Hardware suggestions for shooting amateur short movies & documentaries

whats your budget exactly as that helps great in making a suggestion. also what do you plan on shooting as amateur short movies and documentaries is not very specific and 2 extremely different types of video production.

overall there is no such thing as future proof in video except lenses, they will always stay the same some people are adapting old manual focus lenses from film cameras to their DSLRs because they can be found for cheap and the image quality is great not to mention they provide a very distinct look and feel when compared to newer lenses designed for digital cameras.

1) buying a dslr is great because it saves you on the big part of the production camera and having the option to change lenses is crucial for short movies because has a really fast prime will offer that ability for achieving shallow depth of field when desired and because using a zoom lens on a DSLR in video mode is no easy task because it lacks motorized zoom control. if i suggested you a DSLR for short movies i would go with a Canon T2i and adapt old manual focus lenses to save money on glass, buy an external audio recorder NOT a external mic as anything you plug in for audio will get destroyed by the AGC unless you hack the camera with magic lantern, then get tripod and lights and go at it

2) i work with the sony hvrz5u on a regular basis and its a fantastic camera but would not be ideal for short movies but is an excellent go-to camera for documentary use with 2 XLR inputs with audio control and built-in ND filters and for extra money you can get an adapter to record to compact flash as well which is a great backup to record to 2 different media at the same time especially for documentary work where you cant afford to get a second take

at the end of the day there is no 1 camera that is great for every video job but there are some cameras that do a great job at shooting video. you have to chose what works best for you. honestly the right DSLR package can do both jobs you need better than a sony hvrz5u. but keep in mind building up a good DSLR kit is very expensive because of all the extra accessories
Edited by Conspiracy - 7/19/12 at 5:35am

it depends how much you are willing to spend. audio is no doubt the most important thing next to well designed light for a scene. honestly while image quality is important just shooting HD is good enough but without good light and sound it will overall not seem like a well put together video.

if you want to keep it cheap and good i would suggest a Zoom H1 as your recorder (i am buying one myself very soon) and then use a rode videomic as your mic and plug the mic into the zoom h1. the H1 by itself will record very nice audio but with the mic setup it might not be ideal for all situations because its 2 mics on the same plane in a X/Y configuration which is great but its not adjustable. the rode videomic will give you that more directional capture without picking up more extra stuff on the side. the zoom H1 only has 1/8" microphone input which is not a bad thing but limiting but it also has a headphone out which is great for monitoring your audio. it has a great display with levels and all settings running. the nice thing about the whole zoom recorder line is that you have the option to record in different audio formats and bitrates

if you want the best that zoom has to offer at least then look at the zoom h4n. this recorder offers multiple channels for up to 4 audio tracks. the microphones are in X/Y but are adjustable to widen the area of pickup or keep it narrow. its a lot more precise with a very nice preamp built in and offers XLR and 1/8" mic inputs. overall its a lot more advanced and improved on the H1. i have worked with both and prefer the H4n but i can not personally afford one. with this recorder and a larger budget for audio equipment i highly suggest purchasing both a boom microphone and a lavalier microphone. you dont need top of the line mics because audio gear is crazy expensive but have a nice mid price range microphone goes a long way. the boom mic will be perfect for small areas and ideal for interviews, and if you work alone you can get an adapter grip for a c-stand that will hold a boom mic for you. and the wireless lavalier is self explanatory. its a down and dirty quick audio solution for recording people.

all of this with exception of the boom mic of course is capable of being mounted on the hotshoe of the camera or off camera. its ideal to keep the recorder close to the camera so that you can easily press record on the camera and recorder without moving too far. for a small shotgun mic like the rode video mic i would have that mounted on top of the camera when being used and you can make a do it yourself way off holding the recorder near the camera, i personally am a big fan of zipties and keep about 500 at a time in my video bag.

while what you currently have are great audio recorders that are by no means ideal for use with video as they are very limiting compared to what zoom and other brands currently offer for professional portable audio recording. i suggest zoom primarily because they are currently the most popular and reliable and very easy to use. not to mention affordable for what you are paying for
Edited by Conspiracy - 7/19/12 at 7:20am

a DSLR camera is not a must have but it does make it much easier with a larger sensor over cheaper camcorders. a fast prime combined with a DSLR will give you the ability to have an extremely shallow depth of field. a more advanced understanding of how focal length, aperture, and sensor size affect the depth of field is very helpful. but in general the longer focal length with a really wide aperture (low fstop #). it is also very important to note and understand where your subject is in relation to distance away from the camera. a subject close to the camera and in focus will provide a more out of focus background because the focus plane is closer to the camera making everything behind the subject out of focus. you have to find a balance between depth of field and exposure settings as having the smallest possible depth of field in video is generally a bad idea because its possible to get it narrower than 1" which for some subjects might make the whole image look soft because there is barely anything in focus. while the ability to have shallow depth of field in order to isolate your subject from the background is great it does make up for poor locations choices and composition. blasting the background out of focus will look cool but is not always the best idea and usually overused and when not skillfully used is seen as cheesy lately. i personally prefer a soft background rather than completely unidentifiable out of focus background

I agree with everything Conspiracy said. I also recommend getting a canon t2i. If you want to save money right from the start then I would also recommend getting vintage glasses, but then you would have to do a lot of research. I would recommend to get your feet wet, get a t2i, 18-55 and 50 mm f1.8. That is a very good beginner set up and then you can go from there and see what you need.