Rugged Western Documentary uses SSDs for reliability
OWC was on board for one of my last shoots in one of the few truly remote areas of the American West. We were there to do a documentary about a cattle ranching family that has been working the range for generations. It’s the kind of area that looks great and bucolic in pictures but when you’re there, it tests people and equipment … sub-freezing temperatures, dust, wind, long days.
The OWC solid state drives (Mercury Extreme Pro 6G), coupled with the Voyager Q, were as dependable as the horses the family rode daily across the windblown plains. We shot using two Blackmagic Cinema Cameras swapping out drives; copied content to fast, high-capacity HDs in the equipment trailer and quickly put the SSD back to work. Despite the rugged environment and less than gentle handling, we never lost a frame of video during the shoot.
Most days started pre-dawn and in one particular instance, we shot in newly-fallen snow (yes, it was cold!) and finished after sunset in the nearby mountains. In between, we captured scenes in the brisk high desert air of fields, corrals and wild/domestic animals.
While the list of equipment was long, we did pack a lot into the production trailer. It included the two BMCC’s with the OWC drives; Zacuto viewfinders; Wooden and ePhoto cage rigs; Switronix v-mount batteries; Canon, Sigma, Zeiss lenses; Metabones Speed Booster; Manfrotto and Bogen tripods/heads; a Zoom H4N with boom for dual system sound; a Ready Rig for beautiful tracking shots; Dougman for the smaller Blackmagic Pocket camera; GoPro; Canon 60D for scene coverage; NEXTODi on-set battery-operated media management and Lumos lights for interior interviews. There were also cables of what seemed to be every length and size.
The NewerTech Voyager Q was used to read media and transfer it to the storage drives each night.
The list of equipment goes on and on because every cinematographer knows time on site is precious and expensive so you always have to pack “just in case” gear/equipment.
Cirina Catania — Writer – Producer – Founder, Catania Group Inc Productions
