This content is pure gold, it is a real privilege to take a look behind the scenes of a doc like that. I worked as a reporter, recently I am shooting and editing as well. As a one man band I think you have the advantage of being fast to react, invisible in situations where even 2 people are too much. Can you tell us a bit more about the work of a producer in a situation like that?
Thank you for your comment! Small crews can have their advantage, but they can be challenging as well. A lot is put on the shoulders of a few. On this show in particular, the producer was vital. They built and managed the relationships (that I was then able to develop as well). They were a second set of eyes and ears to see where to pivot next. They could run interference, handle release forms, help with sound, basically anything else that's needed. There's no way we could have done this show with only a single person.
I've been waiting for content like this Matt! In depth, on the ground knowledge. The Trade was such an amazing show. I watched both seasons. Thank you so much for putting in the time to make this. I am always trying to find inside the mind of the director/cinematographer content on the internet. Thank you truly for your expertise and I look forward to seeing what you do next.
Can you tell me how logistically you were with the family? Did you sleep at a nearby hotel and meet the family early? At what point did you turn off the cameras in the hotel and go to sleep? Where did you go to sleep?
We stayed in a hotel as close as we could. In certain places, like Atlanta, we followed multiple subjects there. So depending, we often did a lot of driving around town to film with various people. But we tried to stick to one subject at a time, unless something came up. We would arrive early and spend all day with them, leaving whenever we felt we should leave. Either to give them a break from us or because we didn't expect anything else to happen that night. As far as the hotel room scene, I think we started with Skyler and Laina around midday and probably didn't leave the hotel room until about 3 in the morning. We just had to wait it out and decide when it was time to go.
How do you know when to start recording? Or did you recorded all the time when you were on location, and removed extra footage with nothing interesting afterwards? If so, how you managed data storage and batteries?
Knowing when to start recording and when to stop is one of those things you have to feel out in the moment. With verite, you often don't know what might be useful in the edit until it's in the hands of the editor, so you shoot a lot more than you need. Things that can start out not being very interesting can quickly turn into an important scene. On average, I'd say I was shooting 7 hours of footage a day on "The Trade." Footage would all be backed up at the end of the day, rarely during (since we didn't have an additional person handling this), so the days were long! I carried (10) )128 CFast cards ~ 14 hrs, so I could go a couple days if need be. And then I made sure I had enough batteries to last a full day of shooting without needing to charge. I think I had (8) 98 WHr Gold Mount batteries and a few Canon batteries to carry me over if needed.
Hey Matt, I'm curious, did you ever wear body armor during the filming of the Trade/Cartel land? I noticed a couple photos of Matthew Heineman during the filming, he appeared to be wearing some. If so, do you have any recommendations for armor that you're able to still be mobile while filming? Thanks!
We had a vest with us on Cartel Land, but never on The Trade. Sadly, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what’s the best option. And that was 10 years ago, so I’m sure it’s come a long way since then. I know what we wore was incredibly heavy and made quick movements tough! So unless the situation was dire, we wouldn’t wear it to make getting away easier.
@@matt-porwoll Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yeah, that makes sense, I've been researching lightweight options and seeing what I can get away with. got some doc work upcoming in some contentious areas so thought I'd ask, big fan of your work!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, this is fantasic. Would you be able to share your C300 rig for this doc? I've always had trouble with it getting tall and awkward.
I kept it pretty slimmed down. It was either just the body with the clamshell screen / audio unit off a 15mm rod from the top handle to work as either an EVF or flip it up when shooting from the hip. or sometimes I would have a Gold Mount plate on the back if I needed extended run time / the ability to hot-swap. Mounting the clamshell off a rod and a cold shoe bracket kept it from being too tall.
Amazing content, learned so much! I'm curious about the personal challenges that you face as a cinematographer on projects that have such intense and dedicated production phases. What are ways that you take care of your physical and mental health? What does it look like if you have pressing matters arise in your personal life while on production? What are ways that you keep yourself grounded? Big question but thought it was worth the ask. Thanks!
Thanks so much for your comment. And yes, this is a constant struggle in this line of work. I'll be doing a whole video on mental health in the coming weeks, so be sure to keep a look out for that. As far as balancing the personal matters vs production, this is a real challenge. Funny enough, I got married in the middle of "The Trade," so I made sure to carve that time out, but otherwise, you just have to work with the producing team to see what you can work out to manage both... it certainly wasn't easy!
Hey Matt! Definitely looking forward to that upcoming video, I’m sure it’ll be a great resource. Oh wow, getting married + working on that production seems challenging. But glad you were able to work with the producing team to find a balance. Thanks for the vulnerability! Really useful for me as I think about my own career trajectory and work life balance.
