Making a Documentary for $5000 | BTS & Tips (1/2)

#filmmaking #documentary #bts #AoD
Want to know what I do out in the field actually shooting documentaries? That’s exactly what this video is all about, a comprehensive, hands-on BTS video showing how I approach documentary filmmaking and the kinds of decision making that happens behind the scenes. This project was funded by The Art of Documentary, and if you want a 10% discount on the upcoming cohort which launches today, visit bit.ly/3JhhTqX and use the code “Luc” and support this channel at the same time.
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[@Brian-Hansen]

Thank you for showing the meeting that you had before you started filming. That is such an important part of Documentary. Talking to people and getting them comfortable before you roll cameras is a very important step.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Brian, glad you liked that bit! totally agree!

[@LucForsyth]

So what do you think of my approach to documentary filmmaking? Do you do anything differently? Is anyone out there thinking of signing up for AoD this cohort? Let me know!

[@youfollow_]

I want to join aod but it's too expensive due to where I'm from. I'm from saint Lucia so out currency is lower than USD...

[@speliotis]

I saw your interview with Mark Bone & enrolled in AOD mod 1, create & earn & Editing.. I signed up today for Mod 2 & the deep dive in Editing.... Would like to see how you organize your files for a long documentary.... Ty

[@llpreiss]

I've been on the two Open Zooms AOD has had recently and today I joined Mod 1. I also saw your interview with Mark. You two have been a great inspiration to me.

[@vincentdragonemedia]

Joined mod 1 today. I’ve been shooting a lot of testimonials over the past two years and have one documentary under my belt. I need a lot of help, so I’m looking forward to what AOD has to offer.

[@who2999]

I'm really impressed by how right you get to do things on your timetable. I know you're looking at it like you're on a super tight timetable and shoe string budget but damn dude, working for a news station I can only dream of the luxury of being able to plan for my lighting or pre-interviewing our subject to get them comfortable. These are things I try to push for when I can but I'm usually at the mercy of the all mighty dollar taking precedence over my recommendations to make the art better. Very nice, look forward to part 2

[@scottsfreelunch]

Love the approach of not filming right away with the main character, take it slow so you don't scare them away or they get guarded/put up a wall. Will definitely use this for the future and arrive maybe a little earlier.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Scott, it's been a really good method for me!

[@llpreiss]

Man, I can't believe how real this feels. Yea, fantastic BTS of your work. It gives me hope to continue to improve. I'm retired from the corporate world and have been doing small one-man jobs, but not consistently. I'm hoping that changes.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Lester, great to hear! You got this, just keep going! 👊🏻

[@TheStorytellingDad]

I loved the travel shots of you guys going to the airport and getting to Cali. Felt like a mini doc, about making a doc! Also, great work. I’m sure a longer video was a little nerve racking!

[@LucForsyth]

Awesome! We had a ton of fun making it, glad it was fun to watch!

[@markbone]

I love the footage from the doc brother. It’s wild

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Mark! And thanks to AOD for making it happen!

[@meladkareme5851]

Love this video! This type of content DOSENT exist! Thank you for sharing this!

[@LucForsyth]

You’re very welcome! 👊🏻

[@calebgrenier6197]

Wow! Thank you for letting us have a sneakpeak into your world. Really inspiring. Also Jose is a complete badass.

[@LucForsyth]

He sure is! And thanks - glad you liked it!

[@geamase]

Watching you film the archery part was a moment for me. First…when you’re shooting, sometimes, you gotta get up in peoples shit!! You’re not always far away. Which I think is inherently automatic. Gotta get in there! And to see the quality of shot!!! It ain’t all about the zoom. The definition of zoom with your feet. I appreciate this. I’m just starting into the journey…like…I’m the “b” in beginner.

[@Will-Chase]

Your videos are invaluable. Been on the other side of the camera for the past 15 years and have begun to come around to "fun" side over the past few. Shooting my first doc in a week or so. Your insight is refreshing, informative, and very much appreciated! Thanks!

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Will, appreciate that!

[@DJILLEE]

So it’s a doc about making a doc? Lol loved it! Honestly felt like it should be part of the AOD courses. I’m in AOD and it’s incredible. So much value. I know this took a ton of effort to make and let me tell you that I appreciate it! I learned a ton from this. The personal relationship that you build with the subject is more valuable than anything. Thank you for these videos!!

[@LucForsyth]

Haha, yeah, very meta I know! Thanks though, appreciate that!

[@GrandpaG4]

Museum Volunteer Being real is part of what we do as humans. The introduction to your character was wonderful. You can put yourself there in the scene. I worked in Victorville years ago (1979) for an aircraft manufacturer. It was a very desolate place. The trash on the desk is beautiful for telling the hardwork that goes into your story. Keeping them coming. Cheers. Gary

[@LucForsyth]

It’s still pretty desolate tbh! And I can’t hide my slovenly tendencies forever, so figured it was better to just let it out! Thanks for the support!

[@CalebTackett]

This is great! Thanks Luc and AOD for making this happen. Love seeing the process.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Caleb - yeah, super cool they're actually funding stuff these days!

[@lievencorthouts]

Hey Luc, that's how it is when you are filming. Bit strange, just in the middle of a long shoot , sometimes you just have to wait and watch Luc making movies, it was nice to see you doing the same stuff during pre production and while filmmaking. Love

[@LucForsyth]

haha, very meta! Much love!

[@jakeoldenkamp]

Great stuff, and great BTS. Cheers from the middle province.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Jake!

[@youfollow_]

Choosing interesting characters are important for documentary storytelling , loved the BTS and few lessons

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks, appreciate that, and yeah, characters are everything!

[@youfollow_]

@@LucForsyth indeed and storytelling ,can't afford aod due to where I live

[@seansims2475]

I LOVE the dirty desk!

[@studiosoul]

I love this so much. I watched the pre-prod episode and it made me want to watch this straight away. I just love seeing you in action and problem solve in real time, like with the harsh contrasting light situation at the archery range. These are real challenges we all come across on a shoot and I'm glad to see it with you as I can relate to it. Super inspiring! I just wanna keep watching. Look forward to the next episode.

[@DotsOnYTLive]

The trash In'n'Out, that was hilarious. I'm loving this series, thanks Luc! Super informative and fun to watch you work!

[@LucForsyth]

haha, gotta show the reality of the job sometimes! Glad you're liking the series, one more part next week!

[@mirandarikkitasker7087]

I absolutely love just following the this process. I learn so much from just watching you work. Thank you :)

[@CreativeIsolation]

Luc: we don’t want to come in guns blazing with cameras first thing Also Luc: shows up at the house with a cameraman filming for KZbin. 😂

[@rickymcc8624]

Thanks Luc. I'm new to video, totally get that its about the story, and love the authenticity feel about the behind the scenes view. It sounds great advice (ex AOD) to have your subject as a willing collaborater. I imagine it would be really hard to shoot and tell an endearing story if it were just a series of impromptu 'in your face' grab shots without proper respect for your main character and their willing engagement and 'investment' in the outcome. I have a background as an amateur photographer and long ago realised that the best portraiture required a willing and engaged subject prepared to invest their time and effort in helping make the best outcomes. I'm trying to teach myself how to create good content (for self interest, as an indulgent hobby rather than for cash). Been buying kit to augment a decent collection of Sony photo kit and many excellent lenses - sound, grip kit etc. Just taken delivery of an FX3 and researching how to best rig without going overboard. Have found many of your videos helpful in steering me away from buying lots of gear that isn't a priority, whilst holding out for quality kit. I'm lucky that gear cost isn't a major constraint for me, but realise most of all I now need to get out more, practice, review, learn and repeat.

[@regnismada4936]

This is so interesting. Really appreciate it

[@scotey]

Great video. Love the real-world content. I'm surprised you're not using Hedge for backups. Super easy to use, copies to multiple destinations with a single click, computes checksums to ensure file integrity, and has some neat features like automatically collapsing folders to avoid navigating/copying all those parent folders. It's expensive, but great.

[@LucForsyth]

I have shotput pro on my computer, and I would definitely use it on a professional job - it's the safest way, you're right! But we didn't have all that much footage on this one and we were barely sleeping, so we prioritized speed even if it was a small risk. But in general you bring up a good point - backup software is the way!

[@mistercohaagen]

Man, people like Jose deserve the most advanced cybernetic augmentations, not that he even needs them... he deserves to wield them to inspire hapless normies. Everybody in this video is just high caliber.

[@LucForsyth]

Then he’d take over the world!

[@johnclay7644]

very informative 25mins on practical factors of documentary making. Rereading the networking guide, very useful PDF. Thanks Luc.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks John, glad you're finding it helpful!

[@scottievee7467]

I'm guessing Jose was a bad ass soldier. Now he's next level bad ass. Very cool. Bowhunting is hard enough for anyone. Minor mistakes with a bow are amplified. Very little room for error. Inspiring to say the least.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks Scottie, yeah, he's a badass in all respects of life I think!

[@Superjeanmarc]

I’ve already signed up, last year , a bit because of you

[@LucForsyth]

Nice one, such a great course!

[@myvideoguy]

24:01 If it's not in 2 places (minimum), it's not yours ;-) For me too, I never put a drink on the same surface as a machine or cards, ever. Drinks live on the floor or their own desk / surface on the road. It was interesting you'd had a yoga mat style wrap around your flowtech legs when flying. I've never had a major issue with baggage handlers yet (thankfully) but that's a good consideration to enhance the padding of the bag and the safety of your sticks. For the tentacle sync's can you lock the record to recording all day without the possibility of the talent or operator somehow turning the recording off? If so I'm in. Love the constant record concept (with sync) option for doc work w more than one cam etc. Til that I've felt post sync (mostly using Plural Eyes) has been super easy for which I couldn't justify a kit of them. Def enjoying the BTS, super keen to see the end product, and am AMAZED by the archery!!! (though his mindset in general through to simply walking with general pain / and discomfort, plus risks / frustration of falling often is an amazing achievement in itself) ....How good would early nights or 5 hours+ sleep be on remote multi-day shoots! ;-p

[@LucForsyth]

Yeah, you’re right about the drinks, guess I got lazy! The tentacles can run for 10 hours, maybe a little more, so they’re really solid for exactly the reason you say. Thanks for the kind words, and you’re right - the archery was insane to watch!

[@terangikaiwhiriakemara]

We’re trying to figure out how to build that monitor arm from smallrig parts, because yunno, the wooden camera version is a quarter of the cost of my camera

[@terangikaiwhiriakemara]

Aside from that, awesome BTS, rare insight

[@LucForsyth]

Haha, yeah it’s outrageously overpriced…but works great! Any luck with a smallrig solution?

[@terangikaiwhiriakemara]

@@LucForsyth No, nothing dependable. Might just have to get the Wooden Camera mount with LCD Monitor Mounting Bracket :-/

[@mychalsimmons4177]

Wow so helpful for me thanks guys

[@bensawyer585]

Amazing work Luc! Do you use the internal Sony Codecs (XAVC-sI) or do you record RAW externally? Cheers

[@eliasaphisrael1494]

What was the song used when he was shooting the bow ? Epic.

[@DANAMIONLINE]

It’s dope seeing you in your element, beyond the desk at home. I’m curious what’s your process for scrubbing through all that audio when the recorder is constantly recording between takes? Good job, Richard on the coverage.

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks man! Well once it's synced it's really easy to just cut out all the audio where there's no video track playing, but in case you cut off the start of a sentence it's really handy to have. The syncing is the tough part, but not so bad if you're managing timecode

[@Maker_Star_Hero]

Docu-ception 😮

[@maartenfilms7631]

Great work Luc!! About Tentacle Track-E; Do you just keep that rolling during the whole filming session? I find it annoying to have to keep using the app on my phone to start/stop audio sessions. Any tips on how to work with it while shooting and in post?

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks! I like to cut it between scenes and rename the track just to make it a little easier to organize in the sync, but I will also just let it run as well sometimes. In post it's pretty easy with the Tentacle sync software, then I just go through and cut all the audio where there's no video recording unless I've cut off the start of a sentence. Without timecode it would be a nightmare though, so I'd dial that in before going with a system like this. Hope that helps!

[@scotey]

Unless you're shooting for a really long time (like 10 hours or more), why not just leave the Track E running? The files aren't excessively large. And you might luck into some bonus audio that you can tuck behind b-roll later.

[@LucForsyth]

@@scotey You're not wrong, but it just makes for an extremely long timeline once it's synced. This project was quite well organized in terms of scenes, so it wasn't too much work to cut and rename the files each time, but I have also definitely done it by just letting the track E run and it can reveal some real nuggets as you say. It's one of the best things about a system like this. But for this one it just made more sense to keep it tidy!

[@scotey]

@@LucForsyth I haven't actually tried to sync a long audio clip with shorter video clips. My expectation (or hope, perhaps?) is that the NLE would display only the audio that matches up video time code boundaries. Am I mistaken there?

[@LucForsyth]

It will keep the whole track and then place the video clips on it. So it will make for some really long timelines. Pretty easy to cut, but over a 10 hour day it's just another bunch of extra work to do!

[@davidmorefield]

Thank you for showing the thought processes and problem solving. Those are the most valuable for me. What was the audio issue that didn’t allow internal recording?

[@LucForsyth]

Static pops through the xlr port. Didn’t effect the shotgun, so maybe an issue with the camera 🙁

[@davidmorefield]

@@LucForsyth possibly could a bad cable connection on the tx/rx. Weird. Thank goodness for backups.

[@LucForsyth]

@@davidmorefield tried 3 different lav packs, 3 different cables, and every combination of both ports. Even called a pro sound person and they couldn't figure it out!

[@davidmorefield]

@@LucForsyth yikes, then I think you’re right.

[@chadkbrignall22]

Yeah 604 reppin!!

[@davidschwan]

love it

[@LucForsyth]

Thanks David!

[@Bo_Hazem]

You actually look better without the cap.😜

[@LucForsyth]

haha, it's funny because I don't wear the hat in normal life very much. When I meet people from the channel I think they don't recognize me!

[@MietQWila]

Oh mate, this one was really very inspiring. Thank you for sharing ❤️ I have question about an audio synchronisation. Have you ever been force to use auto synchronisation build in editing software? What is your opinion about that?

[@LucForsyth]

I haven't, but only because Tentacle ships with software licenses that have always worked, so never needed to try. I've definitely manually synced when using a zoom or something, but not with multiple wireless lavs - sorry!

[@VisionsVideography]

what is the brand of the mic with the internal SD card?

[@LucForsyth]

Tentacle Track E's - amzn.to/3llufVY

[@brennancullis6761]

How do you get the documentary’s edited

[@LucForsyth]

I'm doing this one! I won't lie, I don't love editing, but I wanted to go through the whole process as part of the series. Normally I'd try and outsource it to a professional as editing really is it's own art, but good to stay sharp!