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Documentary Filmmaking on the Sony BURANO with Jake Baine
It’s been just over a year since we launched our range of accessories for the Sony BURANO – alongside the BURANO itself. With dedicated kits for both cinematic narrative and mobile documentary shooters, the BURANO range has become the go-to choice of cinematographers across the industry.
We recently caught up with filmmaker Jake Baine, whose latest documentary project required a lightweight and versatile camera solution – so he turned to the BURANO. Building his rig with the help of the Sony DMPC in Los Angeles, Baine’s crew was minimal and mobile.
This project was a small, nimble documentary about the opioid epidemic in America and the subsequent outreach from certain groups to help those affected. We were in the inner city of San Francisco within neighbourhoods such as the Tenderloin which is one of the epicentres of the crisis.
When filming sensitive projects like these, it’s important to remain small and nimble in terms of crew. That was the biggest hurdle to overcome as a DP. I didn’t have any camera assistants and when on the streets, it was usually only myself, the director and one extra set of hands to help with audio.
To deal with this, we were very intentional with how we planned our days and did a lot of planning during pre-production to make sure our kits were compatible with the demands of the shoot. The last thing we wanted was to be slowed down by gear that wasn’t right for this run-and-gun style shoot.
– Jake Baine
Although narrative productions come with their own laundry-list of challenges, documentary shooting is reliant on authenticity: you can’t ask for a second take. Adaptability and improvisation are the two core skills for successful shooting, according to Baine.
I think one of the most important qualities to have as a filmmaker is the ability to think quickly on your feet and the ability to pivot on a dime. Sometimes all your planning and prep will go flying out the window thanks to Murphy’s Law. The ability to take it on the chin and quickly pivot to a new solution is critical to the success of a filmmaker.
– Jake Baine
With that in mind, the Sony BURANO is a production powerhouse. The fast autofocus paired with full-frame flexibility makes for a winning combination for any shooting scenario. With the addition of Bright Tangerine kits, filmmakers have a huge range of options to scale up or scale down the camera setup as they need it.
Nobody likes a camera that forces you to use it in one particular way. The Sony BURANO is an incredibly versatile tool. It’s a ’Swiss Army Knife’ of sorts for me: something I can build out to meet the demands of larger crewed jobs as well as something I can use on smaller projects as a solo operator. The ability to throw on an autofocus lens when I don’t have a 1st AC on hand is incredible. Especially for sports, documentary or web-series projects.
I’ve tried my fair share of camera cages. I will say that the Bright Tangerine cages have been some of the best I have personally used. It’s always funny to use cages from other companies and you wonder if they spoke to any working DPs when creating the cage. The Bright Tangerine cages have always been well-designed and my ACs have loved the versatility of the mounting points and different pieces.
The Sony BURANO Touch Loupe was also a big help on this particular shoot: since I relied on the BURANO autofocus, being able to still use tap-to-focus was immensely helpful.
– Jake Baine
To capture footage quickly and authentically while on the move, Baine also made use of our KASBAH Ātman Shoulder Rig.
I already owned the KASBAH handles, but Sony DMPC was kind enough to lend me the Ātman shoulder rig plate – it’s great! It was flexible in terms of positioning and the ability to quickly remove the whole camera if needed was so helpful. It was super comfortable, and really fit the speed of our shoot well.
– Jake Baine
The documentary has traded the San Francisco bay for the editing bay, but we can’t wait to see the results.
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