The taping went very well. I have been very fortunate in getting access to Mexican families, NGO organizers and local governement officials.
I have the most amazing Producer along on this documentary journey, Martina Guzman. I am always amazed to see her work. Just when I think we are going to be turned down she turns things around and we get an amazing interveiw. The real work of the doc. is about buy in from subjects. Look for her name in the big league soon.
The secret to the support is asking. Maria Lema Gollob is a fabulous Associate Producer. She will ask the same question over and over and it gets answers. It's like watching a marathoner run. Every step is repeated until she reaches her goal.
My partner is my most prized asset. Piper Kessler is my life vest and my tether to the earth as well as my business partner. I am always amazed at how she is able to make me a better storyteller. Her analysis and insight reminds me to keep looking for the real story.
I am greatful for lots of the little things in my life. While I was in Mexico I was greatful for my grandparents and their courage and vision to get to the United States. I was also greatful that I am tied to such a wonderful culture, caring country and a happy disposition.
Mexico as part of the NAFT agreement has instituionalized the flow of business, technology, information and goods. Some of the short sighted people in the US don't want the flow to include human labor.
The documentary is examining Immigration from the Mexican side of the US border.
More to come.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
As I started to pack video production equipment for the documentary shoot, I thought about what might be different about being in Mexico. I did a quick search on the web for videographer's posts about travel and packing professional video equipment. I found a few short sentences. Nothing substantial so I thought I'd fill the void with this post.
Mexico's electric current is slightly lower than the U.S. It can cause some issues with charging batteries and how bright the lamps on my Arri's run but overall the electricity is comprable. The one item that I did not have that I absolutely needed was a three to two prong electrical socket adapter. Not any old adapter will do. The two prongs must not have a safety prong. The two prongs must be equal in size. You can pick these up easily in the cities or at an airport. Other than that my only other worry about electicity was tripping a circuit.
I was unfortunate on my first trip and lost the use of my battery charger, and IDX 400, for two days. The charger was not charging my batteries. After my first charge on the trip I pulled the batteries off and smelled a "toasting plastic" smell. After the first charge my battery green lighted but it did not hold a charge. the cmaera would give me a "Low Battery" warning. That crippled me and I hope to never have this happen again. I was lucky to find a good electronics shop in a larger town. Mexico has excellent electronic talent. Mexican's still have the tradition of fixing small electonics and know how to fix things.
I took my charger to a shop and they pulled it apart and reseated things for me and claimed they did not find a problem. I was curious about what had happened and tried charging one battery. It worked! I was delighted that they had "fixed" it without charging me. Ok here is my confession. I'm a chick. I am a chick shooter that did not take a soddering iron to Mexico. With safety regulation these days, it would be impossible to take a soldering iron. Now I can leave it home with confidence.
I was in GTO., Mexico in early March. The weather is fantastic. Take sunblock to keep from frying in the sun. The lack of humitity makes it hard to tell how hot it really is. Stay hydrated. Bottled water is available even in the small remote rural communities. Buy it and drink it. Take a large brim had so you can see the view finder or and LCD monitor. My producer had a great big wide brim hat that was great for shielding the sun. As a shooter it is difficult to wear a hat that is made of stiff material like straw. A fishing hat was great. It had a wide brim that let me get close to the camera and still shielded the sun.
The second trip to GTO., Mexico was during rainy season. The rain was consistently present in the afternoon. From 2pm to 4pm we were indoors. The rain passed quickly on most afternoons. If the rain was later in the day say 5 or 6 then we had to scrap the days exteriors. The sun was available in July until 7:30PM before the light changed.
The rain in July makes it less dusty than March. The mud is not unmanagable. Unless you are driving to a rural location.
Driving in Mexico is best left to locals. I would suggest hiring a driver/PA or getting a crazy Columbian to drive. If you have to rent a car do so with a load of insurance. A butt load! I was fortunate enough to have a local loan their car to the production.
I used every thing I packed and wished I had one more thing. The second trip I got my wish.
Pack a large empty canvas bag for a production run bag.
I packed an ARRI light kit with two medium clamps and two small clamps, a black clothe, scrims, diffusion, full and half blue color correction gels for daylight, scissor clip, Powerstrip, chimera, 650w, 300w, 125w lamp head and stands and a gold flex-fill. Gold was better for the darker skin tones.
I wished for a VTR for dailies - rented a SONY dsr11 and AC and cables
This is the basic list :
Digital still camera
3 chip Digital Video camera body
Camera lens
viewfinder Fujinon lens viewfinder
Wide Angle Adapter Century VS 06WA-65 .6X
Camera power supply
Tripod two stage -Libec
tripod hard travel case
Camera assecory hard case Pelican 1510 case w/foam
NiCa batteries 6 total IDX NP
battery charger IDX 4A
Digital Audio Recorder Sony pcm-m1
Microphone
Sort Shot gun mic Sennheiser ME66
Long Shot gun mic SENNHESER ME67
2 Condenser power module Sennheiser K6
3 Lav Microphones
Microphone Accessories Rycot 10mm softie
Microphone Accessories Rycot 29mm softie
Microphone Accessories Rycot pistol Grip shock mount
Microphone Accessories K-Tek K102ccr Graphite Boom w/cable
Audio field mixer 3x2 and power cable SoundDevice 302
SHOT GUN MOUNT K-Tek K-SM microphone shock mount
Audio mixer field carry bag Petrol PSDMB-302
Personal A/V recorder 40G HD Archos AV400
Microphone wireless transmitter Lectrosonic LM block 21
Microphone wireless transmitter Lectrosonic LM block 26
Microphone wireless Receiver Lectrosonic UCR100 block 21
Microphone wireless Receiver Lectrosonic UCR100 block 26
Video/Audio breakaway cable CANARE 30'
Audio cables various XLR to XLR
Video recorder SONY DSR 11 mini DV VTR
Homeland security searched all the big cases and damaged my light case. Nothing too major but it makes opening the lightkit such a pain in the ass!
More to come.
Mexico's electric current is slightly lower than the U.S. It can cause some issues with charging batteries and how bright the lamps on my Arri's run but overall the electricity is comprable. The one item that I did not have that I absolutely needed was a three to two prong electrical socket adapter. Not any old adapter will do. The two prongs must not have a safety prong. The two prongs must be equal in size. You can pick these up easily in the cities or at an airport. Other than that my only other worry about electicity was tripping a circuit.
I was unfortunate on my first trip and lost the use of my battery charger, and IDX 400, for two days. The charger was not charging my batteries. After my first charge on the trip I pulled the batteries off and smelled a "toasting plastic" smell. After the first charge my battery green lighted but it did not hold a charge. the cmaera would give me a "Low Battery" warning. That crippled me and I hope to never have this happen again. I was lucky to find a good electronics shop in a larger town. Mexico has excellent electronic talent. Mexican's still have the tradition of fixing small electonics and know how to fix things.
I took my charger to a shop and they pulled it apart and reseated things for me and claimed they did not find a problem. I was curious about what had happened and tried charging one battery. It worked! I was delighted that they had "fixed" it without charging me. Ok here is my confession. I'm a chick. I am a chick shooter that did not take a soddering iron to Mexico. With safety regulation these days, it would be impossible to take a soldering iron. Now I can leave it home with confidence.
I was in GTO., Mexico in early March. The weather is fantastic. Take sunblock to keep from frying in the sun. The lack of humitity makes it hard to tell how hot it really is. Stay hydrated. Bottled water is available even in the small remote rural communities. Buy it and drink it. Take a large brim had so you can see the view finder or and LCD monitor. My producer had a great big wide brim hat that was great for shielding the sun. As a shooter it is difficult to wear a hat that is made of stiff material like straw. A fishing hat was great. It had a wide brim that let me get close to the camera and still shielded the sun.
The second trip to GTO., Mexico was during rainy season. The rain was consistently present in the afternoon. From 2pm to 4pm we were indoors. The rain passed quickly on most afternoons. If the rain was later in the day say 5 or 6 then we had to scrap the days exteriors. The sun was available in July until 7:30PM before the light changed.
The rain in July makes it less dusty than March. The mud is not unmanagable. Unless you are driving to a rural location.
Driving in Mexico is best left to locals. I would suggest hiring a driver/PA or getting a crazy Columbian to drive. If you have to rent a car do so with a load of insurance. A butt load! I was fortunate enough to have a local loan their car to the production.
I used every thing I packed and wished I had one more thing. The second trip I got my wish.
Pack a large empty canvas bag for a production run bag.
I packed an ARRI light kit with two medium clamps and two small clamps, a black clothe, scrims, diffusion, full and half blue color correction gels for daylight, scissor clip, Powerstrip, chimera, 650w, 300w, 125w lamp head and stands and a gold flex-fill. Gold was better for the darker skin tones.
I wished for a VTR for dailies - rented a SONY dsr11 and AC and cables
This is the basic list :
Digital still camera
3 chip Digital Video camera body
Camera lens
viewfinder Fujinon lens viewfinder
Wide Angle Adapter Century VS 06WA-65 .6X
Camera power supply
Tripod two stage -Libec
tripod hard travel case
Camera assecory hard case Pelican 1510 case w/foam
NiCa batteries 6 total IDX NP
battery charger IDX 4A
Digital Audio Recorder Sony pcm-m1
Microphone
Sort Shot gun mic Sennheiser ME66
Long Shot gun mic SENNHESER ME67
2 Condenser power module Sennheiser K6
3 Lav Microphones
Microphone Accessories Rycot 10mm softie
Microphone Accessories Rycot 29mm softie
Microphone Accessories Rycot pistol Grip shock mount
Microphone Accessories K-Tek K102ccr Graphite Boom w/cable
Audio field mixer 3x2 and power cable SoundDevice 302
SHOT GUN MOUNT K-Tek K-SM microphone shock mount
Audio mixer field carry bag Petrol PSDMB-302
Personal A/V recorder 40G HD Archos AV400
Microphone wireless transmitter Lectrosonic LM block 21
Microphone wireless transmitter Lectrosonic LM block 26
Microphone wireless Receiver Lectrosonic UCR100 block 21
Microphone wireless Receiver Lectrosonic UCR100 block 26
Video/Audio breakaway cable CANARE 30'
Audio cables various XLR to XLR
Video recorder SONY DSR 11 mini DV VTR
Homeland security searched all the big cases and damaged my light case. Nothing too major but it makes opening the lightkit such a pain in the ass!
More to come.
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