Amazing Nature Sounds Captured With the DXA-SLR PRO

Recently Nathan Ward from Grit and Thistle Film Company shared the wonderful video below to our Facebook page. We are thrilled that he explained to us below what it is about and how he used our DXA-SLR Pro.


The Spirit of Browns Canyon was made simply to show the public some of the beautiful areas in the Browns Canyon Special Management Area between Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado, along the Arkansas River. It’s an area being considered for wilderness protection, but despite its proximity to popular outdoor towns, not many people have visited the area. This is simply because it’s difficult to access – even an hour-long hike requires one to drive into the backcountry to start the hike or to wade the Arkansas River.

We at the Grit and Thistle Film Company shot the film in fall to take advantage of the autumn colors and for better or worse, it was a drought year, so we were able to wade the river easily to access the wilderness. This isn’t possible most years.

 The Wilderness Society and The Friends of Browns Canyon commissioned the film, and like many of the short promotional pieces we do for nonprofit organizations, budgets are very tight. Consequently, we worked with a very small crew – very small being one person. We call it “zero impact filmmaking” – one person, one tripod and everything in a backpack. Light and tight.

We used Canon 7D camera bodies, paired with Canon L glass, an inexpensive Induro tripod and head. 7D cameras were perfect, because we didn’t need super high resolution. We ran sound straight into the camera with the Beachtek DXA-SLR Pro. We didn’t need phantom power, but it’s the Beachtek we use the most frequently.

The Spirit of Browns Canyon Full from Grit & Thistle Film Company on Vimeo.

 

For sound, we used a very small Sennheiser MKE400 mic on camera to capture ambient sound. For interviews, we paired this with the Sennheiser ew 100 ENG G3 lav mics, run straight into the camera with the DXA-SLR Pro.

The whole system fits into a backpack easily, allows us to monitor sound levels quickly, and you can backpack it into the backcountry easily. We used a similar system on a month-long trip to Peru where we shot a promotional piece for a program that helps educated girls in the Andes Mountains who have been orphaned.
See – Girls Matter here – http://vimeo.com/69046011

Please don’t hesitate to contact us – www.gritandthistle.com and www.facebook.com/gritandthistlefilm


Thanks again to Nathan Ward for sending us this great example of our adapters in action!

If you would like your project featured in our blog, please contact us here or on Facebook