My fiance and I are hoping to document my grandparents stories this year and over time edit the footage into a documentary. I would like some advice about digital video cameras and what features I should look out for. Also if anyone has advice about amateur documentary film making we would appreciate it very much.
Thank you in advance for you insight and advice.
Advice about amateur documentary filmmaking? If you are in the Toronto area, check out the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto and look at some of their courses. LIFT has a lot of courses for documentary creators. There are courses for DVD, video and audio editing, but there are also one on narration techniques, sound recordign in the field, and on-site lighting.
Cameras. What sort of price range are you looking at?
You should get a digital video camera. These use Mini-DV or Digital-8 tapes, and are in most price ranges now, and offer direct video transfer to personal computers by a single cable, which is also used to control the camera. This is much easier than capturing analogue video from an older camera or from a VCR.
Do you want to edit high-definition or standard definition video? Some high-definition cameras are withing the “determined hobbyist” price range now.
Make sure your camera can record in low-light conditions. I didn’t when I bought mine, and I now have a camera that will barely work in a regularly-lit room at night. 
Even so, you will also probably need external lighting. I don’t know much about this yet.
You will need a computer to edit the video on. Ideally it should have a DVD recorder so that you can burn your final video to DVDs. It will need to be powerful (in Windows-PC terms, at least a 2-GHz processor); it will need a lot of memory (at least 512 MB); and, especially, it will need a LOT of disk storage space for the video files (at least 80 GB).
What kind of computer do you have, or do you plan to get one?
You will also need video/audio editing software. If you are making DVDs, you’l need DVD-authoring software for the DVD menus. Basic versions of these are often provided free with DVD burners, but to take full advantage of the possibilites of the medium, you’ll need somo standalone software. I use Adobe Premiere, DVD-Lab Pro and Photoshop on the PC, plus various other utilities. There are equivalents in the Mac and Linux worlds.
If you’re doing family history, be aware that you can also put slideshows on DVDs. This is perfect for all those family pictures, and you can have voiceovers as well.
Thank you so much for your detailed insights and helpful advice.
I have an inspiron 600 notebook right now as we travel alot although will have access to a desk top in Australia.
We are wanting to spend around $1000 although we are interested in high quality as well so would spend more if needed. We would like to have the option of selling the documentary in the future. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors and have incredible stories to tell, my grandfather is also a wonderful comedian with a super star smile.
What is the difference between high-definition and standard definition video in terms of the final product? Is it just picture quality? As I said I am an amateur in terms of the technology, with an artists sensibility and a passion to record this amazing story.
Thank you again
Not a prob!
Do you know the specs on these computers? If you want to make DVDs and it doesn’t already have a DVD burner, you’ll have to get an external one; internal notbook components are expensive.
Also, where are you located? This will affect which TV standard you will be using for the videos. It’s not such a problem if you want to watch a DVD on your computer, but if you make an Australian-video-format (“PAL”) DVD and want to watch it in Canada or the States, many DVD players will not play it.
You won’t get high-def video for a thousand dollars, unfortunately. If you really wanted to go all-out and set up a brand-new home system for editing HD video, for example, I would recommend a Mac G5, the HD display and video card, and a consumer HD camera, plus software, and that’s at LEAST ten thousand Canadian. It would be worth it though.
Bear in mind also that videodisc formats for HD video aren’t standardised yet, and the disc-burning equipment is Still Really Expensive.
With an suitable existing computer, you can do standard-definition video for a couple of thousand dollars Canadian though, and most of that is for software.
This adds another layer of complexity. You will have to get licenses for all pieces of music and film used in your video. (I’m currently going through this with another project. It isn’t pretty.) I recommend using content licensed under a suitable Creative Commons license.
Sounds wonderful. Definitely include family photographs.
Yes. HD video is MUCH more detailed. You can see the pores in peoples’ faces… niot pretty when it’s Lloyd Robertson on the CTV news. When Canadian TV started switching to HD, they discovered that they had to rebuild all their sets because the old ones had been built just good enough to look okay in standard-definition TV and the HD broadcasts were showing all the nailheads and seams and problems.
My pleasure.