Gail Mooney at PhotoCine Expo

Documentary filmmaker Gail Mooney will be speaking at the PhotoCine Expo at 10:00AM Saturday September 25th at the Los Angeles Film School. If you don’t know Gail Mooney, you haven’t been reading PCN very long. Gail’s on the board of the ASMP National Committee and is a filmmaker photographer who has a ton of experience shooting video. She’s made the switch to using HDSLR cameras while writing about the process on her blog Journeys of a Hybrid. … Continue Reading

Does a Canon 5D Mark II Make You a Cinematographer?

Gail Mooney, who will be speaking at our upcoming HDSLR Expo, asks the question on her blog; “Does a Canon 5D Mark II Make you a Cinematographer?”

I think many times still photographers overlook the fact that there is a lot more to a large scale production than just the shoot and the camera. And most of the time it goes way beyond the capabilities and role of the individual photographer who is used to working in a solo manner as opposed to collaboratio

This is a good read and definitely something that needs to be said from time to time. Photographers tend to work solo and do everything from sales and bookkeeping to being their own tech and handling post … Continue Reading

Journey’s of a Hybrid Look Back at first 70 days of Documentary

Gail Mooney has put up a look at what worked and what hasn’t for the first 70 days of her 99 day around the world documentary.

So as I go over the gear that I brought on my first leg with lessons learned in my head and prepare for the next stint, I’ll share my thoughts with you:

One of the entries stood out for me because I’ve been interested in GoPro since NAB:

I want to get more attachments for my GoPro Hero Cam because there are so many ways to use this camera – it’s amazing and I’m having a ball thinking of all the possibilities in how I can use it. The Hero cam will always be part of my gear kit.

I’ve asked Gail to speak at the PhotoCineNews Expo in September so stay tuned about the details. Until then, read the whole article and follow Gail and her daughter Kelly’s exploits here.

Journey’s of a Hybrid – Hard Part about working with DSLRs

Gail Mooney is two months into her self funded documentary project that has taken her and her daughter around the globe. She’s been posting frequent updates and tips for photographer filmmakers about everything from which airports to avoid to what gear to take with you. Her latest update questions the HDSLR only approach to unscripted documentary work:

After two solid months of intensive shooting a documentary – shooting both stills and video with two DSLR cameras, the Canon 5D Mark II and 7D, I can honestly say working with these hybrids is not easy. And it certainly isn’t fast, especially if you are working in a small crew as we are.

Read the rest of her article for the details and be sure to follow her exploits on PCN.

Journey’s of a Hybrid – 10 Biggest HDSLR Video Mistakes

Gail Mooney continues blogging about her HDSLR experiences while traveling around the world with her daughter Kelly. This time, she takes what she has learned on the road and creates a top ten list of mistakes made when shooting with HDSLR cameras.

I’ve been shooting video with traditional video cameras for the last 11 years so I wasn’t in the dark as to how to shoot motion. But I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve made my share of mistakes with these hybrids.

Be sure to read her article and avoid similar pitfalls.

Journeys of a Hybrid Gear Update

A lot of PCN readers checked out Gail Mooney’s blog post about the gear she would be taking on her round the world trip with her daughter. She is now half way through her three month adventure and is reflecting on those choices from the field.

I received quite a few comments – publicly posted and otherwise and many people remarked that I was taking too much. . . .The main verdict is – my hunches were pretty much on target and I didn’t over pack. Sure it’s a lot to carry – but there are two of us and it all fits into two medium sized photo backpacks.

… Continue Reading