Shooting a Documentary
BY ROBBY BROWN, LUSAKA, ZAMBIA -- Shooting a documentary really isn't as easy as some may think. The country is beautiful and the people are wonderful but it's tough capturing that experience. You want to shoot everything but you need to save tape and battery. At the same time, you don't want to miss a key part in a conversation so you don't want to turn the cameras off. If I had "spidey sense" I would definitely use it. You need to keep an eye on everybody and make sure that if something goes down, you're right there getting it on tape. Another issue I found that I need to work on is lighting. Zambians are naturally very dark skinned, so when we are in ... say the Lusaka Playhouse. It's dark in there so I need to change some settings on the camera; if I follow somebody outside, I have to change it back to shoot outside so everything isn't washed out. Of course everybody has stuff to practice and over time we will get better. For now things are a little rough. But nothing worthwhile comes easy.
I absolutely love Zambia and am thrilled to be here. Thank you to the locals who are so inviting, and the family back home who are so encouraging!
Comments
Robby, I realize even more how difficult your job is. The fact that you do not have set plans (ie story boards) or each hour of filming already mapped out, may be even harder than the actual feature film. You really have to stay focused! Take care.
Posted by: Karen Brown-Walker | August 12, 2006 07:13 AM
Rob,
We are all proud of you and miss you very much. It sounds like you have a very difficult job, but I know you can do it.
Take care,
Mindy and Sadie
Posted by: Mindy Brown | August 15, 2006 02:34 PM
Rob- You are getting to experience what some people only dream of. Keep learning and growing and never look back.
The Lindseys
Posted by: Emily Lindsey | August 17, 2006 10:35 AM