Biggest, most elaborate is not always the best camera for the story!
There is a lot of discussion and “chest beating” when production crews show off their gear. You know the “gear heads” that like to show the biggest and baddest camera(s) regardless of the production. One of the things I have learned in my years of video production, content creation, and even inside healthcare…it does not matter what type of camera you give me, I can still tell a great story.
If you notice, Mark is holding a small DJI Osmo 4K stabilized camera that appears small in production comparison. This is a very powerful camera.Before this shoot, we actually debated whether to use the DJI Ronin MX with the Canon 5D mkiii mounted or the smaller DJI Osmo. As we walked all the locations for the shoot, we noticed that many of the healthcare clients for this production seemed hesitant to allow us to capture their experience, but were willing. We knew if we pull out the large DJI Ronin MX stabilizer, it might distract from the interaction and patient experience.
We chose to go small, to come across less obtrusive where Mark could make eye contact while capturing content. If using and managing the large stabilizer, the focus is on the shot and the screen and less on the patient experience.
We have found this to be true with children as well. Larger cameras draw children’s attention away from their natural environment which creates bad shot selection. Bottomline, the kids just stare at the camera. We use something like this DJI Osmo (pictured here) so we can talk and interact with the kids. That is why GoPro’s work so well with small children, creating the atmosphere for better interaction and less obtrusive production. I share this…because it is all about the story…less about the technology. We can scale technology up and down to meet the needs of the client and story. But the story trumps the technology any day of the week.