When you are a run-and-gun filmmaker you often find yourself working solo in locations that aren’t exactly easy to get a bunch of gear too. These are the six pieces of gear that made life easier for documentary filmmaker Luc Forsyth while he was out in the field.
#1 F-Stop Bags
A must-have for run and gun filmmakers, this bag can hold a ton of gear while still being compact enough to be comfortable to carry on your back. This particular bag is the perfect combo of rugged bag meets functional camera bag. Filmmaker Luc Forsyth loves them so much that he has them in three sizes and rotates them depending on the needs of the job.
#2 Freewell ND Filters
Although GoPros can be great for getting cameras into tight spots, the ultra-wide perspective and high frame rates that they use to shoot can be jarring for a lot of filmmakers. When you are using a GoPro to shoot something it’s always extremely obvious that a GoPro was used to shoot it. These clever ND Filters from Freewell allow you to slow down the shutter speed of your GoPro without overexposing your shots—making it easier to match the footage shot on a GoPro to the rest of what you’ve shot.
#3 Omnicharge
This is a must-have when you are shooting on location. The Omnicharge has a high-enough capacity to charge a laptop twice and approximately four drone batteries. It features A and C ports but also has an AC plug which means that it’s a great option for charging a wide variety of gear. It has a durable build and is small enough that it’s easy to slide into a backpack for charging on the go.
#4 audiio
This royalty free music subscription service is a great way for finding background music for your video edits. This particular program focuses on quality over quantity, making the process of selecting music tracks for your project a little less daunting. As a bonus, they also have a tightly curated collection of sound effects.
#5 Sachtler Flowtech Tripod
A good tripod is a must-have for a filmmaker—even for the run and gun shooters that prefer to shoot handheld. Cheap tripods are often difficult to set up and finicky to level, a more expensive tripod takes the headache out of setup time. This particular tripod is controlled from one set of latches, which makes adjusting heights is a breeze—even when there’s a camera mounted on top of it. It weighs less than 10 lbs, but can still hold a fully rigged out video camera. While this particular tripod isn’t cheap, it’s extremely durable and will get the job done.
#6 Tentacle Track E Lav Recorder
Having quality audio is the most important aspect when shooting documentary films—a beautifully shot film with sub-par audio will be distracting and difficult to watch. It’s crucial to have your subjects mic’d when filming a documentary—during interviews and when shooting scenes. This particular set of mics has the ability to record everything internally, so you don’t need to worry about radio signal interference or distance when filming. They also make it possible to mic multiple subjects at once.
