The two best words in film, in my honest opinion, are "Action" and "Wrap." One indicates a beginning; a move forward toward realizing an idea and the other, when spokenly loudly in front of a tired crew, means the end of one leg of the journey to that culmination of that idea. That's what was experienced on the weekend of March 7th as Jason Crampton wrapped principal photography on his new horror film.
Partnered with Chuck It Films, we approached his project like a two-headed beast; with Jason
handling the lighting and cinematography and myself with the direction of the actors. The result flowed like silk. With most shots being filmed in that time with minimal pickup shots needed.
The film shoot lasted two nights at a local residence, the magnificently creepy home of Alan Arnson, and involved all local talent. Headlined by recent Eastern Oregon University graduate Kelsy Carson, the cast
rounded out with other EOU grads, Jacob Kuwahara, Rikki Jo Hickey, and Michael Cooper.
We filmed this piece on Jason's Nikon D5300 with multiple lens and a two light set-up that featured NEEWER®'s 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power Panel Digital Camera / Camcorder Video Light, LED Light. The lights were an apsect we were both excited to run through the gamut with and needless to say, we were very pleasantly surprised. Although I don't have an accurate lumen count, the amount of light thrown by these two LED lights was both intense and massive. Their dual head design allowed them to slip from the DSLR shoe to being screwed onto either a tripod or C-stand with very little effort and no adapters needed. For the small price of 29.99 a piece and the right batteries, there is no reason not to have at least 3 of the little devils. Pair them with the right lithium battery and charger, or extra life rechargeable rayovacs, and you're happy as a pig in...well, you get the idea.
For sound, we utilized the TASCAM DR-60D Linear PCM Recorder for DSLR Filmmaking and Field Recording paired with SGC-598 Photography Interview Shotgun MIC Microphone. It was the first time, in a long time, that I had the pleasure of not only having a shotgun mic on set but being able to be detached from the camera and adjusting sound on my own. What a dream.
The Tascam works very well. It's a very lightweight, easy to use piece of tech that can be attached to the bottom of your DSLR camera if you're on a one man job. It's designed to sit between your camera and the tripod but make sure to check your tripod's thread size. Some, like certain cheap brands which will not be named, have a slightly smaller thread than a standard Bogen Manfrotto or Ravelli and will seem like it's securely anchored but, if any amount of pressure is applied, the mixer will slip off the the tripod. This definitely seems to be a cheap tripod issue rather than an issue with the mixer as it attaches to my Ravelli firmly and securely. All in all, loved using it and can't wait to pair it with the mini RODE shotgun mic I just acquired. Check out the mixer.
One draw back though is that the Shotgun mic is not designed to sit atop a boom pole right out of the box. You will be needing a shoe adapter for a boom pole so you can attach it and, not to mention, 1/8 inch extension cable to run down the pole and into the Tascam. The mini shotgun's cable is only designed to reach from the shoe to about 3-4 inches. Sound wise, I was happy with what I head coming through the headphones. Haven't heard it in post yet but I feel confident we will be happy with the results. Again, another good piece of equipment on the cheap. Check it out here.
The first half of this project was a great experience; full of energy and hard work. The second half will be even more so.
 |
| Jason Crampton; Co-Wirter, Director, & Editor |
handling the lighting and cinematography and myself with the direction of the actors. The result flowed like silk. With most shots being filmed in that time with minimal pickup shots needed.
The film shoot lasted two nights at a local residence, the magnificently creepy home of Alan Arnson, and involved all local talent. Headlined by recent Eastern Oregon University graduate Kelsy Carson, the cast
 |
| Kelsy Carson as Corie |
We filmed this piece on Jason's Nikon D5300 with multiple lens and a two light set-up that featured NEEWER®'s 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power Panel Digital Camera / Camcorder Video Light, LED Light. The lights were an apsect we were both excited to run through the gamut with and needless to say, we were very pleasantly surprised. Although I don't have an accurate lumen count, the amount of light thrown by these two LED lights was both intense and massive. Their dual head design allowed them to slip from the DSLR shoe to being screwed onto either a tripod or C-stand with very little effort and no adapters needed. For the small price of 29.99 a piece and the right batteries, there is no reason not to have at least 3 of the little devils. Pair them with the right lithium battery and charger, or extra life rechargeable rayovacs, and you're happy as a pig in...well, you get the idea.
For sound, we utilized the TASCAM DR-60D Linear PCM Recorder for DSLR Filmmaking and Field Recording paired with SGC-598 Photography Interview Shotgun MIC Microphone. It was the first time, in a long time, that I had the pleasure of not only having a shotgun mic on set but being able to be detached from the camera and adjusting sound on my own. What a dream.
The Tascam works very well. It's a very lightweight, easy to use piece of tech that can be attached to the bottom of your DSLR camera if you're on a one man job. It's designed to sit between your camera and the tripod but make sure to check your tripod's thread size. Some, like certain cheap brands which will not be named, have a slightly smaller thread than a standard Bogen Manfrotto or Ravelli and will seem like it's securely anchored but, if any amount of pressure is applied, the mixer will slip off the the tripod. This definitely seems to be a cheap tripod issue rather than an issue with the mixer as it attaches to my Ravelli firmly and securely. All in all, loved using it and can't wait to pair it with the mini RODE shotgun mic I just acquired. Check out the mixer.
One draw back though is that the Shotgun mic is not designed to sit atop a boom pole right out of the box. You will be needing a shoe adapter for a boom pole so you can attach it and, not to mention, 1/8 inch extension cable to run down the pole and into the Tascam. The mini shotgun's cable is only designed to reach from the shoe to about 3-4 inches. Sound wise, I was happy with what I head coming through the headphones. Haven't heard it in post yet but I feel confident we will be happy with the results. Again, another good piece of equipment on the cheap. Check it out here.
The first half of this project was a great experience; full of energy and hard work. The second half will be even more so.
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