crew

the times that i have gone and shot by myself my work has definitely suffered. just having someone there to remind me of simple things - white balance, color bars, sound levels, nd filters, gain - all the shit that can totally screw your shoot if you are not aware of them. i really enjoy working in groups on my films and others - it builds good relations out of class, gives us a chance to see people's creativity, and really it is just fun.

i think what is important is being organized and efficient. this means having all the gear you need, having clearly defined roles for people, having a clear laundry list of shots that you want, and getting those shots in a reasonable amount of time. i think it helps to spell all this out at some point before being on location, although I admit it is hard sometimes because we are still figuring all the stuff out - and the nature of the documentary is that sometimes you just need to film a bunch of stuff and see how it works out later.

i think it would be extremely beneficial to go through the post production phase as a crew as well. i think a lot of the problems we see in editing could be resolved if there was more collaboration in the edit bay.

i think i need to focus on the timing and efficiency of my own shoots and plan them out further in advance so that i am not asking people at the last minute to come out and help. also i think it is important to branch out and work with people that i have not worked with before.