Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp at DVinfo.net

Simon Wood · September 18th, 2012, 03:43 AM

So I filmed this for the Rode Rockumentary competition that has been advertised here.
Essentially you have to make a documentary in under 2 minutes that features a Rode microphone somewhere in the footage.

As the prize is based on a music documentary, I decided to make my entry a music documentary too (to prove I can handle the format; or to prove that I can not)!

I made a music video for a local artist called Bomboy a while back, so I got in touch with him and commissioned a new song with his music producer. I then filmed the making of this song in the studio, along with some interviews. I decided to revolve the story around the democratizing effect of low cost technology (something Rode microphones can relate to). Essentially these days in audio and video we can build studios at affordable prices, especially with the low cost of software (something that was unthinkable 20 years ago in the hardware heavy days). This especially has had an impact in 3rd world countries like Uganda, where the cost involved would have traditionally prevented many people from breaking into the industry.

I filmed this with a Canon T3i and vintage Nikkor lenses. The Interview audio recorded with a Rode NTG2, and a Roland R-26 Recorder. The song was recorded on a Rode NT1 microphone at X2 Studios, Kajansi, Uganda.

Edited in FCPX, and graded with Magic Bullet Looks.

I had major audio issues with this projec; but I managed to get workable results using a free program called Audacity (I used it to clean the background noise).

Alan Melville · September 20th, 2012, 10:47 PM

Simon,

Great stuff, well done.

Al

Allan Black · September 21st, 2012, 02:16 AM

Yes indeed, Simon's entry was a favourite with the judges and just missed out being in the top 10 ...

RDE Rockumentary! Vote now

Cheers.

Simon Wood · September 21st, 2012, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Yes indeed, Simon's entry was a favourite with the judges and just missed out being in the top 10 ...

RDE Rockumentary! Vote now

Cheers.

Hmm...if thats true then thanks for letting me know (do you have some inside info on the competiton)?

Sounds about right though - the story of my life thus far! My epitaph will simply read "Simon Wood - Close, but no cigar".

Fair dues to Rode though; its really fantastic that they ran a competition that was open to the whole world; usually these things are geographically restricted, so we had a good fun running with it here in Uganda.

Cheers.

Joe Piechura · September 21st, 2012, 10:11 AM

Really enjoyed it. The location definitely allowed you to do something a bit different.

Simon Wood · September 21st, 2012, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Melville

Simon,

Great stuff, well done.

Al

Cheers Alan, thanks for watching!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Piechura

Really enjoyed it. The location definitely allowed you to do something a bit different.

Thanks Joe!

Yeah the location was pretty unique. The studio was set up in a little house on a dirt road (literally 3 small rooms, the green entrance where we filmed the interviews, the actual studio and booth (which could sit about 3 people in total), and a bedroom where there was a small charcoal stove for cooking meals!

The nightclub where we filmed the launch of the song was also pretty insane. As soon as Bomboy came on stage everyone went crazy and started picking up candles from tables and waving them in his face. One guy pulled out a balaclava and put a candle in his mouth (don't know why; but it looked pretty good on camera) while someone else got some road flares from somewhere and lit them up. The stage kind of became a ruck and it was pretty hard to film what was going on (though he sang the song 3 times meaning we got a lot of coverage).

I wanted to do the filming as low key as possible, so I used a DSLR handheld and went with it; it was a real run-and-gun shoot in the end.

Joe Piechura · September 22nd, 2012, 10:32 AM

That was one of the reasons I bought a DSLR actually. I don't really want to be attracting too much attention (well no more than usual). People just assume I'm a tourist (which is bad enough).

Simon Wood · September 23rd, 2012, 03:37 AM

Yeah; they are great for filming in public places. I also have a shoulder mounted camera which attracts all sorts of attention. Often at events the big camera can actually act as a back-stage pass as people kind of wave me through and grant me access. But it causes a lot disruption in public places, and I often find people act different in front of it.

Once you get over the shortcomings of the dslr it opens up lots of potential. The only thing I find is that outdoors at daytime I really need a loupe to actually focus with (plus a variable ND filter to control the DoF).

I'd really like to get my hands on a 1DC (though I would be unable to justify the cost). The idea of being able to grab a dslr, a lens, a pocket full of batteries and media, and then shoot in 4K is so tempting....

Simon Wood · September 25th, 2012, 10:34 AM

Rode contacted me today to say that they have decided to give a Rode VideoMicPro to everyone who entered the competition!

So, so a very cool (and completely unexpected) result from this competition.

Thanks Rode!

Allan Black · September 25th, 2012, 04:13 PM

So you got a win after all Simon :) Congratulations to all who entered.

When you receive your VMP, don't forget to log on to Rodes site and register your VMP for its free 10 year warranty.

A note for others, because Rode offers a free 10 year warranty, it's only for Rode mics. If you bought a pre-loved Rode mic,
you can transfer its existing warranty registration to you by logging onto ..

RDE Microphones - Register For Warranty

There's one case recently of a buyer who bought one off ebay, transferred its free warranty and found out it has 2 years still remaining,
another plus for him.

Cheers.

Simon Wood · May 11th, 2015, 05:25 AM

So, we entered the original Rode Rockumentary back in 2012, with our documentary called Soundcheck. Now in 2015 the same team decided to come back with a new story. Though, in truth we couldn't come up with a new story, so we decided to remix the original story, and remix the original song. And the result is Soundcheck - the Remix.

Back in 2012 we based the story around technology enabling artists; the case in point being Rode microphones who make good quality equipment at affordable prices.

This time we decided to focus on tradition, rather than technology. Our Ugandan musicians went back to their roots and reconstructed the original song with traditional instruments, which we then brought back into the studio and made a remix fusing the old and the new.

We wrapped filming last week, and we're currently editing the project at the moment.

We have some behind the scenes stuff at our Facebook page; please like us if thats your thing!

https://www.facebook.com/SoundcheckRockumentary

Simon Wood · May 19th, 2015, 04:36 AM

So the new videos can be seen here:

Soundcheck - The Remix #?MyRodeReel?

If you want please vote by clicking the Vote button, and clicking the next link (through Facebook or Google + etc) - its quick and easy and requires no info.

Thanks!

Chuck Spaulding · May 23rd, 2015, 11:32 AM

When I saw the first version of this video I didn't watch it all the way through. It was good but it played like a commercial. In my opinion this version is much better.

After viewing this version I went back and viewed the first one in its entirety, still no comparison. The second version is much more of a human interest story.

They are both good but I think this version is much better.

Keep up the great work.

September 18th, 2012, 03:43 AM	#1
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp So I filmed this for the Rode Rockumentary competition that has been advertised here. Essentially you have to make a documentary in under 2 minutes that features a Rode microphone somewhere in the footage. As the prize is based on a music documentary, I decided to make my entry a music documentary too (to prove I can handle the format; or to prove that I can not)! I made a music video for a local artist called Bomboy a while back, so I got in touch with him and commissioned a new song with his music producer. I then filmed the making of this song in the studio, along with some interviews. I decided to revolve the story around the democratizing effect of low cost technology (something Rode microphones can relate to). Essentially these days in audio and video we can build studios at affordable prices, especially with the low cost of software (something that was unthinkable 20 years ago in the hardware heavy days). This especially has had an impact in 3rd world countries like Uganda, where the cost involved would have traditionally prevented many people from breaking into the industry. I filmed this with a Canon T3i and vintage Nikkor lenses. The Interview audio recorded with a Rode NTG2, and a Roland R-26 Recorder. The song was recorded on a Rode NT1 microphone at X2 Studios, Kajansi, Uganda. Edited in FCPX, and graded with Magic Bullet Looks. I had major audio issues with this projec; but I managed to get workable results using a free program called Audacity (I used it to clean the background noise). "Soundcheck" A Rode Rockumentary on Vimeo __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

September 20th, 2012, 10:47 PM	#2
Alan Melville Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: No Fixed Address :) Western Australia Posts: 275	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp Simon, Great stuff, well done. Al

September 21st, 2012, 02:16 AM	#3
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,927	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp Yes indeed, Simon's entry was a favourite with the judges and just missed out being in the top 10 ... RDE Rockumentary! Vote now Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

September 21st, 2012, 10:11 AM	#5
Joe Piechura Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Posts: 57	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp Really enjoyed it. The location definitely allowed you to do something a bit different.

September 22nd, 2012, 10:32 AM	#7
Joe Piechura Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Posts: 57	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp That was one of the reasons I bought a DSLR actually. I don't really want to be attracting too much attention (well no more than usual). People just assume I'm a tourist (which is bad enough).

September 23rd, 2012, 03:37 AM	#8
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp Yeah; they are great for filming in public places. I also have a shoulder mounted camera which attracts all sorts of attention. Often at events the big camera can actually act as a back-stage pass as people kind of wave me through and grant me access. But it causes a lot disruption in public places, and I often find people act different in front of it. Once you get over the shortcomings of the dslr it opens up lots of potential. The only thing I find is that outdoors at daytime I really need a loupe to actually focus with (plus a variable ND filter to control the DoF). I'd really like to get my hands on a 1DC (though I would be unable to justify the cost). The idea of being able to grab a dslr, a lens, a pocket full of batteries and media, and then shoot in 4K is so tempting.... __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

September 25th, 2012, 10:34 AM	#9
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp Rode contacted me today to say that they have decided to give a Rode VideoMicPro to everyone who entered the competition! So, so a very cool (and completely unexpected) result from this competition. Thanks Rode! __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

September 25th, 2012, 04:13 PM	#10
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,927	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp So you got a win after all Simon :) Congratulations to all who entered. When you receive your VMP, don't forget to log on to Rodes site and register your VMP for its free 10 year warranty. A note for others, because Rode offers a free 10 year warranty, it's only for Rode mics. If you bought a pre-loved Rode mic, you can transfer its existing warranty registration to you by logging onto .. RDE Microphones - Register For Warranty There's one case recently of a buyer who bought one off ebay, transferred its free warranty and found out it has 2 years still remaining, another plus for him. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

May 11th, 2015, 05:25 AM	#11
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp So, we entered the original Rode Rockumentary back in 2012, with our documentary called Soundcheck. Now in 2015 the same team decided to come back with a new story. Though, in truth we couldn't come up with a new story, so we decided to remix the original story, and remix the original song. And the result is Soundcheck - the Remix. Back in 2012 we based the story around technology enabling artists; the case in point being Rode microphones who make good quality equipment at affordable prices. This time we decided to focus on tradition, rather than technology. Our Ugandan musicians went back to their roots and reconstructed the original song with traditional instruments, which we then brought back into the studio and made a remix fusing the old and the new. We wrapped filming last week, and we're currently editing the project at the moment. We have some behind the scenes stuff at our Facebook page; please like us if thats your thing! https://www.facebook.com/SoundcheckRockumentary __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

May 19th, 2015, 04:36 AM	#12
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp So the new videos can be seen here: Soundcheck - The Remix #?MyRodeReel? If you want please vote by clicking the Vote button, and clicking the next link (through Facebook or Google + etc) - its quick and easy and requires no info. Thanks! __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

May 23rd, 2015, 11:32 AM	#13
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,104	Re: Soundcheck - made for the Rode Rockumentary comp When I saw the first version of this video I didn't watch it all the way through. It was good but it played like a commercial. In my opinion this version is much better. After viewing this version I went back and viewed the first one in its entirety, still no comparison. The second version is much more of a human interest story. They are both good but I think this version is much better. Keep up the great work.