Challenge Day in Jackson, MI

You've probably heard of MTV's new series, "If You Really Knew Me"?  A program that highlights the efforts made by a nation-wide organization called Challenge Day to promote equality, justice, and love among students at high schools around the US.  This organization puts on a one-day long program for schools across the country in hopes that the stereotypes and barriers that lie within its students will be lifted up and kids will be able to feel safe, loved, and celebrated among their peers.

For the past two years, I've been hired by Jackson, MI's Martin Luther King Diversity Committee to produce an annual promotional video, highlighting student's experiences in the Challenge Day program and presenting the changes taking place in Jackson's middle schools.  This year's 2010 video presented at Jackson's MLK Diversity Breakfast was sponsored by Comcast Cable of Lansing, MI.  My video was introduced during the breakfast by Comcast's senior manager, John Gardner.  I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity to gain further experience working with a great client.  You may preview this year's video here. (Challenge Day 2010)

New equipment? Yeah!...but what??

As I battle through these production classes here at SAU, tons of my production friends have been picking up on the DSLR trend in performing video production, instead of using HDV or MiniDV camcorders.  As they crank out class projects with quality HD resolution, very small depth of field, vivid colors, and relatively smooth motions from steadycams or sliders, I've been wrestling through our school's rental procedures, as I must schedule my shoots with a minimal amount of time given to use the equipment.  It's always frustrating when you only have from 8a-5p or 5p-8a to shoot a piece, especially when you may want to capture a piece during prime sunset or sunrise hours.  Not to mention though the camcorders provided are nice Panasonic AG-DVX100B's, and give us a variety of manual features, they still lack with depth-of-field and vivid color capabilities, that I've come to find very attractive in a piece.

Anyway, I've gone through my share of camcorders in my career, stepping up on each new machine.  Though, currently my Sony DCR-TRV39 is out of order, so I obviously have nothing that will even closely compete with the quality of work I've been previewing by my classmates and collegues.  As I researched for new camcorders these past few months, I developed an interest for the DSLR norm of doing video.  Though, as I looked more into the features and limitations that come with that choice of shooting, what came as a big turnoff to me were the recording limits most DSLR cameras have (12-minutes?), and the lack of a headphone jack to monitor incoming audio from a mic, two features on a camcorder I can't live without!  I'm also sure DSLRs are more unstable without the help of any steadycam, than camcorders would be?

The types of work I enjoy shooting most include corporate, commercial, interview, documentary, promotional, advertisement, or one-time events.  Looking at just some of the limitations DSLRs give me, it's apparent a 12-minute shooting limit wouldn't be ideal for capturing a wedding ceremony, or performing an interview in most cases.  When a friend of mine introduced me to the Sony NEX-VG10, "a DSLR in a camcorder's body", I was intrigued.  It had seemed the initial limitations I had been concerned about were lifted, and the capabilities of shallow depth of field still remained.  As I further researched on this camcorder, it seemed to be my best choice for what I was looking for, and still remains my first choice for now, as I haven't upgraded any equipment yet.

Though, I'm aware I don't gain some cool features that I would on other prosumer HDV camcorders, like XLR inputs and more manual control buttons on the body of the camcorder (which would definitely be nice), I think the question I've been asking myself is, "Does shallow depth of field and the versatility of interchangeable lenses top other features including XLR inputs or more buttons on the camcorder's body for easier manual control?"  Because HDV camcorders are definitely another option.

So, any input on what should be considered would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

You can check out Sony's NEX-VG10 here!
Also, here's an HDV camcorder I've had my eyes on, Sony's HVR-V1U!