edit in FCP and give 140k to Uncle Sam.
Music videos just don't have to be six figures anymore. When and if they are, they are made as novelties today.
Don
Member
Why fixate on equipment?
Get a concept together, a script, get a location, develop a treatment, assemble the creative talent to pull the project off... THEN decide what you need to buy/rent for equipment to get the job done. In fact, once you got all your ideas ready and are done storyboarding the project, you'll know exactly what you need for equipment, as the shots will dictate the gear...
Cville
Member
Ditto what Don said.
But it is fun to imagine 150K budget to buy gear with. I'd order the Sony NEX-FS100U with a set of lenses. Maybe 2 :)
papayamon
Member
i gotta go with don on this one.
if i had to spend the money i'd buy a repo home/property (and somehow use it in the production). then i'd drop the other 50k on gear. the actors would be doing it for exposure. if you're paying them out of the 150k, the talent you'd get for that would be no better than what you could get for free.
at the very least, i'd get a house out of it :).
doublehamm
Member
All are great ideas. The budget will cover equipment that will be used in future shoots as well - which in that case future shoots would be more $ in the pocket.
I would probably settle on the FS100. Maybe 2 of them. The look you get from that is extremely pleasing and in some cases look just like they came out of a RED camera. The biggest plus I see to a RED camera would be the HDRx processing which is very appealing, but at what cost? 4k video streams would be overkill for the general use of these videos, but I could see it being used for the occasional pan and zoom without losing quality in a 1080p output.
Lastly using these cameras out in the field, I would feel a whole heck of a lot worse if I dropped a RED camera rather than a FS100!
You could get a FS100, with all current (or soon to be released) E mount lenses, a matte box/rail system, and plenty of 32GB SD cards for under $9000. I already have about 15 NP-F970 batteries that my Z5s and lights use - so I don't need much of a budget there.
I do have a question though about backup devices. The ATOMOS Ninja 2.0 recorder looks like a great idea and have heard great raves on these forums about it - BUT - I use a PC and Vegas and are the "pro res" files it captures compatible? Any other recommendations for instant backup?
Thanks all for the info so far!
doublehamm
Member
EDIT: Think I answered my question, I think I have found the answer that Vegas Pro DOES in fact support Apple Pro Res format.
WSanford
Member
I'd shoot it on a 5D, edit in Premiere Pro, sleep like a baby and pay off some bills and sleep like a baby again...for a while. :-)
doublehamm
Member
By the time you buy a 5D, get some support equipment and overpriced canon lenses you may as well go with the FS100 as it is more suited to video anyhow. The most experience I have with shooting DSLR style is my NEX5, which in the end would be one less lens I would need. The moire patterns I have seen from the canons though are pretty bad...
WSanford
Member
I was actually playing off of Grinner's post. But since you brought up "Moire" I have been hearing some good reviews of the new filter that goes behind the lens for DSLR's to manage it.
More to Grinner's point though, I wouldn't go crazy on equipment and I've seen a lot of work done with the 5D that is as good as anything else I've seen. I'm not a DSLR guy, as close as I get is the NEX VG10 I've had for a year now.
doublehamm
Member
Ahhhhh, so then the NEX-FS100 would be your next logical step!
EarlC
Moderator
It's not really the equipment folks! I'd hire crew with the right tools and the experience to make whatever dreams the project comes from happen.
doublehamm
Member
Crew is definitely another issue. We were actually offered considerably more for the shoot, but I did not feel right in taking it. This is a new area for me and the people involved, and while the new main talent has signed his/her first multi-million contract for an album, the producer who I had worked with before for some promo stuff really liked working with me and requested me to take on the task. I do have someone hired on to story-board and probably even probably direct. My strong point is editing and camera work, and being used to capturing live events, I knew this was not something I could do alone.
Freddy
Member
Cameras seems tempting all the time. There is always the latest, bigger (in sensor at least), smallest factor, and uncompressed one.
But what about the things that never or hardly change? and we normally don't think much about, and rather wouldn't like to spend money in.
Light instruments, camera support, grips! To me, those things give more value to the production, than using a Red one.
Also things that make life easier, like monitors, video capture devices (all the good ones)
And of course, hire Pro guys/girls, to help (and maybe take the chance to learn from them) : )
doublehamm
Member
Freddy, this is why I asked in the thread. I need help from all sides that the budget will be used for. I know I won't be buying RED, unless we extend the offer to about a million, then maybe I can find some room to splurge on ;)
composite1
Moderator
I agree with Don and Grinner.
Do solid pre-production after you figure out what the concept of the video will be. Once you got the concept down, decide during pre-prod what setup will best capture your planned visuals. I would still keep it cheap by getting a number of inexpensive pro cameras to increase coverage and use the money for decent sets/locations and the rest to pay some sharp up-and-comer's for their 'A-Game' efforts. You start getting crazy with just properly outfitting the RED and you'll blow that $150k in rental fees before you start principle shooting!
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