The Ultimate Vérité Experience on "The Trade"

Рет қаралды 1,307

Күн бұрын

Showtime’s “The Trade” was the hardest thing I’ve ever shot. But the experience of filming this true vérité series informed everything I’ve done since. Want to know about building a team capable of capturing stories of this magnitude? Want to know more about gaining trust and getting access to sensitive stories? Then you’ve come to right place.
_____________________________________
💥📞 NEED MORE ADVICE THAN A KZfaq VIDEO CAN OFFER? SCHEDULE A ONE-ON-ONE CALL TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 📞💥
calendly.com/matt-porwoll/one...
_____________________________________
🔗 VIDEO LINKS 🔗
“The Trade” Trailer: • The Trade 2018 Offic...
American Cinematographer: Perspectives on a Crisis theasc.com/articles/the-trade...
Canon C300MKII: bhpho.to/3SSuBRC
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8: bhpho.to/49LiXxV
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM: bhpho.to/46RzZJd
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM: bhpho.to/45uXnen
Canon 24mm f/1.4 L II USM prime: bhpho.to/3UzpKGq
Canon 50mm f/1.2 L II USM prime: bhpho.to/49pZiDb
Litepanels Astra 6x: bhpho.to/3OADUTQ
Sennheiser G4 Transmitter / Receiver Kit: bhpho.to/3FgTMG5
Sanken COS-11D: bhpho.to/3Fdddjb
Camera Mic: bhpho.to/3ZSG9GE
Sennheiser G4 Plug-In Transmitter (w/ Phantom Power): bhpho.to/3ZS8tsF
ThinkTank Pouches: bhpho.to/3S16iky
_____________________________________
📖 CHAPTERS 📖
0:00 Intro
1:01 Logistical Challenges
1:36 Choosing the Crew
4:36 Creating a Unified Look
5:32 The Camera Package
6:29 The Lens Package
7:21 The Lighting Package
7:49 The Sound Package
9:18 Using the Limitations to our Advantage
9:55 Use of Perspective
11:47 Trust-Building & Access
14:10 Conclusion
_____________________________________
🎥🎧💥 MY EQUIPMENT PACKAGE FOR THE FILMS I SHOOT 💥🎧🎥
🎥
A CAM bhpho.to/3LWIafd
B CAM bhpho.to/3Fi9lgU
PRIMARY ZOOMS bhpho.to/46J9oO8
PRIMARY PRIMES bhpho.to/48Tpypn
LIGHTWEIGHT ZOOM bhpho.to/46RzZJd
TRIPOD bhpho.to/48v7HFx
Want to see how I configure my handheld rig? • Handheld Camera Build
🎧
CAMERA MIC bhpho.to/3QgAgzO
WIRELESS TX/RX bhpho.to/3FgTMG5
LAVALIER bhpho.to/3Fdddjb
Want to see my audio configuration when doing my own sound? • Camera Audio Configura...
💡
KEY LIGHT bhpho.to/3SMcQnK
FILL LIGHT bhpho.to/3ZWC3gB
ACCENT LIGHTS bhpho.to/40Ebm0F
PRACTICAL LIGHTS bhpho.to/46hJlgs
MINIATURE LIGHTS bhpho.to/41f3Iu2
Want to see my full lighting package and how I use it? • Doc Interview Lighting...
_____________________________________
DISCLAIMERS
This video is not sponsored by any brand, and most of the gear discussed in the video is equipment I personally bought and own. On occasion, however, videos may feature equipment that has been provided by outside brands, which I will always point out. My review of these products are always without bias and are only shown because I would personally recommend their use.
Many of the external links to products in my videos are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you if purchases are made using these links and those purchases help me continue to provide free content on this channel.

Пікірлер: 24

@adorjan.botond 4 ай бұрын

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?

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

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.

@felixgolenko 4 ай бұрын

Danke!

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

@africanwildlifeonline 4 ай бұрын

Matt the psychological toll on you - being in the thick of things must be tremendous - no doubt ptsd is clawing at your insides...How do you cope?

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

Yeah, these projects definitely have a toll. I'm going to do a whole video on mental health, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

@africanwildlifeonline 4 ай бұрын

@matt-porwoll I will certainly keep an eye out for that episode. Keep safe.

@igorzhidkov1957 4 ай бұрын

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?

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

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.

@DANAMIONLINE 4 ай бұрын

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?

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

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.

@DANAMIONLINE 4 ай бұрын

@@matt-porwoll, thanks for that insight. It's what I expected you all to do. It's what I would do in those situations.

@QZ_AU 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this! Hope to see more detailed breakdown from the show

@BryceDocherty 4 ай бұрын

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.

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

@rumorscameras 4 ай бұрын

cool

@AnandaGarden 4 ай бұрын

Lots and lots of valuable insights and information, thank you Matt.

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@occulus2615 4 ай бұрын

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.

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

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.

@occulus2615 4 ай бұрын

@@matt-porwoll Thank you!

@LukeHumphlett 4 ай бұрын

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!

@matt-porwoll 4 ай бұрын

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!

@LukeHumphlett 4 ай бұрын

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.