Equipment

Since I don't have access to any professional equipment at home, I shall be seeking permission and borrowing the necessary technology from my school. I have been given demonstrations on how to use the equipment correctly and safely, so I already feel quite familiar with the technicalities of filmmaking before beginning production. 

SONY HXR-MC2000E

This was the camera offered to us by our school. I will also be renting out the tripod that comes with it because this will enable steady and stationary positioning of the camera as well as providing alternatives to putting it on someone's shoulder and being a physical challenge. The battery life is 280 minutes and so I am not worried about running out as long as I charge the camera fully before going out to shoot. The built in microphone should be beneficial in case the sound equipment isn't working or in case I don't have the crew numbers to operate both a microphone and camera separately. What's most appealing to me is that I can control the focus manually in order to achieve some of the focus shifts from my storyboards. 


TASCAM DR-70D

The Tascam is the main source of sound recording. A microphone is attached to one of ports at the side (shown in the photo on the right) and headphones are attached to the opposite side so that a crew member can listen to the audio whilst they are recording. I was less familiar with this piece of technology and so I have practised recording and learning how to play the files back so that if I need to use it in production I will know how to set it up correctly. 
I have additionally been given access to a shotgun microphone and a microphone extension arm which would be useful if the crew member needed to be further out of shot so that the camera could film from wider angles. 

Currently I am feeling very optimistic about using the equipment because I believe I am knowledgeable and creative enough to make good use out of them, less so in terms of sound because my short film only features one scene of dialogue.