For my big project I’m hoping to create a video filmed and edited entirely by myself, with post-production being conducted with more sophisticated video-editing software. My project has remained pretty consistent in my overall goal, though I’ve come up with a few different options as far as the type of content I may shoot as I’ve been looking into the practical aspects of completing my filming and subsequent editing. I contacted a friend of mine who works at the Digital Knowledge Center to get some advice for which equipment to use. I was already leaning towards using the EOS Rebel T5i cameras (as I have experience using them over the summer), but hadn’t really used them for recording audio in conjunction with video. She indicated that the audio capabilities of the camera are okay, but suggested looking into a usb mic to hook on top of it (specifically a rode mic which I should be able to check out from the HCC or potentially borrow from Jesse Stommel). She further suggested looking up online videos for the equipment (which I think would be especially helpful for the microphone). In the event that I am unable to successfully record audio simultaneously with the visuals, I could potentially record voiceovers and use music in post-production to create a mocumentary/documentary type feel (similar to BBC nature documentaries or the True Facts YouTube videos). This will be a good backup plan if I’m unable to find the right microphone or if I later determine the audio that I do gather is of subpar quality. This will mean that during filming I need to make sure I have a mixture of audio-centered footage and more visually-centered footage to ensure that I am prepared for either type of video end product. My next step will be to look into securing one of these rode mics and watching some tutorials on how to successfully couple them to a camera. As my project progresses, my guess is that it will be the audio component that I will need the most help with, so I will hopefully keep in contact with my more audio-experienced friend to help with trouble-shooting.
