Shooting short stories for our clients is one of our favourite things to do, and where we got most of our experience with documentary-style storytelling.  We have shot so many short documentary stories, whether for life events or businesses, that we have a pretty good idea of what it takes to do these well.

So, why can’t we we just show up with one shooter and a camera and do a good job?

When we do what we do (that is, moving, effective, and nice-looking video stories), there is a lot going on.  To put it simply, it is more than a one-person job! And here are some of the things that make it so.

Complementary Shots from Two Angles and/or Focal Lengths

From a visual storytelling perspective, this alone can justify the presence of a second shooter.  One shooter may be capturing the main shot, while the second is capturing a zoomed in shot as a wonderful cutaway to help tell the story. Or perhaps there are things going on in two places simultaneously, or a different angle captures a necessary yet different shot. You can read much more about the artistic and other shot selection benefits of two shooters at a wedding at this blog, however the exact same thing applies to commercial videos.

Managing equipment

There is so much equipment management to do in any video shoot. And we’re not even talking about film-industry productions! Our documentary stories are very light-weight compared to that. But even for a simple 4h brand story shoot, or a 5h elopement, you still have many things to manage, such as:

  • Loading and unloading the gear
  • Assembling and disassembling it for use
  • Setting up cameras, lights, and audio gear
  • Putting on mics, taking off mics, managing audio recording equipment.
  • Etc.

Capturing audio

Just as important as the footage is the sound. Any well-shot video can be ruined with bad sound. Have you ever watched a show where the sound was out of sync with the video? It is horribly distracting.

When we are doing our interviews with one subject, it is often one shooter’s responsibility to set up and manage the sound and the other’s to set up the cameras. For more fluid scenarios, capturing audio sometimes justifies bringing a dedicated audio person, aside from the shooters.

In the case of a wedding, a single person could manage sound and the cameras for a true elopement – it is relaxed, you can take your time, and you could conceivably get the important shots with one person because you have the freedom to move and to interrupt and stop things.  We will only do true elopements with one shooter – that is: the couple, the officiant, and two witnesses. As soon as you put any kind of audience into the mix, it doubles the complexity – from time constraints, capturing all the various angles of different people, and making sure that all the important words are being recorded.  It is just too much for one person.

Monitoring recordings in interviews

The importance of sound can’t be overemphasized!  During an interview, making sure the cameras are running is important, but monitoring sound levels is just as much so. Both of our shooters are required during an interview, and they are both doing double-duty.

Our lead shooter is often our ‘director’ – conducting the interview, asking the right questions, paying attention to how the answers come out, and that what we’re learning matches the story we’re trying to tell. They are also monitoring the main camera.

Our second shooter makes sure the audio levels are good, that an airplane or truck going by didn’t ruin the recording (for example), and making sure it sounds good generally.  They are also monitoring the second camera to make sure it’s all good.

Unforeseen circumstances

Documentary shoots are live events.  Stuff happens all the time that we cannot foresee, and that we have to react and adapt to.  New shot ideas come up that we’d never even thought of that only become apparent on the day of.  Equipment needs to be modified and adapted as those cases come up.  And, having someone on your team to help you deal with those unforeseen circumstances can save the shoot.

So, hopefully by now you get the idea.  Having two shooters is key for most documentary shoots besides the most simple, relaxed, and flexible setups.