When I heard back from The Old Frog Pond Farm about making a film for them, I was ecstatic! This was the beginning on exciting adventure! To prepare for this project, I had to go through a few phases of preproduction. The first involved talking with the owner of the farm on email, phone and then finally in person at her farm to become familiar with the land, the attractions, the people working there and the overall purpose of the farm.
I also had to prepare my equipment for the gig. I am shooting this film on an iPhone 12 Pro with a gimbal, Nikon DSLR, and Mavic Air 2 Drone. I realized I needed a higher quality microphone for my iPhone so I researched and purchased a high quality microphone.
Gear is important but only if you know how to use it. Luckily, I was going to be meeting with my friend Jack who is an extraordinary musician with a much better understanding of microphones than I have so I enlisted his help. I also needed a visual observer for my drone flights so that while I manage the cinematic shots, the other person can watch the drone and make sure it stays in sight. My cousin Zev enthusiastically agreed to the job. Once all this was set up, all that was left was to prepare questions which ran by my family and edited in preparation for my first interview of the film. Even though this is in many ways a one person project, I was happy to find ways to collaborate with friends and family for this project.
Preproduction for a documentary takes time. One must schedule the film, prepare the equipment, and prep for the interviews. Next up, filming!
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