The DP’s Playbook: 6 Must-Know Documentary Rules

[@deovid]

Pro tip: use a set of wireless lav transmitters to wirelessly connect your headphones to your camera. I use a spare set of Rode GOs to transmit the audio to my headphones and it is a godsend not having to trip over my headphone wire anymore.

[@TheArtofPassionNZ]

MIND BLOWN! I NEED TO DO THIS!

[@ElectricJunk69]

This deserves an Oscar for technical achievement.

[@jmtexan77]

Call me dumb but I’m not sure how this would work…. Are you adding an extra lav to the talent and using the Rode receiver to the headphones?

[@jmtexan77]

Call me silly but I’m not sure how this would work…. Are you adding an extra lav to the talent and using the Rode receiver to the headphones?

[@jmtexan77]

I’m not sure how this would work…. Are you adding an extra lav to the talent and using the Rode receiver to the headphones?

[@chrisvalleqatsi]

DUDE. Thanks SO much! Keep Rolling, Stop Clipping, Monitor Audio, Wide/Med/Tight, Backlight, Motivated Light. If there was a way to turn this into a interesting tattoo, I'd put it on my forearm.

[@LucForsyth]

Haha, please don’t tattoo this! But glad to hear you liked it!

[@EpicCinematicAdventures]

Another great tip from Luc! Thanks for sharing your expertise with your raving fans I learn so much from you!

[@foreignhades6788]

It almost feels illegal to watch this stuff for free. Forsure going to cop the course!

[@FA1L4LIFE]

Brilliant tip on audio and wearing headphones. Several times on my recent doc I've used audio clips from when I wasn't even filming the character but could hear them chatting about interesting topics. Love your content!

[@gavenevans]

As always, great video Luc! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@AmyGood]

Love the story comparison with garden. Thank you for generously sharing your wisdom with us!

[@Rainymojo]

NIce tips Luc! One hack I have for monitoring your audio and not being tied to your camera is to invest in a IFB. My workflow is to test out my audio with my headphones plugged into the camera to make sure it is as clean as it can be and set at the right levels. Then I plug in a transmitter to the headphone jack on the camera. Then plug my headphones into a IFB box so I can monitor the audio. I have gotten tricked by RF hits on the IFB channel but the camera audio was perfect. So it is not perfect but it does give you that freedom to walk away from your camera while still monitoring your audio. Professional Courtesy comes into play a lot more when you do this because if you are not standing by a camera you can still hear everything the talent is saying and if they think they are not on camera you really get the full story. HAHA. Thanks for all the hard work you make Mondays fun again before I get to work on what ever edit I have to do.

[@CottonmouthMedia]

Dude I love this hack! Thanks for sharing

[@RadekSzcz]

Excellent video Luc! 🔥 Loaded with practical knowledge 👏✨

[@jaguarprophett]

Hey Luc, I learn so much from you...please keep putting out the knowledge...thanks so much.

[@randyreboberton6263]

Thank you Luc..its crazy how much we put into finding the right way to make a story. I hope all is well with you I am still in the learning the process. When ever I start to forget I dial back in with the information you have provided ....

[@JJKoester]

The Blair Witch/Tenet audience reaction is the best summary of the importance of audio I've heard to date.

[@theimagemaker]

They were playing Tenet so loud in Finland that my ears almost bled during the movie.

[@justoneperson]

My take away is definitely about the highlights / monitor sound. I traditionally just let it fly and hope for the best. Awesome info thank you so much.

[@johnclay7644]

good relationships help, informative topic and content Thanks Luc.

[@EdKashiPhoto]

This is excellent!

[@fireplaceinacozyroom2064]

Very practical rules Luc. Thanks! Akim

[@MegaReaso]

Love it Luc. thanks

[@CrosscutFilmsSask]

This is really well done and super informative. A lot in here that I'm already doing, but not doing well enough. Appreciate you doing this to share your experience and knowledge.

[@chipcurry]

Great job, I’ve been making documentaries on a small scale for 30 years. I agree with all of your points and spend a lot of energy trying to hit those marks. The only thing I have not done is backlighting my subjects. I love your explanations and details, I know the basics, but you take it a few steps further. As far as monitoring the sound it’s usually difficult since I’m a one-man Team, and when you put the headphones on it seems to cramp my style so I only use them at the beginning of the shoot. Maybe I need a different set of headphones that let in more of the ambient sound. Great job!

[@moniquebeastie]

Really appreciate your videos. This one had such great info.

[@TDCIYB77]

Hope you keep offering the course in a half a year / a year still without a big price increase; The price seems fair but currently i have other expenses i have to take care of. Finally a no BS doc content creator that does not make content to sell me useless gear etc.! Just the real info i need for my first doc! PS: Okay, you AND Matt Porwoll who also is just as amazing!

[@thegenerousthief]

HOLD THE SHOT !!! great video as always amigo.

[@BrentBaldwinFutures]

Great video man ! 🎥🔥🤙🏼

[@abhilashm6044]

Amazing content as its also greatly helful for any works !!!

[@LucForsyth]

Glad you think so!

[@AnirudhHu]

Great tips!

[@boschulte]

Solid advice as usual.

[@mozzfather]

Thank you so much for sharing all these valuable tips! No wonder your channel is growing like crazy from the get go :)

[@cameragod1]

Yes rolling for sound!!! My top tip for shooting doco's is to use lightweight headphones so you can tell when you got the audio you need but still hear whats happening around you. My pet peeve with framing interviews at the moment is unmotivated use of negative space ...

[@JeffBourke]

I love the thumbnail!!!!

[@WhySteve]

Did you specifically go out and buy seeds for this? If I don't see a garden in the next video, I'm unsubscribing 🤣

[@Pb31sukkhi]

Shi hai 😂

[@sailingfinexplorer]

You’re awesome. That was a very full garden!! 😂

[@johnbivins]

Thanks for sharing this video wish I would have seen it before my shoot last month. I’m one of those that got away with it and didn’t want to be tethered with headphones and Took a risky shortcut. Neglecting to monitor finally caught up with me. I achieved a beautiful tracking shot and with an external on-camera mic. However, in my haste this time, I failed to properly mic the talent (had two wireless mics in my bag). Consequently, a loose cable on my rig caused 10 critical seconds of audio to be ruined. If I had monitored or mic them properly, it could have been avoided. I will be joining your group! thanks again. 15:13

[@joenicklo]

I picked up on letting shots hold from Ken Burns documentaries. He'll hold on shots (usually still frames) for a long time.

[@ilkergur7003]

Hi there, very heplful videos. Thx for them. A quick question about exposing outdoors for wildlife. Do you use any of the exposure tools or eyeball it? More importantly ligth change a lot while shooting fast moving animals like birds. Do you sugest using auto iso with ev? Thx a lot…

[@shaynegryn]

I would love to see a video on the checklist you go through in your head before hitting the record button.

[@maxxh2197]

At 3:09 i got reminded of my time as a tree planter in Canada. Great memories... Whats the name of the documentary that you shot for?

[@wretchedworm]

Hi Luc, if im already in AOD, do u think it would still be worthwhile for me to get your course?

[@guglielmo_arte_naturale]

the first has to do with budget too... if you don't have budget you don't carry as many batteries as someone who invested in that... so in order to shoot as much as possible you have to cut... i think you can swap don't cut too often with "more intentionality" you grab what you need and there is purpose and you know what you are doing this mistake doesn't occur. but nice point because many pople maybe have budget but they aren't as intentional.

[@2win1now]

More playbook strategies pls

[@DaveKnowlesFilmmaker]

Hi Luc with regard to tip 6, headphones, I don’t see you wearing them in any of your B roll. Love your videos though and this is a tongue in cheek comment. 😊 I am as bad, carry them with me and find them a real pest to wear as I am then tethered to the camera. I whole heartedly agree would love to be able to use my Apple AirPods with my Canon but can’t even use them with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and the BlackMagic app.

[@PNWMOTION]

What I got from this: Hose down your gear. Just kidding, really liking your stuff more and more. I love the in the field perspective.

[@ETFootprints]

May I know what's your current workhorse camera monitor?

[@seecraig]

Big challenge when you're shooting continuously to follow a subject and getting wide medium, and close coverage. You either need to be going in and out and may not be doing it at the right time or you may need to spend time reframing and possibly even changing lenses. The question is how do you know when to do what given the risk of losing something versus diversity?

[@cameragod1]

Zoom with your feet and anticipate what happens next so you don't get caught out :)

[@BHrandt]

I don't wanna speak for everyone, but I think the "sticking to medium" issue stems from lack of self confidence. Most people don't like having a camera shoved in their face, much less being the one shoving the camera. I recently filmed a community event which featured a lot of volunteer workers, I constantly felt like the volunteers tried to dodge the lens, or if not, at least closed up and shut down. The work around is building relationships and rapport around the lens, but that's not always possible. I think showing people what these shots turn into also helps, but again, not always possible.

[@robinprobyn1971]

Thats why a zoom lens is really needed for doc work , there is this sort of bro trend for primes ,man , to be " cinematic " . It's BS , you need a zoom for docs , expect maybe sit down A/B cam interviews . I would have thought this would be mentioned TBH.

[@VideoVo-Tech]

Say you're into gardening without saying you're into gardening 😂

[@petersuvara]

Hello Luc. How is your course limited to 200 people? But the site says limited to 100 people? Not sure I understand why you have a limit on the spaces at all. I'm about to pre-order. But having second thoughts because of the lack of detail about this. Thanks.

[@LucForsyth]

I don’t want to take on too many people at once so that I’m able to respond to feedback and make changes. I don’t do this full time, I work as a DP, so I want to keep it manageable by not overwhelming myself with numbers. Hope that makes sense!

[@petersuvara]

@@LucForsyth sure. What benefit is there to a limited course like yours, over say a general masterclass? Is there space for questions which we can ask you? Is there other room for opportunity after completing the course? Is there any exam or validation we do at the end of the course? Thanks Luc, appreciate your work and patience with my questions. I have plans for a doco this year, so this course is a great stepping stone. Just want to be sure my investment is wise.

[@sammorganmoore]

so keep rolling and also getting coverage 'sequences' of wide, med, tight.. how is that happening?

[@chrisw443]

Couple years back pre pandemic, i worked for college athletics. I filmed cinematic highlights for use when the student couldn't, but alot of the time my main thing was running the stream. She would get okay shots but shes shooting at 720p on a canon 6d or something. When we had reds and sony f5's and jvc ls300's available. So it was really weird. One game she gave me her footage alongside mine as I was now cutting all the game highlights. She shot hundreds of shots, so much I would never get done editing during company time. I couldn't even get past the first quarter of a basketball game cause she has 80 shots of practice? Useless. I had about 40 shots, and about 20 were rock solid. So I used one shot of pregame I saw was fine and used mine. The call I had the following week..... "Why didn't you use any student footage?" "Because I am unable to watch that much footage in a business day." We taught her to film nothing except gameplay, and only offense. Period. She would then have 100 shots which was manageable.

[@ManuelParodiRamos]

Can somebody explain to me how you can hold the shot for up to 45 minutes AND get coverage, in other words wide medium and tight if you don’t cut and reframe?

[@photoscotty]

The first frame actually looks like window light, but it’s used too broadly

[@unn4medfeel1ng]

The first interview shot tricked me, I thought it was light from a window, but with bad color balance and exposure

[@JohnnyMotel99]

We made an hour long documentary and I’m sure we broke all the rules.

[@DroseMr]

Yourawesome🫡

[@who2999]

14 min... audio monitoring. I can't tell you the number of people I've miced up with a lav who then immediately run to the bathroom to pee. Always an awkward moment. Typically it's lawyers and big budget CEO's I have this problem with, most 'normal' people will go before you mic them up.

[@bake.agency]

They ole 'spray & pray'... sigh .. a last resort.. plan, plan, plan.. hang, hold & predict.. W/M/T is key.. lot's of young lads all shooting mids..