What equipment would someone need to make a documentary movie?!
Question: Something on the level of "Roger & Me." I have a TV-quality SVHS camera and journalism skills. Is that enough, and then hire someone to edit the footage later and add graphics/music/voiceovers?
Answers: Something on the level of "Roger & Me." I have a TV-quality SVHS camera and journalism skills. Is that enough, and then hire someone to edit the footage later and add graphics/music/voiceovers?
you sound professional so i'll give you professional answers. it really depends on what you are doing, will depend on what you need. for example, lets say you are going to make videos in your project, than i recommend you buy a lighting kit at least, and that you have some gun microphones. you should definetely have an editor, in documentaries, a lot of pictures are usually in and also a lot of transitions so try to get yourself the best editor possible. i think music is also very important, try to hire the best composer you can and try to make a music that matches your documentary. also, voice overs might come important but almost in all documentaries, there's a narrator so try to find one that has a voice that will match what you are doing. you definetely need talent that is the most important of all of them. good luck.
Sincerely,
JP Productions
But what are you going to do it on? Equipment and crew is great but what will you be filming?
All you need is that camera and some talent. Use your journalism skills to make the doc informative. But remember to be entertaining too, or nobody will watch it, no matter how informative it is.
You could do your own basic cutting and editing if you have the software for it. But if you want professional grade effects and stuff, you might as well hire someone like you said. It's easier/cheaper than taking a 3 month university course on post production software. Although I would argue that a documentary doesn't really need that much fancy editing if the footage is compelling enough.